Des Moines Building

The Des Moines Buildings is the Art Deco jewel of downtown Des Moines featuring 136 design-conscious apartments in the core of the city. Units include a wide selection of studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom apartments. The historic building also has 3 stories of lease space geared toward office, restaurant, and retail clients.

Baker Group designed and installed the building’s plumbing, HVAC, building automation, security, architectural metals, and fire alarm systems. Highlights of the system include an energy efficient VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) HVAC system that serves the apartments. This system allowed the owner to maximize ceiling heights and highlight other historic features while also saving 30%-40% energy vs. the ASHRAE baseline. The mechanical design also utilized an ERV to recover the energy from the apartment exhaust systems before they exited the building.