Tag: Architecture Minnesota (10)

AIA Leadership | Kyle Palzer

At Kodet, we encourage all our employees to participate in volunteer opportunities that help strengthen the architecture community. Kyle Palzer, Assoc. AIA a designer here at Kodet, has been actively involved with the AIA North Central States Region Emerging Professional Committee as the Regional Associate Director, to help guide policy matters for the national professional organization. The committee has continued to strengthen its regional bonds over the last year with monthly working calls taking place between the four states of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. This past year the committee put into action the initiatives it laid out last year, resulted in the following: aiancsr.com was launched, a new Emerging Professional focused website which provides resources, blogs, and recognition geared specifically for this AIA member category. The fourth annual Regional EP Summit took place in Madison, WI at the start of October hosted by AIA Wisconsin. The regional Emerging Professional Friendly Firm Award was introduced, similar to the former IDP Firm Award, it recognizes firms that do an outstanding job supporting young professionals. Kyle has been able to connect the region’s Emerging Professional leaders together and spearheaded the NCSR EP Friendly Firm Award.  Kyle’s term as the Regional Associate Director ends at the end of the year. However, he will continue to represent Associate AIA members as he steps into a new role on the AIA National Associates Committee, serving as one of four National At-Large Director for 2020-21 leading the Influence + Innovation work group. The goal of the workgroup will be to plug the voice of the Emerging Professional into the future initiatives AIA is working on. These include the 2021-2024 AIA Strategic Plan, “The Next Big Thing” – AIA’s committee and knowledge community restructuring plan, and AIA’s Climate Action Plan, known as “The Big Move”. To help foster this collaboration, the National Associates […]

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd | Preserving Character

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD | PRESERVING CHARACTER The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Minneapolis had begun to turn the page into a new chapter, which called for an adaptation to their sacred space to meet contemporary needs. Originally built over 65 years ago, the renovation aimed to uphold the historic integrity and respectfully adapting the Vic Gilbertson, FAIA mid-century modern church to meet current programmatic needs. The Kodet Team understood the importance of this historic restoration and through carefully studying sketches and the building’s artwork we were able to develop a better understanding for the back-story and connection to the details. Integral to the renovation was the idea of strengthening the bond between the church and the congregation, which reflects the celebration of their faith and community. The ever-present theme was preservation + improving functionality to serve current and future generations. ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION The renovation and restoration looked how to make the best use of the buildings great art and architecture. A key element was to connect the existing sanctuary to the existing courtyard originally separated by brick wall with stained glass windows. By removing the south wall of the nave, we were able to expand the space by creating large custom wood sliding doors. These grand doors open the worship space to the new catwalk, which features a balcony overlooking the updated exterior courtyard. The worship expansion and inclusion of these custom doors incorporated the relocated original stained glass and allows a full view over the courtyard and introduces natural light into the sanctuary. Most importantly, we were able to creatively save and utilize the existing stained glass panels. By using materials original to the building and combining this with the glass, the changes transformed the church from an introverted interior focused space to a […]

Drones in Architecture

ELK RIVER WATER TOWER Problem: How do you field measure a water tower in the middle of a Minnesota winter? A.     Risk your life to climb an icy freezing slippery ladder and use a tape measure and laser pointer to get an approximation of size. B.    Fly a drone and take pictures and use these images to create a point cloud and Revit family with exact dimensions. Answer:   B: Fly a drone.   Working with the City of Elk River and CAD Technology Center (CTC), an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV aka Drone) was flown the morning of February 8, 2018.  The drone set-up and flight only took a few hours and the flight created a photo scan of the water tower by taking hundreds of digital photos.  CTC processes the data and created a point cloud file in Revit.  From this file, a Revit family component was created that is a full sized three-dimensional digital representation of the water tower After Kodet received the Revit model, some detail had to be added to the model, but the basic dimensions, size, shape, and heights were a part of the model created from the photo scan. Kodet used this model to create drawings for contractors to estimate renovation costs to repaint the historical water tower. Countless hours were saved in field time and modeling time. In the end, a much more accurate set of drawings were created because of the use of the drone. The documentation process to get contractors to be able to bid the project became very simple and cost effective. The client was also pleased with the results and accuracy of the drawings that were created by the UAV Scan. Our office looks forward to using this highly advanced technology, which is constantly changing on future projects. Flying […]

