Ankeny Northwest Booster Station

The City of Ankeny brought on V&K to design a booster station that could serve growing water demands in their community for the coming years. Beyond functionality, they wanted a building that would fit into the surrounding residential area aesthetically as well.    

We worked with the city to design a station that could serve areas in both a closed system and an open system, giving it the ability to operate once a planned water tower is constructed in the area. The ability for the booster station to convert between a closed and open system made the project unique from an engineering perspective, as most booster stations are constructed as being open or closed, not both.

V&K’s in-house architect worked closely with the city to develop a prairie-style design that would blend in with the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Because of the building’s need for high ceilings, the architect placed a heavy emphasis on horizontal lines on the exterior of the building, using a custom brick patterning on the exterior of the building to achieve the aesthetic. V&K’s team also faced the challenge of ventilating heat and sound from the large generator used to power the station, and ultimately opted to use a chimney instead of a large vent on the back side of the building. Our teams successfully met the project’s goals by designing a station that will serve the city for many years, meeting growing water demands and also creating a structure that blends in with the community.