Reynolds Metals Company International Headquarters

The headquarters complex is set on a 121-acre (49 ha) site outside of Richmond, once a horse farm, that is now surrounded by suburban development. The Donovan Farm, also known as the "Horse Pen", gave its name to nearby Horsepen Road. The original site comprised the General Office Building (now the Executive Office Building), its podium, a service building and a greenhouse, as well as screened parking areas, formal gardens and a reflecting pool.[4]

The principal element of the Reynolds headquarters complex is the Executive Office Building. Intended as a showcase for the products of the Reynolds Metals Company, the Executive Office Building incorporated aluminum, the company's principal product, wherever possible, principally in the building's exterior cladding, but even in interior furnishings and finishes, where carpets and draperies incorporated aluminum fibers.[4]

The three story building rests on an elevated podium. The lowest level appears as an open loggia with slender aluminum-clad columns. Windows span from slab to slab at all three levels, more deeply inset at the first level to reveal the columns. An interior courtyard illuminates interior spaces. Deep fixed overhangs on the south shade the windows from the sun, and are matched by non-functional overhangs on the north side. The east and west elevations feature bright blue adjustable aluminum louvers for sun control. The louvers are motorized to provide daylighting without direct glare.[4]