EDUCATION
A holistic approach to fostering lifelong learning and whole-person growth
WHO WE ARE
4 PRACTICE SITES
45 YEARS OF OPERATION
200+
EMPLOYEES
ARCHITECTURE
INTERIOR DESIGN
URBAN DESIGN
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
ENGINEERING BRANDED ENVIRONMENTS
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY | Falls Church, Virginia
Enriching lives and strengthening communities
OUR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
BKV Group’s mission statement guides every project, and allows us to connect our practice values to the goals and objectives of our clients. For us, “Enriching Lives and Strengthening Communities” is foundational to the relationships we build throughout each project, the framework to our advocacy for users and stakeholders during planning and programming, and the maxim that inspires purpose-driven design solutions cultivated specifically in response to each project’s constraints, opportunities, and community needs.
NATIONAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP TEAM
MARK MANETTI
AIA, LEED AP Government and Education Practice Leader, Partner Washington, DC
GBENGA OGUNBOR
Director of Mechanical Engineering, Senior Partner Washington, DC
JOHN NEILSON
Director of Urban Design & Landscape Architecture Washington, DC
KELLY NAYLOR
Senior Interior Design Leader, Partner Minneapolis, MN
ROSE RODRIGUEZ
Director of Structural Engineering, Associate Partner Washington, DC
JIM HANSING
Director of Construction Administration, Associate Partner Washington, DC
KANAR SARRAJ
Director of Electrical Engineering, Associate Partner Washington, DC
BRADY HALVERSON
Director of Landscape Architecture, Associate Partner Minneapolis, MN
One firm with four practice site locations
OUR NATIONAL REACH
Collaborating regionally, BKV Group operates as a cohesive firm delivering a wide range of project types for a diverse set of national and local clients. We leverage industry-leading communication and technology tools with best-in-class design processes to seamlessly work across practice sites to meet our clients’ needs, and continually expand our presence into existing and new markets.
Knowledge and experience for a wide range of project types
DESIGN VERSATILITY
BKV Group provides knowledge and experience for a wide range of project and sector types, plus has familiarity in working with a spectrum of project partners. Our designers have a profound responsibility to drive positive change in our communities. We are passionate about helping our clients identify, pursue, and achieve ambitious goals in creating unique, meaningful places of value and purpose.
PROJECT SECTORS
+ EDUCATION
- Early Education
- K-12
- Higher Ed
- Informal Learning Spaces
- Library
+ Housing
+ Embedded Learning Spaces
+ Employee Childcare Centers
+ Correctional Learning Spaces
SPACE TYPES
+ Classrooms & Active Learning Spaces
+ Collaborative Spaces
+ Libraries
+ Administrative & Faculty Offices
+ Student Life
+ Foodservice
+ Campus Plant/Facilities
+ Outdoor Learning Spaces
SERVICES
+ Space Needs Assessment
+ Existing Conditions Assessment
+ Space Planning
+ Feasibility Study
+ Creative Design Solutions
+ Design-Build Collaborations
+ Infrastructure & Systems Renewal
+ Sustainability Improvements
+ Adaptive Reuse
+ Campus Master Planning
INTERIOR DESIGN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
ARCHITECTURE
INTERIOR DESIGN BRANDED ENVIRONMENTS
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
CLIENT
INTERIOR DESIGN
ENGINEERING
INTERIOR DESIGN
INTERIOR DESIGN
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
INTERIOR DESIGN URBAN DESIGN
,
Design thinking in service of learning, independence
and development
Whole-student development is the most crucial charge of academic institutions today. Across all age groups, each academic community must foster independence and exploration, engage a range of teaching and learning modalities, connect students with one another and with resources and support, and provide environments which balance stimulation with reflection.
HOW STUDENTS LEARN
Environments support student engagement in learning and socialization by combining opportunities for individuals to feel comfortable with those that encourage exploration and growth. Students connect intellectually and socially when they can engage their own knowledge and experience, when they feel invited to indulge their curiosity, and when their environments contain prompts and cues for how to connect with the information at hand, and with the people around them.
HOW STUDENTS ENGAGE
Academic environments – both formal and informal – are evolving to accommodate variety in how information is communicated and acquired, and the variety of ways in which environment can support focus. Learning happens in 360 degrees, from visual to tactile, from individual to group, with digital and physical materials. Attention and engagement are supported through posture change, a balance of environmental stimuli, and access to nature or biophilic elements.
