The Alachua County Tax Collector’s office has pursued and won multiple awards for excellence in customer service. When it came time to replace the Northwest Branch facility, the building needed to reflect this dedication to customers and employees.
With this clear goal of fostering a strong company culture and supporting the wellbeing of employees and customers alike, we at Walker Architects worked closely with end users to design a space that offers a quality work environment, efficient customer experience, and a high degree of flexibility.
The new workspace features private enclaves for staff as a respite to the open workstations. An inviting break area fully opens to the adjoining conference rooms, doubling the team’s social space.
We paid careful attention to traffic flow and the relationship between customer and employee. The line between public and employee space is defined by furniture solutions, allowing for adaptation as needs and operations change over time.
The top priority from day one was the people. Integrating the team who would use the space during the whole design process resulted in a workplace where they are comfortable, supported, and better able to serve the greater community.
James W. Norman Hall has been known for decades as the nexus of the University of Florida's College of Education. It was designed and built in 1934 as a K-12 school, named for civic leader P.K. Yonge. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the building held the potential to be a gem of historic architecture on UF's campus.
But building modifications over time buried distinctive architectural elements and the accumulation of critical repairs and maintenance seriously strained college resources. By the turn of the 21st century, Norman Hall no longer met the myriad needs of the students, faculty, and administrative staff who are learning, teaching and working throughout the building.
Our design team was charged with rehabilitating historic Norman Hall to support 21st-century learning technologies while preserving the Hall's "collegiate Gothic" character. To give the facility a new life, we took cues from photographs of building interiors from the 1950s. We discovered that the main West entrance had been intended as a gathering place, but offices and storage rooms had encroached upon space and obstructed traffic flow. We began by prioritizing changes that would alter or remove interior structures to let in natural light, facilitate movement and create gathering spaces.
Project Owner
Alachua County Tax Collector
Location
Gainesville, FL
Completion Date
December 2021
Project Size
16,700 GSF
Cost
$3.9M
Builder company
Oelrich Construction
John Power, Alachua County Tax Collector
Selected Works
University of Miami Life SciencesNanotechnology Researchers Gain a Highly Specialized Lab
UF Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Innovation and Learning LabDesign Healing Spaces
UF Health Family Medicine - Haile PlantationHealthcare as an Integral Neighborhood Element
St Augustine Government House RehabilitationFirst LEED Certified Historic Building in Florida
Shands Facilities Administration BuildingOpen Plan Design Promotes Collaboration
Reitz Union Expansion and RenovationEmphasizing a Sense of Place for Gators
Radiant Credit Union Operations BuildingRadiant Credit Union Operations Building
LifeSouth RenovationElevating the Donor Experience
IT PRO.tv RenovationA Launchpad for Online Learning
Exactech Parking GarageWelcome to Exactech
Clinical Techniques & Skills Assessment LabDelivering a Premier Clinical Simulation Lab
Chi Institute ExpansionModern Facility for Ancient Healing Arts
Career Connections CenterThe Bridge from College to Professional Life
Basic Science Building Lab RenovationMaking an Old Laboratory New
Ayers Build-Out for UF Information TechnologyThinking, Working, Innovation
Austin Cary Conference CenterNature Shapes Design
Alpha Delta Pi Sorority House RenovationProject type
Katie Seashole Pressly Softball StadiumProject type
Field and Fork Food PantryProject type
UF Health Proton Therapy Institute Gantry ExpansionExpansion; Healthcare
Facade Renovations for Trimark PropertiesA Distinctive Facade Within the Innovation District
Legal Advocacy CenterReal World Facility for Law Students
Florida FFA HeadquartersFormer Daycare Re-purposed as Space for Emerging Leaders
Exactech Expansion and RenovationWelcome to Exactech
Hotel Eleo at the University of FloridaProject type
UF Veterinary Medicine Central Utility PlantProject type
UF Basic Science LabDesigning an agile lab environment for UF Basic Science.
UF Norman Hall RehabilitationCollege of Education Revisioning
UF Graduate and Professional Student LoungesFocused Recreation
Indoor Tennis Practice FacilityNow Any Weather is Tennis Weather
Phi Mu Sorority HouseReorganized Spaces Provide Maximum Benefit
CRA Move to GTECCRA move to GTEC
UF College of Veterinary Medicine AdditionStandalone addition to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida.
Norman GroundNorman Hall Ground Floor Renovation
Lake City Fire Station No. 2Lake City Fire Station No. 2
Tax Collector New Northwest BranchTax Collector New Northwest Branch
Design for an Agile World
Design for an Agile World
2035 NW 13th St
Gainesville, FL 32609
(352) 672-6448
1389 Peachtree St NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
(770) 702-0261
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