Aviva goes for the Gold

Iowa's largest LEED Gold building bathes 95% of employees in natural light The HKS-designed Aviva USA’s 360,000 sq ft headquarters has become the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certified building in Iowa, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The Aviva project becomes the 24th LEED Gold building in Iowa and only the fourth in metropolitan Des Moines. Aviva USA is part of Aviva plc – the world’s sixth-largest insurance group and the first global insurance company to become carbon-neutral. In addition to HKS serving as designer and interior architect, SVPA Architects provided local representation as the architect-of-record on the project. Confluence designed many of the site sustainable features as the project’s landscape architect. The Weidt Group® provided LEED consulting. The Weitz Co. served as the general contractor, accounting for the majority of material-related credits. The facility was designed following the LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM, a nationally-accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Among the project’s features that contributed to Gold Certification are: • 95 percent of employees have direct access to natural light • 81 percent construction waste recycled and thus diverted from landfills • 43 percent water savings • installation of low-flush water closets and urinals • low-flow sink aerator and shower head fixtures • 30 percent energy savings compared with a standard code-based building • Occupancy and daylight sensing lighting controls in offices and conference rooms • High-performance glazing, wall and roof systems • Efficient indirect system lighting design • High-efficiency water-cooled chiller • Carbon-dioxide sensing ventilation air control systems • Total energy recovery of ventilation air • 27 percent materials quarried or purchased locally including Iowa limestone • 18 percent recycled content value of construction materials The facility also offers priority parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, as well as for those employees who carpool. The company broke ground in April 2008 on its U.S. operations headquarters, located on the southwest corner of Jordan Creek Parkway and Mills Civic Parkway. In August 2010, Aviva completed relocation of its employees and contractors from three leased locations in downtown Des Moines. Aviva held a grand opening ceremony in October 2010.