Title: NCR Global Headquarters
Location of Proejct: Atlanta, Georgia
Project Completion Date: March 2018
Firm Name: Duda|Paine Architects

Short Description: NCR Global Headquarters transformed an underutilized parking garage on a sloped site to a vibrant urban center located in Atlanta’s technology district. The building’s architecture provides a dynamic, engaging and iconic environment to foster NCR’s vision for innovation. Sloping glass and steel forms convey movement. Transparent, high-performance glazing reveals interior activities across all levels to passersby. NCR’s double LEED Platinum Global Headquarters creates an innovative, vibrant and agile campus to support the cultural shift taking place within the company. Energy-efficient building systems and sustainable interior materials contribute to comfort-focused spaces designed for collaboration and innovation.

Architect's Statement: The NCR Global Headquarters occupies a 3.8-acre urban site that fronts Spring Street, 8th Street, and Williams Street in Midtown Atlanta. The selection of this site met several primary conditions NCR desired including visibility and proximity to the HWY 75/85 corridor traveled by a million people a day, adjacency to innovative engineering and design programs at Georgia Tech and SCAD, and an urban environment rich with amenities for employees. For the 750,000-square-foot campus, NCR anticipated a cutting-edge design, reflective of the company future. The design creates a transparent and transformative work environment, encouraging a highly collaborative and creative culture that serves both business and engineering needs. This was achieved with NCR planned as two towers in distinct phases with a multi-layered vertical program strategy.

At the ground level, the building’s change in material and scale addresses the urban street. A public plaza and greenspaces are created around the edges of “Innovation Hall” that serves as the transparent front door, transforming the traditional office lobby into an inviting public space. This glass structure houses a monumental sculpture in the 4-story gallery space which is adjacent to a street facing café and serves as the pre-function space for a venue intended for lectures addressing invention and technology. With upper level employee interview, conference and training rooms, Innovation Hall connects the two tower lobbies and front of house street that showcases product and engineering facilities.

Innovation Hall is the company threshold and the heart of the campus is located just above on the amenity-rich rooftop garden. This elevated, occupiable greenspace lends a campus-like feeling to the building complex and is enclosed on three sides by transparent lounge and dining spaces, a fitness center and company store. This level connects the two towers and provides a variety of amenity and work-related spaces that are available to every employee. Shade and respite from wind are achieved though plantings, canopies, trellis structures that serve a farmer’s market and company events.

Rising vertically from the amenity level, two towers composed of sloping glass and steel forms convey movement and pattern as daylight shifts to night sky. Occupants gain sweeping views of Atlanta within a state-of-the-art workplace enclosed in transparent, high-performance glazing. NCR sought to reveal interior activities across all levels and interconnect employees across disciplines. Office levels are designed as a free address workplace that contain open office, engineering labs and meeting spaces.

From the outset, both NCR project phases targeted the creation of a sustainable work environment, and green design features specific to water quality and savings such as groundwater and rainwater harvesting systems, low flush/flow fixtures all contribute to creating a building complex that will use 35% less water than a typical office building. Additionally, repurposing an underutilized urban site and its proximity to multi-modal transit options established the foundation. Interior material selection, inclusion of local craft and exterior glazing systems designed for thermal comfort and control glare were bolstered by an extensive solar array on display at the amenity level.
NCR’s commitment to sustainable objectives resulted in phase 1 becoming the first dual LEED Platinum Certified (LEED CS and LEED CI) project in the Southeastern United States and first LEED CS Platinum Certified project in Georgia.

NCR’s open, welcoming and modern way of working and living for its 5,000 employees establishes a compelling presence at the nucleus of Atlanta’s technology district joining a growing urban movement redefining today’s city.