CLIENT: AMPIRICAL | LOCATION: COVINGTON, LA

Mark Stephens, PE
*Executive Vice President of Engineering, Retired*
***Ampirical Solutions, LLC***

“The reality is, we spend the most hours of our day at our workplace. My goal was to create a space where our employees wanted to be. We went with a modern industrial style with brick, concrete and steel as a reflection of the kind of work we do. We design and build things, and we wanted to bring in some aspects of that, as well as aspects of the core values of our company, so we can expand everyone’s understanding of the company and what we do. For me it goes back to treating people like you want to be treated, trying to promote a good work-life balance and showing respect for people. If you build a staff based on that, the staff will do everything to make your company a success. For us, that has been a big key. It was one of my goals to create a great place to work. But it’s about the people. The company is nothing without the people.”

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Ampirical's growth created a good problem to have. After expanding to more than 200 employees, the full-service electrical transmission and distribution company had outgrown the workplace options available to it in St. Tammany Parish. With no single existing building large enough to house the entire organization, employees were spread among multiple locations, making collaboration and communication more difficult as the company continued to grow.

The new headquarters offered an opportunity to bring the company back together under one roof while creating a workplace that better represented who Ampirical had become. Greenleaf designed a three-story, 77,000-square-foot corporate headquarters that supports the company's immediate space needs while providing room for continued growth, training, collaboration, recruiting, and workforce development.

Because Ampirical designs and builds complex electrical infrastructure, the architecture draws directly from the company's engineering and construction identity. Brick, concrete, steel, glass, and exposed industrial elements establish the material language of the building. The exterior combines those materials across a large three-story footprint to create a headquarters that is clearly tied to the company and the work it performs.

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Inside, the workplace brings together employees and departments that had previously been divided among multiple locations. Open work areas, private offices, conference and meeting rooms, training spaces, collaborative environments, and larger gathering areas are organized within a single connected workplace. Floor-to-ceiling glazing brings natural light into the interior and creates visual connections between spaces and teams.

Training and meeting environments were significant components of the program. As Ampirical continued to expand, the company needed spaces capable of supporting both its existing workforce and the development of future employees. The headquarters therefore functions not only as office space, but as a central location for company-wide collaboration, training, recruiting, and internal events. The approximately $20 million headquarters consolidated more than 200 employees into one facility and gave Ampirical a workplace designed around the scale and operational needs of its growing organization.