Rapt Studio has recently completed the new headquarters for VF Corporation in Denver, Colorado. With a mission to power active and sustainable lifestyles for the betterment of people and the planet, VF is a diverse collection of global brands. Their new ten-story headquarters brings together several of those brands under one roof, and at the same time, allows each of them to maintain individuality and expression.
Together, the brands in the VF HQ building include The North Face, Smartwool, Jansport, Altra, Eagle Creek, and Icebreaker. As Rapt outlines, the design team worked to bring the brands together with corporate leadership in a sustainable structure. The result is a LEED Platinum building made to mark the next chapter in the company’s 120-year history. Rapt focused on company culture to design a space that invites new levels of collaboration and cross-pollination between brands as they grow their international reach.
Rapt CEO and chief creative officer David Galullo noted that, "our discovery dives deep into the personality of groups and how they fit into the purpose of an organization. We focus on how a company supports its workforce, and our big push was to develop spaces where people from different brands would come together and share best practices."
Delving further into the design, the team created central staircases that link separate floors and act as the structural and energetic spine of the space. "Beginning on the ground floor and ending at the tenth, vertical circulation parallels the journey from lush, lowlaying foothills to a dry mountain summit. The sweeping lobby boasts a rammed-earth double-height backdrop, while boulders from a local quarry are set in the floor alongside low-slung furniture." The interiors also feature deep greens, browns, and yellows that punctuate the space and become while, black and metallic greys as you move up toward the top floors. Fixtures, finishes, and textures were chosen to reflect the ascent between altitude zones, pulling from nature’s color palette with weathered materials like stone, wood, and rock.
Moving from the base of the building, the ground-floor lobby opens up to the public and invites visitors to experience VF up-close. A signature stair offers varied views of the space with a two-level digital screen, while interactive digital displays on the floor respond to pressure and touch. There is also a gym that includes a bouldering wall, a two-story climbing wall, and an oxygen deprivation chamber where people can train for high-altitude climbs. Moving outward from the core traffic ring, they plug into neighborhoods designed for privacy and focus.
Workspaces were designed to support the product development needs of each brand, integrating storage, displays, and surface areas for spreading out. Huddle booths and enclosed retreat rooms for discussing ideas sit near adjustable pin-up boards, whiteboards, and standing-height work tables that support active iteration. The new headquarters was made to support the adventure-seeking workforce who "live the VF brand from the inside out" by giving them spaces and tools to push the global corporation forward.
