Manning, Iowa

Project Manager: Karla Engleen

Superintendent: Ken Corbin

Architectural Work: Design-Build by Shriver Construction

Structural Engineering Firm: Labate Engineering

Contract Amount: $820,418.00

Completion Date: May 2001

Project Description:

Enterprise Corporation International (ECI) had outgrown its startup facility in downtown Manning, a small rural Iowa community of 1,500 and needed to move to a new larger facility with potential for even more expansion.  The company provides phone support for many electronic products mainly from Sony.  It also repairs and tests products that require that type of service when the phone support is not able to solve the consumer’s problem.  Through additional contracts from Sony, it needed to double its phone support capabilities in a short time frame.

Manning Betterment Foundation worked to acquire some dilapidated properties at the north end of Main Street in downtown Manning.  After removing the properties, the site left potential for a large facility with access from Main Street as well as a full walkout basement for additional tenant space on the back side of the building.

The upper floor utilized a VP building with rigid frames fastened to a steel beam that supported the bar joist floor structure as well as managed the “kick out” of the VP framing system.  Utilization of rigid framing allowed for a large open area in the main portion of the building to house the necessary cubicles for the phone support personnel.  A Standing Seam roof system with R-38 insulation was utilized to provide premium roof performance.  Through its flexibility of design, VP was able to provide the necessary support member for the walls for attachment of the structural metal stud wall and design the bracing system around the many window and door openings.  The exterior walls of the structure were then clad with a combination of brick masonry and EIFS in a design reflective of the German architecture that makes up the décor of the balance of the Main Street businesses.  Patrician Bronze rake fascia and gutter were the perfect compliment to the design and color scheme.

The lower floor was constructed utilizing cast in place concrete walls that were cast using brick faced forms.  These walls were then painted dark bronze to blend and compliment the upper structure.  The lower floor provides future tenant space for potential further growth of ECI, as well as providing space for a community day care center that will be completed in the spring of 2002.

Through use of creative, flexible design options available by utilizing VP Buildings as its partner, Shriver Construction Company was able to design and construct a facility that provided a well designed, comfortable office space that met the needs of its client as well as blending with the carefully cultivated architecture of this proud German community.

Unusual or Unique Features:

The use of a pre-engineered building structure in combination with a conventional steel floor structure required tremendous coordination to assure that the corresponding pieces would fit together properly.  This unique combination gave the entire project tremendous flexibility.  An intricate sidewalk and lighting theme was also part of the requirements of the project as the building was constructed on Main Street where this theme is carried out through the entire business district.

With the owner’s heavy reliance on state of the art technology, the entire design and construction sequence was focused on providing easy access for connection of extensive networking technology throughout the facility.  Special care was taken in the design of the mechanical and electrical systems to maintain the owner’s ability to properly use and care for its technological components.