1. Project Overview

Cypress Centre is a five-story corporate office building located in the Cypress Creek commercial district of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.



Developed by Dallas-based Lincoln Property Company and designed in its entirety by Barretta & Associates, the building was conceived to provide high-quality professional office accommodations within a distinctive architectural environment.

The project combines approximately 121,000 square feet of office space with a dramatic five-story glass atrium, flexible tenant floor plans, vertical circulation, and convenient parking facilities.

The development reflects the expansion of corporate office activity in northern Fort Lauderdale during the 1980s, when the Cypress Creek corridor emerged as an important commercial employment center.

A major architectural objective was to create an office building that would offer more than conventional rentable floor space. The building needed a recognizable architectural identity, an attractive arrival experience, efficient office accommodations, and the flexibility to serve a variety of corporate and professional tenants.

The five-story atrium became a defining feature of the design, introducing natural light into the building's common areas and establishing an impressive interior environment.

Cypress Centre demonstrates how a substantial corporate office building can combine commercial efficiency with a memorable architectural experience.

The principal architectural challenge was to develop a multi-tenant office building that combined efficient floor plates and economical construction with an architectural character appropriate to a Class A corporate environment.



The building needed to accommodate businesses with varying space requirements, from smaller professional offices to larger corporate tenants.

Its internal organization required careful coordination of elevators, stairways, restrooms, mechanical and electrical services, and tenant circulation.

A particularly significant challenge was incorporating a five-story atrium without compromising the functional efficiency of the office floors.

The atrium introduced requirements involving structural coordination, extensive glazing, natural lighting, thermal performance, acoustics, smoke management, and circulation.

South Florida's climate presented additional considerations. The building envelope and atrium glazing needed to address intense solar exposure, heat gain, humidity, and substantial cooling demands.

The site also required the integration of building access, parking, landscaping, and pedestrian circulation within an established commercial corridor.

The overall design objective was to create a corporate office building that balanced architectural distinction, tenant flexibility, operational performance, and long-term investment value.

The five-story glass atrium is the principal architectural feature distinguishing Cypress Centre from conventional suburban office buildings.



The atrium creates a dramatic vertical interior space, establishing a strong sense of arrival and providing visual connections among the building's multiple levels.

Natural light entering through the glazed atrium contributes to the quality of the common areas and provides an alternative to the enclosed interior environments typical of many multi-story office buildings.

The atrium also serves as an architectural organizing element, helping establish the building's identity and the relationship between its public spaces and office floors.

Its incorporation required careful coordination of structural framing, glazing, environmental control, vertical circulation, and building life-safety systems.

The result is an interior architectural environment that contributes to the building's corporate image while improving the experience of tenants and visitors.

One of the most important characteristics of successful commercial architecture is the ability to remain useful as tenant expectations and business practices change.



Cypress Centre's flexible office floors, substantial common areas, and established building configuration have supported continuing office use for approximately four decades.

5. The Barretta & Associates Advantage

Cypress Centre demonstrates how thoughtful architectural design can distinguish a conventional commercial building from the many office properties competing within a major business district.

The project required the integration of efficient office planning, a substantial five-story atrium, vertical circulation, building systems, parking facilities, and a coordinated architectural exterior.

The atrium is particularly significant because it illustrates the ability to introduce an expressive architectural element into a building that must also satisfy demanding commercial and operational requirements.

The result is an office building whose architectural identity extends beyond its exterior appearance to include the quality of its interior environment.

For Barretta & Associates, Cypress Centre represents an important example of corporate office architecture developed for a major national real estate company.

Cypress Centre exemplifies the integration of distinctive architectural design, efficient commercial planning, a dramatic five-story atrium, and long-term adaptability within a substantial South Florida office development.