Finance & Commerce has recognized the expansion and renovation of Nobel Hall at Gustavus Adolphus College as one of Minnesota’s top construction projects of 2020.
Judges scored the projects based on the degree of difficulty, creativity in design, innovative construction techniques, cooperation among contractors and management, and sustainability efforts.
Updating Nobel Hall’s features and doubling its size to more than 182,000 square feet was no easy task, but the result is an innovative layout that offers new laboratories, collaborative workspaces, common areas, a greenhouse, a geology museum, a teaching kitchen, and even a black box theater and renovated auditorium.
Provost Brenda Kelly said that the fluid new design “allows for a lot more interdisciplinary connectivity between science and art.” The STEAMery, a new coffee shop and dining area that connects the science wing to theatre and dance, celebrates this change from STEM to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).
With multiple disciplines involved in the project, over 40 faculty members offered their ideas about what would be important investments for the College. One of the key investments was securing gold status LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council, ensuring that this new Nobel Hall is not only innovative and modern, but sustainable for many years to come.
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