Roosevelt Library Construction full speed ahead!

The renovation of a small public library gem in south Minneapolis is in full swing.  The project’s goal is gain a balance between its historic charm while incorporates modern amenities.  The exterior portion is almost complete including the update of the building’s envelope; the building’s exterior will get some re-pointing and replacement of deterioratedbrick and crumbling grout.  The outdoor public spaces have been laid ready for the updated landscape this spring.  The 500-square-foot addition for a multipurpose room for community and library activities has been constructed and closed up.  The addition adds a lot of space to this small library along with a lot of day light.

Meanwhile interior renovation is moving along! Consistent with green building standards, the inside will have plenty of natural light and updated systems.  The goal here was to improve staff work areas, create more efficiency and accessibility spaces and refresh the overall interior; keeping it warm, rich and intimate feeling.

The best part about this process has been the community’s involvement and their enthusiasm. Neighbors participated in a design collaboration to help refine the renovation goals.   Don’t only is this library getting a rejuvenated architecturally, Hennpin County will be provided more public computers, wireless access, a teen area, more books, DVDs and CDs, and new but appropriate furniture; flexible, appealing with comfortable seating.  The Roosevelt library will reopen in early summer 2013.

A Place to Collaborate! Valspar Headquarters

On the 9th & 10th Floor of the Ameriprise Service Center Building in downtown Minneapolis, Valspar Headquarters resides. Only a few years after moving into the space with new layout/finishes/etc. the Valspar Team found the flow of space for visitors to be unwelcoming. Visitors must be greeted in the lobby of the Ameriprise building, making the Lobby on the 10th Floor rarely used. Instead visitors are walked through open office area where people are working quietly. After a lot of discussion, the Team decided it was time to re-work the South half of the 10th floor to create a sequence of spaces for a visitor to walk as they arrived for a meeting. In the center of this space is a large collaboration space for Team members to meet and work together. The room can be closed off or opened up to feel like one even larger space for gathering. There are a few smaller areas of soft seating for smaller Teams to gather with monitors throughout for employees to plug in their laptops and share ideas. This design project is very fast paced. The construction documents were created in a couple short months and construction began December 6th and will be complete on January 11th. Below are a series of design renderings and construction images thus far.

Stratasys Offices

HCM designed a new office build out for Stratasys at their Eden Prairie SMACS facility.  Construction is underway, scheduled to finish in early November.    The build out with be the new home for 60 employees, along with collaborative space, conference rooms, galley kitchette and video conferencing spaces.

PD Solid

Process Display's PD Solid division is upgrading their painting capabilities.  We designed a new finish lab, support spaces, hazardous storage rooms and provided coordination for the paint booth installation.  Construction should be complete by the end of October.

Cummins CPGO Offices

The final open space furniture has been installed at CPGO in Shoreview.  Cummins has the building fully occupied, with over 700 employees using the facility.

Cummins Power Generation - Test Cell 134

Construction has started on the Test Cell 134 expansion at Cummins Power Generation’s Fridley Technical Center.  CPG will beginning testing in the expanded cell at the start of the new year.

R&D Systems Campus Facelift!

R&D Systems is a business in Minneapolis which has two divisions; Biotechnology and Hematology. This is a new client for our office and we are excited about our first project with them which we have been working on for the past 6 months or more.  R&D owns a building on campus that was being rented out in the past, but is in poor condition and they are having difficulty keeping the spaces full of tenants. To make the building fit into the campus look, R&D has decided to renovate the building, making the exterior similar to other buildings around it, but also renovating the interior on the southern half for the company expansion. This expansion will include labs, offices, lobby, breakroom, and warehouse space. R&D has decided to split the project into two phases. The first phase is called the Core and Shell package; including all work to the exterior shell of the building along with the addition of new mechanical systems and stairs on the roof and interior of the building.  The second phase is the interior build-out and was drawn for the Hematology division of the company.  These design development level drawings were recently presented and approved by the company which means construction documents for this phase will begin shortly while construction begins for phase one.  You will see in the images below, a 3D rendering we put together to compare the current building condition with how it will look once construction is complete to better fit into the R&D campus.

Anoka Highway Dept is on the home stretch to a brighter and refreshed look.

Anoka Highway Department Renovation and Expansion is wrapping up and is expected to be finishing up late Spring.  The finishes are going in and the final touches are reallying crystalizing the project.

