ISG Des Moines Office
Des Moines, IA | Commercial
Overview
The iconic Globe Hoist building at 217 East 2nd Street, originally built in the late 1920s, has funneled people and products through its doors for nearly 100 years—from automobile hoists and World War II products to musicians and night club guests. After decades of change and being a part of the historic East Village of downtown Des Moines, the ISG Des Moines office walls hold countless stories of industry pioneers, growth, and expansion—events that emulate the constant evolution of the innovative firm.
Opportunity
As a firm, ISG was rapidly growing across two downtown Des Moines offices and needed a centralized place to call home. With the firm’s increase in multi-disciplinary professionals and need to consolidate its two Des Moines locations, the previous downtown spaces were inefficient. Intending to remain in the heart of downtown Des Moines, specifically in the historic East Village, ISG found its prime opportunity in a space that had been in and out of tenants for the last 20 years and that held significant historical meaning. The Globe Hoist building had a need to remain in this part of the community well into the future to represent its history and evolutions over the years.
Solution
To support ISG’s collaborative culture, architects and interior designers created a space to not only work, but to connect colleagues and the community. The building’s lobby, large gathering spaces, and kitchen are located together and all accessible from the exterior walkway on the south side of the building. With this layout, ISG can host events of varying sizes for the firm and for the community. This area features a mural that is visible from the sidewalk—a colorful and abstract mural to contrast the industrial feel of the building, adding to the creativity that goes on throughout the office. Individual offices are below the building’s existing mezzanines, while meeting rooms and workstations are strategically positioned in the open spaces to promote collaboration and connection amongst employees. The interior organization of spaces follow the natural bay divisions with common and shared spaces in the south bay and most workstations in the central bay.
The design teams also integrated engineering features that are standouts of an AEC firm. In a typical office building, the mechanical room is tucked away, but ISG designers embraced the first-floor mechanical room to display the firm’s expertise in mechanical engineering. With windows looking to the room of color-coded pipes and systems, the mechanical room is an educational focal point for employees and visitors. To demonstrate ISG’s innovative design approach, designers and engineers implemented cutting-edge mechanical elements in the firm’s restrooms, including occupancy sensors, lavatories with inclined planes to reduce splashing and keep water and droplets in the basin, fresh air supply at contamination points within the space, and hand washing and drying stations within one basin.
ISG restored and maintains the historic integrity of the Globe Hoist building’s roots dating back to the late 1920s. Architects and designers highlighted original features such as the south façade’s large, recessed glass openings that mark where large sliding doors opened for the transfer of goods, and industrial-style platforms. Typical of the era’s construction, the building shell consists of double-wythe masonry. Large, single-slope steel roof trusses with the original wood deck remain exposed to create the form of the three-bay sawtooth roof, which remains a focal point, reminiscent of the building’s history as a manufacturing facility.
Through intentional, detailed design, ISG Des Moines lives and breathes its impactful design, while paying homage to the building’s history. As the anchor tenant of this multi-tenant office building, and with 90 Des Moines professionals, the firm thrives in the East Village, excited showcase what the Globe Hoist building represents today.