Founded in 2002, Crocs operated out of their Niwot, Colorado headquarters until 2020. At that time, this worldwide distributor of casual footwear moved their home office to Broomfield, Colorado, where they occupy a single-story building, over 88,000-square-feet in size. Working with Venture Architecture and the design team, 360 Engineering’s mechanical engineers helped shape this new core-and-shell space into a functional and fun work environment for Crocs employees.
The architect’s vision called for a very open feel with limited enclosed rooms and even less ceiling. With a roof deck height of almost 25 feet, this presented an opportunity to showcase mechanical and plumbing infrastructure as part of the aesthetic, but also the challenge of providing uniform comfort in such a vast space. The team paid particular attention to detail with the exposed ductwork layout by establishing three horizontal planes, resulting in a visually appealing design. Then selecting visually unobtrusive routing to the enclosed rooms and selecting the appropriate diffusers to optimize airflow and noise. Additionally, pear-type destratification fans ensure proper air movement and increased energy efficiency.
On the plumbing side, the buildout included multiple living wall features needing special care during design and construction administration for water supply and drainage requirements. 360 Engineering also provided cost-saving measures by collaborating with the plumbing contractor early in design to strategically add an extra length of pipe to the existing main sanitary waste line. The existing waste line exited the building deep below the slab, so the additional length reduces the number of deep connections to the main.
