C.D. Smith was awarded as Construction Manager for the Grande Cheese Home Office and Research Center. Centrally located on a 40-acre site in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the office is LEED Gold Certified as proof to Grande’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.
Responding to the call to develop a relationship with the local landscape, the office layout is based on a barn from a typical Wisconsin dairy farm, where four walls, made of stone at the base and wood at the higher regions, envelop a central courtyard. Throughout the Grande facility, lower walls made of stone from the region symbolize heritage and tradition, while upper walls include wood elements that cantilever outward and signify innovation extending into the world at large.
Employees enjoy a collaborative, interactive and modern workspace that achieve daylight and outdoor view requirements, while visitors can experience the art of cheese making through the research laboratory and test kitchen.