A new neighborhood anchor

Among the first in a new wave of buildings that are transforming West Palm Beach into a major urban center—with an international airport and the SOM-designed Brightline station just a short drive away—One Flagler brings the standards of a high-end New York office building to this growing downtown. It sits prominently on a peninsula along South Flagler Drive, where the Beaux-Arts First Church of Christ, Scientist, has long served as a beacon for drivers and pedestrians arriving from the Royal Park Bridge. Built on land that sat largely underutilized for decades, One Flagler complements the historic building with a contemporary architectural landmark, while generating crucial funding for the preservation of the church.

Drawing from Floridian modernism

The design continues the rich legacy of modern architecture in South Florida. Featuring a trellis-like frame made of a burnished white concrete, the building rises in a series of intersecting volumes that are staggered in height, creating terraces at three levels. Planted loggias on the building’s lower levels mask the parking garage and create a green backdrop for the church. Precisely crafted facade details—gaps between the frame’s horizontal and vertical elements, as well as a dark metal trim around its deep-set windows—cast shadows and create textural definition. The building culminates in a crown of LED lighting, announcing its presence as a new icon in the city’s skyline.

Creating a high-end office experience

Taking cues from hospitality design, a porte cochere drop-off and a dramatic, two-story lobby clad in warm tones of walnut and limestone convey a welcoming entry. Car commuters can enter from the west, driving up to a valet-serviced parking garage. The offices offer a variety of floor plates—from larger, open workspaces on levels eight through 14, to mid-size floors from levels 15 to 19, and to boutique offices at the top.

Outdoor terraces create sweeping ocean views at each of the building’s three setbacks. Atop the podium, 19,000 square feet of lounge seating and event spaces serve all tenants, alongside a fitness center and large conference area inside. At levels 16 and 21, private outdoor terraces are framed within the concrete structure of the building. Each terrace is designed with lush, regional planting and seating that provide open-air, park-like workspaces in the city’s temperate climate.

Reimagining a public space

SOM reimagined the church lawn as a connective landscape, creating a new setting for flea markets, art shows, and other public events fronting Lakeview Avenue and South Flagler Drive. The design centers on an old banyan tree, surrounded by curved pathways that contrast the rectilinear forms of One Flagler and the church. Benches and planters frame views of the neoclassical colonnade, and on the northeast side of the site, a reflecting pool evokes the landscape of the original First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston—a detail that connects the West Palm Beach church with the institution’s architectural history. Within the pool, a series of eight parabolic sculptures designed by artist Fred Eversley evokes the church’s eight columns, establishing a “portal” into the site. Together, these elements establish a welcoming, softer counterpoint to the orthogonal buildings. 

Complementing the park, the first floors of One Flagler offer public amenities, with retail to the north, a restaurant to the east, and a new reading room for the church along the south—a larger and brighter space than the aging, one-story structure that had been occupied by the church.

Planning for sustainable growth

Calibrated to  Florida’s warm climate, One Flagler’s high-performance facade  shades deeply recessed windows from direct sunlight. Together with insulated glazing units, the design reduces the amount of thermal energy that can penetrate the interior while bringing natural light inside. The 285,000-square-foot, LEED Gold building uses energy-efficient mechanical systems, all housed well above the floodplain at the top floor, and a dedicated outdoor air system brings fresh air into all the interior spaces. Electric charging stations are available throughout the parking garage. Outside, bioswales retain stormwater, and the park, reflecting pool, and plant wall work in tandem to create a public amenity and enhance the biodiversity of the site, attracting more life into this growing part of the city.