LEED-CS Registration Exciting Step in New Building
Walsh Bishop has taken another important step in renovating our new building by registering the project for LEED-CS Certification through the United States Green Building Council (USGBC.)
LEED certification provides third-party verification that a building project meets green building and performing measures. The benefits of having a LEED certified building can include lower operating costs, increased asset value, a healthier environment for occupants, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Walsh Bishop is a founding sponsor of the Mississippi Headwaters Chapter of the USGBC and this step further demonstrates our commitment to designing, building and working in an environmentally responsible manner. LEED certification will enable us to not only “walk the walk”, but also to enhance our ability to bring that knowledge and process to our clients.
Walsh Bishop..Meet Your New Building!
Last Friday was a gorgeous summer day and one in which Walsh Bishop employee/owners were formally introduced to our new building. The afternoon started out with tours of the building from top to bottom, and was followed by a family picnic at Boom Island. Many people were amazed at the incredible architectural details found in this old building that interestingly, started out as a candy factory. In fact, on the roof of the building is a large vat in which you can still detect the scent of molasses! Meanwhile, the building renovation continues at full-steam with alot of recent demolition and importantly, a decision regarding the type of elevator that will be installed.
Finally, this week Walsh Bishop launched an internal “Name Your Building” Contest. The name should speak not only to the building, it’s history and neighborhood, but also to Walsh Bishop and our own identity. Importantly, it should resonate with other tenants and tell a story. Watch this website for a formal name announcement in September!
SALO, LLC on 20/20!
Incase you missed it, last Friday, August 1st, the offices of SALO, Oberon and NumberWorks were featured on ABC News’ 20/20! Walsh Bishop has provided interior design services for SALO in 2 office spaces within 4 years. They were featured as part of their recent “treadmill desk” study in association with Dr. Jim Levine and the Mayo Clinic.
Check out this interesting and innovative workplace health initiative.
Ruben Suare’s Innovative Mission at Walsh Bishop
Innovation. We talk about it often at Walsh Bishop, but what does it really stand for? The basic definition of innovation is “something new or different introduced.” We know the designers and architects at Walsh Bishop can produce unlimited innovative and creative design ideas, but does reality always support these ideas?
The recent developments of new materials and fabrication techniques has altered the way in which architects think and design. Digital fabrication techniques are changing traditional production systems and enabling architects to integrate processes from initial design through fabrication and installation. In a world that, at its most basic process-driven level has not been altered in many years, these developments are quite radical.
Walsh Bishop’s new Vice President and Managing Design Principal, Ruben Suare, is at the forefront of these exciting changes.
Ruben has held leadership roles in the design, construction and fabrication of numerous award-winning architectural projects. By pairing an architect’s creativity and aesthetic sense with a manufacturing and business industry professional’s pragmatism, Ruben challenges the way manufacturers and architects communicate and do business, and dispels the perceived limitations of both industries.
Ruben’s mission is to allow innovation to flourish and empower Walsh Bishop’s designers. “I started out in architecture, moved to fabrication, which led to manufacturing, and now I’ve returned to architecture at Walsh Bishop” says Ruben. He has paired an architect’s knowledge with executive roles in companies such as CTEK. CTEK is a multi-disciplinary, multi-industry engineering and fabrication firm that is known for fabricating innovative products that have included unusually contoured glass panels for Frank Gehry and artworks for major artists as Robert Graham and Liz Larner. One truly unique project in which Ruben was involved at CTEK was constructing the high-performance futuristic sports car used by Tom Cruise’s character in the movie “Minority Report.”
In 2004, Ruben joined 3form as the Executive Vice President of their Architectural Division. 3form wanted to work like the 21st Century version of a master stonemason, combining manufacturing, fabrication and creative consultation to help architects rethink their design process and the buildings that result. The original idea of architecture was returned to true craftsmanship, but with digital tools. Under Ruben’s leadership, 3form’s Architectural Group was recognized as one of the most innovative in the market.
Ruben’s projects at 3form included inventing the translucent wood panels used to clad the interior of the Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center; developing a new panel characterized by being a mirror when non-lit and transparent when lit for the new Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian Institute; fabricating the main acoustic canopy at the new performance arts center at the Univeristy of California at Fullerton and designing and fabricating one of the first translucent metal twisting facades for a building in Los Angeles.
