Stok was engaged by RDG Planning and Design to guide the project, which consists of lab, classroom, administrative, cafeteria, and recreation spaces, as well as parking, to outstanding sustainable performance. Specifically, Stok is:
At a Glance
RDG Planning & Design
West Des Moines, IA
Education
350,000 SF
Des Moines University (Owner) Turner Construction (General Contractor) RDG Planning & Design (Architect)
LEED NC Group v4 SilverWELL v2 Gold (targeting)
- Commissioning
- LEED Consulting
- WELL Consulting
The Challenge
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Leading the project’s LEED and WELL pursuit at the strategic and technical level
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Aligning building performance with design via commissioning
Steve King, AIA
“The Stok team is communicative, flexible, deeply knowledgeable, and above all fun to work with. Their multidisciplinary approach has helped guide our project to sustainable performance in innovative ways, resulting in a campus that celebrates ecological restoration and human well-being.”
By the Numbers
Annual energy cost savings
$435,000
Energy reduction below baseline
48%
Water reduction below baseline
35%
Water saved annually
464,994gal
Construction waste diverted
1,597tons
The Solution
INNOVATIVE ENERGY PERFORMANCE
Stok is the LEED and WELL consultant, supporting the university in achieving LEED NC Group v4 Silver and WELL Gold certification. Among many strategies targeting improved energy performance across the buildings is an innovative heating and cooling system. The campus has invested in a 700-well district geo-exchange heating and cooling system to bring total campus energy use to 48% better than baseline, setting this campus well ahead of its peers across the nation.
COMPREHENSIVE COMMISSIONING
As commissioning authority, Stok helped resolve discrepancies between design and operational performance across the four new interconnected university buildings to comply with LEED as well as local and national building code requirements for commissioning. Stok helped the team overcome two particular commissioning challenges. First, the four buildings feature interconnected floors and no physical barriers separating them, which required significant coordination and tuning during HVAC startup and balancing. Second, the specialty systems in the campus’s medical spaces, including an anatomy lab, are critical to building performance and were complex to commission. Stok commissioned these unique systems and made recommendations to confirm their performance matched their design, resulting in improved indoor air quality and thermal comfort, among other aspects.
For its engineering innovation, the project received ENR Midwest’s 2024 Award of Merit in Higher Education/Research. Learn more about how this project is paving the way for a new standard in sustainable higher education spaces while creating a talent hotspot from Des Moines University and Building Design + Construction.
Photos by Michael Robinson
