Alfred Newman Beadle (1927-1998) was an important American modernist architect whose work has helped define the urban landscape in greater Phoenix, Arizona. One of his signature projects is a three-story office building at 500 E Thomas Road in Phoenix. Built in 1970, the structure affectionately known as “The Beadle Building” featured parking on the ground level, causing the main levels on the second and third stories to appear to be floating; floor-to-ceiling windows at the corners of the upper floors accentuated this effect and brought lightness to the otherwise stark modernist structure. Though considered a landmark within the architecture field, the building fell into disrepair over the ensuing 40+ years.

In 2021, real estate management firm Chamberlin + Company purchased the 21,000 square foot Beadle Building for its new headquarters, to both create a dynamic new workspace for its employees and to honor the importance of Al Beadle’s legacy in Arizona architecture. To realize Chamberlin + Company’s vision, Phoenix firm Kaiserworks completely reimagined the interior space while maintaining the original design and footprint of the exterior. Of particular note is the new flexible “metropolis” space that replaces the original ground level parking, providing opportunities for a range of activities and moments of interpersonal connection.

Studio Loutsis designed the visual identity for the new Beadle Building and also served as signage consultant. Our approach to the Beadle Building’s visual identity began with creating a custom logo, wordmark, and typography system derived directly from the bold, gridded façade of the building. We introduced a monospace typeface, Favorit Mono by ABC Dinamo, that echoed the cadence and repeated forms found in the architecture.The Favorit Mono font is built with slab serifs, which we expanded on by introducing horizontal letter lines throughout the visual identity system.