HOW STUDENTS SUCCEED
Student welfare and performance are inextricably linked: intellectual achievements are nurtured by psychological and physical health. As schools continue to adapt to ever-expanding research into development, learning, and growth, there is a concurrent evolution in the type of spaces that support academic engagement and social connectivity, which increases the ability of institutions to nurture and engage each student within and well beyond the classroom.
DESIGN EXPERIENCE
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Our firm makes places for people: we are keenly aware of the impact a single project can have within its walls, and for the community it serves. Stakeholder engagement is a baseline component of our project process: before we can begin to propose solutions, we need to connect with our clients, so our proposed solutions are truly responsive. We take pride in creating unique design moments throughout each project designed to encourage people to connect.
MANAGING FOR QUALITY & VALUE
Investment in planning, design, and construction is a commitment, one that we honor through our vetted project management and quality assurance process. We utilize dedicated specialists in code, specifications, quality assurance, and construction administration, to augment each project team. We engage in-house third-party project review at key design and production milestones to ensure a tightly-coordinated set of contract documents. Our projects are delivered on time, with a record low number of non-client-requested change orders.
SYSTEMS & SAFETY
Buildings and grounds are resources whose critical value lies in providing safe, secure, inviting, and engaging spaces for student and facility. An institution’s physical resources, its buildings, landscapes, and physical plant infrastructure, are assets to be cultivated: long-term value for the institution and its community lies in strategic investment and thoughtful planning and use of resources. We approach this investment in systems, materials, and resources for long-term positive impacts on: quality of place, human health and wellness, operations and maintenance, allocation of financial resources, and local and regional environments.
DESIGNING FOR THE PLANET
Sustainability is integrated, not applied, to every project. We understand the value of a holistic design approach: making decisions at every scale – site, building, room, furniture, equipment – that uses materials and resources responsibly, leaves a project site healthier post-construction than before, improves health and wellness of the occupants, and works within each client’s budget.
INNOVATIVE BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
Across our market sectors we engage building technology – methods and materials of construction – as a tool to manage project budget, schedule, and energy performance. We collaborate with manufacturers and with contractors to develop project-specific solutions that combine design vision with best value. Our innovation is not only with new construction projects but extends also to our decades-long experience with adaptive reuse of existing and historic structures.
OUR PROCESS
BKV Group provides total building design: from the aesthetics of branding, to the science of building technology, to the challenge of creative cost control.
DESIGN PHASES
DESIGN PROCESS
PRE-DESIGN
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
PROJECT DISCOVERY
We immerse our holistic team into your visions, goals and objectives to help develop a framework and thresholds for action in your building. Through stakeholder engagement exercises, site visits, benchmarking and programming to steer the creative direction.
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Our holistic planning approach considers the needs of all users as we assess the functional, sustainable, and aesthetic requirements for the project. Working to improve efficiencies, function and adjacencies. Preliminary massing, floor/space plans, initial finish, and FF&E selections are developed at this time resulting in a design that embodies your goals, concept narrative, and functional needs.
Our clients share their stories, their history, their goals, their fears, their wishes. And we listen. We gather all the information we possibly can. And then we get creative.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
REFINING THE DESIGN
Refinement of the concept and documentation occur during this phase by marrying the space planning with the concept in a 3-dimensional illustration of the design. Visualization presentations may include wireframe and/ or rendered studies, plans, key elevations, initial detail, material and FF&E selections, and virtual reality walk throughs when warranted.
TECHNICAL DESIGN AND DOCUMENTATION
Construction Documents include Massing Diagrams, Reference, Floor, Finish, Furniture, and Reflected Ceiling Plans; Elevations; Sections; Details; Schedules; and Specifications necessary for your contractor and procurement professionals to execute the project. Documents are coordinated with in-house disciplines and outside consultants, and reviewed for QA/QC. Project bidding, permitting, cost verification, and VE may occur prior to construction.
EXECUTION
During Construction and Installation, BKV’s team is actively engaged with your General Contractor and Procurement teams: periodic site visits to monitor construction progress, responding to RFIs and submittals, helping the team address challenges that arise in the field. Our team responds quickly to keep the project progressing.
YOUNION @ ANN ARBOR | Ann Arbor, Michigan
EDUCATION APPROACH
Health and wellness are a focus for today’s students, and the staff who serve them
LISTEN
How do you execute a successful strategic plan?
