Harris Corporation

The Harris Corporation’s new manufacturing facility is located on their 40-acre campus in northwest San Antonio. This 133,000 sq. ft. is an addition to its existing 50,000 sq. ft. plant which was built in the 1970s. The design addresses three owner-mandated challenges: flexibility to allow for downsizing; carefully situating the building amid a strand of magnificent oak trees; and, circulation and security controls. The addition is connected to the existing facility via spanning a dry creek bed containing natural boulders excavated on site.

The manufacturing floor, due to its strict lighting and environmental requirements was placed in the middle of the building with the programmed areas around its perimeter sides. These include engineering labs, open office areas, shipping, receiving and conference facilities. The main east west corridor contains three large break out areas for informal meetings that literally wrap around three sides of an existing grove of trees to form a courtyard. The architecture of these public areas has an exuberance through the use of tall spaces and glass walls that bring the outside in. The structure is primarily tilt wall construction and light weight steel framing.