LifeServe Corporate Headquarters, Blood Processing Lab and Donor Center in Johnston, Iowa, offers a vibrant, comfortable, daylit setting that promotes health, well-being and connection. BNIM Architects designed the award-winning, inviting facility to exemplify the organization’s mission and encourage blood donation as a lifelong habit. Tubelite’s aluminum-framed curtain wall, storefront and entrance systems enhance the building’s daylight, transparency, views, outdoor access, visual appearance and resilient performance.

Saving lives since 1947, LifeServe is one of the 15 largest blood centers in the U.S. This nonprofit, community-based organization provides blood products to 175 hospitals primarily in Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Illinois.

Spa-like setting, daylight, views

“We wanted to create an environment that is much more spa-like,” said Stacy Sime, LifeServe Blood Center, president and CEO. “We wanted to get away from the feel of being in a clinic and make donating blood a much more pleasing experience.”

Bringing this design intention to reality, BNIM worked with general contractor The Hansen Company to construct LifeServe’s two-story, 59,290-square-foot building. Manufacturer’s representative Hillesheim Architectural Products assisted Elite Glass & Metal with the selection of Tubelite architectural aluminum products, a brand of Apogee Architectural Metals.

The inviting entry lobby features a two-story opening that visually and physically links the main floor’s donor center and laboratory with staff and meeting spaces above. Collaborative work areas, an exterior terrace and staff courtyard offer views of the surrounding greenspace and access to the LifeServe Gift of Life Garden.

Framing these views and maximizing natural light, Elite Glass & Metal installed Tubelite 400T curtain wall as LifeServe’s prominent façade on both floors. The south elevation presents its public face, welcoming donor and volunteers. The curtain wall wraps both the east and west sides, including the second-story terrace with Tubelite Wide Stile Monumental Doors.

At the north side, Tubelite Wide Stile Monumental Doors are topped with its 400T SSG curtain wall, greeting staff and deliveries. Providing high thermal performance and condensation resistance, Tubelite 400T Series Curtain Wall framing can be stick-fabricated for field glazing. The glass is positioned to the system’s exterior for optimal resistance to rainwater.

Tubelite T24650 Series Storefront aluminum framing systems enhance thermal and structural performance, and form the punched openings at the backside of the building. Drawing daylight more deeply into the building and maintaining an open, transparent atmosphere, Tubelite E14000 aluminum framing support interior glazing systems.

Resilient finish, environmental design

All of Tubelite’s aluminum framing is finished by Linetec, contributing to the building’s appearance, as well as its sustainability, longevity and resiliency. Linetec finished the metal using a durable, 70% fluoropolymer, architectural coating in a standard black color to complement the interior’s natural color palette, including reclaimed wood from trees on the site.

As an environmentally responsible finisher, Linetec safely captures and destroys associated VOCs before the material is installed on site. These painted finishes meet the industry’s most stringent standard, AAMA 2605, ensuring they provide long-lasting high performance with minimal maintenance, even with Iowa’s cold winters and hot summers.

Shading LifeServe’s south- and west-facing elevations, Tubelite’s curtain wall integrates brackets to attach weathered steel shading devices. On the south-side, the metal blades are angled for glare reduction on the staff’s monitors, screens and equipment. The shade screen also minimizes solar heat gain and reduces associated mechanical loads and costs. The geothermal well field and solar-ready roof further contribute to long-term operational savings. According to BNIM, the facility has an energy use intensity 68% below baseline (CBECS 2003).

Global honors, local impact

Since opening in the summer of 2024, the center has positively impacted more than 284,000 people and its newly constructed facility has been honored with numerous architectural design awards.

LifeServe earned the prestigious 2025 European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and 2025 Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, International Architecture Award. Two chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) also recognized the new building. AIA Iowa presented it with a 2024 Honorable Mention and AIA Kansas City awarded it as 2024 Project of the Year in the large project category.

AIA Kansas City’s judging panel highlighted, “The flow from indoor and outdoor makes it feel like a real community space– a community building – welcoming and well detailed. We unanimously appreciated the elegance of the solution around what is a humble program.”

The new facility strengthens LifeServe’s mission to save lives in partnership with the communities it serves. Its headquarters positions the organization for a successful future with the flexibility to adapt and the space to expand. As the nation faces a blood shortage, LifeServe’s staff, volunteers and donors continue to fulfill a critical need benefiting hundreds of thousands of lives.