FBI South Florida Headquarters

What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project?
In 2010, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a two-stage, open RFQ/RFP selection process under the Design Excellence Program. GSA’s goal was to select a Lead Design Architect to provide bridging A/E services for a fully developed concept design for a federal building. Approximately 100 firms responded to the RFQ as part of Stage One, and Krueck + Sexton was chosen among six Stage Two finalists who were invited to submit a proposal and compete in an interview. The project design was completed in 17 weeks and constructed in 30 months.

Please provide an overview of the project.
Located in Miramar Florida, five miles from the Everglades, the project includes a 375,000 square foot federal office building, a car service annex, and a parking garage. The H-shaped office building represents a workplace paradigm that focuses on increased worker effectiveness that is achieved through maximum daylight access and views to the exterior. Two 60-foot wide, 400-foot long office bars, six and seven stories tall and connected by a link containing meeting spaces, partially enclose 2 central courtyards. The Eastern entry courtyard for agents and visitors combines a water feature and formally composed landscape elements, while the Western courtyard is an extension of the informally designed, restored wetlands for use by employees only.

What are the main ideas and inspirations influencing the design of the building?
We were inspired by the beauty of the nearby Everglades wetlands which used to make up the site prior to the urbanization of Southern Florida. In order to restore the wetlands and maximize them on site, we strategically placed the buildings with narrow footprints which allowed landscape to extend between the buildings. This served multiple purposes: restoration of indigenous site conditions, use of water and landscape to visually integrate site security features so they disappear, providing comfortably shaded outdoor spaces for users and visitors, and interior office space bathed in daylight.

How does the design respond to the unique qualities of the site?
The massing of the building creates shaded courtyards strategically situated to enhance cool breezes. They create microclimates that encourage building occupants to engage with the outdoors and be comfortable – even in this particularly warm climate.

The design of two narrow 60 foot wide office bars allows for users to be no more than 30 feet from the building perimeter resulting in 93% of regularly occupied spaces with a direct visual connection to the exterior.

The facades, softly curved toward the Florida landscape and dynamically folded where facing the interior courtyards, reflect portions of the restored wetlands and Florida sky.  The all-glass office building skin is protected from the high south sun by an exterior shading system of perforated aluminum and designed as an inverted ‘V’ for optimized coverage.  The shades were tuned to reduce solar heat gain, reduce glare, improve daylight access, and maximize views.

Was the project influenced by any trends in energy-conservation, construction, or design?
For the General Services Administration, designing and building in a way that expresses the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the United States government is of greatest importance. This inherently includes great focus on sustainability. Orienting the building on an east-west axis is a passive sustainability strategy that contributes to improved occupant comfort and reduces energy use during peak electrical demand. Photovoltaic rooftop systems on the Campus Parking Garage and Annex provide nearly 20% of the facilities’ energy use. Overall, the campus is designed in anticipation of additional, near-term sustainability improvements which will allow achievement of a net-zero energy goal by 2030.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.