New Idaho AGC Headquarters Opens to Rave Reviews

By Brad Fullmer

Visitors to the Idaho Associated General Contractor’s new 20,000-plus-sq-ft headquarters in Boise will notice the dramatic use of raw materials and exposed construction elements—a strategic design meant to draw attention to the various construction trades and the precision and skill they incorporate into projects on a daily basis.

“It has somewhat of an industrial look and feel,” says Mark Dunham, Idaho AGC executive director. “It’s modern, and it certainly showcases what our members do.”

Randy Steed, president of Steed Construction of Boise, the general contractor on the $3 million project, agrees. “The architect took the approach of exposing the construction, which highlights the work our members do,” he says. “The exterior is unique for Idaho.”

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The building was designed by Boise-based LCA Architects and is aiming for LEED certification.

Steed, who served as Idaho AGC president in 2007, adds that the new building was sorely needed and is a boon in helping the chapter grow and progress in the 21st Century.

“I could see we needed a new building a long time ago,” Steed says. “When I was secretary/treasurer, I knew we had to make this happen. I’ve been involved all the way through the process, and for me, it’s a culmination of a dream that has been in my mind the past six years.”

Burke Hansen of Hansen-Rice in Boise, who is the current Idaho AGC Building Committee chairperson, says the building is great looking and “highlights a lot of what the construction industry does.”

The exterior features colored, tilt-up concrete panels, corrugated galvanized metal panels and pre finished metal panels. The interior exposes raw elements of steel, concrete and glass, in addition to mechanical system ductwork.

LCA president Steve Simmons says the firm tried to incorporate the AGC’s core values of skill, integrity and responsibility into the overall design.

“It’s one of the few projects we’ve done in recent years that was somewhat of a design competition,” Simmons adds. “We had an in-house design charrette and expanded on those three values, which led to our design solution.”

The simplicity of the design, and trying to express the honesty of materials by leaving steel, concrete and metal ductwork exposed, was of paramount importance. “We wanted to express to the community the workmanship of what contractors do and show some unique elements,” Simmons says.

From a functionality standpoint, the new headquarters is highlighted by a two training rooms that can be combined into one large room that holds more than 100 people. It also includes raised access floors for future technological expansion needs, including broadcasting key meetings to members throughout the state.

“It’s a technologically sophisticated training center,” says Dunham, who joined the chapter in December. “We’re looking into broadcasting education classes to our members. When we have a guest speaker come in, there is no reason that members can’t someday pull that up on their laptop and watch a Webcast.”

Paul Franz, general manager of Interstate Asphalt in Coeur d’Alene and 2006 chapter president, adds: “It will do good things for the organization. It’s close to downtown, has nice meeting rooms for education and PAC meetings and gives us a little higher profile. And we have enough parking for a change.”

Steed says the building next to the Boise River has beautiful views of the mountains and downtown Boise. “We wanted something close to downtown so AGC staff can get to the State Capitol for legislative issues,” he adds. “It’s met everyone’s expectations and will represent the chapter well for the next 50 years.”

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