The FHL Bank Headquarters was situated to maximize site views and the very prominence of the building. The chosen location allows for all stormwater to be handled through a series of bioswales and underground detention. All parking lot water is filtered through multiple 20-foot-wide bioswales to maximize infiltration into the native soils and mimic the natural system that had existed on the greenfield site to the greatest extent possible. A prairie-style landscape design was utilized to pay compliment to the surrounding landscapes and incorporate more than eight acres of native prairie restoration.

Key to the landscape concept for the site was the preservation of several mature trees to help give the building a setting that appears to have been there for years. Multiple patio spaces were designed for the employees being nestled into the tiered stone retaining walls that are an interpretation of the existing limestone outcroppings commonly seen throughout the Flint Hills region and become a “base” for the building to rest on the site. Both the patio spaces and the entry drop-off utilize a decorative colored and exposed concrete pavement to help enhance these locations.

McClure provided the landscape architectural design, construction documentation, specifications, stormwater strategy, LEED documentation, and construction administration for this project with expected to be certified LEED Gold later this year.