Wednesday evening, Mary and I attended the Super Wednesday meal and Dedication of the newly remodeled kitchen, which we designed. The place was really bustling, unlike this photo shows. It looked like a full hall after everyone had been through the serving line.

The food and company were great; it was nice to see the fellowship and community action supported by our work.

Super Wednesday happens each week during the school year; I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you dropped in to see the kitchen if you stayed for a cup of soup and a sandwich!

Northfield Construction handled the demolition and construction; Nerstrand Custom Cabinets built the cabinets; Bierman’s installed the flooring; Keith Pumper took care of plumbing and HVAC; Guth Electric did the wiring and lighting. The church is pleased with the project and the improvement it has made in their meal ministry.

Here’s a shot of an office addition going up in Ellendale, Minnesota. It will become the new home of the Misgen Auto Parts, Inc. staff and sales department.

The photo shows the insulated concrete forms which form the walls. This is one strategy employed to create a low-energy building to better serve the needs of this business. The fire-resistivity of the concrete walls is also desireable in the industry.

Our design work included a master plan to address the overall flow of inventory from receiving, through draining and dismantling, and to the end user through warehousing and sales. A second addition will be built at a later date to streamline the draining and dismantling process.

We are impressed with the Misgens’ interest in minimizing the impact of their operation on the environment. The new office will require little heating and cooling. The future dismantling wing includes a state-of-the-art fluid recovery system that will collect over 99% of the vehicles fluids, and a radiant floor to reduce heating needs. A geothermal heating and cooling system is being considered; this is a switch away from the waste oil heat currently in use. This is a win-win-win: less emissions, efficient heating and cooling, and recycling income from oil that previously went up in smoke.

On 11 September 2007, I helped the Cannon River Sportsmen’s Club present to the Park Board a preliminary plan for an Archery Range at Lashbrook Park. The Park Board supports the idea, sharing my belief that this will add a richness to Northfield’s park system.

Archery is a very safe sport, about on par with bowling for injuries. It can be enjoyed by everyone from children to senior citizens. As an avid archer, I have taught my children to shoot bows and have marveled at the sense of confidence and achievement it has brought them. Watching the Cub Scouts learn to shoot has offered the same reward.

And, the sport is quiet, requires little equipment, and the park will be funded 100% by the Cannon River Sportsmen.

By the way, the Sportsmen have already donated all the equipment used in the Archery-in-the-Schools program (a couple of years ago, if I am not mistaken.) It seems that the proposal to build the archery range is a continuation of their community service. Our design work was donated as a sign of our support.

The plan is to have at least one neighborhood meeting and discuss the park and the features necessary to make a safe and enjoyable place for bow and arrows. Check with the City of Northfield for the details on the meeting. And, support the Cannon River Sportsmen as they support the City of Northfield.

During early summer, we worked with ArTech administration and staff to plan for improvements to the Advisories. Advisories are kind of like homerooms, but they are open to each other and surrounding spaces. These spaces are the core of the educational program, serving many purposes as required. The remodeling provided new carpet, cave spaces and fixed partitions between the advisories. (Cave spaces are small niches for soft seating, conversation, individual study, and small group presentations. See the area against the back wall in the photo below.)

The logic behind the fixed partitions is multi-faceted. They provide power and data receptacles to the advisories and afford places to display student work. The openings through the walls allow students to change the focus of their eyes, an important part of a healthy learning environment. They are situated to provide visual separation of the grades when seated but to allow a standing student multiple framed sightlines to the outdoors.

Northfield Construction and their subs did a nice job getting the project done on a tight schedule. VIVUS is currently planning a kitchenette for ArTech’s hot lunch program; construction will happen this fall.

Furniture is still being rearranged, so things look a bit chaotic in the photos, but never fear, ArTech staff and volunteers will have it ship shape for the start of school!

The Northfield School of Arts and Technology and Vivus Architecture and Design have collaborated to develop a master plan for their facility.

It was fun and interesting to get to know ArTech through this project, which was funded by a state planning grant and resulted in an application for a state and federal facilities improvement grant. We read and studied “The Language of School Design”, a book written by the internationally acclaimed charter school architecture firm, Fielding-Nair International. With school staff, we attended a four-hour seminar by Fielding Nair, did some sketching, and reviewed our design ideas on site with Jeff Lackney of FNI. This set the stage for a review of the existing facility, prioritization of improvements desired, and honing the facility to fit ArTech’s pedagogy.

The educational model they are pursuing is a wholistic, individualized approach, allowing students to learn as they learn best. It requires a building that follows the “learning suite” model rather than the “cells-and-bells” model (traditional classrooms on both sides of a hallway). To that effect, the design evolved into an advisory area that is visually unified but functionally divided into four distinct parts, each of which is a learning suite. I won’t get into all the details (read the book and visit the school!), but through a series of design and review sessions, we arrived at an affordable and functional plan for improving the facility.

The next step is the application for the improvement grant, which is almost complete. By January 2007, the grant results will let us know if the work is really affordable or not.

If you have children in the 6th to 12th grade age group, you should look into ArTech. We were very impressed with the thoughtful, energetic enthusiasm of the staff and the strength of their program; enough so that our daughter now attends!

When you see a sign like this, you know something is up. In this case, it is the construction of the addition to Ascension Lutheran church in Brookings, South Dakota. Mary stopped by this past weekend to check on progress.

For reference, the dark red, wood-sided portion of the building is the existing church. This strong form challenged us as designers. The new form is intended to compliment the existing, creating a new identity for the church without detracting from or overpowering the existing form.

This is the primary entry into the remodeled structure. The existing worship space will be transformed into the new gathering space, the hub of the facility.

The new worship space will be airy and open, with an internal sense of lightness.

The existing form was not the only challenge. This shot shows the careful coordination required by the existing wood beams and foundations.

We will post more images as construction continues!

Click here for previous posts on this project.

Beth Guenther of Koch Hazard Architects (Sioux Falls, SD) reports that construction is moving along smoothly at Ascension Lutheran Church.

The project consisted of two parts: remodeling the Fellowship Hall and adding a new worship space (with related remodeling). To date, the Fellowship Hall has been completed and the congregation has moved their worship services there so remodeling can be done in the existing worship space and construction of the new worship space can begin in earnest.

This photo shows the footings and foundations in place for the new worship space, where it will join the existing worship space, which will be remodeling into a gathering space.

The congregation is pleased with the process and product of our design efforts, and looks forward to their new worship space.

VIVUS served as design architect for this project, working with Koch Hazard as architect of record. For more on this project, see these previous posts:

News Release: Ascension Lutheran Church

Addition: Ascension Lutheran Church