ArchitectureWeek People and Places: KPF in Madison, New Jersey

The Realogy Headquarters building, designed by KPF, is organized around a glazed, multistory atrium. Photo: Michael Moran

The new Madison, New Jersey headquarters for Realogy Holdings Corportaion, a real estate franchising company, is a warmly toned, welcoming building whose glass-dominated wings enclose a courtyard. Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the extensive reskinning of the suburban building, which was a Verizon call center in its past life with a minimally glazed, introverted facade.

Image: Bing Maps	Image: Google Maps
Before	After

KPF's design strategy was to cut the central third out of the existing, essentially rectangular 225-square-foot (21,000-square-meter) original building, extending the two remaining pieces into long parallel wings running east-west. The resulting building has an increased area of 285,000 square feet (26,000 square meters).

KPF reskinned and renovated an outdated Verizon call center to create a new Class-A headquarters for Realogy, in Madison, New Jersey. Photo: Michael Moran

A lobby space bridges between the two long wings defining a generous eastern forecourt and a much larger western inner court, creating a slightly biased H-shaped building plan. At their ends, the two parallel wings are connected covered, open-air colonnades that enclose the two courtyards.

The western lobby facade and stair, seen from across the courtyard. Photo: Michael Moran

According to the firm, the lobby is conceived of as an architectural promenade leading to the third floor by way of an ornamental stair that wraps around the perimeter the open atrium. The huge increase in facade glazing together with changes to the building's configuration result in increased daylight access in office spaces.

The building opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 21, 2013.