The precast concrete sculpture on the exterior wall of the stair well near the entrance was designed to be washed with rain water from the roof through the scupper near the upper right.

Don Gray, the project architect had been working on his architectural design for nearly two years before he retained us to do the structural engineering. While the concept for the building was fairly complete, he had given very little thought to structure. When we started there were no column locations indicated. When we finished the drawings there were 160 columns.

The main roof is supported by three deep steel trusses that span over 100 feet and fan out over the auditorium space. These trusses were fabricated in Des Moines and were trucked to the job site, one at a time, mounted vertically on a tandem trailer. If you’ve ever driven between Des Moines and Decorah, you know it’s definitely not a straight shot…. lots of corners to negotiate.

ARCHITECT: RDG PLANNING AND DESIGN - Des Moines Office

Renovation of this historic building in Clinton, Iowa converted what was previously an office building and retail space into up-to-date downtown Clinton housing, with 33 apartments in the 6 story tower, and business incubator spaces in what was originally a J C Penney store.

Restoration of the terra cotta front facade, masonry repairs to the other exterior walls, and construction of a galvanized steel exit stair tower at the rear of the building, as well as various structural alterations were completed in the fall of 2023.