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Office Building Modernization Starts with a Seamless Floor

Price is Right for Design Team & Owners

When Nelson Worldwide in Atlanta was contracted to envision a renovation of the lobby and common area of an office building, the design team zeroed in on the floor as the key element in creating a fresh new look and feel, recounted Tere Paller, IIDA, NCIDQ, Regional Practice Leader, Asset Strategy+Regional Design Leader. Initially planned as porcelain tile, the terrazzo floor installed received a 2021 Honor Award from the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association (NTMA).

The design team arrived on the scene at 5995 Windward Parkway, Alpharetta, GA, built in 1999, to find an outdated color scheme. In addition, the existing tile floor was a variety of sizes with a “tremendous amount of grout lines,” as Paller observed. Assuming that porcelain tile would be a relatively affordable solution, the team singled out a striking porcelain tile motif—a modern take on the woven caning of an antique chair—as the basis of the design.

Windward Parkway

More Than They Bargained For

 

Upon pricing out the tile floor, though, the design team discovered it was surprisingly cost-prohibitive. In response, local flooring contractor Williams Tile & Marble, an NTMA member, proposed an upgrade to a seamless terrazzo floor at nearly the same price as the tile, which would better honor the design intent.

“By specifying terrazzo, it meant not having to give up on either our design intent or the scale of the pattern,” Paller said. “It was a better solution. We didn’t have to compromise on either design or performance.”

“This alternative gave us the flexibility to create and give the building its own identity versus coming in with one flat solution, which really hit home with the owners,” she said. “This was a great project and looks fantastic.”

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