HGA Designs AAA’s New Regional Headquarters - Looks to the Open Road
Multidisciplinary design firm HGA recently completed the new regional headquarters for the American Automobile Association (AAA) in Walnut Creek, California. Serving Northern California, Nevada, and Utah, one of AAA’s goals with the design was to create a more efficient layout for the 50,000-square-foot building, as well as a fresh identity that would attract younger clientele and employees while retaining current ones.
American Road Trip
Tapping into AAA’s identity, HGA incorporated the theme of “American road trip” into the design, including commissioned photography featuring the unique environments of Northern California, Nevada, and Utah as well as headlamp light fixtures and meeting nooks inspired by 1970’s rest stops.
Flexible Design
Because AAA has a high retention rate with employees frequently transferring between departments, the design of the new headquarters needed to keep workstations the same while offering flexibility for each individual.
Additionally, both closed- and open-meeting spaces of varying sizes were included in HGA’s design to allow collaborative environments to be available depending on the project and scope of work.
Employee Engagement
Throughout the design process, HGA engaged the entire AAA staff, allowing employees to vote on the color palette for the new space and pick a selection of the standard workstations. This move allowed employees to have an investment in the space and to feel as if their needs were met.
About the Author
Kadie Yale
Former Editor-in-Chief
Kadie Yale holds a BA in Industrial Design from San Francisco State University and a MA in Decorative Art History and Theory from Parsons the New School. In her role as editor-in-chief from 2015-2018, she led the interiors+sources team in creating relevant content that touches on sustainability, universal design, science, and the role of design in society.