Situated just south of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the town of Apple Valley, Minn., is a growing, vibrant community of over 50,000 residents. The original Western Service Center, built in the 1980s, included a library, courts, county engineering, tax, and social services.

The entry plaza space to the service center was designed as a minimalist space, so as not to compete with the scale of the building. Set on an axis with the entry drive boulevard, the front doors created a stark and uninviting space for patrons. Snowy Midwest winters, often with over 6' of snow, created extensive maintenance needs. Snow removal equipment and heavy salting quickly deteriorated the original concrete, damaged light fixtures, and resulted in plant loss for on-grade plant areas. Recently, Dakota County envisioned a new entry plaza that could both enhance the building character and be a well-used space with less maintenance. The design was set around two key objectives: pedestrian access and safety. To achieve these, the team used in-slab glycol heating and examined pedestrian traffic patterns.

Reinforced concrete was sourced from Cemstone, a local ready-mix supplier. The mechanical engineer designed a system to utilize return water from the building's central heating plant to preheat the glycol tank. A heat exchanger would then boost the system temperature while pumping through nearly five miles of tubing under the concrete. This high efficiency system means the end of snowplowing and salting the plaza, as moisture sensors from the local Uponor Company trigger snowmelt. Two 50' long ACO trench drains that intercept runoff in the plaza were worked into the design to become an amenity instead of a utilitarian feature. The tubing runs under these heavy-duty drains, keeping them flowing in subzero temperatures.

Providing seating areas was an important element to the county. Both employees and visitors asked for more permanent seating in the plaza. Library staff also requested an outdoor amphitheater space for book clubs and children's reading programs. The challenge of incorporating an amphitheater space at-grade was not easy. Working with Dakota County and the library staff, the final design had a 3-tier integral concrete seating area that doubles as a small performance space. The back of the seating area was finished smooth, and bicycle parking placed directly behind the 30" tall amphitheater, creating a space that is both playful and functional.

A pair of seatwalls were designed in the plaza along the main entry drive. Running bond formliner face topped with a buff precast concrete cap match the building's rooflines, while providing ample seating around two elevated planters. Around the plaza, aging HID light fixtures were replaced with contemporary LED fixtures. A local artist was commissioned to sandblast a relief of the geographical boundary of Dakota County into the plaza. This relief was painted with black epoxy paint, creating a positive reflection of the mural above the main door.

Plant beds were raised behind 6" curbs, and high efficiency Hunter drip irrigation was installed to keep irrigation at the point source. Raising the plant beds helps guide pedestrian traffic and allows for ease of annual maintenance. Shrubs and perennials, as well as aspen and crabapple trees from a local nursery wholesaler, provide year-round color and wildlife habitat.

The overall project timeline was 5 months from start to finish. The transformation of the space is nothing less than dramatic, according to many Dakota County staff. This was a highly collaborative project between landscape architects"?uJosh Kinney, PLA, Dakota County project manager, and Ben Hartberg, ASLA, LEED AP, of the Calyx Design Group in St. Paul. Wold Architects and Engineers provided electrical & mechanical engineering as well as overall construction administration.

The introduction of the colors, vertical elements, pedestrian access and safety, and reduced maintenance hit all of the project goals. The space is set to welcome users for many years to come.

PROJECT TEAM:
Architect/Engineer: Wold Architects & Engineers, Joel Dunning, AIA & Pat Jansen, PE
Landscape Architect: Calyx Design Group, Ben Hartberg, PLA
Client: Dakota County Property Services, Josh Kinney, PLA

CONSTRUCTION TEAM:
General Contractor: Morcon Construction Co., Jason Preusser, Project Mgr.
Concrete Finishing: Morcon Construction Co.
Excavator: Kamish Excavating, Inc.
Mechanical: Wenzel HVAC, Inc.
Electrical: A&J Electric Co.
Landscape: Plant Pros, Inc.

PRODUCTS:
Concrete: Cemstone, Inc. integral color high-strength concrete (3 colors)
Precast Wall Caps: Edwards Stone, Inc.
In-Slab Radiant Heating: Uponor, Inc.
Bike Racks: Dero, Inc.
Irrigation: Hunter Industries
Plaza Lighting: Phillips Lumec Urbanscape LED
Plaza Drains: ACO KlassikDrain K300