Gresham Smith Designing Dynamic Medpace Headquarters in Cincinnati
Gresham Smith is designing a new 200,000-square-foot, seven-story headquarters for Medpace in Cincinnati, Ohio. It will also include 20,000-square-feet of street-level retail shops and a 900-car garage to support office and retail. The design team set out to create a dynamic space for Medpace, a clinical contract research organization, that seamlessly connects with the surrounding campus and will serve as a destination within the community. Gresham Smith is providing a full suite of services including architecture, interior design, structural engineering and MEP engineering.
“Medpace is an exceptionally progressive and innovative company, with an interest in good design and community building ,” commented Adam Nicholson, AIA, project designer for Gresham Smith. “They wanted to expand their existing office campus to accommodate growth and attract and retain the best talent. The new space will be unique, energetic, active and health-focused, really building upon Medpace’s corporate culture and showcasing clean, contemporary design. This is not the kind of project you come across every day, and our team has really enjoyed designing these exciting, creative spaces and bringing them together in a way that the sum total is greater than any part.”
“This is a dual-function building that not only serves as an introduction to Medpace but also supports a variety of retail,” said Tyler Troendle, associate director at AJT Management. “Medpace worked with Gresham Smith to strike a balance of showcasing their corporate identity while allowing retail brands to thrive. Within the headquarters space, Medpace’s character shines. The design emphasizes the company’s commitment to health and wellness by incorporating movement- and communication-centric features like a seven-level communicating stair. Every element of the building speaks to who they are as a company and where they’re going.”
The headquarters building is modern and distinct, serving as the new identity of the surrounding campus while still embracing a complementary aesthetic. The team incorporated horizontal expressions that highlight entrances as well as canopies and lighting features that emphasize points of connection. The building’s orientation and fenestration on the east and west optimize performance, mitigating glare and reducing heat through a vertical patterning that is also reminiscent of Medpace-researched DNA sequencing. The parking garage structure features a colorful, eclectic design on a perforated screen that pays homage to a previous painted-rainbow garage that was an icon within the community. Garage cladding integrates digital displays that showcase Medpace branding and announce corporate activities and events.
