Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The new Fourth Ward Office Project by Olson Kundig, HKS Architects, and Future Green Studio s a significant mixed-use development located along Atlanta’s BeltLine Eastside Trail that embodies bold, forward-thinking design while paying homage to the site’s rich history.
The dual towers create two portals: one framing downtown Atlanta, symbolic of the city’s future, while the second connects the complex to nearby Historic Fourth Ward Park and the neighborhood’s storied past.
In recognition of its architectural excellence, the Fourth Ward Office Project received a 2024 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Built on a former Georgia Power site, the transformative mixed-use buildings deliver 1 million square feet of modern, Class A office space and ground-level retail to an in-demand, revitalized area of the city.
Using intentional design corridors—such as the expansive, architectural Appalachian Steps connecting the property’s upper and lower levels—the buildings also create an inviting, urban conduit between three key neighborhood gathering spaces: a newly designed, retail-facing central public plaza; Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, a popular pedestrian thoroughfare; and the freshly renovated greenspaces, skate park, and amphitheater of Historic Fourth Ward Park.
Targeting LEED Gold, the buildings embrace performance-minded sustainability as a core driver.
An innovative façade of targeted louvers moderate harsh solar light exposure and equalize temperatures across east- and west-facing office spaces, creating equitably comfortable workspaces and a reduction in heating and cooling loads.
To mitigate flooding risk, the towers reduce stormwater runoff by sourcing groundwater to run internal cooling systems and, in anticipation of environmentally friendly transit to come, incorporate a light rail depot nearby.
Lobbies in each tower—featuring flexible seating, custom reception desks, and bold lighting that acts as a lantern to the surrounding district—draw inspiration from Georgia’s landscape.
Tower One’s interior color scheme embraces reds and browns in homage to the state’s signature red clay, while Tower Two highlights blues in celebration of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north.
Innovative retail spaces line pedestrian zones to draw in passers-by, including a planned restaurant space anchored by a 60-foot-long, 15-foot-tall moving wall that can be cranked entirely open by hand.
Integrated porch, perch, and bridge areas—each with shaded, dedicated seating—lend additional architectural interest to the buildings’ massing and encourage easy access to the outdoors.
There, tenants can take a brief pause in their workday to enjoy sight lines of a stunning nearby urban tree canopy, right in the heart of one of America’s largest cities.
Project: Fourth Ward Office Project
Architects: Olson Kundig
Lead Architects: Tom Kundig and Kristen Ring Murray
Associate Architects: HKS Architects, Inc.
Landscape Architects: Future Green Studio
Urban Planners: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
General Contractor: Brasfield & Gorrie
Client: New City Properties
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