WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Convenience-store company Kum & Go LC has shared the designs for its new downtown Des Moines, Iowa, headquarters, Krause Gateway Center. Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architect for the project, is designing the building to provide Kum & Go employees with a modern and highly collaborative work environment that offers flexibility for growth in the years to come.
It is planning the five-story building for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification, featuring glass on all sides to provide transparency and light throughout the building. It designed the layout to foster collaboration through innovative and unique use of space and light, including outdoor terraces available to employees for flexible work areas.
“Lightness, simplicity and openness are the main concepts expressed in the design,” said Renzo Piano, founder of Renzo Piano Building Workshop. “The four vast planes flying over the site will emphasize the lightness and the transparency of the building, and will dialogue with the sculpture park nearby.”
Building highlights include:
- Natural, abundant light throughout the building
- Collaborative work environments
- Outdoor meeting space
- Rooftop garden
- Dedicated space for training
- Multi-purpose room for all-company gatherings and events
- Fitness room and adjoining locker room
- Game room
- Art collection
- Parking for associates
In addition, the entire plaza surrounding the building will be landscaped and serve as a natural extension of the sculpture park. Additional features include roof overhangs that provide both an artistic element to the building, as well as a functional one by increasing energy efficiency. A “green” roof will also lessen the impact of energy usage and water run-off.
“I’m excited to share the designs with Kum & Go associates and the Des Moines community,” said president and CEO Kyle J. Krause. “An incredible team of people has been working on this design for many months, and it’s great to be able to share it now with a broader audience.”
Krause announced in 2014 that internationally recognized architect Renzo Piano Building Workshop had been chosen to design the building. Local architect OPN Architects will provide architectural counsel and construction drawings. Ryan Companies US Inc. has been selected as the construction partner.
The company expects to break ground in the fall of 2015, and it is targeting an early 2018 completion.
Click here to view additional renderings.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go employs more than 4,700 associates across more than 430 convenience stores and 11 states—Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.
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