AmerisourceBergen’s new regional headquarters combined a tilt-wall core and shell building with an interior fit-out, including site development, structure, building envelope, utility infrastructure and premiere office space. The interior boasts state-of-the-art amenities like tech-enabled conference and business centers, specialized mother rooms, fitness and yoga centers, a coffee shop, café and a micro-market. Today, these modern amenities and the campus’s dynamic design reflects the innovative spirit of more than 1,800 AmerisourceBergen associates and continues to drive new talent to the firm.
The four-story building was designed to maximize the remaining undeveloped landscape of Austin Ranch—Billingsley’s 1,700-acre development just outside of North Dallas. The building’s angular design follows the Ranch’s property line and the campus is connected by a network of walkways and gathering spaces. A large parking garage and parking area is located adjacent to the headquarters facility.
Because the building was actually two separate projects—the core and shell structure and the corporate interiors—Structure Tone Southwest’s preconstruction team worked tirelessly to make sure they received quality bids and considered value-add alternatives to ensure the transition to the construction phase was as seamless as possible.
During construction, the 300,000sf, ground-up site was too expansive to grasp from the ground level, so the team used drones to regularly communicate progress to the owner and project team. Licensed drone pilots mapped a consistent course so that progress was apparent from one flight to the next. The aerial footage also helped the team visualize where they could lay down materials on the roof, tie-off for safety and other information they couldn’t gather from ground level. The drone imagery was looped on a TV outside of the construction trailer to keep the Austin Ranch community informed on the project’s progress as well.
Additionally, the entire team also made good use of PlanGrid to organize and document any changes on one shared platform. All subcontractor foremen were required to have an iPad and use PlanGrid. If a designer made a change, we were able to upload that change directly into the drawings on PlanGrid and share that with our subcontractors immediately. The tool also allowed us to approve submittals, document RFIs and process other steps quickly and collaboratively within the tool. The tool is also so easy to use that even some of our less technically savvy crew members have fully converted and swear to never work on a project again without it.
Thanks to the project team’s diligent planning, communication and overall project management, this two-pronged project was delivered safely, on time and met AmerisourceBergen’s high expectations.