Work

Jim Moran Building

Tallahassee, Florida

The Jim Moran Building is both a downtown extension of Florida State University and an urban hub for connecting students and entrepreneurs with professionals, business mentors, university faculty, and various resources. The 20,000 gsf facility provides a focal point for the legacy of Jim Moran, a forward-thinking automotive pioneer, whose story of success is woven throughout the facility with one goal in mind: inspiring future generations of entrepreneurs. The building brings two groups together: the Jim Moran Institute and the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, which is the nation’s first stand-alone entrepreneurship college at a public university.

Owner
Florida State University

Cost
$8.2 million

Size
20,000 SF

Completion
2018

At the outset of the project, ALW collaborated with the various stakeholders to identify project goals. The building needed to be a place of connection between students, entrepreneurs, faculty, and their associated resources. It needed to be a place that promoted creativity and facilitated the exchange of ideas. To accomplish these and other objectives, it was decided that the building itself should be a place of inspiration.

This inspirational environment was achieved not only through open space planning and the generous use of glazing to foster transparency, but also through story telling devices, such as expansive wall graphics that tell the inspiring story of Jim Moran, the building’s namesake.

– AIA Florida Jury Comment

The pitch room, located on the second floor, looks out onto the urban landscape along the city's main street providing a constant energy and sense of activity as concepts and ideas are pitched to faculty, students, and professional gurus.

Inspirational quotes from Jim Moran are sprinkled along every available wall and glass surface throughout the interior spaces.

The Incubator was programmed to nurture and accommodate the dynamic process of business enterprise development. By offering a comfortable space to collaborate and access resources and equipment, the space provides the support that is critical for new businesses to start on the right foot and thrive.

A continuous wall graphic depicting the timeline of major entrepreneurial milestones in Jim Moran’s life wraps the interior of the west stair, from the first floor through the third floor. The red backdrop was chosen for its significance with the Sinclair Gas Station that he first owned, as well as Mr. Moran’s pivotal role in bringing Toyota to the United States.

A view looking east through the catering kitchen and lounge shows how the floor to floor glass curtain walls at the east and west facades provide expansive views over the surrounding tree tops and urban fabric.

Space in the Jim Moran Building provides areas for a start-up incubator, a pitch room, faculty offices, a building event space, building entry gallery, program rooms, and a flexible catering kitchen and lounge space. The Institute and the College host numerous events, symposia, and meetings which are frequently catered, and space is provided for final food preparation, serving and requisite clean-up. During other times, the kitchen and lounge space support the needs of the students, faculty, and visitors in a more casual manner.