You listen. At the start, you listen. Throughout, you listen. When you share your ideas, you listen. We’ll start the project with a kickoff meeting with core project stakeholders, listening to learn who you are now, how you operate, and how you envision your future of service. Active listening includes withholding judgement, using reflection to clarify understanding, asking open-ended questions, and summarizing what’s been heard. We’ll use this method with in focused listening sessions with staff, key stakeholders, our community engagement partners, and the overall community, documenting these nuanced dialogues for reference and record.
LEARN
Strategic planning is an exercise in learning, combining research, benchmarking, engagement, and analysis to inform objective recommendations about your priorities, goals, services, operations, facilities, and investment. This informed objectivity is critical on two counts: ensuring representation of your holistic needs and goals, and establishing a transparent, accountable planning process for county leaders and residents. The heart of this planning process is information gathering; connecting with what is known and identifiable, and being sensitive to what remains unsaid, avoided, and minimalized. We thrive in this part of the process, tapping into our team’s rich history with similar projects and communities for benchmarking, and connecting both in-person and digitally to understand and learn at the scale of human connection and service.
DAKOTA COUNTY SOUTH ST. PAUL LIBRARY | South St. Paul, Minnesota
CONNECT
Our strategic planning process is both linear (starting from listening and moving through an enriching process to inform our recommendations), as well as cyclical. Cyclincal entails smaller rounds of listening, learning, and connecting happening in sequence throughout the project as we explore different areas of focus, and as we connect with different stakeholders and move with your core group from early understandings into a place of deeper discernment.
Meaningful connection is critical in this process. Not simply with those who already know and are invested in the project and it’s outcomes, but also with those who may not yet have any connection to the project, or the value of its services and resources. Before and throughout the pandemic, we’ve utilized a range of helpful strategies to connect with both types of stakeholders. These methods include creating a sense of welcome, and providing space for people to feel comfortable in the room so points of connection can be made. Our BKV Team is mindful that where we connect influences how we connect.
DAKOTA COUNTY SOUTH ST. PAUL LIBRARY | South St. Paul, Minnesota
EXPLORE
Once we’ve gathered and analyzed information, engaged your team, your stakeholders, and your community in dialogue about needs, wants, goals, vision, services, function, and resources, our team will then engage in a process of exploration. This includes drawing out priorities, considering aspirational goals and measures, and honing our recommendations about the project’s strategic plan into a format where focused dialogue with your core team is possible.
At this stage, we will return to conversations from the project kickoff, and establish a common understanding of project goals. These principles will become our guides for the articulation of a strategic plan that balances aspiration with implementation. We then will work with you to ensure that the project’s outcomes –in content and in language – are useful, usable, and encompassing of your concrete and abstract goals.
PROPOSE
Laying out a set of proposed recommendations provides a time of clarity and one of reflection: seeing the whole picture of how the strategic planning process turns into a set of concrete, actionable goals. Small details and nuances coalesce into themes for prioritization and implementation.
A successful and useful strategic plan first establishes a clear direction for the future. Goals are organized and defined with language that speaks to who you are as an organization, and to the values you will live out as you evolve. The plan needs to be of service to your ongoing dialogue and planning efforts, while also offering fluidity for adaptation to accomodate the unknowns of the future.
Working with you, we will explore how this is communicated: with a structure and language that is clear, concise, and evocative.
WADENA CITY LIBRARY DESIGN | Wadena, Minnesota
REFINE
We will prepare and present a preliminary strategic plan, allow time for your reflection and review, and engage you in a dialogue that allows us to expand, edit, and refine the plan into its final form. This process may include sharing the draft plan with key stakeholders, and it can be valuable to share the document as it evolves so it can remain an objective and informed plan.
BRANDED ENVIRONMENTS
BKV Group is one of the few national design firms offering an in-house Branded Environments unit who, in addition, assist our design teams in navigating through the initial research, strategy and discovery phases, shaping brands early in the project life cycle that will inform how spaces are designed, marketed and experienced.
OUR SERVICES
Project Brand Discovery
Project Brand Messaging, Positioning & Strategy
Naming
Visual Identity/Logo
Brand Guidelines
Brand Applications
Digital & Print Collateral
Marketing Materials
Promotional Merchandise Design
Environmental Graphics / Installations
Visual Identity Systems (Wayfinding Signage)
Social Media Templates
Website Design
Creating positive impacts on people, the planet, and providing the greatest value for our clients
VISION
Architecture is beautiful for the harmony it creates between itself, it’s environment, and its inhabitants. Sustainable design is the natural progression of that vision with BKV designed buildings always responding to their context — their location, their function, and how they are used by their occupants. BKV Group has a holistic vision for the building’s life-cycle to appropriately respond to context, function, and use. We leverage sustainable design strategies by tapping into a wide spectrum of knowledge — of architecture, interior design, urban planning, energy modeling, engineering, landscape architecture, technology and science — with our clients receiving the benefit of decades of collective professional expertise. In addition, because there is no predetermined outcome or prototypical concept, our process yields work of extraordinary originality, crafted to the specific needs of the site, user and circumstances.
