Fleming Apartments
Residential
Pull Back
The Fleming Brothers Building is the only Daniel Burnham highrise in Des Moines. It’s classic exterior form and well lit interior spaces + large windows are indicative of Burnham’s early work in steel framed tall buildings. The interior office spaces had been reworked many times over the life of the building leaving essentially a well crafted shell for new urban residential living.
Momentum
The downtown rental market has heated up in recent years, but to find a stronghold in the market the development team conducted a thorough market survey of potential renters. Results showed people want their own affordable space which can be small if the living space is large and well lit. With this charge, the Slingshot team produced a studio unit design accomplishing these goals + outperforming studio units in other local developments.
Impact
Each unit is a well crafted modern space tucked inside the historic building shell. Interior finishes continue this story-line in a slight contrast between the warmer, traditional paint + trim at the perimeter wall and the clean, modern finishes at new walls. New woodwork incorporates modern rift cut oak panels referencing the historic oak trim and doors found in the original corridor finishes. The design success is echoed in economics as the building was fully occupied within a month of opening.
