Project365: Day 17 - American Republic Building

Day 17 - American Republic Building, originally uploaded by Tim Bungert.

Another Des Moines building designed by a famous architect! This is the American Republic Insurance Headquarters building in Downtown Des Moines. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and it was completed in 1965.

The building resembles a giant file cabinet containing six "drawers" of open office areas. The deep concrete floor structure holds up each successive level without any interior columns. All of the building's structural loads are carried down the side exterior walls.

Bunshaft was Partner and Chief Designer in SOM's New York office from 1949 until his retirement in 1979. His other notable works include the Lever House in New York City, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC.