The new 188,000-sq.-ft. headquarters for Cargill’s meat, poultry and food service division creates a modern workplace for next-generation employees in Wichita, Kansas.
Designed by HOK, the recently opened headquarters provides modern amenities for 750 employees with space to accommodate 950 people. The headquarters is strategically located near the Cargill Innovation Center to promote collaboration and customer-centric solutions. Designed to help recruit and engage employees, the building includes an outdoor courtyard, advanced technology, a third-floor terrace overlooking Wichita’s Old Town district and in-house dining areas.
Excerpted from The Wichita Eagle:
Cargill Protein unveiled downtown Wichita’s biggest office project in years—its new $60 million headquarters. It’s also likely the most innovative office space downtown has seen in decades.
Cargill Protein leader Tom Windish led reporters on tours of the four-story, 188,000-square-foot building at 825 E. Douglas, site of The Wichita Eagle’s former building.
Cargill Protein handles Cargill Inc.’s meat, poultry and food service and distribution businesses. Its brands include Excel, Sterling Silver and Angus Pride meats as well as Honeysuckle turkey.
The new headquarters will accommodate up to 950 workers and provide covered parking for 800 in a garage near the building’s south end.
What Windish wanted to emphasize is that this was a building designed for—and with the input of—its workers, including those from the millennial and succeeding generations.
It’s about “attracting and retaining the best talent,” he said, adding that it’s also symbolic of the company’s commitment to “be a part of the growing, vibrant downtown community.”
What really stands out in the new building is the arrangement of work spaces. Instead of having corner offices, many private offices are found in the center of the building, surrounded by workers in low-rise cubicles who are next to windows that are nearly floor-to-ceiling in length.
Other amenities for employees include a third-floor cafe, a private dining area and an outdoor deck with tables, bars and cushioned seating.
Just off to the side of the cafe is a game room, with a pool table, two foosball tables and a shuffleboard table.
Back on the ground level is an enclosed courtyard for employees that appears to be large enough to accommodate several hundred people.
Other features of Cargill Protein’s new building:
- Twice as many conference rooms as its previous building, including one that seats up to 200 people and an “immersive technology” room that provides for video conferencing with other Cargill sites around the world.
- A dozen ”wellness rooms” that can be used by nursing mothers or by other employees who want to rest.
- A “sensory center” on the first floor that includes a presentation kitchen and allows Cargill to conduct taste tests of its products with customers.