Burgher Haggard Office

The Burgher Haggard office renovation throws open the walls and ceilings of a tightly wrapped building from the 1960’s. The intervention floods the interior with daylight by inserting new full height storefront, protected by deep overhangs and matching the module of the existing clerestory. Revealed by the renovation, bright orange steel columns and bar joists define a rhythm for the space, recalling its mid-century origin. Discovered during demolition, the orange color was embraced as a character-defining feature.

The existing plan was an endless maze of hallways leading to small offices and examination rooms. Beyond the entry there were few windows, and the clerestory tucked beneath a deep overhang provided little natural light. In contrast, the new plan cuts open the facade in four locations and replaces solid wall with floor-to-ceiling glass, maximizing daylighting and visual connection to the exterior at two primary open floor plan zones. Secondary spaces such as administrative offices, conference rooms, breakout spaces, and a reception area flank these central day-lit zones. The ancillary spaces take advantage of the existing clerestory and new interior glass walls that allow light to spill in from the open areas. Unlike the original closed-cell floor plan, new spaces are open and multi-functional.

New enhanced native landscaping gives the project greater presence from the street and brings the landscape into the interior open areas. A reclaimed landscape zone and new concrete planters take the landscape to the edge of the new window walls, infusing the renovated office areas with connection to nature. Exterior design elements are brought in and the interior reaches out, so interaction with the native plantscape and surrounding neighborhood becomes part of the daily routine.