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With proximity to the Mississippi River, Muscatine, Iowa has been an industrial hub since the early 1900s.

In 1956, Muscatine native Max Stanley used his wealth from HON Industries and Stanley Consultants to establish the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, a global policy influencer focused on mitigating nuclear armament, mass atrocities, and climate change.

The Center’s new headquarters is tracking to be the second renovation to achieve a full Living Building Certification (LBC). While at a premium, the building reflects the Center’s mission—producing over 100% of its energy on-site, collecting all potable and non-potable water through rainfall, and using Red List-complaint materials.

The Center explored many sites before renovating a former public library. The building provided 19,260 square feet of occupiable space and a prime downtown location for strengthening community connections.

Nearly 94% of the existing building mass was reused, consuming 1/3 the amount of embodied carbon of similarly sized new construction. A portion of the building was removed to create an urban agricultural space that provides fresh produce for a neighboring foodbank. This removal also helped increase daylighting and views in occupied spaces.

While the ground floor houses public spaces for collaboration and educational events, the second floor contains private offices, sized equally to promote equity. Offices without direct views receive skylights and live plant walls.

Accoya wood siding, charred to resist insects and prolong weathering, clads the exterior. Interior materials, including a pearl button backspace and white oak veneers, reference Muscatine’s industrial history and cultivate place-making.