Southwest Power Pool Headquarters Little Rock, AR

Southwest Power Pool dates to 1941, when 11 regional power companies joined to keep an Arkansas aluminum factory powered around the clock to meet critical defense needs. Today, Southwest Power Pool, is a regional transmission organization. They are the “air traffic controllers’ of the electric power grid.

Southwest Power Pool outgrew their former site. They began a search for sites around the city to build a new corporate headquarters and data center. DCI assisted in this search for properties by analyzing the feasibility of various sites to meet their needs.

SPP settled on an undisturbed, 21 acre, forested site in west Little Rock. The challenge in this project was to place a 167,000 sf building, a 58,000 sf data center and parking for 600 vehicles utilizing a deck, while preserving the character of the site.

DCI worked with the design team to create a site which focused on creating a manicured, designed space immediately adjacent to the building while preserving the perimeter forest on the site. Grading was concentrated to the center of the site. The landscape at the front of the center is a series of lawn and gravel panels separated by concrete bands along an arc.

The result of this work is a LEED Gold project which provides outdoor opportunities for the employees of SPP while also aiding security by providing a buffer from adjacent roads and properties.