Twin Cities Academy | Architectural Solution

The 9.2-acre site for Twin Cities Academy was the original location of the Cemstone Products Company, which was used as a concrete batch plant and nestled into St. Paul neighborhood. For many years the site was used for mining soils, storage, and concrete production. Environmental testing discovered hazardous materials and buried debris, which required extensive clean up. Chemicals used in the production of cement had also leached into the soils and increased PH levels on the entire site making it difficult to grow vegetation. However, through effective collaboration between the civil engineer, contractor, school, architect, and the MPCA, the difficult site was remediated into a healthy site for new school construction, the aerial site plans below illustrates this transformation. Through careful listening, the design team collaborated with Twin Cities Academy staff and stakeholders to develop a better understanding for the programmatic needs for each space. This resulted in an efficient floor plan that is smaller than the space they were previously renting. The student population is comprised of both middle and high school students and the school expressed a need for creating a separation of these two age groups but also developing a sense of unity within the school. In designing a large classroom wing that is comprised of middle school on one floor and high school on another floor it creates the separation desired by TCA staff. Housed in a different wing were shared programmatic spaces for gym, band, art, etc., and the two wings are connected by a grand atrium punctuated by a welcoming fireplace which promotes small group gathering and a delivers a wealth of natural light. Vital to the vision of the new Twin Cities Academy was to create a warm welcoming space for students, staff, and the community to gather. The open entryway achieves this, as students enter their […]

Twin Cities Academy | Merit Awards

TWIN CITIES ACADEMY | AIA-Minnesota Merit Awards Kodet Architectural Group was presented with the AIA-Minneapolis, Merit Award for Twin Cities Academy. The Merit Awards are unique in their approach to creating a jury, the award encompass the views of business professionals, real estate developers, community advocates, and academic leaders, as well as architects. The award is bestowed to projects by AIA-Minneapolis architects, which tell a story of excellence beyond design, reflecting the variety of forces that shape a building. Projects are evaluated based on how they respond to the following criteria: Architectural Solution Technical Innovation Environmental Responsibility Budget + Business Success Community Impact Client + Team Satisfaction Part of the philosophy of this award is the focus on the story of the project and Twin Cities Academy not only embodies these criteria but also illustrated by a compelling story. The story depicts the positive transformation of a once desolate site, which stands as a beaming reflection of Twin Cities Academy’s dedication to academic excellence and adds energy to the site and a permanent positive presence to the neighborhood. Twin Cities Academy is a tuition free public charter school in St. Paul and one of the top-rated charter schools in the country. After occupying a multitude of venues since 1999 and most recently rending an old outdated elementary school, TCA was in need of a change. In relocating their facility it would promote their vision of empowering and inspiring young adults to make a difference. In the fall of 2016, the new Twin Cities Academy provided the school a permanent home and established presence in the St. Paul neighborhood, which echoes their motto and commitment to “A Higher Standard of Academic Excellence”.

Little Free Library

LITTLE FREE LIBRARY Recently, the City of Lakes Rotary Club collaborated with the team here at Kodet to create a unique Little Free Library for a Project for Pride in Living site. The Little Free Library has gained worldwide attention as it aims to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. Members of the Project for Pride in Living collected and delivered hundreds of books to start off their two new Little Free Library Sites.  Their goal to build a sense of community rang true as the Kodet team and Rotary Group put their heads to create their own Little Free Library. The team was comprised of Sean Leintz, Mandi Tauferner, Kelly Martinez, and Ken Stone. Early on in the process, each member of the team created sketches as to each would approach the project. After reviewing the creative sketches the team decided on a colorful library with a unique roof. Originally the design sought to have 2-levels, with sliding shelves moved with a “rotary” wheel incorporating the City of Lakes Rotary Club. In the end, the team collaborated to create a library which features a creative curved roof with pops of acrylic colored panels for windows. As you open the colored panels to grab a book the user is able to move the shelf back and forth to grab the book of his or her choice. Below are some images which depict the process the team went through in sketching and creating detailed plans for the project. Sketch by Sean Figuring out the specs! Materials + Details created by Mandi Rendering of the Final Product by Mandi! The team constructing the Little Free Library We would like to thank the Little Free Library organization and Project for Pride in Living the opportunity to work […]

Different Preservation Standards

What does it mean to “preserve” a historic building? A. Preserve all the battle scars of the building’s history as we see it today. B. Restore the glory days and make the building look as it once did C. Keep history alive by continuing to use the building in new ways D. Bring back the dead and rebuild history that would otherwise be forgotten And the answer is… E. All of the above. Options A through D above refer to different WAYS that a building can be preserved. Each treatment option corresponds to a written set of guidelines and standards, compliments of the Secretary of the Interior division of the National Park Service. Any of the options may be the right fit for your historic preservation project, but you can only choose one. Review the descriptions below and identify which treatment best aligns to your preservation intentions. A.   Preservation Option A sets the foundation of best practices for all of the options: Preserve as much material history as possible Retain the historic character Recognize the physical record of time, place, and use Save special materials, features, and craftsmanship Work gently, don’t use harsh chemicals or tough treatments Protect archeological resources This option was ideal for preserving the Samuel B. Strait House by repointing the original 1857 stone-walls to maintain and protect the building for another generation. B.   Restoration Restoration follows the same principals as Option A, except that all work is done to preserve a specific time in the building’s history. For example, if someone added a window after the chosen period of significance, then Option B would call for infilling the opening. This option was ideal for restoring the R.F. Jones (Longfellow) House interior after it was altered for use as a public library and then damaged by […]