By KERRY SMITH, EDITOR, ST. LOUIS CONSTRUCTION NEWS AND REVIEW MAGAZINE
St. Louis-based Remiger Design and St. Peters-based Blanton Construction have paired on a creative, tech-forward renovation of the fourth floor of T-REX’s hub in the historic Lammert Building at 911 Washington Avenue.
Remiger Design began work in July 2018 on the 16,000-square-foot space, which features open spaces including labs, collaborative areas and small offices. “The three suites are designed to be an incubator space that connects St. Louis’ geospatial technology community,” said Lindsey Buening, design and project manager at Remiger. “T-REX is located only 1.5 miles from the future Next NGA West headquarters in North St. Louis. This new space will augment that facility, positioning St. Louis as a global hub for geospatial and location intelligence. The confluence of education, flex space and co-working suites all work to support T-REX’s project mission to create a continuous pipeline of geospatial talent here in St. Louis.”
Blanton Construction began construction of the space in July 2019 and completed it in January.
When the elevator doors open, the first thing visitors will see is the St. Louis riverfront-inspired topographical map on the floor. The signature floor is a pearl-grey base of poured epoxy overlaid with an expansive vinyl graphic and finished with a protective clear coat. Blanton Construction Senior Project Manager David Sampl said the specialty flooring demanded a nine-step process.
“The completely wood-framed building is more than 120 years old and features floors with rises and dips in them,” Sampl said. “Maintaining the historic look of the building by sandblasting ceilings and wooden column beams, while also bringing in a contemporary feel in the generous use of high-tech glass and interactive A/V walls, was a challenge.”
Bazan Painting assisted Blanton Construction, as did Lloyd Brothers Woodworking, the latter of which custom fabricated three pieces in the space’s resource center.
A few years ago, Blanton Construction performed work for T-REX on the sixth floor of the Lammert Building. This was Remiger Design’s first project for the nonprofit organization that serves as a downtown St. Louis-based incubator for tech startups.
Occupants are expected to move in during March.