In Atlanta's rapidly evolving West Midtown district, the Star Metals Office building rises as both a workplace landmark and a model of integrated urban landscape design. The 267,000-square-foot Class A office and retail building is part of the larger Star Metals District mixed-use development along Howell Mill Road. Constructed on a 4.75-acre site and incorporating approximately 40,000 square feet of ground-level retail, the 15-story structure reimagines the traditional office building by placing landscape and outdoor space at the center of the tenant experience.

From street level to rooftop, Star Metals Office prioritizes connectivity between interior and exterior environments. Nearly 70,000 square feet of viewable or accessible outdoor space is incorporated into the building's design, transforming terraces, balconies, and rooftops into immersive landscapes. At the same time, these planted environments play a critical role in managing stormwater and supporting the project's broader sustainability goals.

Pape-Dawson's Atlanta team (formerly Eberly & Associates) served as both site civil engineer and landscape architect of record, alongside Naturalficial as Design Landscape Architect, guiding the project through rezoning and the Special Administrative Permit (SAP) process while developing a cohesive design strategy aligned with LEED certification objectives. By integrating civil engineering and landscape architecture within a single design team, stormwater infrastructure and rooftop amenity spaces were coordinated from the earliest phases of development.

A New Model for the Modern Office
Conceived to challenge the conventional office model, Star Metals Office emphasizes access to daylight, fresh air, and outdoor work environments. Expansive exterior balconies extend from every office level, creating continuous visual and physical connections to planted spaces while offering panoramic views of Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown Atlanta.

The Level 7 amenity deck serves as the project's central outdoor gathering space. Designed with the office tenants top of mind, the space features outdoor workspaces, lounge and dining areas, and a conference center, while also serving as a private event venue. Pergolas provide shade while preserving views of the skyline, and the outdoor deck extends seamlessly from an interior bar that can open fully to the exterior.

Material selections reference the site's industrial past as the former Star Iron and Metals scrapyard. Textured concrete pavers, Ipe wood decking, blackened steel planters, and synthetic turf create a layered environment that feels both refined and rooted in the character of West Midtown. The amenity deck has quickly become a popular destination for tenants, functioning as a floating urban oasis for gatherings large and small.

Thoughtful Design from Streetscape Upward
While the elevated terraces are a defining feature of the building, the design team also carefully shaped the ground-level experience. Working closely with the City of Atlanta, the landscape architects adapted zoning overlay requirements to activate the building's retail frontage and enhance the pedestrian environment.

 
A sunken dining plaza anchors the streetscape and is framed by stylized planters filled with native grasses, colorful perennials, evergreen shrubs, and groundcovers. These plantings soften the building's urban edge while introducing seasonal variation and texture to the public realm.

Above ground, exterior accessible spaces extend across multiple levels of the building, including Levels 7 through 13 and the rooftop. Together, these areas create a vertical network of outdoor environments that connect occupants with landscape throughout the building.

Seven Floors of Living Roof
One of the most distinctive elements of Star Metals Office is its extensive over-structure landscape system. The project includes approximately 34,000 square feet of planted areas distributed across terraces and rooftops, with more than 28,000 square feet implemented using the modular green roof system provided by Horizon Roofscapes.

The building incorporates seven floors of green roof installations, allowing tenants to step directly into planted environments from adjacent office spaces. Walk-out patios provide immediate access to vegetation, while the green roofs on Levels 7 and 8 are fully integrated into the rooftop amenity decks.

To create visual diversity and respond to varying rooftop microclimates, the design incorporates several module depths. Lite modules with approximately 2.5 inches of growing media, standard modules with 4.25 inches, and deep modules with 6 inches of soil were used across the project. These varied depths create a textured, undulating landscape while supporting a wider range of plant species.

Large tree planters and deeper planting zones further enhance the composition, creating a continuous landscape that feels immersive rather than decorative. Each planting zone was carefully studied using sun, shade, and wind modeling to ensure long-term plant success.

The plant material was propagated and grown off-site by Horizon Roofscapes prior to installation, allowing the green roof system to be delivered fully vegetated. Once installed, the modules provided an immediate mature landscape rather than requiring several seasons of establishment.

Turning Stormwater Infrastructure into Landscape
Beyond their aesthetic and amenity value, the green roof systems also play a critical engineering role. In dense urban environments, stormwater management often requires large underground infrastructure that can consume valuable space and add significant construction costs.

Atlanta's stormwater regulations require new developments to capture the first inch of rainfall-commonly known as the "first flush"-which typically carries the highest concentration of pollutants. This runoff reduction volume must be retained on-site through infiltration, evapotranspiration, or reuse.

The vegetated system provides stormwater retention through its growing media and plant uptake, allowing rainfall to be stored and gradually released through evapotranspiration. According to Horizon Roofscapes' technical case study, the green roof system alone provides more than 32,000 gallons of retention capacity-approximately 185 percent of the runoff reduction volume required by Atlanta's stormwater code.

Together, the integrated green roof and detention system provide a total stormwater storage capacity exceeding 91,000 gallons across the roof area.

The strategy ultimately allowed the project team to eliminate the need for a large underground stormwater vault-a major advantage on a constrained urban site. By shifting stormwater infrastructure to the rooftop, the design preserved valuable space below grade while simplifying construction logistics.

Environmental Benefits Beyond the Roof
The performance benefits of the green roof extend beyond stormwater management. Vegetated roofs help reduce building cooling loads by acting as a thermal buffer, protecting the roof membrane from ultraviolet exposure and temperature extremes.

The planting palette also contributes to urban biodiversity by supporting pollinators and introducing native and adaptive plant species into the city's environment. Water stored within the system can wick upward into the soil profile during dry periods, reducing irrigation demands and supporting plant health.

A Model for Integrated Urban Design
Star Metals Office demonstrates how landscape architecture, engineering, and architecture can work together to produce environments that are both visually compelling and environmentally responsible.

The project's success has already been recognized by the design community. In 2023, Star Metals Office received a Merit Award in the General Design category from the American Society of Landscape Architects during the Southeast Regional Conference.

As West Midtown continues to grow, the building stands as a powerful example of how rooftops can become active landscapes-spaces where infrastructure, ecology, and human experience intersect high above the city.

As seen in LASN magazine, July 2026.