Ruben has presented these challenges in seminars and conventions at locations throughout the world, including: University of Utah School of Architecture; The Sydney Opera House; MMFX Symposium at the Museum of Modern Art in Indianapolis; the Architecture Association in London; the International Design Conference IDI, 3form and Innovation; Columbia University School of Architecture; Utah State University; McGraw Hill - Innovation Conference; and the Southern California Institute of Architecture - “Business Innovation in Architecture”
Ruben’s work expands the possibilities in architecture and manufacturing. We are thrilled that he has come full circle to join us at Walsh Bishop where he will help us forge a synergy between design, fabrication and construction that blows the doors to our designs wide-open!
Top Project Honors for Walsh Bishop
Finance and Commerce recently awarded “Top Project” honors to two Walsh Bishop projects: Norman Pointe II and CW Lofts. According to Finance and Commerce Editor Michael Krieger, these awards are the first in what is planned to be an annual tradition of honors for MInnesota’s most innovative developers, contractors and architects.
Norman Pointe II is a class “A” speculative multi-tenant office building and the first in Minnesota to achieve LEED Core and Shell certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building is a ten-story, 322,000 square foot building constructed with a precast and clear glass curtain wall. In fact, one of the design priorities was to allow plenty of natural light to reach the interior of each floor. This serves the dual purpose of providing energy conservation along with more pleasant work areas. Other factors that resulted in the LEED certification include recycling rooms on each floor and wood materials that meet Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines.
This next generation office building has been designed to be more energy efficient and provide healthier work environments with leading edge technology. Each tenant and guest enters the building through an indoor park that includes a five-story waterfall. The park’s amenties include seating areas complete with WI-FI and flat screen TVs intended to allow business meetings to be held in more comfortable environments. The indoor park is directly connected to the walking trails that traverse the entire development.
When the Cream of Wheat headquarters and manufacturing plant in northeast Minneapolis packed up in 2002, it left an empty building that quickly fell into disrepair. This turned around when an enterprising renovation team set out to transform the aging landmark into stylish, contemporary condominiums that are now known as the CW Lofts.
This historic four-story building and 135-foot tower was built initially in 1927. The rehabilitated site preserves and enhances a historic resource and creates a sustainable urban environment while retaining it’s unique character. The site now provides 124 condominiums, common spaces, offices and parking. The highly detailed lobby and office spaces in the existing building have been restored and include a gallery dedicated to the story of the site and company. This redevelopment and renovation maintains the Cream of Wheat legacy and creates a dynamic community through the use of spaces in the building that could never be replicated with new construction.
Schematic Design Moving Quickly!
To maintain a fast-paced schedule, Walsh Bishop has already started the schematic design phase of our new building. Dennis Walsh, Troy Goetz and Stephen Knowles are leading a team that is currently working through three significant issues that will have design and other project implications.
They are:
1. Finalizing plans for the new elevator
2. Determining new windows and daylighting options
3. Exploring geothermal/mechanical systems and needs.
In addition, Andrea Hammel Wollak is leading our sustainable design efforts as we excitedly pursue LEED Core and Shell certification at a platinum-level!
Walsh Bishop is committed to using this space as a standard for what we do and how we live, create and connect. Continue to watch this space for regular updates on our progress!
Freedom of Expression
Walsh Bishop is excited to talk about our recent work for Crash + Sue’s, video post-production company, in downtown Minneapolis. They asked us to reinvestigate their environment, which is increasingly becoming a creative center not only for their own company, but also an audio studio, where independent artists, web developers, and other creatives share their space. Our design team focused on delivering a dynamic office environment that values self expression and collaboration. The project consisted of reorganizing the entry, social spaces, and corridor to unify the diverse personalities within the offices and studios. The social spaces, as part of the main circulation route, unify the space and create identity, while the adjacent and adjoining rooms remain independent spaces. The studio spaces are lowly lit along parallel corridors to optimize the creation and client review of the studio’s work. The main entrance, lobby, reception, CGI suite and lounge area revel in the control of light and color, creating dynamic experiences. Pixels, parallels, filters, frames and manipulation/control of light and shadow are central to the design. All of the design elements respond to the client’s identity while providing a flexible creative office environment that can be responsive to the various voices within.
