Twin Cities Academy | Innovation + Environmental Responsibility

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TECHNICAL INNOVATION

It was imperative to transform and remediate the site into a healthy landscape with athletic fields for a dynamic school program. The innovation to correct the former industrial site is one of the best examples in the Metro Area. The Cemstone plant had inhabited the site for nearly 90 years, and within the site were a collection of dilapidated structures in need of demolition as well as remediation. Paramount to this process was to mine clean soil from the site, which was used in environmentally sensitive areas around the school to adhere to the MPCA guidelines. To minimize the impact on budget, the Kodet Team conducted feasibility and cost saving benefits due to hazardous items discovered on site to minimize impact on budget, while at the time satisfying MPCA requirements. In developing a more sustainable site we coordinated the site layout of the building, parking lot, and infiltration ponds to have the least amount of impact on the environment.

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ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Sustainability was at the forefront of the design process with an aim to design a building that is not only energy and resource efficient, but also provides a healthy learning and working environment. The building itself is actually about 8,000 square feet smaller than the previous home of TCA; however, the efficient floor plan allowed for a smaller building footprint to accommodate improved functionality along with an increased number of students and staff.

The project incorporated a variety of sustainable concepts such as the following:

  • Efficient LED Lighting
  • Healthy Indoor Air-Quality
  • Energy Efficient Glazing to provide natural light for students + staff
  • Acoustics in each room to maximize comfort + learning potential
  • Materials with Low VOC content
  • Recycled Materials and utilizing crushed concrete
  • Remediating a brownfield site to create a healthy and safe environment to build a school.
  • Efficient site layout to maximize green space + athletic fields for student + community use.
  • Two On-Site infiltration ponds to control storm water runoff