Gateway Plaza

This state-of-the-art office building is a powerful addition to the Richmond skyline and includes 350,000-square-feet of premier office space.
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Developed by CRG, this elegant, state-of-the-art office building is a powerful addition to the Richmond skyline and includes 350,000-square-feet of premier office space. The 18-story tower includes a five-story, 509-car parking garage and is clad in 155,000-square-feet of high-performance glass curtainwall with both butt-glazed facades and expressed aluminum frames. Floor-to-ceiling vision glass offers spectacular views while allowing optimal day lighting throughout the interior.

CRG identified an odd-shaped plot across from the firm’s old building with commanding views of the downtown skyline, historic neighborhoods, and the James River. To make the lot practical, the team worked with city officials to close off a little-used section of the road. Efficient planning helped McGuireWoods get more use from fewer square feet, thus keeping costs about on par with the old building.

Three sides of Gateway Plaza incorporate expressed vertical mullion fins to provide shading from the sun and further enhance the many energy benefits of the building. This LEED-certified project was originally completed in 2015.

The tower is clad in a high-performance glass curtainwall system with both butt-glazed facades and expressed aluminum frames, installed by Clayco’s Ventana team. Floor-to-ceiling vision glass offers spectacular views while allowing optimal day lighting throughout the interior. Three sides of Gateway Plaza incorporate expressed vertical mullion fins to provide shading from the sun and further enhance the many energy benefits of the building.

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Riversong Mural

“Riversong” is an original painting renowned artists Robert Stackhouse and Carol Mickett were commissioned to do for the project.

Clayco teamed up with Mickett/Stackhouse Studios to design a massive mural of the James River rapids for the lobby of Gateway Plaza in Richmond, Virginia. Produced in the Munich, Germany studios of Franz Mayer, “Riversong” is an original painting renowned artists Robert Stackhouse and Carol Mickett were commissioned to do for the project. The mosaic was created in Munich, Germany, and shipped to Richmond in sections. The original artwork for the mosaic hangs in the McGuireWoods boardroom.

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Clear Passage Sculpture

The sculpture is a massive and functional glass-and-stainless steel sculpture titled “Clear Passage” that dominates a corner of the lobby and resembles sunlight shining into the lobby.

Clayco teamed up with Mickett/Stackhouse Studios to create a sculpture for the lobby of the Gateway Plaza office building in Richmond, Virginia. The sculpture is a massive and functional glass-and-stainless steel sculpture titled “Clear Passage” that dominates a corner of the lobby and resembles sunlight shining into the lobby. As an extension of the sculpture, there is another design element titled “Capitol Flow,” which consists of flowlines that run through the lobby, figuratively connecting the river to the Capitol.

“Robert and Carol were involved in the design from the very beginning,” said Robert Clark, CEO of Clayco Inc. “We didn’t build the building and then add the art.”

The river was an important design element from the beginning, Clark said. It is reflected not only in the artwork in the lobby but also in the skin for the garage — aluminum panels reminiscent of flowing water, he said.

“This is a unique building … museum quality with features you won’t see in a typical office building,” said Clark, noting a clear formed concrete ceiling on the first floor — “symbolic of McGuireWoods’ strength in the market.”