University of Minnesota: Science Teaching and Student Services Center

Theodore Lee, ASLA, LEED AP BD+C, Associate Vice President, Landscape Architecture, HGA
Architects and Engineers, Minneapolis

The landscape architect was instrumental in bringing together architects, engineers and lighting designers to develop a strong site design that connects the new Science Teaching and Student Services Center to the University of Minnesota eastside campus on the limestone bluffs of the Mississippi River. This view is from the Washington Avenue Bridge pedestrian deck. The Center has three levels of outdoor space, an upper terrace, a lower terrace and a plaza.

The design of the University of Minnesota Science Teaching and Student Services Center (STSS) was driven by a commitment to improve the student experience. Toward that goal, the design team proposed indoor and outdoor classroom spaces to improve teaching, learning, while providing unique areas for studying and social interaction.

Sited prominently along the banks of the Mississippi River, the STSS Center, in conjunction with Gehry’s Weisman Art Museum, creates a new symbolic gateway to the East Bank campus. The Weisman represents the arts; the STSS Center represents the sciences. The STSS Center is at a major circulation hub of the campus with 50 feet of grade separation. The landscape design mediates this grade separation through outdoor spaces that physically connect the center to the university’s East and West Bank campuses, as well as the Mississippi River. These spaces include the upper terrace, piazza, and
lower terrace.

HGA Landscape Architect’s Role and Responsibilities
HGA was instrumental in bringing together architects, engineers and lighting designers to develop a strong site design that connects the new STSS Center to the historic University of Minnesota campus and the Mississippi River. Working collaboratively with the team, the landscape architects designed three major outdoor spaces to provide great opportunities for students, staff and passersby to enjoy this part of the campus along the river. The landscape architects led the site design, production of construction documents and onsite construction administration, including the placement of the large limestone blocks that share a visual and material relationship with the adjacent river bluff.

This new pedestrian bridge connects the Center’s upper terrace to the pedestrian deck of the Washington Avenue Bridge. Where Pleasant Street descends to pass under the pedestrian bridge (left), large, colorful fieldstone boulders ease the grade change between the street and the bicycle parking area conveniently placed beneath the bridge. Vibrant ‘Sienna Glen’ maples align with the bridge columns.

Project Scope
The landscape architects designed the outdoor spaces, detailed their construction and selected site
materials for:

• Upper terrace and pedestrian bridge
  
• Piazza
  
• Lower terrace
  
• Site furnishings (tables, chairs, trash and recycling receptacles)
  
• Luminaires (energy-efficient pedestrian and roadway)
  
• Pavers and stone boulders
  
• Stone walls: limestone blocks
  
• Plant materials (native/adaptive, drought- tolerant species)
  
• Irrigation (two-wire, weather-based)
  

The Upper Terrace offers great views of downtown Minneapolis and the Mississippi. The landscape architect placed a large, circular seatwall planter as a focal point, planted with a multistem ‘Autumn Blaze’ maple and a ground cover of ‘Little Spire’ Russian sage.

Design Solution
Commitment to student experience was a driving force in the site design. This was accomplished by providing unique outdoor spaces for studying and social interaction while efficiently handling large volumes of campus circulation.

The upper terrace, located between Appleby Hall and the new building on the Washington Avenue bridge-deck level, melds the classic campus expression and the new modern expression of the STSS Center.

Working collaboratively with the team, the landscape architect designed a linear, precast concrete seatwall comprised of the same materials of the new building to create a strong northern edge to the terrace.

A large, circular seatwall planter frames a multi-stem ‘Autumn Blaze’ maple at the edge of the space, creating a beautiful, seasonal focal point, while providing a great place to enjoy views of downtown Minneapolis and the river valley below. Mass plantings of multi-season perennials and shrubs provide welcoming colors to returning students in the fall.

Along the east façade, a bridge connects students to the raised plaza over Washington Avenue and onto the East and West Bank campuses.

Where Pleasant Street descends to pass under the Washington Avenue Bridge deck, the design positions large, colorful fieldstone boulders to mediate the grade change between the street and the bicycle parking area, conveniently placed beneath the bridge.

A line of vibrant ‘Sienna Glen’ maple trees aligns with the bridge columns to mimic and reinforce
their support.

