The firm partnered with owner Noddle Companies to design a 10-story, 240,000-square-foot multi-use office building at Aksarben Village. The end result is a striking building with a design that respects its context and fosters collaboration, and in which engineering plays a significant role.

This project illustrates the importance of engaging all parties early in the design process. The building’s unique form is chamfered at the corners to maximize square footage on upper floors while opening walkable space on the ground level to activate engagement with the surrounding neighborhood. Rather than having “front” and “back” sides, space that would have typically been used for a loading dock was reimagined as a retail alley.

HDR committed to a rigorous, integrated design process, which resulted in the building’s LEED New Construction v4 Gold-level rating. The design team achieved specific performance achievements including:

• 68% Energy Use Intensity reduction compared to the regional average
• 31% water use reduction
• 87% irrigation reduction
• Lighting Power Density 38% better than code
• Estimated 15% Material Carbon Impact reduction over a comparable building
• Savings of more than 67 tons of steel by constructing the building using SidePlate steel connections, a first in Nebraska.

The building also earned a three-star rating from Fitwel — the highest rating possible for this certification that optimizes buildings to support occupant health.