ST. LOUIS, MO  Fox Architects (FOX) and Gensler win an AIA St. Louis 2015 Design Award for their work on the Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) Global Headquarters, a facility designed for future expansion and a smooth workforce transition from baby boomers to millennials. The award was presented at a recent AIA St. Louis 2015 Design Award event.

"We're proud to share this honor with our client RGA," said Bob Dunn, Principal of FOX. "A great project truly begins with a great owner, and RGA has been our visionary partner for the past 23 years."

The project's success was the result of a seamless collaboration between FOX, Gensler and Clayco, according to FOX. The three companies worked as one team throughout design and construction, with FOX designing the interiors and serving as RGA's consultant to international architectural firm Gensler on the core and shell design. Jay Longo was Project Designer and Clayco was the Design/Build Contractor.

The stunning 405,000-square-foot limestone, glass and steel facility in west St. Louis County is the largest local headquarters project in St. Louis, Missouri, built within the last 20 years.

Situated on a 17-acre site, the RGA complex is designed for future expansion and a smooth workforce transition from baby boomers to millennials. The interior design features flexible workspaces and an array of amenities that encourage teamwork and employee health while maintaining a focused work environment.

"Our goal was to help RGA ease the generational shift by designing a workplace that promotes focus work, collaboration and socialization," said Fox. "That's really the only way to foster person-to-person and generation-to-generation learning and knowledge transfer."

Two, five-story towers emerge from a two-story limestone base that replicates a Missouri Ozark bluff, reflecting RGA's international company's global reach and broad base of local Midwest knowledge. With only a few offices along the exterior walls, every level offers panoramic vistas. The towers are linked by an atrium lobby and a 55,000-square-foot amenities bar, which features training facilities a fitness center, a café, barista and kitchen, and a cafeteria that converts to a 700-seat auditorium.

With WiFi access to high-speed Internet, employees can call impromptu group meetings, carry their laptops to public areas for more space, and use flexible workstations when they need quiet or privacy.

FOX designed the space to daylight, opening up the lobby floor to flood the lower-level cafeteria with natural light. FOX also used daylight harvesting to conserve energy. Photocells on light fixtures near the windows link to the building automation system, adjusting window shades and lighting on workstations to save a projected 20 percent in lighting energy costs alone. The building's solar orientation also is projected to generate 10 percent in energy savings.