Several HGA project teams attended the Finance & Commerce Top Projects Awards Ceremony where we were recognized for five projects in the greater Twin Cities, Minnesota region. Congratulations to the award-winning HGA clients and partners for delivering design and construction excellence during a challenging year.
The winning projects include East Lake Clinic, Ravine Landing at Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park, University of Minnesota Medical Campus Fairview East and West Banks Renovation, University of Minnesota Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, and Water Works.
East Lake Clinic
This project is a collaboration between a Hennepin Health primary care clinic and a locally-run Hennepin Country mental health clinic. After the original East Lake Clinic building was damaged during the civil unrest in Summer 2020, the opportunity arose to expand the space to better serve the local community. The East Lake Integrated Clinic now features 17 exam rooms, a procedure room, a radiology room and an addition of 24 offices for mental health services, since the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors has shown a rise in the need for expanded mental health services.
Our research and work in designing pediatric spaces that are sensitive to neurological diversities, as well as our strong history in behavioral health facilities, supported many of the design decisions. We approached the redesign by focusing on patient and staff safety, and building environments that are nurturing and calming, while also being inspiring and joyful.
The most important impact of this project is returning the clinical services to a neighborhood that lost them in the wake of the unrest, as well as highlighting the types of services and organizations that came together in this space to uplift the community.
Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park
Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park is a 522-acre park located in the southern part of Washington County, Minnesota. The park features steep ravines and rolling hills, and provides pristine opportunities for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, picnicking, as well as many other outdoor activities.
The new Lower Landing Facility is just over 6,000 SF and features a warming lobby, parks and recreation office, a rentable multipurpose space with kitchenette, equitable restrooms, park storage and a covered picnic area. The new Trailhead Building features Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), and is the first installation of this mass timber product in the state of Minnesota. The wood framing sequesters carbon and promotes the client’s sustainability goals. The innovative design takes advantage of the two-way spanning capabilities of CLT to form a thin cantilevered profile around the roof edge of the building without the supplemental members that would have been necessary with conventional wood decking.
University of Minnesota Medical Center
The University of Minnesota Medical Center is the flagship location for University of Minnesota Health and is comprised of two hospitals and dozens of adult specialty clinics. Improving patient care, patient experience and improving workflow efficiencies drove leadership decisions to invest in the facility’s renovation. The expansion addresses the growing patient population with cutting-edge technology, updated procedure rooms, and advanced services that position the Medical Center as a national leader in healthcare innovation and delivery. Our HGA team engaged staff, patient groups, and stakeholders for feedback while planning each project in order to support improvements to the patient experience and create workflow efficiencies to enhance patient care and safety. Additionally, our team developed mock-up rooms to assess feedback from frontline team members about the design and development of each room type undergoing renovation.
Working with partners McGough Construction, the group of projects were planned in phases to minimize disruption throughout construction.
Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
Located near the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota, the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) works to advance brain health for early childhood and adolescent patients and their families, with the help of educators and researchers from across the University as well as M Health Fairview clinicians. Once a Shriners Children’s hospital, MIDB was reimagined as a destination for neurodevelopmental research, clinical care, education, community engagement and outreach. Through research and user engagement, our team designed spaces that support the diverse sensory needs of participants, patients, and their families.
The project presented an opportunity to support collaboration and create synergies across functions that had rarely shared physical space while reflecting and accommodating the diverse behavioral and neurological conditions of patients and research participants. It also represents a trusted partnership with Knutson Construction as the team navigated the challenges inherent in a complex renovation.
HGA developed a program in concert with various stakeholder groups to integrate research and clinical spaces and share resources to maximize the potential of the existing building. Placing program elements such as shared breakrooms central to shared offices, the design fosters connections between clinicians and researchers while also maximizing opportunities for collaboration.
Water Works
As part of a plan to enhance the experience of the iconic St. Anthony Falls area for tourists and residents alike, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB), and restaurant partner The Sioux Chef, entered a public/private partnership to develop the land. Now dubbed Water Works, a three-acre site within Mill Ruins Park, the project features greenspace with native foliage and a two-story pavilion that includes outdoor plazas, visitor amenities, and a new restaurant, Owamni.
New to Minneapolis is the park and pavilion’s extensive water reclamation system. HGA , the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization ensured that the renovation and design included a large-scale water reclamation system, which harvests rainwater from the rooftops of adjacent condominiums and office buildings to use in park irrigation and greywater functions within the park’s building. By reusing the existing mill foundations and footings, the project’s total carbon footprint is virtually eliminated. The project also adheres to Minnesota’s stringent B3 standards that monitor energy efficiency, emissions and air quality, bird-detectable glass, landscape treatment, and material sourcing.
View the complete list of Top Projects winners here.