Merck Headquarters Building
{{Infobox building
| name = Merck & Co., Inc. World Headquarters
| native_name=
| former_names =
| image = MerckHQ-cropped.png
| caption = Aerial view
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| building_type = Corporate headquarters
| architectural_style = Modernist
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| cost =
| location = Whitehouse Station in Readington, New Jersey, United States
| address = 1 Merck Drive, Lebanon, New Jersey
| client =
| owner = UNICOM Science and Technology Park, Inc.
| current_tenants =
| landlord =
| coordinates = {{coord|40.640824|N|74.777627|W|type:landmark_region:US-NJ|display=inline,title}}
| start_date = 1989
| completion_date = 1990
| inauguration_date = 1992
| demolition_date =
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| floor_area = {{convert|1600000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, i.e. {{convert|900000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of office space, {{convert|700000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} underground parking{{cite web |url=http://www.refrige.com/refrige_old/documents/Merck_US_LR.pdf= |title=A Prescription for Continued Satisfaction — Merck's Worldwide Headquarters Chooses Andover Continuum |accessdate=2008-10-10 |author=TAC |year=2006 |publisher=REFRIGE.com}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
| main_contractor =
| architect = Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, LLC
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| civil_engineer = Clarke & Rapuano
| other_designers = Edmund Hollander and Maryanne Connelly
| quantity_surveyor =
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}}
The former Merck & Co. headquarters building is a modernist office building located in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township, New Jersey, United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/nyregion/a-company-move-that-hasn-t-irked-the-neighbors.html |title= A Company Move That Hasn't Irked the Neighbors |accessdate=2008-10-10 |last=Peterson |first=Iver |date=1992-11-15 |publisher=NYT}} It was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, LLC in the late 1980s for the Merck & Co. pharmaceutical company.{{cite web |url=http://www.foundationsoftware.com/body_clients.htm |title=Who is using Foundation |accessdate=2008-10-10 |author=Foundation Software |year=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022191950/http://www.foundationsoftware.com/body_clients.htm |archive-date=2008-10-22 |url-status=dead }} Over the years it became well known for its various environmentally friendly features.
In October 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 {{Convert|88|acres|adj=on}} Summit campus would be sold after being vacated on December 31, 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.mercknewsroom.com/press-release/corporate-news/merck-move-global-headquarters-within-new-jersey |title= Merck to Move Global Headquarters Within New Jersey |accessdate=2012-10-09 |author=Merck |year=2012}}Friedman, Alexi. [http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/in_an_about-face_merck_says_it.html "In about-face, Merck will shutter Summit campus and make Kenilworth its headquarters"], The Star-Ledger, October 1, 2013. Accessed October 16, 2013.
In July 2018, UNICOM Global announced that their division UNICOM Corporation had signed an agreement with Merck & Co. to purchase the entire Merck property at Whitehouse Station, with the acquisition expected to close in October 2018.UNICOM Global. [https://www.unicomglobal.com/news/unicom-corporation-to-acquire-property-located-at-whitehouse-station-new-jersey/ "UNICOM® Corporation to Acquire Property Located at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey"], UNICOM Global, July 12, 2018. Accessed July 16, 2018. The completion of the acquisition was announced on October 1, 2018. The property was renamed UNICOM Science and Technology Park (USTP).UNICOM Global. [https://www.unicomglobal.com/news/unicom-global-acquires-the-merck-property-located-at-whitehouse-station-new-jersey/ "UNICOM Global acquires the Merck Property Located at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey"], UNICOM Global, October 1, 2018. Accessed October 24, 2018.
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.{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D6133FF931A15751C1A967958260 |title= Cuttings; Corporate Cottage, Deep in a Forest |accessdate=2008-10-10 |last=Raver |first=Anne |date=1991-12-22 |publisher=NYT}} The main building was constructed with a {{convert|600|ft|adj=on}} wide clearing at its center, filled with old-growth trees saved during the construction phase. 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". The building was originally set on {{convert|460|acre}} of property and has since been expanded to a {{convert|1000|acre|km2|adj=on}} campus with auxiliary buildings.{{cite web |url=http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080902/NEWS/80902013/1001/rss |title=Merck headquarters in Readington to harness the sun with new solar panels |accessdate=2008-10-10 |last=O'Brien |first=Walter |date=2008-09-02 |publisher=MyCentralJersey.com}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto112620061755336012 |title=Raising Merck's threshold of pain |accessdate=2008-10-10 |last=Bowe |first=Christoper |date=2006-11-26 |publisher=Financial Times |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022170910/http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto112620061755336012 |archivedate=2008-10-22 }} 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.{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E2DB163CF932A15752C1A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title= It Takes a Village To Make an Office. Ask Mother Merck. |accessdate=2008-10-10 |last=Mansnerus |first=Laura |date=1999-11-21 |publisher=NYT}} 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.
Solar initiative
In 2008, Merck & Co. installed a 1.6-megawatt solar power system consisting of 7,000 panels on {{convert|7|acre}} of property.{{cite web |url=http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2008/08/1-6-mw-solar-system-being-built-at-merck-headquarters-53345.html |title= 1.6-MW Solar System Being Built at Merck Headquarters |accessdate=2008-10-10 |author=RenewableEnergyWorld.com |date=2008-08-15}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS181347+14-Aug-2008+PRN20080814 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022220305/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS181347+14-Aug-2008+PRN20080814 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-10-22 |title=Largest Ground-Mounted Solar Power Tracking System East of Mississippi River Being Built at Merck & Co., Inc. Headquarters |accessdate=2008-10-10 |author=UTC Power |date=2008-08-14 |publisher=Thomson Reuters}} 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."
References
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Category:Office buildings completed in 1990
Category:Buildings and structures in Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Category:Headquarters in the United States
Category:Modernist architecture in New Jersey
Category:Readington Township, New Jersey