You don’t often find a blend of sleek contemporary architecture and down-home nostalgia like that at the Krause Gentle Corp. headquarters building, 6400 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines.

Shiffler/Associates Architects PLC, headed by D. Bryan Shiffler, designed the building and the just-completed addition to fit nicely into the row of high-end office buildings that are seen by thousands of drivers on Interstate 35 every day. But the interior decorating details make you think you’ve wandered into the den of company owner W.A. “Bill” Krause.

The public entrance features mementoes of the company’s beginnings as Hampton Oil Co. in Hampton, Iowa, in 1959, when Krause was in his early 20s and formed a partnership with T.S. “Tony” Gentle.

Then there are the conference rooms, each with a theme of its own.

1. The Hawkeye Room. As a student at the University of Iowa, Krause was the equipment manager for Coach Forest Evashevski’s powerhouse football team, and he certainly hasn’t forgotten the experience; last fall, he donated $5 million toward the renovation of Kinnick Stadium. Fittingly, this large conference room is adorned with the football jerseys of Randy Duncan (whose law office is in downtown Des Moines) and Tim Dwight, the basketball jersey of Bobby Hansen (who works for James Mortgage in the Regency Homes building next door to Krause Gentle) and a helmet from the days when Coach Hayden Fry decided to put the initials “ANF” on each helmet – standing for “America Needs Farmers.”

2. The Teamwork Acres Room. Here you find photographs of Krause’s grandchildren. Teamwork Acres is a collection of farms, including the spot near Waukee marked by an impressive American Gothic metal sculpture and a 1920 barn.

3. The TSG Room honors Tony Gentle, who recently turned 93. One wall holds a display of Hampton Oil stationery, business cards and other items; on another wall you see his oft-used quotation “Work works wonders.”

4. The Liberty Room, which relates to Krause Gentle’s sister company Liberty Bank, has one wall that’s filled with $147,800 worth of shredded U.S. currency, visible through a plastic cover.

5. The One-Liner Room is adorned with comments that Krause likes to use to motivate the troops, such as “Don’t look back, we’re not going that way” and “Know the score, keep the score, the score will improve.”

6. The Family Room. Here are dozens of Krause family snapshots, including pictures of Bill’s parents, his sisters and he and his wife, Nan, when they were dating.

7. The Farmer Bill Room. One entire wall is an aerial photograph of a Krause farm in Southern Iowa. Elsewhere hang photos of old tractors – a 1953 Ford, a 1937 Graham Bradley and a John Deere 630 – and the old sale notice of A.J. Krause, Bill’s dad, for his farm near Marshalltown.

8. The Menace Room features a wall-sized photo of soccer players – Krause grandchildren and Des Moines Menace players, too.

The first two phases of the Krause Gentle building were completed in 2000 and enclosed 36,000 square feet. This year’s addition nearly doubled its space with 34,000 square feet.

Liberty Bank and Solar Transport, another sister company to Krause Gentle, will occupy the east-end addition; the nostalgia will stay put in the west end.