Designed by the Los Angeles office of Nadel Architects, the SAMS facility is a low-rise office campus housing 2,200 employees. Each building is designed as a "safe and secure facility" that conforms to the latest Department of Defense requirements for blast resistance in a post-9/11 world, according to David Jacobson, SVP of Nadel Architects.
The office buildings feature raised floors with air distribution under the floors, a design that provides greater flexibility for rearranging offices or installing new technology, as well as higher energy efficiency and indoor air quality. The project also includes a 17,000-sf child development center.
The new SAMS complex is "as far as you can get from your typical military facility," observes R. Michael Walden, SVP and director of design with Nadel Architects. Although each building interior layout is fairly conventional, the space itself "is as creative as any space we've done for our entertainment industry clients" with its exposed ceilings, angular glass walls and steel diagonal braces, Walden explains.
The new facility was the result of a land swap with the United States Air Force. The development team received three vacated Air Force base sites totaling nearly 60 acres in exchange for the design and construction of a new complex for SAMS.
The Space and Missile Systems center is considered the premier site for research, development, acquisition and in-orbit testing of military space and missile systems. The sites that were deeded to the Kearny-led team have since been entitled and are being developed for housing.
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