COMMITMENT TO A CARBON-NEUTRAL PRACTICE
Memberships & Affiliations
AIA Materials Pledge, ASID Materials Pledge, Mindful Materials, B3 Guidelines
2030 Documentation
BKV’s Architects and Designers, Structural, and MEP Engineers report Embodied Carbon and Energy performance for all projects to The AIA 2030 Commitment initiative records
Construction Standardization
Standard Method v1.1 (Greenguard, SCS, Indoor Advantage, FloorScore, CRI Green Label Plus)
Healthy Materials Promise
We work with our vendors to minimize the use of toxic materials and focus our specifications on non-toxic materials. Designers will seek certifications for the materials that are specified by HPD, EPD, Declare, Cradle to Cradle, Living Product, FSC, SCAQMD, CDPH Standard Method v1.1 Greenguard. SCS, Indoor Advantage, Floor Score, CRI Green Lable Plus
Healthy Community Building
Urban design and landscape architecture are critical components of human health
EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
YOUNION @ ANN ARBOR
Ann Arbor, Michigan
OVERVIEW
Renovated student housing lobby, amenities, and spaces.
TYPE
Student Living
SIZE
10-story
The Younion @ Ann Arbor project scope includes the renovation of the lobby, leasing office and student amenity spaces within an existing student housing property on the University of Michigan campus. The project included a complete refresh of the existing lobby space, activating the main entry with areas to gather, study and revive at a new coffee bar. Leasing staff gain visibility and access to residents by spending a portion of their day working out of the lobby area at a leasing perch that doubles as study space for residents after hours. New package lockers were added to handle the increasing need to manage on-line deliveries to residents. The streetscape was activated by adding a new fitness center at grade which provides another new window into the Younioun property for pedestrians. A 10th floor clubroom and fitness space has been transformed into a flexible study lounge which accommodates single students to larger groups. Booth seating, communal tables and varied lounge groupings draw students 24/7.
KID ZONE EARLY LEARNING CENTER
Hopkins, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
Converted medical office into vibrant early learning center.
TYPE
Pre-K Education
SIZE
13,200 sq ft
Kid Zone had to leave their existing property in St. Louis Park because the owner was selling, and it was during a time of childcare crisis where many Minnesotans faced a lack of quality early care options. Kid Zone’s relocation to Hopkins provided a site with visibility from Highway 169, serving Kid Zone’s current population and allowing them to increase capacity to fill one additional classroom. With ample natural light, soft vibrant colors, and appropriate furnishings as well as easy access to program features, this additional classroom helps fill the gap of quality early care.
Conversion of a 13,200 GSF leased former medical office building into a vibrant infant through pre-K early childhood learning center. The building was fully reconfigured on the interior, replacing three dozen office and treatment rooms with seven classrooms, an indoor play space, administrative offices, and a commercial kitchen, used to prepare three meals a day from scratch. The project leveraged the building’s unique geometry, existing windows, notable vaulted lobby, and available outdoor space to provide a facility that offers Kid Zone Early Learning Center a new home that allows them to nurture an increased number of students. This project brought to life a change of use which provides inviting classrooms, pops of color and branding to maintain the individual identity of each age group served, and establishes clear wayfinding for students, staff, and visitors. The design intentionally manifests the values and mission of Kid Zone: encouraging development and discovery and providing inspiring spaces of learning with a plan that facilitates the school’s curriculum.
WASHINGTON EDUCATION ZONE
Lanham, Maryland
OVERVIEW
Mixed-use campus with senior housing.
TYPE
Higher Education
SIZE
130,000 SF
Nestled within a wooded site, the Washington Education Zone (WEZ) offers a tranquil mixed-use community centered around an educational campus. The campus-like setting will provide senior housing, multi-family dwellings, commercial office, academic facilities, and student housing. Residents will enjoy walking paths on the landscaped grounds with abundant water features and connections to nature.
