Merck Headquarters Building

The former Merck & Co. headquarters building is a modernist office building located in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township, New Jersey, United States.[4] It was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, LLC in the late 1980s for the Merck & Co. pharmaceutical company.[5] Over the years it became well known for its various environmentally friendly features.

Merck & Co., Inc. World Headquarters
Aerial view
General information
TypeCorporate headquarters
Architectural styleModernist
LocationWhitehouse Station in Readington, New Jersey, United States
Address1 Merck Drive, Lebanon, New Jersey
Coordinates40.640824°N 74.777627°W / 40.640824; -74.777627
Construction started1989
Completed1990
Inaugurated1992
OwnerUNICOM Science and Technology Park, Inc.
Technical details
Floor count3[1]
Floor area1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2), i.e. 900,000 sq ft (84,000 m2) of office space, 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) underground parking[2]
Design and construction
ArchitectKevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, LLC[1]
Civil engineerClarke & Rapuano[3]
Other designersEdmund Hollander and Maryanne Connelly[3]

On October 9, 2012, Merck & Co. announced that starting in 2014 it would move its headquarters to the Schering-Plough site (formerly belonging to Ciba, Ciba-Geigy and Novartis) in Summit, New Jersey, acquired in the November 2009 acquisition of Schering, and planned to close the Whitehouse Station headquarters building upon completion of the move in 2015. In October, 2013 Merck & Co. reversed course and said its headquarters would move to Kenilworth, New Jersey and that the 88-acre Summit campus would be sold after being vacated on Dec. 31, 2014.[6][7]

On July 12, 2018, UNICOM Global announced that their division UNICOM Corporation has signed an agreement with Merck & Co. to purchase the entire Merck property at Whitehouse Station, with the acquisition expected to close in October, 2018.[8] The completion of the acquisition was announced on October 1, 2018. The property will be renamed UNICOM Science and Technology Park (USTP).[9]

Building history

Constructed in 1990 as a home for the headquarters staff of Merck & Co., the building is most recognizable for its hexagon shape and its nature setting.[2][3] The main building was constructed with a 600-foot (180 m) wide clearing at its center, filled with old-growth trees saved during the construction phase.[3] Further, Merck & Co. placed the parking structure underground and created a temporary nursery on-site for the trees removed during construction, in order to make the facility a "corporate cottage in the woods".[3] The building was originally set on 460 acres (190 ha) of property and has since been expanded to a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) campus with auxiliary buildings.[1][10] The initial site plan foresaw the subsequent addition of two buildings to create a grid of three connected hexagons, however, after a change in management, it was indicated that further construction in the original style would not occur.[1][11] Instead a conventional office block was built adjacent to it known as "Whitehouse Station West".

In the center of the building there is a park with a small lawned sitting area containing a statue given by Merck Germany.

Prior to moving to this location, the Merck & Co. headquarters was located in Rahway, New Jersey. The Whitehouse Station campus is located on an old dairy farm and the surrounding area is known as a more suburban/rural setting than the area around the Rahway campus.[4][12] As a result, Merck & Co. included amenities such as on-site child-care, a fitness center, baseball fields, and a medical services center for employees.[12]

Solar initiative

In 2008, Merck & Co. installed a 1.6-megawatt solar power system consisting of 7,000 panels on 7 acres (2.8 ha) of property.[13] Among the largest installations at a corporate headquarters, the system is also the largest ground-mounted solar power tracking system east of the Mississippi River.[14] In all, it will provide 7% of the site's power and is expected to "reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,300 tons per year."[14]

References
  1. Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. "Merck & Co., Inc. World Headquarters". Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  2. TAC (2006). "A Prescription for Continued Satisfaction — Merck's Worldwide Headquarters Chooses Andover Continuum". REFRIGE.com. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  3. Raver, Anne (1991-12-22). "Cuttings; Corporate Cottage, Deep in a Forest". NYT. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  4. Peterson, Iver (1992-11-15). "A Company Move That Hasn't Irked the Neighbors". NYT. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  5. Foundation Software (2000). "Who is using Foundation". Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  6. Merck (2012). "Merck to Move Global Headquarters Within New Jersey". Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  7. Friedman, Alexi. "In about-face, Merck will shutter Summit campus and make Kenilworth its headquarters", The Star-Ledger, October 1, 2013. Accessed October 16, 2013.
  8. UNICOM Global. "UNICOM® Corporation to Acquire Property Located at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey", UNICOM Global, July 12, 2018. Accessed July 16, 2018.
  9. UNICOM Global. "UNICOM Global acquires the Merck Property Located at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey", UNICOM Global, October 1, 2018. Accessed October 24, 2018.
  10. O'Brien, Walter (2008-09-02). "Merck headquarters in Readington to harness the sun with new solar panels". MyCentralJersey.com. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  11. Bowe, Christoper (2006-11-26). "Raising Merck's threshold of pain". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  12. Mansnerus, Laura (1999-11-21). "It Takes a Village To Make an Office. Ask Mother Merck". NYT. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  13. RenewableEnergyWorld.com (2008-08-15). "1.6-MW Solar System Being Built at Merck Headquarters". Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  14. UTC Power (2008-08-14). "Largest Ground-Mounted Solar Power Tracking System East of Mississippi River Being Built at Merck & Co., Inc. Headquarters". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
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