Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust - Marion Branch
Alex Michl, OPN Architects

Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust - Marion Branch

OPN Architects as Architects

Known for warm and welcoming service, including signature chocolate chip cookies, this new branch bank location for a mid-size midwestern city needed to embody the bank’s commitment to community and fostering relationships.  

photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects
photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects

Located along a prominent arterial road, the new 4,100-square-foot bank balances transparency and security while embracing the idea of building as billboard. The parti is a simple rectangle with a masonry clad block housing the vault and support spaces anchoring a transparent glass volume.  The glass volume is wrapped in exposed white-painted slender steel columns.  

photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects
photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects

A singular and continuous roof plane extends beyond the glass box creating a front porch that is connected visually to the living room inside through the curtain wall.  This roof plane also supports a photovoltaic array above to significantly reduce the building’s energy impact.  

photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects
photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects

Inside, a conference room and three offices hold the elevation fronting the urban-edge. Careful detailing allows the steel structure and office modules to work in concert. Each office wall terminates gracefully into the steel column, intersected with the office’s glass fronts, maintaining an uninterrupted view through the building.  

photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects
photo_credit Alex Michl, OPN Architects
Alex Michl, OPN Architects

Clerestory windows reinforce the interior circulation path and diffuse light through translucent glass. Walnut wood panels and slats are used at the teller line panels and the wall that wraps the vault and support spaces as a backdrop that brings warmth at the core of the light-filled open space.

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
News
Makoto Yamaguchi Design completes Tokyo gaming HQ with contemporary appearance of traditional Japanese pagoda
14 May 2024 News
Makoto Yamaguchi Design completes Tokyo gaming HQ with contemporary appearance of traditional Japanese pagoda

Tokyo-based Makoto Yamaguchi Design has completed the new headquarters of a Japanese gaming company... More

25 best aluminum window manufacturers
13 May 2024 Specification
25 best aluminum window manufacturers

Aluminum windows and window systems are lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and structurally strong. S... More

Detail: Red facade and triangular plot create distinctive apartment building in Barcelona
10 May 2024 Detail
Detail: Red facade and triangular plot create distinctive apartment building in Barcelona

Barcelona-based architectural studios MIAS Architects and Coll-Leclerc have completed the developmen... More

Snøhetta completes Norway’s first naturally climatized mixed-use building
8 May 2024 News
Snøhetta completes Norway’s first naturally climatized mixed-use building

Global transdisciplinary architecture and design practice Snøhetta has completed Norway&rsquo... More

Studioninedots designs “Octavia Hill” on intricate site in new Hyde Park district, Hoofddorp
8 May 2024 News
Studioninedots designs “Octavia Hill” on intricate site in new Hyde Park district, Hoofddorp

Amsterdam-based architecture and urban design practice Studioninedots has designed a building as par... More

Waterworks Food Hall promises Toronto a new landmark cultural destination within a beautiful heritage space
8 May 2024 News
Waterworks Food Hall promises Toronto a new landmark cultural destination within a beautiful heritage space

Opening this June, Waterworks Food Hall promises a new multi-faceted dining experience and landmark... More

Wood Marsh emphasizes color and form in new Melbourne rail stations
7 May 2024 News
Wood Marsh emphasizes color and form in new Melbourne rail stations

Melbourne-based architectural studio Wood Marsh has completed the development of Bell and Preston ra... More

C.F. Møller Architects and EFFEKT design new maritime academy based on a modular construction grid
6 May 2024 News
C.F. Møller Architects and EFFEKT design new maritime academy based on a modular construction grid

Danish architectural firms C.F. Møller Architects and EFFEKT feature in Archello’s 25 b... More