BKV Group was commissioned by Washington Education Zone, LLC to develop a master plan concept for the old Washington Bible College Campus in Greenbelt, MD. The existing campus was a consolidation of several individual parcel zoned R-80. The educational campus use was approved via a special exception which included a 1977 master plan for the campus. The campus is situated in an ideal location within Prince George’s county 2-miles from the Greenbelt Metro station within the economic development zone identified within the county’s comprehensive plan. The major challenge for development is the flood plain identified within the site. Campus master plan identified the best areas for development as well as potential water features that would enhance the site and aid with storm water management. The existing site has mature tree stands and strong topographic character providing ample opportunities to blend site and building features while maintaining the natural beauty and character of the site. BKV Group developed concepts for phase one, which includes a conference center and campus housing to support current foreign exchange student opportunities currently on-going. BKV Group’s strong background in campus housing and educational facility planning provided great value to the Washington Education Zone, LLC in soliciting foreign investment in the project.
THE DEACON
Cincinnati, Ohio
OVERVIEW
Utilizes modern design strategies; near University of Cincinnati
TYPE
Student living
SIZE
11 stories
451,800 SF 357 units
1,029 beds
17,500 SF amenities
The Deacon is a 11-story, 357-unit student housing development that will serve the students of the University of Cincinnati. This new development is located on the former Deasoness Hospital site.
This project’s first phase will deliver a mid-rise 1029-bed housing development and the renovation of the former parking garage on the property. The Deacon includes one- to four-bedroom apartments, each bedroom with its own bathroom.
The Deacon include 17,500 square feet of customized amenities. Residents have access to a jam lounge, music practice rooms, a golf simulator, pet spa, 24/7 fitness center, hammock lounge and private study lounges. The project also includes pedestrian connections to the existing 6-story parking garage, which will undergo aesthetic updates and repairs.
LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CENTER
MSU/MCTC/HENNEPIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE
JOINT PROGRAM
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
New facility unites criminal justice programs collaboratively.
TYPE
Higher Education
SIZE
65,000 SF
The degree programs in criminal justice and law enforcement offered by Metropolitan State University (MSU) and Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) were scattered in multiple satellite locations. Upon completion, this facility co-locates the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice academic programs in a single, collaborative environment. The new facility was constructed on a shared campus with Hennepin Technical College who had available site area and an urgent need for additional classroom space. The new facility addressed the needs of all three institutions with a precedentsetting partnership that acts as a paradigm for identifying synergies and leveraging the common interests of higher education providers.
The facility features state-of-the-art smart classrooms to foster modern learning strategies, technology enhanced forensic labs, a tactical simulation environment and a firing range. The simulation lab incorporates flexible real-world simulated environments that law enforcement graduates may encounter. Vehicle access, upper level mezzanines, and access to an exterior simulation courtyard increase the flexibility of staging mock events. Simulation lab activities are digitally recorded for faculty/student review and critique in followup classroom sessions. In an effort to educate the general public in the various aspects of law enforcement training, many spaces incorporated viewing areas for visitors and students.
DAKOTA COUNTY KAPOSIA LIBRARY
South St. Paul, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
Kaposia Library enhances community and services.
TYPE
Library & Learning Center
SIZE
16,600 SF
BKV Group with Dakota County recently celebrated the grand opening of Kaposia Library in South St. Paul Library – a long-awaited project that will benefit the community in many ways. Said Dakota County Commissioner Kathleen A. Gaylord, who represents South St. Paul. “That’s the thing about libraries — it’s not just a building. It’s a place to gather, it’s a place for kids to experience the joy of reading.”
Setting the Stage for Transformation
With the current building dating back to 1927 and no longer delivering modern library services to serve a socioeconomically diverse population, Dakota County selected BKV for this monumental project with the new library featuring:
• 16,000 square feet on one level, improving access for all user
• Study rooms and meeting spaces to accommodate groups of different sizes
• A “Heritage Room” celebrating South St. Paul history
• An outdoor reading space
• A children’s area and dedicated teen space, across the street from South St. Paul Secondary School.
With the new library now open, the building is designed to be comparable or above LEED Silver rating in energy efficiency and funded with $11.3 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SW7
Sweetwater, Florida
OVERVIEW
20-story student housing with unique amenities.
TYPE
Student Housing Concept Study
SIZE
20-story, 800-bed
In the Sweetwater neighborhood, just off campus from Florida International University, sits SW7 – a 20-story, 800-bed student housing tower. Currently under construction as one of the latest projects from the Collegiate Development Group,
SW7 is one of four major student housing projects at FIU being built, with this tower being an amenity-rich environment for the University to leverage as they expand their housing options and attract a more diverse range of students.
