Main Architecture and Design Office in Mad Men Style

Office in Mad Men Style

The building of the insurance company’s headquarters of American Enterprise Group (AEG) in Des Moines, Iowa, has undergone major reconstruction. Now fans of the cult American TV series “Mad Men” may draw parallels between the style of this serial film and interiors of the renovated building. Actually, this is not surprising - it was built in 1965, just at the time when the movie action takes place. The project of old eight stories building was originally designed and constructed in 1965 by the New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) under architect Gordon Bunshaft, winner of the Pritzker Prize (1988) and legendary principal of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), FAIA, which received a 1967 AIA Honor Award for Architecture.

This project encompasses the nearly invisible rehabilitation. Original systems were meticulously integrated with the building architecture. Rehabilitation required substantial demolition of the interior, which was obsessively reconstructed to accommodate new building and life-safety systems. The renovated space addresses human efficiency and evolving workplace standards with both systems and a minimal, modern office design that enhances human productivity while making AEG’s significant art collection an integrated part of the experience. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, the American Republic Insurance Building fills a half block of land on in the main western central business district.

BNIM completed an extensive and complex renovation of the 154,000 sf cast-in-place concrete structure. The renovation included redesign and replacement all of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems on all floors. State of the art technology has been incorporated into the existing structure. The renovation included new air handling and safety systems, sensors that turn off lights when rooms are unused and high-efficiency LED lights.

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