North American Crop Protection Headquarters

Syngenta's aging research and development campus with a maze of small, dark labs will be transformed for the long-term success of this Greensboro, N.C. company specializing in agricultural research. The campus originally was built in the 1960s and 1970s as the company’s largest North American headquarters with 800+ employees. It is in dire need of modernization to accommodate new technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence, as well as safety and efficiency upgrades.

Critical to the design vision is customer engagement. Open entry spaces will bring light into the workplace and R&D spaces, and visual connections will be made between the lab and office functions, where the two coexist. A customer experience center will facilitate tours and collaboration with product users and partner companies as well as provide education opportunities for community visitors. The new spaces also will encourage collaboration and a more efficient sharing of critical lab equipment among researchers.

The science and technology team is engaging a large group of stakeholders as part of the design process. A desired outcome is the ability to attract and retain talented researchers. One stakeholder told the team, “If you design for me, you have failed. You must design for the future.”