Design Challenge:
Mach Mold, owned by Bill and Vickie Mach, is a leading, cutting-edge, custom plastic mold manufacturer. Clients include major appliance manufacturers and automakers. The goal of this project was to combine a hi-tech administration and sales office environment and the manufacturing and assembly under one roof. A warm, welcoming and secure entry foyer was part of Mach Mold's program, as their former facility desperately lacked these attributes.

Design Program:
Visitors are welcomed into the two level foyer by staff and can be directed to the technical offices or the plant area. The plant area is about 24,000 s.f. of open space with light color epoxy coated flooring, employed for both the ease of maintenance and also for enhancement of the lighting in the plant. Machines are arranged around the plant supervisor's office and toilet facility to minimize the distance any employee has to travel. The building reflects clear, simple and logical circulation of the people, the machines and material. This simplicity clearly has enhanced the manufacturing process of Mach Mold. The structure of the building consists of pre-engineered steel, rigid frame building clad in exterior finish insulating system (e.f.i.s.) and tinted, insulated glass.

Design Solution:
Placing the main entrance is perhaps one of the most important steps during the design stages of the project, as it tends to control the layout of the building and other interior circulation. By having decided on the positioning of the main entry point correctly, the rest of the building seem to unfold naturally.

Client Response: