Life & Style INTERIORS
An Architectural Tribute Work spaces at Saxum public relations capture the essence and integrity of the nearby OKC National Memorial. By M.J. Van Deventer
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magine working in a corporate environment specifically designed to be user-friendly for its employees. That was the precise challenge the designers at HSE Architects in Oklahoma City faced when they were commissioned to create these inviting spaces in a building on the National Register of Historic Places. The old Journal Record Building, home to a business-oriented daily newspaper, suffered extensive damage during the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building across the street. After the rubble of the Murrah was cleared, work eventually began on the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in the western third of the Journal Record. The eastern two-thirds of the building was rechristened The Heritage in 2016 and houses the Saxum public relations firm on the top two floors.
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OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019
Renzi Stone, Saxum’s CEO and chairman, envisioned a creative work space not characterized by the traditional office environment of confining cubicles and little privacy. The design team consisted of HSE’s principal architect Todd Edmonds, project manager Adam Edge and interior designer Anh Weber. The main challenges for the team were understanding structural limitations, spatial relevance and visual cohesion between two floors. The original building design involved only five floors. An added sixth-floor penthouse shell, formerly the roof, was included in the restoration. Over time, the fifth floor had housed mechanical equipment, drainage pipes and electrical lines. A bonus for Saxum and the HSE team was that penthouse, which features glass walls on the north, east and south with vast views of the skyline. Skylights bring sunshine and shadows
