CARR, RIGGS & INGRAM

LOCATION: Metairie, Louisiana

PROGRAM: Corporate Headquarters

STATUS: Construction

PROJECT TEAM: GOAT (Architecture and Interiors); YKH Consulting (MEP Engineering); Ryan Gootee General Contractors (General Contractor)

Carr, Riggs & Ingram (CRI) is a nationally recognized accounting and advisory firm based in Alabama, with locations across North Amercia. The firm engaged GOAT to create a new space for the New Orleans team that was more reflective of the impressive company culture they have built through the years. The new offices will be on the 14th floor of one of the Lakeway Towers in Metairie, with approximately 15,000 SF for 60-65 current employees, plus room for future growth and flexibility.

The triangular floor plate presented a space planning challenge but offers an impressive, panoramic view of Lake Pontchartrain. Rather than conceal this view behind the opaque walls of offices and conference rooms, GOAT embraced the opportunity to highlight it from nearly every space in the project, allowing daylight to penetrate the entire floor plate.

GOAT team: Paula Bechara, Joanna Tanasescu, Colin VanWingen, Peter Spera III

Interior design choices were mindfully made to both create a way-finding tool, as well as to distinguish each individual department. Offices and open workspaces run along the two main corridors and meet at a communal point that serves as the shared lounge area. These open work spaces are divided by color using playful pop-ups in the ceiling, differentiating the three departments and visually enlarging the space. Glass partition walls maximize natural light and highlight the space's stunning view for all of the firm's employees. Yet it is the reception feature wall, designed using the CRI logo and an impressive sight in and of itself, that truly marks this space as their own.