Target Northern Campus Building D

Project Description
Building D is the fourth office building to be constructed on the Target Northern Campus and the first phase of a larger master plan for an expanded corporate campus and a mixed-use development planned for the southern boundary of the campus. To best link with existing buildings and the central campus landscape courtyard, Building D was split into two components of 100,000 and 150,000 square feet (9,290 and 13,940 square meters), respectively, connected by an atrium at the southeastern corner of the campus. A centralized conference center for the building wraps the atrium. The atrium plays a pivotal role in supporting the growth of an employee community apart from the campus’ central conference and food service areas. The atrium also serves as an employee entrance while providing visitor access and orientation to this and future entrance points into the corporate campus.

Project Program
All floors of Building D are linked by a central 4-story atrium and gathering space. The ground floor consists of a central entrance lobby, coffee shop, executive parking, a loading dock a, general service and Target Corporation overflow storage space. Floors 2 through 4 consist primarily of open office workplace, with 5 to 10 private offices per floor, centralized enclosed conferencing hubs, service centers, file rooms, enclaves and a limited amount of miscellaneous storage, recycling and file rooms on each floor.

Design Solution
The atrium is the heart of the Target ‘team member’ community within Building D. It connects a formal ‘front door’ on the south to an informal garden and natural landscape at the north. Bridges at each end of the atrium link the building’s primary office blocks together. This allows Target team members to be visually aware and directly connected to conferencing areas and the social spaces of their community. To ensure comfort, natural light is brought through glazed curtainwalls on the north and south ends of the atrium. Continuous skylights run the length of the roof on either side of the atrium. The ceiling planes of the roof are tilted to accent the shades of daylight – while providing sculpted artificial lighting as well. Ample walkways at each level of the atrium provide additional seating in conference pre-function space to encourage the incidental conversations that are typical of the work culture at Target.

While horizontal communication areas are included around the atrium, vertical communication has been enhanced by developing the adjacent fire stair to the atrium into an open winding stair with large windows that open into the seating areas on the atrium’s ground floor. Porcelain tile on the floor of the atrium is patterned to reflect the geometry and landscape considerations that extend from the drop off area and front entrance into the garden courtyard shared by the rest of the campus buildings. From the drop-off area and parking, security barriers are in front of the reception desk to control access into the building. This point of is situated to provide easy access for team members and visitors alike.

As one of the most recognizable retail brands in the United States, the Target brand is reinforced in Building D’s interior. The brand provides a sense of continuity between the new atrium, the office corridors and support areas of both wings of the building. Each interior element in new building – such as elevator lobbies and signage and breakout areas – but also fits into the Target family of design elements found in their existing corporate buildings on the North Campus and on the downtown Minneapolis campus, also designed by Ellerbe Becket.

Lead Designer:
Mic Johnson, AIA, design principal, Ellerbe Becket, an AECOM Company (while with RSP Architects)

Interior Architect + Designer:
Ellerbe Becket, an AECOM Company provided interior architectural programming, design development, construction documentation and construction administration for this new 250,000-square-foot (23,230-square-meter) corporate office building, located on Target Corporation’s Northern Campus in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

RSP Architects – Architect of Record (core and shell)
Ryan Companies US Inc. – Design/Builder