BBS Architects Engineers

EMC Insurance Companies

EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street
EMC – 219 Eighth Street

Owner: EMC Insurance Companies
Architectural and Engineering Design Services: BBS Architects | Engineers
Structural Engineers: Raker Rhodes Engineering
Geotechnical Engineers: Allender Butzke Engineers
General Contractor: Neumann Brothers, Inc.
Construction Completed: 2017
Project Data: 106,000 GSF
Construction Cost: $40,000,000

Photo Credit: Cameron Campbell Integrated Studio

Client Need:
When EMC decided to expand their downtown Des Moines campus, they chose to continue their nearly 50 year relationship with BBS. In order to improve existing infrastructure and provide desired employee and business amenities, a four-story building was requested to adhere to their master plan and balance the existing campus buildings on this block.

BBS Approach:

Completed in March 2017, this new four-story, 106,000 square foot office building for EMC Insurance connects the old and new of Downtown Des Moines. Sitting on the corner of 8th Street and Walnut Street, the building fulfills a twenty-year masterplan for the EMC urban corporate campus.

This building represents the latest step in an evolution of materiality and building technologies realized over forty years by one client and one design firm through three buildings now interconnected on a full city block.

Positioned between EMC’s eight story precast mid-rise headquarters building and their twenty story metal rainscreen high-rise, the new building compliments and connects the campus while holding its own on a prominent downtown corner. Envisioned as a glass jewel box, the structure is clad in a triple pane glass rainscreen curtain wall system that reflects the exterior conditions and context.

This new campus building provides internal connections to the adjacent high-rise at each level and provides visual connections to the 1970’s precast building within a three-story public skywalk atrium. A 100 foot linear skylight spans the length of the public skywalk giving occupants the opportunity to see the three structures coming together and to celebrate this connection within the campus.

This building reaffirms EMC’s commitment to sustainable design and investment in downtown Des Moines. Their employees have access to public transportation, an enormous network of bike lanes and trails, and a walkable neighborhood with shops, amenities, and residences. The design includes conservation measures which will reduce the building’s annual energy use by nearly 40% and reduce annual water usage by over 35%.

Extensive renovation of an existing central plant was undertaken in the 1971 building to modernize central systems and to provide heating and cooling energy to the new building. The renovation includes new high efficiency heating boilers and heat recovery chillers, revamped pumping and modernized DDC controls for optimal energy management.  The new building utilizes the chiller waste heat for both domestic and HVAC use.

Through thoughtful design, attention to the building’s context, and implementation of advanced building skin technologies this four story building successfully connects a campus inside and out, while making an urban statement of its own.

Project Results:

  • Physical connections to existing buildings at all levels
  • Multi-story Skywalk Atrium
  • Underground Parking
  • Wellness Center
  • Auditorium & Conference Center
  • Triple-Pane High Performance Glass Curtain Wall System
  • Ground Level Tenant Space
  • LEED Gold Certified

 

Lied Recreation Center - New Heating Water Plant
BBS at 219 8th Street
Hospital Emergency Room Renovation & Expansion
Geoffroy Residence Hall
Food Sciences Building - Room 2379 Renovation
MacKay Hall Auditorium Renovation
VRAC C6 and Office Suite
Dodge House Renovations
Hub Tower Office Tenant Improvement
Iowa City Federal Building - VHA Renovations
Home Office Building with Expansion
Levitt Center for University Advancement
Camp Dodge Chapel Addition and Renovation
LeBaron Hall Replacement Study
Union Drive Community Center Renovations
DSM Airport Energy Effiency Improvements
Lance and Ellie's Sandwich Shop
Hub Tower Elevator Modernization
ETRC Howe Hall
Extension 4-H Youth Building
Reid “E” Research Facility
Kemin Food Sciences Lab Renovation
Common Ground - Coffee Shop
Arizona Farm Bureau Center
Biological Sciences Facility
Executive Suites Renovation
College of Human Sciences
Beardshear Hall Remodeling
Utah Farm Bureau Center
IADA Office Renovation
ABC - Office Build-Out
Science Center - New Facility
Iowa Events Center
Coover Hall Infrastructure Study
New Office
Parking Garage
Hub Tower Conference Center
Memorial Union Food Court
Sabin Hall Renovation – LEED Gold
Camp Dodge Pool Campus Improvements
Wyoming Farm Bureau Center
Terminal
Catholic Pastoral Center Rehabilitation
Minnesota Farm Bureau Center
Ames Lab Metals Development Air Handling Unit Replacement
Corporate Highrise
Covered Walkway
Office Renovation
Corporate Headquarters Renovation
ETRC Hoover Hall
© 2024 BBS Architects | engineers, All rights reserved.