Sometime next month, the gas and convenience-store retailer Kum & Go will officially break ground on its new headquarters, to be located at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Construction fencing has already been installed around the perimeter of the site, and destruction of two small existing buildings on the southwest corner of the lot has begun, according to a Kum & Go spokesperson.
The five-story, $151 million headquarters, topped by a rooftop garden, will be the centerpiece of a four-acre redevelopment master plan in Des Moines’ Gateway West neighborhood.
Last year, the Krause family, which owns Kum & Go, chose the design proposed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop over five other contenders. That design gives the appearance of white floor plates floating atop white pillars, and creates canopies on all sides of the building.
In a statement, the Pritzker Prize-winning Piano spoke of the building’s “lightness, simplicity, and openness.” The building’s design is also intended to complement the sculptures in the nearby sculpture park. In fact, the entire plaza surrounding the building will be landscaped and serve as a natural extension of the park.
“Large cantilevers from the upper floors form the continuation of the urban edge along Grand Avenue and Gateway Park,” according to the city’s Urban Design Review Board. “The project relies on landscape to form the edges on the other three sides of the building. The fifth floor is rotated to acknowledge the site’s location at the splay of downtown’s urban grids, with the rotation allowing for a gracious roof terrace overlooking the Park and downtown.”
The building will total 159,000 sf, according to the city report. It will house a gallery for the owners’ art collection, and include a game room for employees, an outdoor meeting space, underground parking for 225 vehicles, and a fitness room.
The building is scheduled to open in early 2018 with 300 to 325 employees, but would have space for 800. It is projected to achieve LEED Silver certification. Des Moines-based OPN Architects is providing architectural counsel and construction drawings. Ryan Companies US is the local builder/contractor.
Kum & Go has more than 430 stores 4,700 employees in 11 states.
Related Stories
| Feb 22, 2012
Suffolk awarded Boston post office renovation project
Renovation of art deco landmark will add 21,000 square feet of retail and 110 new parking spaces.
| Feb 17, 2012
Tremco Inc. headquarters achieves LEED Gold certification
Changes were so extensive that the certification is for new construction and not for renovation; officially, the building is LEED-NC.
| Feb 15, 2012
Code allowance offers retailers and commercial building owners increased energy savings and reduced construction costs
Specifying air curtains as energy-saving, cost-cutting alternatives to vestibules in 3,000-square-foot buildings and larger has been a recent trend among consulting engineers and architects.
| Feb 8, 2012
World’s tallest solar PV-installation
The solar array is at the elevation of 737 feet, making the building the tallest in the world with a solar PV-installation on its roof.
| Feb 2, 2012
Call for Entries: 2012 Building Team Awards. Deadline March 2, 2012
Winning projects will be featured in the May issue of BD+C.
| Feb 2, 2012
Next phase of construction begins on Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute
$456 million Institute will be comprehensive heart center for 21st Century.
| Feb 1, 2012
List of Top 10 States for LEED Green Buildings released?
USGBC releases list of top U.S. states for LEED-certified projects in 2011.
| Feb 1, 2012
ULI and Greenprint Foundation create ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance
Member-to-member information exchange measures energy use, carbon footprint of commercial portfolios.
| Jan 31, 2012
Chapman Construction/Design: ‘Sustainability is part of everything we do’
Chapman Construction/Design builds a working culture around sustainability—for its clients, and for its employees.
| Jan 26, 2012
Three dead, 16 missing in Rio buildings collapse
The buildings, one 20 floors high, collapsed on Wednesday night in a cloud of dust and smoke just one block away from the city's historic Municipal Theater.