World Wide Technology global HQ connects employees to Westport amenities
Posted by the St. Louis Business Journal on March 23, 2018:
When some 750 employees moved into World Wide Technology's new $95 million global headquarters in Maryland Heights last August, they gained a state-of-the art space and access to new amenities.
"The close proximity to restaurants in Westport Plaza and a fitness center that's since opened up," weren't available at WWT's other campus, according to Justin Reise, director of corporate properties for the IT solutions provider.
The project consisted of three separate new constructions: a 208,000-square-foot, six-story office building; a five-story, 768-car parking garage, and a patio "lid" giving employees outdoor access and connecting the headquarters with Westport Plaza. About 1,200 employees are expected to occupy the new space, as WWT, which reported $10.4 billion in 2017 revenue, is growing globally by several hundred workers each year, Reise said.
Floor-to-ceiling, two-story windows greet visitors and provide a view of the plaza's lake, and a glass catwalk provides access to the east and west sides of the building. A modular wall system from DIRTT (Do It Right This Time) Environmental Solutions will allow easier change-out of technology and space reconfiguration than traditional dry-wall systems, officials said. The building is LEED Silver and optimized energy efficiency in HVAC, lighting and window treatments, Reise previously told the Business Journal.
High-tech features in the building include a mosaic video wall of 51 LED screens to stream marketing content and live conference feeds; and a 300-seat auditorium, roofed under a green space, with a high-resolution, 55-foot by 13-foot TV screen that required its own 10-ton HVAC system and a dedicated electrical panel.
About 4,000 jobs were created on the construction site. Officials said the project is the largest to be awarded by a minority-owned company to a minority-owned company in the St. Louis market.