These first 4 studies were done very quickly (in only a couple of days) and rendered out using RenderIn, giving very quick and decent looking glass and skies. As a designer that has depended on pencil and trace for years for my quick studies, these images really challenged my notion of "preliminary sketch", conveying a quantum leap of information in nearly the same timeframe (not counting the time needed to develop the site and surrounding buildings).

In the next round of studies, the direction of the design moved back from the main street to an inner site location.

The facade design went through many iterations, the awkward site pulling the design in several directions, depending on which factors were deemed more important - empasis at entry area, impact on neighbors, visibility from city and surrounding highways, cost considerations, etc.

This view shows the main vehicular and pedestrian entry.  This design tried to bring the scale of the overall building down to a more intimate level.

This last series of 3 images shows the last iteration of the design - a more simlified design above, a more intricate treatement below as a nod to neighboring buildings, and highlighted with brick endcaps.  Rendered out of Sketchup in Maxwell Render.