Two local companies – Gray Design Group and CB+E Construction – have done what many thought was impossible: they dramatically transformed a garage into a cutting edge corporate office and they did it without spending a lot of money.

The existing building was a plain, concrete block building. It was designed as a low cost vehicle emissions testing building, – essentially a garage with two drive-through bays with a small attached office and waiting area. Once Missouri ended its vehicle emissions testing program, no one could figure out how to reuse it. No one, that is, until CB+E Construction Group.

According to Gus Cervetto, principal of the CB+E Construction Group, most people wanted to tear the building down and start anew, but CB+E rejected that on the basis of how damaging that would be to the environment. ‘We are very big believers in sustainable construction – we did the very first green building project in Missouri years ago – and we knew that the energy we would use in knocking the building down would be too great. The problem we were struggling with was what we could do with it that wouldn’t end up looking like a gas station.’

CB+E wanted a headquarters building of their own; something cutting-edge that would make a dramatic statement and define their corporate image. In the end, they concluded that the plain block emissions testing building had the potential. The way in which they accomplished the transformation has become a case study for one of the prime materials used, Reflectit by Dryvit.

‘Since CB+E wanted to use it as a corporate office building, the building needed to convey an image of quality and sophistication. We also wanted to make it appear bigger from the street. We came up with the idea of the curvilinear facade, what Gus calls a ’swoosh wall’, which really catches the eye and give is a frontage elevation about three times larger than the original,’ said Gray principal, Larry Milles.

Curved elements are more complicated than straight line elements, ‘but we were very budget conscious,’ Milles said. ‘We considered stone panels or metal panels, but they were too expensive. We ended up using Reflectit, which is a metallic coating. If you didn’t know, you might think there were metal panels on the wall. Using Reflectit, he said, ‘is an affordable way to upgrade the facade of a building. This is what everyone is looking for – how to recycle, how to create value in affordable way, and still have a little flair and cutting-edge. This is a high-tech look that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.’

Milles said the CB+E building was the first time his firm had used Reflectit and he thinks it is the first time the finish has been used in St. Louis.