GKD USA
Cambridge, Md.
Dominique Perrault Architecture and Ziger/Snead Architects

This building showcases the materials produced within it

© Alain Jaramillo

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Buildings in suburban office parks are not generally known for pushing the architectural envelope, a reflection of the pragmatic and financial concerns shared by their developers and tenants. But the firm GKD, a Europe-based manufacturer of woven wire materials, is not your average tenant and it wanted something special for its North American headquarters in Cambridge, Md.

GKD commissioned French architect Dominique Perrault and Ziger/Snead of Baltimore to design a 40,000-square-foot office and manufacturing complex whose design would feature its own advanced weaving technologies. Perrault was a logical choice because he was among the first designers to experiment with GKD’s mesh products and integrate them into his projects, such as the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris and Berlin’s Velodrome.

Working with Ziger/Snead, Perrault made GKD’s products the signature design element of its headquarters. For instance, a 165-foot-long freestanding screen wall runs parallel to the northern façade and stands as a shimmering example of the technical and aesthetical qualities of the materials produced with the building. This feature helped earn the project an AIA Maryland chapter award in 2005.

The main envelope of the building is clad in glass and corrugated stainless steel. A series of moveable mesh screens—which office occupants can adjust from within—shade the eastern elevation and reflect the surrounding light and landscape. Showrooms for GKD’s products and manufacturing systems feature suspended ceilings made of stainless steel mesh and woven stainless carpeting.

Formal name of Project:
GKD USA

Location:
Cambridge, Md.

Gross square footage:
41,016 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$4.2 million

Owner:
GKD-USA Inc.
825 Chesapeake Drive
Cambridge MD 21613

GKD - Gebr Kufferath AG
Metallweberstraße 46
D-52348 Düren
Germany

www.gkdusa.com

Design architect:
Dominique Perrault
Dominique Perrault Architecture
26, rue Bruneseau
75629 Paris cedex 13
33-1-44-06-00-00 tel.
33-1-44-06-00-01 fax
www.perraultarchitecte.com

Architect:
Ziger/Snead Architects
1006 Morton Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-576-9131 tel.
410-576-9159 fax
www.zigersnead.com