Corporate Realty

Encompass Health

At the onset of the project, the team set out to create a headquarters that was transparent and collaborative, was invested in community, and that demonstrated HealthSouth’s dedication to health and wellness.

Set on 7 acres in the wooded suburban locale of Liberty Park, the project deploys an office building and parking deck separated by 45 feet and connected by a bridge that provides protected on-grade circulation underneath and outdoor dining space above. The separation of the two buildings brings daylight into the ground floor program and allows the main arrival plaza to connect to the more sacred wellness plaza. The arrival plaza holds the first of three “skipping stone” water features, a rain garden that provides a pleasant microclimate for adjacent outdoor seating areas. The hardscape dissolves to reveal a nature trail that winds around the remaining two “skipping stones,” which provide site detention and retention as well as a heightened level of engagement with nature.

Inside, the building ground floor amenities include a conference center, fitness center, and coffee shop, which feed into a central double-height lobby volume connected to the second floor via a sculptural spiral stair. Every workplace floor has direct access to outdoor space on a balcony that overlooks the arrival plaza and walking trails