We are in the final design stretch! The details need to be refined, actual materials selected and, most importantly, make sure we are on track with the budget. The preliminary drawings are out for pricing and we hope to move forward so construction can start right away in the spring. Click on the images to see some of the interior concepts.

We are having fun with this project! An overall plan and design direction is set but the main discussion over the past month related to the roof form. The flat roof was out of the running early. The Owner’s had always desired an offset barrel roof but the shed roof was intriguing as well. Each had their pros and cons as it related to the interior and exterior function, aesthetic and costs. After much discussion and many sketches, the Owners decided to stay with their original desire for the offset barrel.

We are now working on the folding in the details, including the finishes and textures. Be sure to check previous posts to see how this project began! Click on the images below to enlarge.

Contractor: Cates Fine Homes

Just another day in the life of an architect. We are finalizing the finish selections for a new $4 million office facility and making all of those selections can be overwhelming. We thought this video might help explain a bit of that process.

We are under construction! The new offices for the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization is located on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The invasive plant species will be removed opening a visual and physical connection to the river. The entire site will be sculpted to demonstrate a variety of stormwater management techniques.

As with any former industrial site, there are challenges with knowing what actually is under the surface. Contaminates, old refrigerators, construction debris…? Soil borings will tell you what is directly below that spot but there cold be a buried oil tank 2 feet away! For the most part, we were OK -except for the geothermal wells. We ended up having twice as many as planned (60) due to rock. Luckily, they only needed to be half as deep to accomplish the same task.

The Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are going up as you can see by the photos. Once the steel work is done, the building shell will be completed in three days! We still have a long way to go but it is always exciting to see progress! Click on images to enlarge.
Contractor: Meisinger Construction

Time to wrap up another project. This is always a great time -seeing the final product of a lot of efforts come together. It also feels like you are sending a child off on their own. The day to day contact, the teaching/learning, and the relationships with everyone involved now changes. You have to trust that success will continue and that you have done all you could to give the client and building a bright, happy future.

This ‘final’ stage of the project involves walking through the facility with the Owner, members of the Design Team and the Contractor to develop what is called a ‘Punchlist’. These are items that still need to be completed or items to repair. Usually (hopefully) the extent of work is paint touch-ups and installing a few missing ceiling tile. Closing out his project was a bit more complicated because the Owner completed some of the work. We needed to make sure and clarify responsibility. In the end the list was small and the church will be officially ‘moving in’ by the end of the month. Thanks to everyone involved and especially the Riverview Baptist Church for allowing us to help realize your dream!

We are still in the beginning design stages of this home remodeling and addition project. The video shows the first sketches that we presented to the clients after our initial meeting. A big chunk of this first part of work is understanding the existing home and site. The goal of these early meetings and presentations is to start with the ‘big picture’ and not get bogged down in the details -those will come later to reinforce the overall design concept. We start by loosely putting rooms and forms together so the client has something to look at and react to. We then discuss the ideas, doodle over the drawings and listen to the verbal (and non-verbal) reactions from the clients. Then we encourage them to take a couple days, let things soak in before we touch base and move forward with refinements. Stay tuned for more updates!

Architect: michael huber architects         Contractor: Cates Fine Homes

Several years ago, our office was fortunate enough to lead and create a Visioning Document for the entire 400 acre YMCA Camp St. Croix. This is different from a Master Plan such that it included not only recommendations of materials, forms, etc. but also philosophical goals. One of those goals was to be mindful of our environment and achieve LEED Certification with any new building project. This project will be the first on the campus to ‘go for the gold’!

After many discussions, design studies and cost estimates, we are at the point of moving forward with the construction drawings. The final layout, form, materials, etc. were derived from the desired program, associated budget, its site and adjacencies to other buildings along with guidelines indicated in the Visioning Document.

The next step is to coordinate the details and systems with all of the team members to ensure the building functions and hits our LEED target. Stay tuned for more posts on that process. Click on the images to enlarge.

