The ULI’s Atlanta chapter honored the Porsche Cars North America Experience Center and Headquarters for “best in class” real estate development in the Southeast U.S.
Excerpted from Urban Land Institute Atlanta:
The LEED Gold-certified facility combines office, training and driving functions into one sleek, high-performance facility that encapsulates the essence of the company’s brand.
In this ULI video, HOK Design Principal Todd Bertsch, AIA, LEED AP, describes how the design blends performance, functionality and Porsche’s unique aesthetic, and says that integrating the 1.6-mile driving track helped unlock the building form. He also notes that this signature project is catalyzing other development at the aerotropolis adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The building also helps Porsche attract better employees, notes Bertsch. “You can’t just put them in a box. You have to put them in something special. Porsche is an example of the new development paradigm for business and business operations.”
Joe Folz, vice president, general counsel and secretary at Porsche Cars North America, Inc., also is quoted in the video.
“This project began with the vision of our chief executive officer at the time, Detlev von Platen, who said that he wanted to create a place where we could have a headquarters that would bring all of the Porsche associates in America together to work in one place every day,” said Folz. “And where people could actually drive Porsches. That meant looking for a place where we could have both a Class A headquarters and a test track on the same piece of property. And where we could invite the public to come see what Porsche was all about.”