It had been two decades since Johnson County had built out the wastewater offices. They needed more collaboration in the office but wanted a space that supported their budget and sustainability goals too. Luckily, back in 2004, they built with DIRTT.
Location
Olathe, Kansas
SQ FT
7,200
DIRTT INSTALL
8 weeks
DIRTT Construction Partner
Built
Architect
Finkle + Williams Architecture
Designer
Finkle + Williams Architecture
General Contractor
Universal Construction Company
The Challenge
Returning to the office in the wake of COVID, Johnson County Wastewater discovered they needed to refresh their space. To support updated technology, innovative work styles, and collaboration, they wanted fewer offices, more conference rooms, and a streamlined customer-facing front desk. As a government organization, they had a responsibility to maintain continuity of service and keep the budget in check.
In 2004, Johnson County chose DIRTT adaptable wall assemblies to help achieve LEED Gold certification. “The thought was, with DIRTT, as the building evolved over time, the departments wouldn't be down all that long,” says Danni Livingston, original project manager for Johnson County. Twenty years later, DIRTT helped them pay off that investment.
Repurposing DIRTT 20 years later
IMAGE CREDIT: Randy Braley Photography
Our Solution
Working with modular wall assemblies of standardized sizes, the existing DIRTT was quickly disassembled and removed from site. This gave the other trades wide-open spaces to work as they updated base building. Creating a safer and more efficient job site, it also meant floor and ceiling contractors didn’t have to cut around walls, saving time and reducing material waste. Then, when the site was ready, the original DIRTT was brought back in with a few newly produced assemblies and graphic panels. Because DIRTT walls quickly tip up into place, there was no dust or noise to disrupt the other Johnson County teams working in the building. And since our system is designed with non-obsolescence in mind, all the new pieces were compatible with the DIRTT that had been at Johnson County for 20 years.
The Impact
DIRTT’s modular interface helped streamline the schedule facilitating a faster installation and inspection process. Construction was completed under budget and two weeks ahead of schedule.
DIRTT also helped Johnson County with their sustainability goals. The building still has LEED Gold status and being able to reuse DIRTT came with a substantial environmental impact. 74% of the new space was built with existing DIRTT and more than 34 thousand pounds of waste was diverted from the landfill. By avoiding the processing of new raw materials, more than 40 metric tons of emissions were avoided. All that and the team loved their new office. “They can't stop taking pictures of the space and of people collaborating,” says Ekaterina Barybina, project manager at Johnson County. “All their dreams came true. They're just beyond happy.”
DIRTT did a great job at helping us achieve every goal we had. While it is an older product, that didn't limit us from doing what we wanted. Anything was possible.
Karsen Koziol
Project Manager, Johnson County
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