Downtown Tulsa, Okla., is home to some of the most brilliant examples of Art Deco architecture in the nation, yet, at the same time, it includes abandoned box buildings and unkempt parking lots. This quickly is changing, as small, local businesses are popping up like fresh wildflowers and transforming the “vibe” of Downtown Tulsa into a creative, business-friendly and arts-focused hub.
Tulsa-based IT business Jackson Technical is experiencing major growth. Owners Tim and Ashley Jackson wanted to compound their expansion as a company with the community’s exciting growth. Together with The McIntosh Group and engineering consultants, they started looking for ways to make Jackson Technical’s new building reflect its unique business services and culture.
“We are thrilled to experience continued growth in such a competitive industry,” says Tim Jackson. “This new headquarters signifies our commitment to maintain a superior level of customer service to our existing and future clients. We are excited to see what the technology and computer industry future holds as we expand into this exciting new venture.”
On the fast track
Founded in 1999, Jackson Technical is a team of Tulsa computer experts providing small businesses with solutions for all their computer and communication support needs. It has been listed in “Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America” in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and has been included in the Tulsa Business Journal’s “Tulsa’s Fast 40” growing businesses the last four years.
Jackson Technical’s new building design rendering by The McIntosh Group
The Jacksons have a very specific vision about the culture and the growth of their company. Just like Tulsa itself, Jackson Technical is a unique place. The built environment should reflect that.
The McIntosh Group design team, including Lanny McIntosh, AIA – Principal and Architect of Record, Ted Reeds, AIA – Project Manager, Jesse Husmann, AIA – Design Team, and Benjie Morillo, Assoc. AIA – Design Team, used inspiration from the simple, yet flexible server rack as the basis of the building design.
The server rack is a product that Jackson Technical works with every day and provides a firm structure, yet allows each piece inside to be treated individually and to evolve with time. The building design is meant to reflect technology and the work going on inside the building.
One could also draw a metaphor from the design, that it reflects the corporate culture of Jackson Technical. The company is very “non-hierarchical.”
The Jacksons believe in allowing their trusted and skilled employees a great deal of individual freedom. Jackson Technical provides a basic structure of principles and then allows them to manage their clients in their own personal manner, similar to the basic server rack structure.
Perhaps Ted Reeds, Senior Associate and Project Manager at The McIntosh Group, summed it up best: “When we started putting this design together with Tim – literally drawn on a beverage napkin over an after-work meeting – we knew this would provide a thoughtful and elegant composition for the overall building, and give Jackson Technical a memorable identity in Downtown Tulsa.”
This article was originally published in Commercial Transformations, a McIntosh Group publication in Commercial Construction & Renovation magazine. View the original publication: Commercial Transformations Issue 3: The Silver Tsunami : How aging boomers are changing how we think and build.