From humble beginnings in Scotland, South Dakota to an international presence in the biofuel industry, POET is a leader in innovative, sustainable, and balanced solutions for energy. With bioprocessing facilities throughout the Midwest, POET relies on its office in east Wichita for the distribution, transportation, and logistics for its products. This industry has created such a demand for POET’s products that its Wichita office needed renovation and expansion to accommodate its growing workforce.

With a clean and streamlined aesthetic as the goal, PEC had the opportunity to design mechanical, electrical, and structural systems within strict parameters. In the middle of the new expansion is an open two-story space with a second-floor walkway. This feature came with its own set of structural hurdles as the goal was to not have any supporting columns under the walkway. The PEC team worked closely with the design team and partners to ensure the clients’ vision was achieved.

Due to the open floor plan and unique architecture of the building, the most challenging part of the electrical design was finding a way to discreetly get data cabling and pathways laid out within the building, specifically within the open office area. To accomplish this, the design included hundreds of conduits that ran below the floor into the IT and electrical rooms.

When one walks into the renovated building, the unique aspects of the architecture are immediately noticeable. PEC coordinated with the architect to build a soffit that ran in a cross pattern over the trading floor where we routed the ductwork. Since visual appearance was the main concern, a continuous linear grille that ran the entire length of the soffit was specified.

The POET expansion was designed with the future in mind. The new 37,500 SF additions will accommodate major growth for the client: 192 workspaces, 100 parking stalls, multiple conference rooms, a new break room to serve the entire campus of offices, and an outdoor lounge space.

SERVICES
Electrical
Mechanical
Structural
Technology Design

PROJECT SIZE
37,500 SF

COMPLETION DATE
2024