Centro West is Acme Brick’s Austin headquarters, designed by Gensler and developed as a combined office, showroom, and manufacturing campus. The project brings multiple company functions together across a series of low-rise brick buildings arranged on a single site. Public-facing spaces and administrative offices are positioned separately from production and storage areas, while shared circulation routes connect the campus. Brick is used extensively across façades, reflecting Acme Brick’s core material and manufacturing focus.
The campus includes offices, meeting rooms, a product showroom, and areas dedicated to brick fabrication and storage. Interior spaces are organized to allow natural light through large openings and clerestory windows integrated into the brick structures. Materials such as brick, steel, and concrete are left exposed throughout the project. Outdoor courtyards and pedestrian pathways link the buildings and provide shared exterior spaces for employees.
Image Credit: Spencer Martinez, Acme Brick
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Integrated Multi-functional Workspaces
- The combination of office, showroom, and manufacturing spaces within a single campus offers innovative potential for streamlining operations and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Sustainable Building Materials
- The extensive use of brick and other exposed materials like steel and concrete underscores a trend towards sustainable and durable construction practices.
- Biophilic Design Elements
- The integration of natural light and outdoor courtyards demonstrates a growing trend towards incorporating biophilic design principles in corporate architecture.
Where This Applies
- Architecture and Design
- The focus on multi-functional space usage and sustainable material highlights new avenues for architectural innovation and client-specific design solutions.
- Construction and Real Estate
- Innovations in combining production and office environments on a single site can reshape how real estate spaces are developed and purposed.
- Manufacturing
- Adopting integrated campus models can drive efficiency and flexibility in manufacturing operations, challenging traditional plant-site separation.
