Fort James Corporation Office Building

Originally the James River Corporation built this structure as the flagship of its corporate campus in a parklike setting, wedged between the James River rapids and the canal bed at the foot of a steep cliff behind Hollywood Cemetery. In creating new office space on a challenging site, the architect designed a contemporary, highly contextual four-story building of 50,000 square feet directly on the site of an old city pumping station, which dated from 1832. Generous window openings and a series of balconies overlooking the rushing water make the experience from inside the building not unlike being aboard a riverboat.