Serving more than 160 hospitals across the Midwest region, LifeServe Blood Center Headquarters is a new office space and blood donation center in Johnston, Iowa, that aims to support the organization’s vital work within the community and their mission to save lives. LifeServe’s new headquarters provides a welcoming, collaborative, and flexible building that enables LifeServe to grow and adapt for the future while strengthening their community presence. The facility includes a donor center, blood drive and blood center operations support spaces, 24/7 lab for blood processing, and a series of office, administrative, and collaboration areas. To accommodate the complex movement of blood product through the facility, the design team worked closely with LifeServe to study and understand design options that enhance organizational function and ensure efficient workflows and adjacencies of the site. LifeServe Blood Center Headquarters creates welcoming indoor and outdoor spaces that strengthen connection to community, clearly demonstrate LifeServe’s mission, and encourage meaningful interaction between LifeServe staff, volunteers, and donors.
A natural color palette and materials is prominent throughout the building’s spaces, including reclaimed wood from trees on the site. Over 100 new trees were planted in place of those that could not be saved during construction, and reclaimed wood was utilized in BNIM-designed furniture pieces such as a conference table, coffee tables, and entry lobby benches, created in collaboration with a local furniture builder.
The design team implemented numerous sustainable strategies that contribute to the building’s longevity and resiliency. The sunscreen along the building’s south façade minimizes solar heat gain, in turn reducing mechanical loads and operational costs. A robust building system commissioning process aimed to ensure equipment is operating as designed. The selection of building systems, such as a geothermal well field, also contribute to the reduction of long-term operational costs for LifeServe. Energy use intensity (EUI) is 68% below baseline (CBECS 2003), and the building’s rooftop is ready for photovoltaic (PV) panel fit out in the future.
Category:Green ArchitectureYear:2025Location: Johnston, Iowa, USAArchitects:BNIMGeneral Contractor:The Hansen CompanyDesign Team:Rod Kruse, Jeff Shaffer, Kayla Berkson, Tina Wehrman, Aaron Hauptmann, Dana Sorensen, Jonathan Sloan, Katie Neighbour, Jeremy Kahm, Tyler Jessen, and MJ Deasy Client:LifeServe Blood CenterPhotographers:Kendall McCougherty
