The project is one of the final phases and biggest pieces of an $81 million court and justice center renovation approved by Polk County voters in 2013.
The county couldn’t implode the jail or use a wrecking ball because it plans to reuse the foundation for a new five-story criminal courts building. Everything will be demolished except the skeleton of the bottom two floors.
“It’s an amazing process,” said John Rowen, director of Polk County General Services. “The only thing that is going to remain is the steel and concrete floors.”
Made of glass and metal paneling, the new building will look nothing like the old brick jail. It was designed by Des Moines-based OPN Architects. Neumann Brothers is the general contractor and DW Zinser Co. is conducting the demolition.
Providence Medical Center
As the largest healthcare hub between Seattle and Minneapolis, Spokane’s new outpatient facility serves the community while targeting health reform. The $32 million state-of-the-art project features an urgent care center, surgical suites as well as offices for primary care doctors. The center’s combined urgent care facility, imaging services, laboratory, pharmacy, and cancer center services will be able to treat up to 700 patients a day.
Recognizing that nature can play a role in healing process, the building’s site connects both patients and staff to daylight and the landscape gardens adjacent to the major circulation spaces. The program is distributed into two distinct buildings connected by a ‘hub’ of public spaces. This separation of the more acute services – surgery and urgent care – from the less acute practices – primary and specialty care clinics, result in less congestion at points of entry and an ease of passage for patients. Registration, waiting, café, sacred and conference spaces within the ‘hub’ open to views of the courtyard gardens. Materials have been selected to reinforce connections to the natural environment – Jarden Zinc panels, glass, wood and textured fabrics.
Skullcandy HQ
Salt Lake City-based Think Architecture was tasked with designing an environmentally friendly structure that integrated into the landscape and maximized its striking views. According to Principal Architect Tyler Kirk, The overall aesthetic of the building needed to reflect the future of where Skullcandy is going while maintaining a connection to its past.” The building also needed to feel like it belonged in Park City, simultaneously fitting into the technology campus where it’s located.
The design goal was to create an environment that was open and productive, and that housed all of Skullcandy’s various departments in one cohesive setting.
Material selection was a critical component in the design process. The design team specified modern, natural building materials that would weather gracefully and maintain their aesthetic appeal for years to come. Natural stone was mined from a local quarry while zinc panels incorporated into the design.Additionally, a modern, distinctive window mullion pattern creates a visual sense of movement and energy, evoking Skullcandy’s identity as a musical and active lifestyle brand.
