For Immediate Release: August 8, 2007
HGA Retrofits Portion of University Square Mall for Univeristy of Minnesota Rochester Campus
Minneapolis, MN - HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA), a full-service architecture, engineering and planning firm, has been selected to design the renovation of part of University Square mall into a new campus for the University of Minnesota Rochester. The 57,000-square-foot campus, to be located on the mall's third and fourth floors and portions of the main floor, will include classrooms, labs, offices, student services, bookstore and student lounges for approximately 500 students when it opens August 16 for the fall 2007 academic term.
"The University of Minnesota is dedicated to expanding its educational resources in southeast Minnesota," says Hal Henderson, principal with HGA. "This new campus will provide a functional and accessible facility for the university to increase its community outreach in a highly visible downtown location conveniently located close to the Mayo Clinic and other amenities that will benefit the students."
Students will enter the campus through the main mall via escalators or elevators. The third floor, formerly a food court, is designed as the heart of the new facility. Functions include a student lounge, information kiosk, classrooms, nursing-teaching labs, occupational-therapy lab, faculty offices, administrative space, conference rooms, and information commons. The fourth floor, formerly movie theaters, houses a smaller student lounge, additional classrooms, a tiered executive classroom, medical-technology teaching lab and prep area, and a large conference room.
Offsetting the mall location (formerly Galleria mall), HGA's design evokes academic life and a sense of community. A wood-paneled wall with glass inlays highlights an open staircase connecting the third and fourth floors. Wall graphics in the corridors and third-floor lounge depict photographic montages of student life, framed by an alternating pattern of wood and opaque-glass wall panels. A skylight brightens the third floor, while a few existing windows add light on the fourth floor. Classic schoolhouse transoms cap interior doors. Patterned carpeting and wood acoustical ceiling panels complete the space.
Additionally, HGA is renovating two retail spaces on the main floor to include Student Services and a 3,400-square-foot university bookstore.
HGA is completing the project on a six-month fast-track schedule, progressing from design documentation in February 2007 to occupancy this August.
The University of Minnesota Rochester became an official campus of the UM system in November 2006. With plans to add more full-time faculty members, increase enrollment and expand programs, the university is undertaking a comprehensive master plan to study long-term facility needs. The campus currently offers undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing, health sciences, business, education, social work, and technology, among other disciplines.
:: View University of Minnesota-Rochester, University Square
HGA Contact: Julie Luers (612) 758-4000 e-mail JLuers@hga.com
Media Contact: Susan Evans, Evans Larson (612) 338-6999 e-mail susan@evanslarson.com