Hmong College Prep Academy is pursuing LEED Certification
Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd., a Minneapolis-based full-service architectural firm, designed an addition and renovation to Hmong College Prep Academy (HCPA) 1515 Brewster Street, St. Paul. The 78,300-square-foot, $12.6 million project is scheduled to be completed at the start of the 2013-14 school year, and will help HCPA further its goals of providing a well-rounded college preparatory education and a world cultural-infused school environment for K-12 students and families. Further supporting academic and community interests, the addition is pursuing LEED® certification through the U.S. Green Building Council to make tangible the good stewardship practices HCPA promotes daily in the classroom. “HCPA has been excited to work with the Kodet Architectural Group team to design a new school building that is energy efficient. Not only that, but the building has adequate and spacious classrooms, giving us the facility needed to provide rigorous educational programs and services to our students and families. We are proud to ‘go green’ and become a LEED-certified school,” stated Christianna Hang, superintendent of the HCPA District. Throughout the project’s design, Kodet has worked closely with HCPA’s staff and administration to resourcefully repurpose the existing structure and to provide a creative design that meets the school’s space needs. The architectural team has addressed concerns such as indoor air quality and classroom acoustics to create more workable environments for teachers and students. Constructing a more secure, controlled entrance and an open gathering area outside of the new performance theater were also key parts to HCPA’s addition design. Kodet Architectural Group first started work on HCPA’s facility in 2007. Pao Yang, chief operating officer at HCPA and the board of Hmong Education Reform Co., a nonprofit that owns the building, contacted Kodet after hearing about their experience working with other charter schools. Two design phases initially were completed to renovate the […]