Coatings, steel, and concrete inspection company KTA-Tator, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) recently announced the opening of its new, state-of-the-art corporate headquarters and laboratories at 145 Enterprise Drive in Pittsburgh.
The two-story, 48,000 sq. ft. (4,459.3 m2) facility is located on 18 acres of land, of which approximately 9 acres were developed for the building providing room for future growth.
The new facility houses nine laboratories, including corrosion testing, accelerated weathering, abrasive testing, physical properties testing, concrete testing, coating application, paint testing, electrochemical/wet chemistry, and analytical/forensic, with viewing windows into each lab from the main corridor. The building also houses an instrument sales and service department that inventories equipment from over 60 manufacturers, a climate-controlled calibration and repair laboratory, and a unique showroom area featuring new product displays and an instrument use video screen.
Other features include a training facility and recording studio for podcast and webinar broadcasting, as well as video production. A history wall and lighted glass showcase containing artifacts of the company’s earliest work, including inspection instruments used and distributed since the 1960’s, greet visitors in a lobby that leads to a two-story Great Hall. This is considered the marquis of the headquarters building, proudly displaying the company’s core purpose and values. Corridors leading from the Great Hall are monikered after the street names of each of the company’s locations throughout its rich history: Rosedale Avenue, Montour Street, Technology Drive, and now Enterprise Drive.
Access to natural daylight for all employees was a key factor in the design of the building, as well as the layout of office space and laboratories. The architect was able to accomplish this within the project budget by designing the building so that the feeling of glazing was much greater than the actual 30%, by both shaping and placing glass where it would have the greatest visual impact.
An exposed ceiling architecture was selected to provide a more open feel, except in climate-controlled laboratories, offices, conference/training rooms, and huddle rooms. A fitness center, private hair salon, and wellness/lactation suite help ensure the health of its employees. Recognizing the importance of employee and visitor safety, the new facility incorporates touchless entry doors, touchless restroom doors and facilities, workstations and offices that facilitate distancing and screening, and a state-of-the-art Needle Point Bi-Polarization HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] system to ensure indoor air quality.
An electric vehicle (EV) charging station is available for visitors at the main entrance, which features the KTA Steel Composite Test Panel Channel as the entryway canopy.
Branding and Tour Stop Marquis throughout the facility will be featured during client tours, once it is safe to hold them. A grand opening is tentatively planned for July 2021.
The design-build project team included Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) for land acquisition and overall project management; Bear IC, LLC for overall construction; and CannonDesign for design and architecture. This team brought the project in under budget, even with over $0.5 million in building and furniture/fixture enhancements that were not envisioned in the original project scope.
Source: KTA-Tator, www.kta.com.