Roseburg Forest Products Headquarters
2018 AIA / SWO Merit Award
When Roseburg Forest Products moved their corporate headquarters from Dillard (just south of Roseburg) to Springfield, Oregon, they knew they wanted to make some drastic changes so that the building would more closely reflect their company culture and the future of their organization. The building in Springfield was an old office building with a thick middle. In order to provide better access to daylight for the entire staff, open office space was placed along exterior window walls, while private offices borrowed daylight through interior window walls. With the addition of skylights, the middle of the building became the ideal place for a central gathering space. An eclectic edge of meeting rooms provides a sense of separation between the public and office space. This opening up of the plan establishes sight lines to the exterior window walls throughout the building.
Founded by Kenneth Ford in 1937, Roseburg Forest Products owns and manages over 600,000 acres of timberlands in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Today the company is being led by Kenneth’s son, Allyn Ford, and employs over 3,000 associates in more than 80 communities throughout the United States.
As one of the largest privately owned wood-products companies in the United States, Roseburg Forest Products wanted to showcase their environmental stewardship and high-quality wood products in the design. Hardwood plywood, LVL joists, and other wood products were used to form the 20,000 sf undulating ceilings and to define office and conference rooms. Meeting rooms surrounding the central gathering area, called “the triangle,” are lined with AC plywood panels. In order to highlight materials that are traditionally hidden in the construction process, the design team used DIRTT walls and their sleek, modern aesthetic as a sharp contrast to the more utilitarian construction materials. The DIRTT walls also allow for the seamless integration of technology and for future flexibility as Roseburg's tech needs change over time. Glass etchings on these DIRTT walls further connect the headquarters to the forest and their overall mission to promote sustainable, market-rate products. A glass wall filled with sawdust features the company’s goal to have “sawdust in the veins.”
