2018 IDEAS2 Awards Brochure - 48

The modern aesthetic of AESS
was seamlessly integrated into the interior and exterior.
-Brian Falconer

Riggs CAT has some heavy lifting to do.
The company employs more than 400 people in eight different
facilities throughout Arkansas as the state's only Caterpillar dealer.
It recently renovated and expanded its Little Rock headquarters location, replacing a 50-year-old building with a modern, light-filled
steel structure. Existing warehouses and shops were demolished,
and their footprints became lay-down space for construction that
could not impede existing service and equipment yard operations.
Framed using 163 tons of structural steel, the new building
pays homage to the adjacent 1950s warehouse (which was renovated into a training center) and was inspired by CAT equipment
itself, from abstract arm booms and truck beds to grader blades
and wheel tracks dug into the earth. The roof lifts to the west,
facing the existing site entrance, new display court and repurposed
training center.
Transparency, thanks to extensive glazing, defines the design,
with HSS5×5 being used to support the exterior glass. Inside, the

primary stair landing sits in a glowing red box that cantilevers under the main porch and acts as a beacon from the nearby Interstate. Clerestories at the second-floor executive offices flood the
central spaces with daylighting, and the lobby is 100% naturally
lit during the day. A large "floating" meeting room cantilevers over
the reception area thanks to simple welded steel connections and
diagonal bracing.
The light, exposed-framing characteristic of the new building
was inspired by the exposed steel and masonry of the warehouseturned-training center. As the original building was not properly
braced-no moment frames or diagonal bracing were present and
original drawings were unavailable-the design team incorporated
new exposed steel bracing that doubles as the workers' entrance
from the yard.
For more on the Riggs CAT headquarters, see "Matching Metal" at
www.modernsteel.com/riggs.

Timothy Hursley

http://www.modernsteel.com/riggs

2018 IDEAS2 Awards Brochure

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