A TOUCH of Glass

Northwestern Mutual campus shines

Northwestern Mutual Franklin Campus

By Brendan O'Brien

Photo by Hedrich Blessing, Jeff Millies

The designers and builders of Northwestern Mutual's campus in Franklin created a signature element to greet visitors.

A pronounced glass ellipse was intended to reach out and welcome everyone to the new 550,000-square-foot building that represents the initial phase of a four-phase development plan at the site.

"The ellipse seemed to make sense because the building is two wings, and the natural architectural transition is through the use of a hinge point," said T.J. Morley, senior design architect for Eppstein Uhen Architects. "So we thought that certainly had a nice symbolic gesture."

But putting the ellipse in place wasn't easy, considering that it's not a true ellipse.

"It is made up of, I think, four individual arcs on each side of the ellipse," said Matt Bratzke, Opus North's project manager for the job. "It would have been easier if it was a true ellipse. It took us a long time laying out all of the different points on the ground and then trying to tie in granite, exterior-wall systems and precast shaped like that."

Difficult as it might have been to install, the glass ellipse and other glass elements integrated into the project design were worth the effort. The campus sits on 84 acres of wetland, and the glass lets people in the building enjoy the surrounding environment.

"It made all the sense in the world to really open that up to the occupants, to expose everyone in the building to the landscape," Morley said.

Another unique aspect of the project lets Northwestern Mutual's staff enjoy the environment in comfort. The building features an HVAC system beneath the floor that allows individuals to control the climate in their areas. The construction team raised the floor 14 inches to install the system.

"The air is forced underneath that floor and is pressurized," Bratzke said. "Scattered around through the entire office-area floor are these little round
diffusers that you can open and close manually. Each person kind of has their own little HVAC system."

	Project Name: Northwestern Mutual Franklin Campus Location: Franklin Submitting Companies: Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc., Milwaukee, and Opus North Corp., Milwaukee General Contractor: Opus North Corp. Architect: Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc. Engineer: Affiliated Engineers Inc., Madison Owner: Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee Project Cost: $125 million Start Date: June 2002 Completion Date: April 2004

The 900-space parking garage and central utility room posed the biggest challenges for the construction team, which was held up on the job by a delayed air-quality permit.

"We were already four months behind," Bratzke said. "To top it off, the foundation was done in the dead of winter. But the foundations hadn't been designed for a winter construction, so we ended up with some frost under some footings. We had to heat the ground to get the frost out."

When finished, the five-story building incorporated a 20,000-square-foot data center, a training center and a cafeteria for 600 guests.

"We purposely made paths cross so people had an opportunity to really bump into each other and share thoughts," Morley said. "That is an important part of business and an important part of any kind of cultural structure."

Morley said he believes the design enhances the company.

"The food service is a very prominent feature of the company and their culture," Morley said. "So we placed the cafeteria and the dining area in one of the choice locations down along the river level to really engage the landscape."