The Psychological and Brain Sciences Building creates an important gateway to the University of Iowa campus. The facility is designed to create a new welcoming front door for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, while serving a unique purpose as both a teaching and research facility that welcomes students as well as the general public to the University of Iowa campus. The building features active learning classrooms, research laboratories, graduate student and faculty offices, breakout rooms, and learning commons space for studying, gathering and socializing.
In an effort to keep pace with the demand, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) added capacity with a new facility offering forty-one guest rooms to augment their existing facility. The site occupies the southern end of Longfellow Park, within easy walking distance of the existing house. The new building occupies less than half of the 1.65-acre park; the remaining parkland was redesigned as a "Healing Garden" to revitalize and serve the Hospital Hill community.
Jonathan Ramsey is a Principal and experienced design leader at BNIM. He is a trusted advisor to clients and collaborators and approaches each of his projects with a goal of high-performing, integrated design. Jonathan has led many notable BNIM projects, including serving as Project Director of a new addition to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School and Project Manager for the MidAmerican Energy Corporate Office and Conference Center transformation in Des Moines, IA, and the Psychological and Brain Sciences Building at the University of Iowa.
Jason Kruse is an Associate Principal in BNIM's Des Moines office. Jason's experience includes a collaborative background centered on sustainable design and technologies.
BNIM is excited to announce the advancement of seven new Associate Principals and nine new Associates across the firm’s studios.
DES MOINES, IA (February 14, 2023) — BNIM announces Jonathan Ramsey’s elevation to Principal. Jonathan Ramsey, AIA, LEED AP, is an experienced design leader and Studio Director of BNIM’s Des Moines studio who has been with the firm for over 15 years and provides nearly 25 years of experience and service within the architectural profession. As BNIM Principal, Jonathan is recognized for his exemplary leadership at BNIM across his project initiatives, the Des Moines studio, and the firm.
BNIM is honored to have received five award recognitions, including Project of the Year, at the 2022 AIA Kansas City Design Excellence Awards Ceremony that took place on October, 27. The Metropolitan Community College Blue River Campus Building establishes a new campus presence in Independence, MO, which is home to the Great Plains OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Education Center and MCC's CDL (Commercial Driver’s License), Forklift, Linework, and Logistics programs. The project was honored as the 2022 AIA Kansas City Project of the Year. (Jury Comments)
BNIM was honored to receive four award recognitions at the 2021 AIA Iowa Excellence in Design Awards on Sept. 23. The Des Moines Heritage Center, a recently completed BNIM project and the location of this year’s AIA Iowa awards ceremony, received a 2021 Excellence in Energy Efficient Design Award. The historic adaptive reuse project is recognized for achieving 55% kBTU energy savings when compared to the Commercial New Construction (CNC) program baseline.
Laura Lesniewski, FAIA, moderated an event at this year’s AIA Conference on Architecture. Throughout Summer 2021, the AIA Conference on Architecture was divided into four event sessions featuring topics on firm resilience, sustainable practice, community engagement, and building efficiencies in Architecture and Design. The session took place on Thursday, July 8, and covered sustainable design practices that can be implemented into a firm or studio’s portfolio.
James Pfeiffer joined fellow industry peers and higher education experts in a collaborative discussion during the “Safe Reopening for Higher Education” webinar hosted by KC Global Design, KC Rising, and KC Scholars on May 21. The webinar featured guidance and advice from the facility design perspective, tools to ensure campus safety, and importance of psychological safety and confidence as higher education institutions plan for the future.
BNIM is excited to celebrate some of its most recently licensed architects, who attained licensure after an exhaustive series of exams and logging hundreds of hours in practice. Jason Kruse, AIA,
BNIM’s Emerging Interest in Designing for a Better World For over three decades following the start of sustainable design movement, BNIM has been a leader in the design of built environments that realize the intrinsic connection between human nature and climate. BNIM explores this interdependence and collective well-being within each of our project types, designing to support human health through our rigorous and systematic approach to environmental health.
Des Moines is a special place with a rich history and identity. In regard to the architectural moments that shape this unique city, the Miesblock project establishes a conversation with the adjacent Catholic Pastoral Center building designed by Mies van der Rohe Architects, which was constructed 1962 as the Home Federal Savings and Loan building and renovated in 2018.
By the year 2050, 75 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. BNIM’s Landscape Studio is responding to this profound change by using the power of design to meet the urban challenges of tomorrow and transform the places we live. Our practice builds inspiring, integrated experiences between people and place, designing our collective future in these key ways: Pacific Center Campus Development — Amenities Building — Landscape 1. Weaving Together Landscape and Place