No, it’s not a shopping bag, but a building in the American Ohio. Designed by the Longaberger Company and executed by NBBJ and Korda Nemeth Engineering, this is a seven-story building that is sprawled over an area of 180,000-square-foot. It is actually the Longaberger company’s headquarter. As the company is specialized in making in making handcrafted maple wood baskets and other home and lifestyle products, they decided to give their company’s building a look of a basket.
Dave Longaberger, founder of the company was extremely visionary who not only understood the demand for hand-woven baskets but also pondered a plan to run his flourishing organization from inside of one. When he announced his plan, most of his employees were not serious because they believed that a giant house-sized woven basket in Dresden -the old corporate headquarters for the Longaberger Company- pushed the absolute physical limits of basket-building science.
The epitome of novelty architecture, this building is almost 160 times bigger than the shape of the company’s largest seller, the “Medium Market Basket.” The length and width of the basket are 192 feet and 126 feet, respectively. In 1997, the construction work of this largest basket was finished. It is said that it weighs almost 150 tons and has two heated handles to prevent ice damage. Around $30 million were spent in its construction.
This building was purchased by Steve Coon and his partner Bobby George in December 2017. It was again put up for sale in November 2018.
Cherry woodwork has been used in the construction of this Home Office, which was harvested from Longaberger Golf Club in Hanover and the dried, sawed and shaped in one mill. It provides space for more than 500 employees and its 84 windows allow unobstructed natural light pouring in. The windows also ensure that a very little electricity needs to be used during the daytime.
The creative genius is not only highly appealing to the eyes but also makes us think more about the wonders natural materials can bring to architecture. Kudos to the sustainable thinking!