350 E. Locust St. / Neumann Monson Architects

Architects: Neumann Monson Architects
Location: Des Moines, IA, United States
Area: 45000.0 m2
Project Year: 2014
Photographs: Assassi Productions

Contractor: Graham Construction
Structural Engineer: Raker Rhodes Engineering
Mep Engineer: Brewer Engineering
Civil Engineer: Civil Engineering Consultants, Inc. (Urbandale, IA)
Landscape Architect: Perficut

Text description provided by the architects. This five-story, 45,000 sf historic district mixed-use project offers retail, twenty residential units, and a penthouse office. Proportioned to accord with its surroundings, the building offers calculated departures from the traditional.

Material and massing articulate the program. The palette is simple: dark brick, clear glass, anodized aluminum, and weathering steel. The circulation spine’s glazed wall connects steel-clad egress towers to the brick residential block raised above the retail floor. The penthouse, a glazed white beacon, completes the ensemble.

At the street level, expansive windows connect passers-by to 6,000 sf of commercial space. Recessed tenant entries to the east and west provide privacy and cover. Above, residential units share a layout concept in which the kitchen, which is centered on the living space, parallels the exterior wall and shares a plumbing wall with a primary bathroom. Level four boasts projecting glass and steel balconies as well as an outdoor commons space – available to all tenants—that offers westward views of the skyline. On level five, the penthouse workplace doubles as an occasional social gathering venue. A linear service core provides programmatic flexibility. Three fully-glazed fritted exterior walls take advantage of downtown views and open to a perimeter roof terrace.