Architect: Us!, Green Bldg Facilitator: EcoDEEP, Structural Eng: Mattson Macdonald Young, Mech/Elec Eng: Gausman & Moore, Civil Eng: Foth Infrastructure & Environment

We were pretty fortunate to be introduced to our newest Client’s by a contractor we had worked with in the past. Jim and Marilyn are a great and fun couple who are wanting to turn their early 70’s cabin into a full time residence. Jim builds custom bicycles and will also move his creative shop space here as well. (We may need to incorporate some pedals, gears, chains, etc. into the design!)  I gave them a tour of  the Pine Lake Retreat which had similar features they were interested in and luckily for me we were hired!

The upper level of the cabin will be wiped clean and a new open floor plan will be developed making it the primary living area. Several additions will reshape the exterior along with a new bold roof form and a change in siding. I had my camera with to document the existing conditions and decided to film a bit as well. Check out the video below to get a feel of the current cabin then keep checking back and see how this project develops over the next several months!

Architect: michael huber architects         Contractor: Cates Fine Homes

We are finishing up the Schematic Design for the King Leadership Center at Camp St Croix. This means that a basic concept is approved and can move into what is called Design Development…where the design is developed!

The program took a little shift, which often happens as discussions occur. The Camp wanted to look at accommodating 24 single beds in lieu of 18 bunk beds. This makes sense because the bulk of the visitors will be adults. The challenge is the 3-to-a-room requirement and then wanting them to join as suites. That means a room access door, suite door and window are needed in each room…which also means more floor and corridor space, etc. The typical puzzle solving.

The overall concept is to use the Classical Elements as a tool to organize as well as give opportunities for learning. The building is divided into Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. So for example, most of the ‘wet’ services are in the Water Bldg with maybe a solar hot water system on the roof. With this facility attempting to be LEED Certified, we can hopefully highlight sustainable concepts that reinforce this design concept.

We also realize that many times the dreams exceed the budget. Some tough decisions are on the horizon to maintain that dream while being diligent with the dollars… Click on images below to enlarge.

Architect: Us!, Green Bldg Facilitator: EcoDEEP, Structural Eng: Mattson Macdonald Young, Mech/Elec Eng: Gausman & Moore, Civil Eng: Foth Infrastructure & Environment

Our office is just beginning a new project for beautiful Camp St Croix. This King Leadership Center will house up to 36 guests with an adjoining commons/meeting space. The specific site is on the main south campus and will anchor the ‘great lawn’ space. We will be targeting a LEED Silver or Gold certification.

We had our ‘kick-off’ meeting last week where we reviewed the Program (spaces needed) and the site challenges and opportunities. Kevin Flynn with EcoDEEP lead the LEED Scoring process to help define our baseline goals.   (Kevin and I will be recording a podcast discussing LEED soon!)  Now comes the fun part -the sketches, the creativity, the putting the puzzle together… and the other stuff- meeting with building officials, verifying code requirements, etc. Stay tuned!

Architect: Us!, Green Bldg Facilitator: EcoDEEP, Structural Eng: Mattson Macdonald Young, Mech/Elec Eng: Gausman & Moore, Civil Eng: Foth Infrastructure & Environment

Click on the images below to enlarge.

This project is moving along!  We are excited with the progress and can see the finish line!  Langer Construction is the General Contractor and doing a great job with not only their work, but accommodating the sweat equity provided by the congregation.  This group of members has dedicated more time and effort in doing actual construction then any I have seen in our past church projects.  Hats off to all of you!

You can get more construction/progress images at the churches blog and please click on the images to enlarge.

We are just finishing up the Construction Documents for a new 11,000 sf office building for the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. This facility will be located on the Mississippi river in North Minneapolis. The cool thing is that there will be a bunch of interpretive (educational) features focusing on water that are incorporated into the building and the site.

As the construction moves forward this spring, we will highlight some of those features and interview members of the team. Stay tuned! Click on the images to enlarge.