One level below, a grand sweeping stair connects the upper terrace to the piazza: a mid-level space that offers movable tables, chairs and provides opportunities to gather, relax or study. Pavers made of the same materials as the building unify the space.

Upon exiting the plaza the grand stair continues down to the lower terrace at the East River road level.

The lower terrace has two bosques of nine Imperial honeylocust trees that filter shade for the movable seating below. The landscape architect placed these trees in areas of crushed granite that are contained by large, golden blocks of limestone to mediate the steep grade of East River Road, while connecting the design to the adjacent Mississippi River bluff. The lower terrace’s west exposure allows students and staff to enjoy the outdoors for extended periods during the year.

This view looks out across the Washington Avenue Bridge toward the West Bank campus side. The design team created sculptural, limestone colored precast benches by the Center to separate pedestrians from bike traffic. The covered pedestrian walkway is left, with open walkways on either side. Vehicular traffic crosses on the lower deck. The Minn. Daily reports May 11, 2012 that city officials have closed off outside portions of the pedestrian deck recently to “equally distribute weight on both sides.” Steel columns every 25 feet connect the top deck to the lower vehicle deck. MnDot says the column base plates are “heavily rusted.” There are fears the columns could break with too much foot traffic.

Unique Project Attributes
The STSS Center is unique for several reasons:

• Learning: Through innovative indoor and outdoor spaces the Center has furthered teaching and learning experiences.
  
• Water-efficient irrigation: A high-efficiency irrigation system reduces annual water consumption by 71 percent. The system is connected to the university’s network, which monitors local weather and only irrigates the plants when needed. Native and adaptive drought-tolerant plantings supplement this technology.
  
• Enhanced stormwater management: For an average rainfall event the quantity of runoff is reduced by 96 percent, and the quality is improved by reducing sediment and pollutants by over 80 percent. This was accomplished with permeable concrete, underground retention chambers and pretreatment grit chambers. These strategies minimize the erosion and pollution of downstream Mississippi River waterways.
  
• Achievement: USGBC LEED Gold Certification and Minnesota B3 compliant.

The STSS Center site redefines the university’s southwest entrance with a welcoming network of arced paths and stairs along a 50-foot riverfront grade. Collectively, the landscape elements of the pedestrian bridge, upper terrace, piazza, and lower terrace beautifully integrate the architecture with the river bluff, providing engaging indoor and outdoor spaces for studying and socializing.

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Project Team
Design Architect: KPF
Design Team Leaders: Andrew Klare; Jerri Smith
Managing Principals: Robert Cioppa, FAIA; Michael Greene, AIA
Principal-in-charge: Bill Pedersen, FAIA, FAAR
Project Manager: Phillip White, AIA
Architect-of-Record: HGA Architects and Engineers
Civil Engineers: Kenny Horns; Deanna Sokolowski
Design Leader: Bill Blanski, AIA
Electrical Engineers: Leigh Harrison; Ben Gutierrez;
Interior Designers: Doris Rolfshus; Amy Tasch
Landscape Architects: Theodore Lee, ASLA, LEED AP BD+C; Trygve Hansen, LEED AP BD+C
Lighting Designer: Tao Ham
Mechanical Engineers: Leighton Deer; Bob Vestal
Principal-in-charge: Rebecca Greco, AIA
Project Architects: Leigh Rolfshus, AIA
Project Manager: Greg Haley, AIA
Structural Engineer: Soon Sim Hakes
Development Manager: Hines
Environmental Specialists: Tiffany Broyles Yost
General Contractor: McGough Construction
-Project Manager: Chuck McNabney
Landscape/ Irrigation Contractor: Arteka Companies
LEED Coordinator: Joe Tarlizzo, LEED AP BD+C

Vendors
Cemstone: concrete
Creative Pipe: bollards
DERO: bike racks
Forms+Surfaces: trash/ recycling receptacles
Gage Brothers Products: precast concrete
Hess America: modern pedestrian luminaires
Holophane: parking luminaires
Hunter: valves, PGV jar-tops, drip lines
Mankato Kasota Stone: limestone blocks
Martin Marietta: terrace surfacing
MP Rotator: nozzles
Netafim: drip lines
Plaisted Companies: fieldstone boulders
Sterner: campus standard pedestrian luminaires
Toro: irrigation controllers, wireless rain sensors, pop-up heads, quick couplers
Wausau Tile: Pavers
Winona: Step Lights