The building’s massing includes two distinct vertical elements. The larger form features open floor plates for users with several large windows facing the park across the street at the front and downtown to the northeast. A slightly smaller elevation that faces the alley is composed of a rhythmic series of vertical windows and houses the main entry and essentials such as elevators, stairs, restrooms, and mechanical closets.

The exterior is clad in tightly spaced, charcoal-hued, corrugated metal panels that cascade vertically from roof to foundation. Windows are large, operable, and framed with a combination of flat, metal, and angled wood panels. The combination of materials creates a restrained rhythm on the building’s façade.

The interior of the building features open floor plates accented with warm wood and minimal drywall to intentionally expose the structure. “The goal was to keep the interiors warm, flexible, and inviting, and to allow materials to remain as natural as possible,” said GGLO Interior Design Principal Kimberly Frank. “This is in keeping with several of our key design principles, including doing fewer things better, reducing our carbon footprint, and supporting employee wellness and equity.” Exposed wood ceiling joists on each level enhance the open feeling of the space and provide warmth and natural texture that can also be seen from the street.

“GGLO has been working in Boise for almost 20 years and we ‘planted the flag’ in leased space here in 2019,” said GGLO Landscape Architecture Principal Mark Sindell. “Now, we have situated ourselves in a space we created—utilizing our integrated design capabilities that express our collective design philosophy and our commitment to the Treasure Valley. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.”

Sited at Fifth and Grove in the Old Boise neighborhood east of downtown, the modern building includes three floors that feature 2,245 usable square feet of office space with open floor plates and complementary landscaping. “This was an exciting opportunity to create an elegantly proportioned structure that responds to the rhythms and proportions of the downtown fabric,” said design architect Sean Canady. “Our architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design teams worked in harmony to optimize the use of a constrained urban site and establish visual connections between inside and outside. We selected honest, quality materials and details—implementing them in a simple, well-crafted way that respects both human scale and urban integration.”

In GGLO’s own offices, furniture solutions—chosen with an eye toward support for environmental sustainability—provide open space for individual work and collaboration opportunities, as well as glass-enclosed conference rooms for private meetings with clients and teams. “Recognizing that hybrid work is here to stay, we’ve designed the space to focus on flexibility and provide multiple opportunities for collaboration,” said Frank. “So far, we are finding that our staff enjoying working in the new space and are opting to be here when they can.”

The landscape at the Fifth and Grove office naturally infiltrates stormwater and the selected plantings intentionally acknowledge their surroundings. The building’s green roof is planted with Idaho Siskiyou Blue Fescue—allowing folks in the neighboring building a view that nods to the Boise foothills beyond. Planters along the alley include resilient Golden Sedges for drama and contrast with the dark building siding, while raised planters around the building are populated with Equisetum—drawing inspiration from the sedges and rushes along the Boise River.