Design-Build Team of Larson-Danielson Construction and Facet Architecture Brings New York Blower’s Vision to Life

On Tuesday, October 21, New York Blower Company had its grand opening celebration for its substantial new building and park, designed and built by the team of Facet Architecture and Larson-Danielson Construction, at its location at 171 Factory St. in La Porte. After having staff split between multiple buildings, one of the major draws for the new construction was to bring its staff together, as its efficiency and culture rely upon collaboration among various departments.

“The building is there, first and foremost, to put all of our office staff together in one place,” said New York Blower President & CEO Tim O’Hare. “We’re not a work-from-home company. You can’t weld from home. Maybe you can design something from home, but you really can’t do that properly unless you’ve gotten your hands on equipment in the factory. Not only are we a work-from-the-office kind of place, but we also really depend on our culture having a lot of collaboration. You can’t do that when that means running across the street or running over the lab for some engineering people.”

While the company is headquartered in Chicago and has manufacturing across several states, La Porte is New York Blower’s true home. O’Hare wanted to thank the City of La Porte for the support it has offered over the last 108 years and decided to showcase that through digging deeper roots in the city with this new development.

“Over the years, we have manufactured in five other states, but there’s no question in our minds that our home is here in La Porte, and there’s no better way to show that than by putting a shovel down and producing something that demonstrates that we’re staying here,” O’Hare said. “It’s no small thing to have a privately owned company, which was essentially owned by the same family that formed it 136 years ago. All of this honors the Mathis family and those who built this business for the last 136 years.”

This new building and park will serve as a legacy to the founders, shareholders, current employees, and all the individuals who have built this into what it is today. This legacy is echoed in the details found throughout the building and the park alike, including its 25-year pavilion, which honors those who have been with the company for 25 years.

“We wanted people to understand what the company does when they go into the building. When the New York Blowers have a featured presentation here, visitors can see that their impact is everywhere,” said Robin Witte, lead architect at Facet Architecture. “If you look at the park from above, it’s in the shape of a blower, so even Google Maps is able to tell what they do here. It is the same inside. We had ideas for the railing that would feature some elements of the blowers as well. We actually have blowers that are part of light fixtures, so they are all over the place. The fountain has blowers, too. Those little details just bring it home.”

Creating a space that would allow the New York Blower staff to all work in the same space, make a statement about its loyalty to La Porte, and honor those who have poured into the company over the years was no small feat. Fortunately, with New York Blower’s long-standing connection to Larson-Danielson Construction, New York Blower Vice President of Finance Tim Daniels knew he could rely on Larson-Danielson to deliver on this special project.

“Larson-Danielson has been a long-term partner, so when we approached them to do this, they pulled the 1977 plans and the 1996 edition. We’ve worked with them for many years,” Daniels said. “Larson-Danielson—along with Facet Architecture, which serves as their design firm—have been great partners and have been our rock through all of this. It’s been a lot of fun working with both teams.”

For more information about Larson-Danielson Construction, visit ldconstruction.com.