Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa plans to move 1,650 employees into its new headquarters by Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, RDG Planning & Design is assembling an elaborate system of artwork intended to blend the 550,000-square-foot building on Grand Avenue into its natural and man-made surroundings.

“Art is a very important part of that,” said Rob Schweers, a senior communications consultant for Wellmark, referring to the design elements being incorporated into the corporate campus.

The goal, he said, is not only to create an environment that provides current office dwellers with a comfortable work space, but to set the insurer apart from competitors as it works to attract new employees.

To that end, RDG, which in conjunction with lead architect HOK Architecture has been working since at least 2006 to conceptualize and execute Wellmark’s vision, is working to integrate into the site natural elements found in its client’s domiciles of Iowa and South Dakota.

Each floor of the five-story building, for example, will have a unique theme as part of a “way-finding” system intended to reinforce Wellmark’s wellness initiatives and overarching health-care-related mindset.

Images of native prairie grasses, oak leaves, water, wild flowers, trees and the sun are among those that will be integrated in various ways across the 6.5-acre campus.

“When I first started working on this project, we were working directly with Wellmark to develop these way-finding patterns that go throughout the building,” said Kari Stecher, a graphic designer who leads RDG’s multimedia efforts. “We were developing these base patterns that we were starting to put on conference room windows and office door windows.”

“A person that may work on the first floor becomes identified with that in a way,” said David Dahlquist, an RDG partner who oversees the firm’s Dahlquist Art Studio. “And whether they realize it or not, at times they share a story about where they work,” he said, noting that the integration is intended to develop more continuity in the work place.

And as more companies embrace green design and build initiatives – Wellmark is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification – Dahlquist said his industry is evolving beyond the lighting, engineering and landscaping mentality of some conventional firms.

“Design is changing, and the nature of traditional delivery for architects and engineers is changing,” he said, noting that RDG began adopting non-traditional techniques about 10 years ago when it shed the architect label from its name and encouraged more collaboration between its artistic and multimedia divisions in order to better meet clients’ needs.

The Wellmark project, he said, is a prime example of how collaboration ties into that philosophy.

“Environmental graphics are all of the graphics you see in your surroundings,” Stecher said. “It can be paint color; it could be symbols on the wall that help you find where you are at.”

But the reoccurring images, which are being incorporated in everything from signage to wallpaper to the gate in front of the building, are meant to serve more than utilitarian purposes.

Schweers said a large courtyard where employees may gather for lunch or breaks will be located in front of the building.

“There is a cistern underneath where we are collecting all the rain water, so we can reuse that,” he said. “The space isn’t empty, it has a purpose. It will look very nice.”

“It’s more of a decorative, deterrent gate system,” said Carol Worth, a senior financial planning analyst with Wellmark.

“Environmental graphics have an EQ, an emotional quotient,” Dahlquist said. “We can have a sign for a door that identifies a given place; let’s call it ‘mechanical room.’ But very few people would comment on how that sign was designed.”

Some architectural and design firms are even beginning to utilize behavioral psychologists in the planning process, he added, in order to better understand clients’ goals as they envision how finished spaces will affect the people who work inside.

“It’s an integral part of the building, not just a piece of artwork,” Stecher said. “That’s where we started as a jumping-off point into the artwork.”

Wellmark also intends to relocate individual works of art to the new building from its current locations. And of the new pieces of art Wellmark has acquired, about 80 percent were purchased from local and regional artists, some of whom attended the 2010 Des Moines Arts Festival.

Worth said Wellmark also plans to develop a number of multimedia packages that will be displayed on monitors in the main lobby and in break areas.

“There are things from the artwork program that we want to incorporate into that,” she said.

The building’s design is also intended to help the Wellmark building relate to its surroundings, which include the Mary and John Pappajohn Sculpture Park across the street.

Dahlquist pointed out that the building is positioned squarely within the “urban core.”

“I think part of the artistic impression of the building is just the views you will seize of the city of Des Moines,” he said. “It opens to the city … you’re looking out at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, you’re looking out at the rivers, you see east and west. I think just the design of the building itself, the glass façade, is an artistic statement as well.”

“It’s a unique part about what turns an office building into a place where our employees are going to enjoy coming to work,” Schweers said. “So creating an enjoyable space is right at the top of our priorities.”

“It’s very much about what these people represent,” said Davis Sanders, a principal at RDG, referring to a planning process that started in 2006. “They have a unique personality. It takes quite a while to understand that personality. As we understand it, over time, that’s the point where you want to increase the dimension of that whole thing and build on it.”

Worth said RDG’s internal processes, which include constant contact among Davis, Stecher and Dahlquist, has helped to streamline the entire process.

“From a client standpoint, having that all integrated, I really think that’s a big benefit,” she said. “Otherwise I would have to be that conduit between the three of them. It really made it easier on the client.”

Bill Valentine, chairman of HOK, took on the project’s lead designer role.

He described himself as a “corporate office junkie.”

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Valentine said. “For us, it’s been a dream project. We wanted it to look like it belonged in Des Moines.”

Wellmark will vacate five leased office spaces downtown when it relocates to 1331 Grand Ave. The final phase of construction is expected to wrap up next spring. Located in the Western Gateway, the $194 million project represents Wellmark’s first corporate campus in its 70-year history.

RDG employs about 100 people in Des Moines. HOK has offices located around the world.