Fender Guitar Building Showcases Classic Instruments in Scottsdale

Photo by by Shaun M. Kurry/Cornerstone Photography
The interior features space to display large sculptures made from guitars, classic Fender models and historical photography.

This unique 110,000-sq-ft tenant improvement of a Class-A building shell involved substantial demolition. Crews tried to reuse as much existing material, fixtures and finishes as possible in an effort to be sustainable and reduce the overall budget. The slate-floored, maple-paneled atrium was designed to display large sculptures made from guitars, classic Fender models and photography showing the history of the instruments. The second floor is connected by two bridges that run across the atrium space, fronted by conference rooms. A number of acoustically separated research labs and performance spaces were added, including a 10-ft by 10-ft, concrete-block "kaboom room" for testing amplifiers to the point of failure.

Key Players

Contractor: Layton Construction Co. Inc., Phoenix

Owner: Fender Musical Instruments Corp., Phoenix

Lead Design: Ware Malcomb, Scottsdale, Ariz.

MEP: Peterson Engineering, Phoenix

Subcontractors: Canyon State Electric Co., Tempe, Ariz.; Stealth Demolition, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Submitted by Layton Construction Co. Inc.