Abercrombie & Fitch Headquarters
New Albany, Ohio
Anderson Architects

A camplike setting in the woods revs up the image of a youth-oriented clothing company

© Brad Feiknopf

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

By David S. Morton

The architects sited this headquarters deep in the thick of the forest, where nothing of the outside world can be seen or sensed. (The company’s 750,000-square-foot national distribution center, planted at one corner of the property, proved harder to hide in tree cover.)

To avoid dominating the natural surroundings and to foster a villagelike community, Anderson proposed breaking down the headquarters into smaller sheds, roughly analogous to lakeside summer lodges. These two-story, pitched-roof buildings are arranged along a bow-shaped central street across which employees travel, using scooters, the nonmotorized vehicle of choice.

Even in this corporate village, one building––actually a chain of sheds––dominates the others. The single snaking structure forms the whole north perimeter of the street, marked by a central segment, which, with its bulging roof and the two-story gape of a timber-frame main entrance, can be seen easily from afar.

Although this is a campus, the client wanted to create a strong distinction between being inside and outside the complex proper. Hence, the walls facing out to the parking areas or the trees are clad in corrugated concrete board and punctured only by small square windows. But within the complex, on the central street where the sheds face each other, surfaces are pale tinted plaster and stucco, and large, loftlike, two-story gridded windows become the prevailing architectural features.

The sheds can accommodate 550 fashion designers, "merchants," graphics people, and marketing and finance personnel in a mix of flexible workspaces. Key to breaking up the otherwise imposing consistency of shed and window-grid motifs are the many multiuse outside rooms, including the several fireplaces one discovers around the campus. And while entrances to the central street are treated in cedar—with wood entrance "carpets"—each portal is handled differently. One hides under an extended dormer. Another is contained in a cedar box that appears to pivot out from the main building.

At the end of the central street sits Wexner Commons, which, despite its location, is the spiritual heart of the place. Appearing on the outside to be a slightly oversize red barn, the large volume of its triple-height interior comes as a dramatic surprise to first-time visitors. The wrapping of Cor-Ten steel helps diminish the sense of bulk and gives the building a rusty gleam that stands out from the otherwise pallid building colors.

See the June 2002 issue of Architectural Record for full coverage of this project.

Formal name of Project:
Abercrombie & Fitch Corporate Headquarters Office Campus and Distribution Center

Location:
New Albany, Ohio

Gross square footage:
1.1 million sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$130 million

Owner:
Abercrombie & Fitch
www.abercrombie.com

Architect:
Anderson Architects P.C.
555 West 25th street
New York, NY
tel: 212.620.0996
fax: 212.620.5299
email: info@andesonarch.com
www.andersonarch.com