AEG Receives Historic Preservation Award

AEG’s American Republic Renovation Receives Historic Preservation Award

What has been called the “invisible rehabilitation” of the American Republic Insurance Co. building in downtown Des Moines received the William J. Wagner Award, which recognizes projects that exemplify use of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, during the State Historical Society of Iowa’s recent Preserve Iowa Summit.

Led by the Des Moines office of BNIMRyan Companies US Inc.,  and Design Engineers, with more than a dozen subcontractors and historical consultants, the project included a dramatic update of the building’s mechanical systems and a reconfiguration of office space without altering interior or exterior spaces in what many people regard as more of a museum than a corporate headquarters.

The original designer was Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and when it was completed in 1965, the building was heralded for its 90-foot clear spans, efficient working environment and dramatic setting for the company’s collection of modern art.

Projects in Cedar Falls, Davenport, Perry, Remsen and Washington also received awards. In addition to meeting the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings, the projects also used the State Historic Preservation and Cultural and Entertainment District Tax Credit Program.

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