Washington County Lake Elmo Park Reserve - Winter Rec. Facility

As posted earlier, HCM provided the design for a new winter recreation facility for Lake Elmo Park Reserve.  The purpose of the building is to act as a trail-head or warming house for winter park activities, including cross-country skiing; however it will be used throughout the year. The building is surrounding by beautiful landscape and wrapping around the site are various cross country ski trails for the public to enjoy. As you can see the project is almost complete. The interior finishes are being wrapped up while the exterior is still needs to be stained and the site work completed.  The mild winter weather was unfortunate for those people wanting to get out and ski, however it was perfect for the contractor. The construction process has been great; Jorgenson and KA have done a great job with the pace and overall craftsmanship of the building. They care about the details and it shows! Can't wait to plan an HCM outing next winter to enjoy a fire looking over the beautiful trails!

Cummins Addition Progress

The large addition for Cummins Power Generation continues to make great progress in the relatively nice weather we have been having.  90% of the precast wall panels are in place and all of the major steel components have been set.

Boston Scientific Visitor's Center

In August 2011, we were asked by Boston Scientific to design a high-profile project within the Weaver Lake 3 building that would serve as a training and entertainment area for visiting doctors and other BSC clients.  This space would be used to promote BSC 'in the market' products, as well as the ability to highlight what may be perculating in the directly adjacent Reseach & Development labs. HCM and Isola Design worked with Boston Scientific to provide a crisp, modern design using a neutral color palette to help frame and highlight the color graphics that Boston Scientific will be implementng in the upcoming months.  The images shown below help describe the process, from 3D modeling in September 2011 through construction (completed in January 2012).

Washington County Lake Elmo Park Reserve - Winter Rec. Facility

As posted earlier, HCM provided the design for a new winter recreation facility for Lake Elmo Park Reserve.  The purpose of the building is to act as a trail-head or warming house for winter park activities, including cross-country skiing; however it will be used throughout the year. The building is surrounding by beautiful landscape and wrapping around the site are various cross country ski trails for the public to enjoy. Although the building is far from being complete, the contractor is making great headway with all the warm weather we have had this winter. This week the building will be completely enclosed and work can begin on the interior.  You can already see that the building has a great scale to it. Although it is a small building, just over 3,000 SF, the use of the roof lines, columns, and windows makes the building appear large/vertical and open.

New Cummins Project Under Construction

Our next project with Cummins Power Generation is in the ground.  Following are some photos showing the size of large grade beams for the project.

Cummins CPGO Shoreview nearly ready for move into completed Third Level

The Cummins CPGO Shoreview facility is proceeding rapidly, with the Third Level now partially occupied.  The First and Second Levels are receiving finishes and the new Servery is now under construction.

A cozy place to warm your toes.

HCM provided the design for the new winter recreation facility for the Lake Elmo Park Reserve.  The building will be a trail-head for winter park activities, including cross-country skiing. The building will provide a warming area, changing room and restrooms. It will also have potential summer uses for other park programs.  The building corresponds to the designed lit ski trails that SRF and HCM developed last here and was completed this summer, the project consisted of lighting six miles of the park's ski trails.  The goal for the design and materials of the building was to provide a welcoming, warm, beacon for ski and park users.

One bite closer to the completion of the second Colossal Café.

The ironically small Colossal Café is expanding to fit its name.  There is a non-stop buzz about the new Colossal Café opening up this winter in the Saint Paul neighborhood of Saint Anthony.  The design will provide similar to the café’s menu; a light, fresh, and a novel approach to a conventional neighborhood coffee shop/diner joint.  Construction is fully underway by Schreiber and Mullaney Construction and the project is looking great!  The space already feels inviting with the newly installed glass block windows and the sand blasted wood ceilings.  I can’t wait for the fun flooring to be installed and the splashes of color on the walls.  In no time there will be a line out the door waiting to fill their bellies with delicious made from scratch meals in a quaint place they will call home.

Good things come in small packages.

Carter's Memorial is under way and is looking great!  Construction is being lead by Carter's father and will continue throughout August.   Linder's is currently designing the garden layouts and has had an overwhelming response to plant donations.   The gardens will be a great touch to the piece.

Project Sonitus Update

Cummins Project Sonitus continues to progress toward completion.  Many parts of the building are receiving finishes and the Test Chamber is coming along nicely.

Sonitus Update

Cummins Project Sonitus is moving along and some better weather has allow the site work to make substantial progress.