LOCATION
Des Moines, Iowa

AREA
150,000 GSF

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Juvenile Justice Center building was one of three projects initiated by the county to reduce overcrowding and improve the local court system’s safety. Together with OPN Architects, Alvine Engineering worked to design engineering systems that catered to each of the center’s unique services: public, judicial, and detainee spaces. The task was made even more difficult since the space served the community initially as a department store from the 1970s to early 2000. Through the design of high ceilings, a centralized open staircase, and daylighting, the once dreary and neglected space now offers a calm environment that is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• Architectural lighting design services were provided to incorporate LED lighting solutions throughout the interior spaces, reducing the lighting power density to 53% better than the code minimum.
• New lighting control systems were incorporated into the design to provide individual control throughout the center.
• The building is heated by gas-fired sequential boilers that heat water, which is distributed to terminal heating devices through a steel and/or copper piping system and centrifugal circulation pumps.
• A new 480V, 3-phase electrical distribution system was designed to provide convenient power solutions throughout the facility.
• The acoustical design included solutions for acceptable sound quality and sound isolation in designated spaces.
• Audiovisual systems include sound reinforcement, video evidence display for the courtrooms, speech amplification and recording, video presentation for training rooms and conference rooms, and digital signage and room scheduling systems.
• Technology infrastructure for voice/data cabling, IT space design, backbone, and horizontal cabling, as well as primary and secondary pathways, were designed.
• Security design included access control, door monitoring, and video surveillance.

Photography credit: Kessler Photography