. Nissan Announces Tennessee Headquarters
Construction Details
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Nissan
North America, Inc. (NNA) announced construction details of its
future headquarters, which will be located in the Cool Springs area
of Franklin, Tenn. The headquarters, which will encompass approximately
450,000 square feet, represents a capital investment in excess of
$100 million.
"From this location,
Nissan expects to realize significant new operational synergies,"
said Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. President and Chief Executive Officer
Carlos Ghosn, who announced details of the headquarters alongside
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen at a celebration on the grounds
of the 50-acre Cool Springs site.
"Taking cross-functional
teamwork to a higher level will increase the efficiency
and effectiveness of all of Nissan's North American operations,
while offering employees more possibilities for personal
growth and career development," he added.
To help functional
groups work together, the new building will break down physical
barriers between groups and departments through features
such as large, alternating atriums with open stairways on
each of its nine main floors.
This design feature
will enable NNA employees to walk from floor to floor, while also
creating informal discussion zones for impromptu "stairway" meetings.
Each floor's open environment will also include informal meeting
areas.
Other building "tools,"
such as furnishings, equipment, the interior environment and amenities
that include as a fitness center, cafeteria and conference center,
are designed help its headquarters employees work comfortably and
more efficiently.
The building's inner structure,
developed in part through benchmarking some of the most successful North
American corporate headquarters, will be housed in an outer structure with
a fluid, S-shaped form. The headquarters also reflects a respect for the
environment, leaving the property's green spaces intact and taking an environment-minded
approach to light, heating and air conditioning in the building's interior.Gresham,
Smith and Partners, NNA's architectural/engineering firm, will design and
engineer the new North American headquarters, which is slated for completion
in mid-2008. Skanska Building USA Inc. will be responsible for pre-construction
services for the project.
Also at the ceremony, Nissan
announced that it will donate $200,000 to the newly established Math and
Science High School of Tennessee. The institution will be a public, residential,
competitive high school where students study a specialized curriculum built
around science and mathematics.
The new building announcement
coincides with the transition of Nissan's headquarters operations, which
will function in interim facilities at the Bell South Building in Nashville
until the new headquarters is complete. More than 42% of headquarters employees
and more than 45% of professional, managerial and executive employees have
chosen to relocate to the Nashville area as Nissan transitions out of its
Gardena, Calif., location this summer. Nissan to date has received 40,000
resumes, drawn from across the country and from diverse industries, for
the open headquarters positions. Almost 60% of total openings have been
filled.
