Aviva HQ Named Largest LEED Building in Iowa

January 13, 2011January 13, 2011 1745 Views Building Materials Reuse Association, Central U.S.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Aviva USA, a sales leader of indexed life insurance and indexed annuities, received LEED Gold certification for its new headquarters, making it the largest building in Iowa to receive the honor.

The 360,000-square-foot, eight-story building opened in October and features motion-sensor and auto-dimming lighting. High-efficiency ventilation systems were installed with individual air-flow controls for each employee. Iowa limestone and other materials quarried or purchased locally were used in the design, along with renewable woods.

The facility includes a food-waste grinding/composting system in the cafeteria, a solar-powered trash compactor, water-efficient fixtures, and a pond system that collects and retains rainwater runoff, which is then used for irrigation to limit water usage.

The new headquarters has an established wetland habitat on the southwest corner of the campus and priority parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles and employees who carpool.

Officials from the company said that although they had initially targeted LEED Silver certification, they decided during the construction process to go for the gold.

"We knew from the start that attaining Gold-level LEED certification would be a challenge given we were building from scratch on a new site," says Chris Littlefield, president and chief executive officer of Aviva USA.

Aviva USA is a part of Aviva plc, the world’s sixth-largest insurance group and the first global insurance company to become carbon-neutral, according to the company.