The Becton, Dickinson and Company Corporate Headquarters is a corporate campus in Franklin Lakes,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Built between 1986 and 1992, the buildings serve as the corporate and divisional headquarters of the Becton, Dickinson (BD) medical technology company. Designed by the architecture firm

Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Kallmann McKinnell & Wood is an architectural design firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1962 as Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles by Gerhard Kallmann (1915-2012), Michael McKinnell (1935–2020), and Edward Knowles. Histo ...

, the complex has won numerous awards for its unique modern design.

Structure

Located alongside

Route 208 The following highways are numbered 208: Canada * Nova Scotia Route 208 *Prince Edward Island Route 208 * Quebec Route 208 China * China National Highway 208 Japan * Japan National Route 208 United States * Alabama State Route 208 * Californ ...

, the campus consists of four buildings, the corporate headquarters constructed during phase one, the divisional headquarters including research laboratories constructed during phase two, and two partially concealed parking garages which contain 1,500 parking spaces for the company's employees. In planning the building, Becton indicated that it wanted a campus in the style of a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

and not in the dominant institutional style of other suburban office buildings of the era. The architects of Kallmann McKinnell & Wood designed the buildings around several atria with office space radiating to the sides of the finger-like structures to meet this goal. The parking garages were designed to blend into the surrounding area while still being visible, a technique inspired from

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

. The corporate headquarters building is three stories tall and consists primarily of offices and communal meeting areas. It totals . The first floor exterior is done in stone with windows in the shape of

french door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...

s. The second floor uses the same stone exterior with square windows in limestone settings. The third floor is faced entirely in glass divided into squares with metal

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s. The divisional headquarters building is laid out in the same style with three finger-like wings connected by a traverse concourse. It totals . Each wing contains an atrium that is surrounded by either laboratory facilities in the two longer wings or a cafeteria and classrooms in the shorter wing. The exterior is done using the same materials at the corporate headquarters building, namely a honey colored brick and granite base, the limestone on the second level, and a copper overhanging roof that provides shades to the lower levels. The sculptures present throughout the buildings and the surrounding garden terraces were designed by Michael Singer as part of a comprehensive site plan that saw the large open spaces on the campus designed by Morgan Wheelock and the smaller connecting spaces laid out by

Richard Fleischner Richard Fleischner is a Providence, RI–based environmental artist. Born in New York in 1944, he received a BFA and MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and ...

Awards

*1998

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

Honor Award for Architecture *1994

Boston Society of Architects One of the oldest and largest chapters of the AIA, the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) is a nonprofit membership organization committed to architecture, design and the built environment. History On June 20, 1867, approximately 50 architects co ...

Honor Award for Interior Architecture *1993 Boston Society of Architects Honor Award for Architecture *1991 BSA/Artist Collaboration Award *1990 AIA Honor Award for Architecture *1990 BSA Honor Award for Architecture *1989 Honor Award, NJ/

American Society of Landscape Architects The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...

*1988 BSA Export Award, Highest Honor *1988 Excellence in Architecture Award, New England Regional Council *1986 Bridge Award, Steel Construction Prize, American Institute of Steel

References

{{Reflist BD (company) Buildings and structures in Bergen County, New Jersey Franklin Lakes, New Jersey Office buildings completed in 1986 Office buildings completed in 1992 Headquarters in the United States 1986 establishments in New Jersey 1992 establishments in New Jersey Postmodern architecture in the United States Office buildings in New Jersey