Project Overview
For more than half a century, Housby, a longstanding Midwest leader in the ready-mix, waste, forestry, and highway sectors, has served the industry with a strong commitment to reliability and innovation. When the need arose for a modern facility capable of ensuring that all their customers could continue counting on Housby’s services and products, company officials sought a building material that could meet the challenge. To support continued growth and enhance operational efficiency, Housby invested in a new 132,000-ft2 facility in Ankeny, Iowa, powered by precast concrete. Precast concrete producer MPC Enterprises Inc., together with architect and engineer 10Fold Architecture + Engineering, brought the building to life, cementing a campus that is a testament to innovation and high-performance design.
Performance, Precision, and Pride
When the design team first laid out their plans, the primary goal was clear: durability. Originally conceived as a pre-engineered steel frame with metal siding and liner panels, the team quickly realized the project required more. The building needed to do it all: support heavy equipment service bays, house internal wash areas, accommodate a regional parts warehouse, and still provide a retail sales center and corporate offices. It also needed to withstand the daily demands of a high-traffic environment. The answer was precast concrete, including more than 103,000 ft2 of load-bearing sandwich wall panels, 13,000 ft2 of hollow-core, and a single 106,000-lb, 70-ft-long clear-span beam. These components met the project’s structural requirements and reshaped its direction.
“In the world of heavy equipment and over-the-road trucks, durability isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity,” says Kevin Barber, principal at 10Fold Architecture + Engineering. “This legacy institution had a bold ambition, one that required a structure as tough and versatile as the equipment it supports yet refined enough to turn heads. Precast concrete played a vital role in accelerating the construction schedule, reducing long-term maintenance costs, and delivering both durability and visual impact.”
What started as a purely functional solution evolved into an architectural statement. The clean white finish of the concrete, paired with carefully placed black and red metal panels, created a bold, contemporary look for Housby’s new facility. The striking white exterior was achieved using a mineral stain that chemically bonds to the surface through a silicate-based binder, creating a finish that’s both durable and permanent. And while the building needed to appear tough, it also needed to represent a brand, a standard, and a presence. Every elevation had to appear intentional, polished, and powerful.
“Precast concrete was originally selected for its strength, but ultimately helped shape a space that’s tough enough for technicians yet inspiring enough for executives, customers, and trainees alike,” Barber says. “This isn’t just a service center. It’s a showcase of performance, precision, and pride.”
Inside, the raw strength of the structure is balanced by thoughtful design choices. Bright white finishes reflect the natural light that pours in from large vertical windows, creating a workspace that feels open, energized, and connected to its surroundings. The 8-in. solid precast concrete walls carry structural loads while also providing fire separation and controlling acoustics. And, in tandem with the facility’s radiant floor heating system, the thermal mass of the precast concrete keeps the space comfortable and energy efficient. Thanks to this high-performance continuous system, energy modeling revealed a 40% annual reduction in energy use, translating into cost savings of $55,000 per year.
In the end, though durability was the primary goal, precast concrete delivered much more. It gave Housby’s new facility form, function, and identity, ultimately shaping a space that company officials, customers, and the entire community will benefit from for the foreseeable future.
Mason Nichols is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based writer and editor who has covered the precast concrete industry since 2013. |