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Mile High Trendy Office: Astroscale Headquarters  (PHOTOS)

Pinkard Construction and Neoera Architecture recently completed the design and construction of Astroscale’s new U.S. headquarters in Denver. Astroscale U.S. Inc, a subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc., is the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits.

The newly renovated office at 2201 S Delaware St., offers 13,500 square feet of space and includes a state-of-the-art lab and operations center. The 100-year-old building was recently renovated to fit Astroscale’s needs and features custom space-themed murals on the outside and interior. 

Pinkard worked closely with Neoera to complete the project with particular attention to unique architectural details and finishes, including elements inspired by traditional Japanese and science fiction interiors.   

“This project was very unique, and I am excited that we got to build such a beautiful space for Astroscale to put its best foot forward in the U.S. market,” said Jim Pagano, construction manager for Pinkard Construction. “We do a lot of these complex renovations and can work with architects to execute the design intent with a keen eye on the budget.”

According to Emily Adams, founder + design director of Neoera, Inc., Astroscale wanted a new kind of aerospace office: one that was creative and unexpected, yet rooted in history. “They did not want a sleek, sterile environment; they wanted an office space that was flexible, friendly and inspiring.”

Design

Astroscale selected a 1910 masonry and heavy timber building in which to house its headquarters. During a visioning exercise to uncover company values and culture, Neoera discovered a cultural sense of richness it wanted to showcase in the new headquarters. “We discovered that the architecture of Astroscale’s global HQ is a highly Westernized space — materials, spatial qualities and functions are very similar to many offices within the United States. In our design, we wanted to reference Astroscale’s Japanese roots and anchor the office with a central, reconfigurable, community-oriented space by using modern Soji Screens that slide and pivot to create various vignettes,” says Adams.

To this end, Neoera worked with Denver-based engineers and fabricators, Anchor Engineering and RAW Creative, to create 8’-0” wide sliding and pivoting steel and polycarbonate screens to enclose the central space, creating a variety of meeting areas for employees, scientists, visionaries, governmental agencies and industry partners. Surrounding this Soji area is a large kitchen, an intimate library with built-in bookshelves and a ladder, a board room to accommodate large private meetings, and an operations room where customers can see Astroscale employees controlling satellites in space in real time.

For the employee work areas that flank the central bay, Neoera collaborated with Interior Environments to create private offices enclosed by demountable partitions. Neoera also worked with Teammates to provide 120-degree sit-stand desks for the open office areas. Conference rooms and small, “deep work” focus rooms were created to offer employees respite from the open office areas.

One of the highlights of the space — accessible by stair and platform lift, with whimsical Star Trek graphics that read, “Beam me up Scotty” — is a treasured cocktail bar and lounge. To honor the dueling “Trekkie” and “Star Wars” fans, the cocktail bar is themed as Star Trek, complete with a floating and blue-lit bar (fabricated by Fin Art). The adjacent cocktail lounge is themed Star Wars, with dusty gold and cinnamon-colored lounge furniture. Transitioning between the two spaces is a sunken dining area, which pays homage to the Japanese zashiki-style dining experience by seating guests on the floor level and sinking the legs below.  

During the grand opening celebration, Astroscale U.S. President and Managing Director Ron Lopez remarked, “Astroscale U.S. has a deep commitment to securing the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, and to serving the U.S. government and commercial customers in that commitment This outstanding new facility will serve as the place where our employees, customers, and partners can collaborate and create to deliver on that commitment.” 

Astroscale U.S. began operations in 2019, selecting Denver as its base of operations to leverage the region’s robust and vibrant aerospace industry and community. Astroscale U.S. employs 60 full-time employees located in Denver and Washington, D.C. 

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