Project: Vermeer Mill and Historical Museum, Pella, Iowa

Client: Wetherall Ericsson Architects, Des Moines, Iowa

Completed: 2002

The Vermeer Mill and Museum was constructed on the site of a former corner gas station. When the old gasoline tanks were removed, the 17 foot deep hole that resulted was not backfilled properly. The weight of a five story brick-faced concrete tower and the windmill structure that it would support, along with poor soil conditions dictated that the entire complex be supported on deep foundations. The windmill portion of the project was constructed and assembled in Holland by the Dutch Windmill Architect, disassembled and shipped to the U.S., reassembled on the site and lifted onto the concrete tower with a 360 ton crane. The anchor bolts that were set in the top of the concrete tower that were laid out and set in feet and inches mated perfectly with the holes in the wood sill of the windmill, which was constructed from plans based on the metric system. This is the tallest working wind mill in the world, as the blades had to be located high enough off the ground to catch winds not obstructed by nearby buildings.