Nebraska’s largest credit union, SAC Federal Credit Union, recently consolidated offices throughout the Omaha metro area into a new 94,000-square-foot, four-story headquarters in Papillion, Neb. The $25 million facility is the credit union’s flagship location, consolidating all corporate functions for its 79,000 members. While initially housing 115 employees, the building is designed to accommodate SAC’s projected growth for the next 20 to 30 years.
Martin Janousek, AIA, senior associate, and project manager for
Leo A Daly, Omaha, says SAC wanted its new corporate headquarters to be an expression of appreciation for its member base as a key to its success. “Rooted in the rolling hills of the site, the building is grounded with a solid black brick base symbolic of the member base,” he says. “This encloses public areas of the facility, including a retail branch, community room and four-story vertical atrium and grand stair. Resting on this base, corporate departments are housed in a unitized curtainwall system that gestures to the community by cantilevering out toward a highly visible city intersection.”
The heart of the building is its 3,000-square-foot, four-story atrium, known as the “communications core.” The atrium features a floating staircase to which all departments and offices open, encouraging staff and member interaction. The stair is supported by two steel tension rods connected to a hidden beam, and the glulam treads are plate-supported to allow them to be experienced from below or above.
Additionally, a three-story section on the building’s west side cantilevers 30 feet over a drive-through. Meant to evoke the regional theme of westward expansion, Janousek notes it shows SAC as a forward-moving organization while acting as a gesture of inclusion to the community.
In designing the cantilever, Janousek says they studied five different truss configurations and chose the one that dovetailed with the architecture best. “The exterior is glass, so the zig-zagging lines of the truss had to make sense with the form of the building and the interior fit-outs,” he explains. “We ended up going with a basic Warren-type truss with the diagonals cut into even thirds. It worked out that the tops and bottom of the members aligned perfectly with the office partitions.”
Color was used sparingly, but with purpose, to support the design. “Architecturally, all the elements are rich and neutral-a white, black, and gray palette, with warm wood color throughout the space,” Janousek describes. “Streams of teal run through the carpet, and reappear in accent walls throughout the corporate departments as wayfinding elements. Bursts of orange, raspberry and yellow provide subtle buoyancy to the design.”
To retain the culture of SAC’s previous office, which was overcrowded but tight-knit, steel is used as a structural material, allowing the designers to span further to keep spaces open and flexible. “By using fewer columns, you build in more flexibility,” says Janousek. “Using moveable walls allows the client to change the layout as their tastes and needs evolve.”
For the exterior, Janousek notes that aluminum wall panels were chosen because they’re light and give a light look to the building. It is also a material that will look fresh decades down the road. “The concept behind the design was going from heavy to light,” he says. “The base is made of brick, symbolizing the collective of members that make up the SAC family. The design gets lighter in color, material, and affect as you rise, and becomes more open in plan. This is meant to evoke the sense of possibility and growth SAC is experiencing, and the forward thinking of their management. Aluminum panels felt appropriate for the curtainwall.”
Sustainable strategies include 218, 300-foot geothermal wells; radiant heating and chilled-beam radiant cooling; energy-efficient fluorescent and LED light fixtures; daylight harvesting in public spaces; multilevel switching, dimming controls and occupancy sensors.
Opened in May 2014, the building has a first-floor branch with drive-up and external ATMs, and a community room open to nonprofit and community partners. Additionally, the CU Fit Center has an array of machines, yoga studio and locker rooms to support corporate wellness initiatives. There are also indoor lounges, outdoor patios, and a fully equipped kitchen. A rooftop patio, green space and a fourth-floor balcony offer wide-open views.
SAC Federal Credit Union Headquarters, Papillion, Neb.
Awards: 2014 Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Nebraska chapter, and a 2014 Excellence in Architecture Award from AIA’s Central States Region
Architect: Leo A Daly, Omaha, Neb.
General contractor: MCL Construction, Omaha
Structural steel trusses/stair fabricator: Paxton
& Vierling Steel Co., Carter Lake, Iowa, www.pvsteelfab.com
Curtainwall/metal wall panel manufacturer/installer: Architectural Wall Systems (AWS), Omaha, Neb., www.archwall.com
Glass: Guardian Industries Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich., www.guardian.com