The design strategy behind SW7 was to first max out the height of the building, then craft the tower in an L-shape to invite an abundance of natural light into the building’s core, notably into the pool area. Within the slender tower form, the resortstyle pool area is located on Level 6, and features a slide extending from the green roof into the water – a unique amenity whose playfulness extends into other spaces like the 12,000 SF indoor sky terrace and the 2,400 SF viewing terrace, creating optimal views to downtown Miami.
Together, the sky terraces create a lantern-effect, seen most prominently when driving into the downtown area. In creating a new beacon in Sweetwater, SW7 features a refined exterior shell with a gridded overlay you can observe whether strolling along the nearby waterfront walkway or upon entering the street-level, 4,000 SF coffee shop that’s part of a larger street presence program, filled out by a lobby leasing office and separate cyber café.
GREAT RIVER MONTESSORI SCHOOL
St. Paul, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
K-12 Montessori charter renovation.
TYPE
K-12 Education
SIZE
Addition: 38,000 SF
Renovation: 27,000 SF
Great River School (GRS) is a public K-12 charter school located in St. Paul, MN. GRS uses an urban Montessori learning environment to prepare students for their unique roles as responsible and engaged citizens of the world. This project combines two adjacent sites comprising of a 3.4-acre parcel. The projected enrollment will be 650 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Great River School’s vision is to integrate academic and social experiences in an environment of civility and trust. The Montessori philosophy and the International Baccalaureate diploma program inform the curriculum and pedagogy, inspiring deep questioning and peaceful action. GRS fosters self-expression in a supportive environment that values critical thinking and the richness and strength of a diverse community. Instruction through travel, practical learning, the arts, and micro-economic ventures provide relevant skills to meet the world with compassion and a sense of responsibility.
BKV Group was selected by GRS to provide professional services relating to the planning, development, design, and construction of a renovation and new school building for Great River Charter School. The 38,000 SF addition includes classrooms, specialized classrooms (music, media center, computer lab and specialist rooms), miscellaneous support spaces, gymnasium and cafeteria. The project also includes the interior renovation of 27,000 SF of existing space. BKV Group refined the program based on interviews with administration and faculty, and developed the program and block concept. The project is currently completing construction documents.
THE MARSHALL
Minneapolis, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
Mixed-use housing and retail with pedestrian-friendly design, near University of Minnesota.
TYPE
Student Housing
SIZE
6 stories
316 units
994 beds
41,000 SF retail
The Marshall is located just north of the University of Minnesota East Bank Campus in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood of southeast Minneapolis. It includes retail and commercial space on the first floor and a series of walkup townhome units on the ground floor, that allow residents to have direct access from the adjacent sidewalk.
The 317 units of market-rate rental housing are marketed to University faculty, staff, students and other professionals who wish to live near the University. Approximately 41,000 sq ft commercial and retail space is located on the first floor and are designed to promote a pedestrianoriented environment with outdoor seating opportunities at street level, as well as expanded boulevard conditions.
The street level retail provides and enhances a continuation of the current local retail patterns and experiences while also accommodating enclosed at-grade and underground parking for customers and residents.
The streetscape has a personal scale with a lively, upbeat atmosphere of sidewalk seating, street lighting, plantings, and entries to large-windowed storefronts with dynamic canopies and signage.
WADENA CITY LIBRARY
Wadena, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
BKV’s Wadena City Library expands services and adaptability.
TYPE
Library & Learning Center
SIZE
7,277 SF
With a dated and overcrowded library building, without sufficient site capacity for reuse and expansion, BKV Group led a preliminary feasibility study of multiple sites for adaptive reuse. With the selection of a former bank building more centralized in the City, with higher visibility and site flexibility for future adaptation and growth, the library can offer expanded operations including drive-through book pick-up and drop-off and after-hours rentable space including a community room and maker space.
Some of the main project goals included an enhanced customer experience, dedicated collections and reading areas for children’s, teens, and adults, the accommodation of program functions that were not feasible in the old structure, and exploration of how the building could continue to adapt in the future, including long-term capacity to more than double children’s, provide a dedicated reading garden, and expand meeting and study spaces.
BKV Group’s scope include a detailed collections analysis, stakeholder engagement, conceptual visioning, coordinated design and FF&E services and contract document development, and coordination with the owner’s Construction Manager for pre-construction strategic development.
The new library accommodates growth of all collections, provides separate children’s, teens, and adult collections and reading areas, offers a net increase in overall reading and study areas, a new maker space, and a 50-person flexible meeting room, with the ability to renovate the lower level in the future for additional study and meeting space.”
