Wall Street Capitol Corporate Offices

Charlotte, NC

As a national network for one-stop financial shopping, Wall Street Capitol provides a
full range of capital investment services to high-net worth clients, predominately in
the high-tech arena. With clean architectural lines, the interior bespeaks Old World investing. The client desired a dramatic image for the grand reception area and boardroom. Creating an exciting design that would maximize the amount of natural day light into each office and the inner public spaces was a high priority. To accomplish this in the main lobby, a freestanding wood feature was designed to separate the lobby from the boardroom beyond. The feature wall is set on axis to a dramatic 25-foot palatial exterior window wall. Recessed within this feature wall is a 350-gallon salt-water aquarium open to each room. Glass panels surround the feature wall and penetrate the vaulted ceiling above to allow both visual access and acoustical control. To carry the water load of the aquarium, the structural slab below was heavily reinforced. Architectural wood panels were clipped to a structural steel cage that supported both the weights of the aquarium and the butt-glazed glass panels above.