3 Honor Awards from AIA Iowa

Three OPN projects were given Honor Awards by American Institute of Architecture Iowa Chapter this year: an energy plant, historic courthouse, and city hall.

Projects were selected based on excellence in architecture with an emphasis on its importance in the community.

Ford DTE Central Energy Plant

The new Central Energy Plant is at the core of a 10-year master plan to overhaul and modernize a major automotive manufacturer’s research and engineering campus. The new facility fulfilled multiple initiatives: the replacement of an aging central steam system, distributed cooling assets with a 3,000 ton geothermal system, a 19,000 ton chilled water system, as well as low-temperature water-based energy distribution loops, 40,000 ton-hours of thermal energy storage, and on-site electrical generation via combined heat and power. The end result is a highly efficient and flexible central energy plant that exceeds the company’s high performance sustainability objectives and pushes the envelope of modern distributed gas.

Polk County Historic Courthouse

The restoration of this nearly 120-year-old courthouse represents the final phase of a multi-year plan that also includes a justice center and criminal courts building. The transformations of a former department store and jail respectively incorporate the same Indiana limestone used in the historic courthouse to shape a new courts campus in the city’s downtown core.

The result is an architectural treasure restored to its original majesty as a celebration of the county’s past while also creating a place of dignity, justice and safety for current and future citizens.

Johnston City Hall & Town Center

This new city hall is situated as the civic core of a new town center development in a growing mid-western suburb. The new facility combines municipal office functions with community spaces inside and out. The buildings’ cross-axial layout features a central lobby that connects interior community spaces such as the council chambers, training room, and conference rooms to the municipal offices, both open and private. The architecture and scale of elements reflect the city’s early formation around a railroad station. Exterior double columns, for example, are organized around the historic railway system and the width of railroad components. Walnut, oak and ash trees cleared from the site were used to construct the reception desk, council dias, lobby walls, workstations, and interior signage.