SETTING an Example

VA office becomes national model

Veterans Administration Regional Office

By Sean Ryan

Photo by John J. Korom

Permits?

They didn't need no stinking permits.

"In my 30 years in the business, this is the first building I've built without a permit," said John Mann, chief operating officer of The Jansen Group, which was the general contractor on the Veterans Administration Regional Office. "It made actually no difference. Sometimes getting a building permit is a hassle, but this was one hassle we didn't have."

Jansen built the 102,747-square-foot, three-story regional office on federal territory within the city of Milwaukee. Because the U.S. government owns the property, the city has no jurisdiction over it. Hence, there was no need to get a building permit.

But the crew at Plunkett Raysich Architects that designed the building still made sure everything was up to code in case the land ever changes hands and a permit becomes necessary, said Martin Choren, Plunkett Raysich senior associate. While conceding that skipping the permitting process is an automatic time-saver, Choren was sure to add that the city of Milwaukee development team is always punctual.

"It probably wouldn't have been too much of a bump in the ride," he said. "In 20-some years of working with them, they've always been easy to work with."

The U.S. Veterans Administration was so pleased with Plunkett's building design that it is considering using it all around the country, Choren said. Just like the U.S. Navy uses standard ship classes, the Veterans Administration is looking for a model office to use nationwide.

	Project Name: Veterans Administration Regional Office Location: Milwaukee Submitting Companies: The Jansen Group Inc., Milwaukee, and Plunkett Raysich Architects LLP, Milwaukee General Contractor: The Jansen Group Inc. Architect: Plunkett Raysich Architects LLP Engineer: Komp Gilomen Engineering Inc., Milwaukee, structural engineer Owner: Keenan Development Associates of Milwaukee LLC, Columbia, S.C. Project Cost: $10.4 million Start Date: September 2003 Completion Date: July 2004

"They identified this building as the Milwaukee class," Choren said. "The VA has established this as a type of prototype building that they can use throughout the country."

It wasn't easy making something special out of the project because the administration was asking for an office with lots of file cabinets and partitioned work areas, said Kerry Tylke, senior interior designer at Plunkett Raysich. To avoid recreating a tedious honeycomb of cubicles and cabinets, the team hid the files in the center of each floor and experimented with different earth-tone colors.

The second and third floors each have 1,000 file cabinets, which are color-coded by floor and hidden behind a waste-high partition wall. The desks, with their warm burgundy and beige colors, surround the cabinets. Tylke said the team used lower desk partitions on the outer desk circles to allow more light from the windows to filter into the middle of the room.

"The palette is warm and inviting, and the gray is there to bring it back out," she said.

Since veterans will be visiting the building, the design team was sure to create dedications to military service throughout, Choren said.

"That was the theme all along — to recognize the military," he said. "We wanted them to feel honored. We're showing them respect in how we detailed things out."