SmithGroup Phoenix Office

After more than 15 years at the Arizona Center, a two-tower office and retail complex in downtown Phoenix, SmithGroup was ready to redefine its Phoenix workplace. The firm wanted to create an environment that would be expressive of the Phoenix team’s evolution and success, one that would further deepen the bond between our people and the meaning behind our work. It also provided the opportunity to improve energy efficiency, air quality and the workplace experience for our clients and visitors.   

The team employed a fully integrated approach that began with our workplace strategist, tapped the expertise of our designers, engineers, architects and sustainability disciplines, and utilized modeling tools and technologies to maximize mechanical efficiencies. The result is a healthier, more resilient and more creative workplace that celebrates our purpose, our people and our place in the Sonoran Desert. 

The project fundamentally reshapes the user experience from both an internal and external perspective. Because wayfinding has typically been a challenge in the large building, the team carefully curated a “tour route” that begins right from the arrival elevator. Just as the region’s desert landscape sparks a sense of wonder and discovery, so does the tour route, revealing multiple experiences as one moves deeper into the space. Acknowledging the beauty of the desert’s contrasting elements, the design and materials selection play off the contrasts of light and dark, refined and raw.  

A SmithGroup-branded metal canopy extends out from a newly relocated entry, where visitors are greeted with a convivial team lounge and coffee bar. A multi-screen display showcases client projects, alongside a photo wall that features each member of the Phoenix team. A black box is a focal point, a corrugated metal form that houses client-facing conference rooms and a maker space. The story of people and projects continues to unfold as one moves deeper into the workplace, revealing collaborative team zones, a work café, expansive open offices with a grand wood ceiling, and finally, quiet spaces that support focused individual work.  

The project exceeds energy codes by 20 percent and employs a number of strategies to align with SmithGroup values regarding sustainability, resilience and wellbeing. It utilizes three different mechanical systems: water-sourced heat pumps, a chilled-beam system with an air-cooled chiller, and the already existing DX units. To address heat gain, our computational designers conducted studies that led to the installation of high-performance glazing and shades controlled by the sun which minimize heat while maximizing daylighting. Technology helped develop efficient lighting controls, using AI algorithms to quantify the heating load from lights and predict the lighting levels needed based on occupancy, time of day and outside climate conditions. In its design and execution, the new workplace is a place of purpose and pride, embodying the firm’s collective commitment to Design a Better Future.