The announcement comes following presentations by selected finalists to a core committee of college officials comprising the provost, the director of the physical plant, the director of the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation, the vice president of finance, and a co-chair of the Kendall Center for Engaged Learning.
The new building will be built in the area west of Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library on the land currently occupied by the old football stadium. Early goals for the building include making it compatible with the college’s focus on engaged learning and making it an environmentally friendly building.
“Sustainability has been a clear priority in the visioning sessions and the selection process,” noted Warren Wunderlich, director of the physical plant. “BWBR also is familiar with the campus.”
The firm has previously worked with the college on the design and construction of F.W. Olin Hall (1991) and the renovation and addition to the Alfred Nobel Hall of Science (2000).
BWBR dates back to a solo architectural practice established in 1922 in St. Paul by Bill Ingemann. By the late 1950s, the firm included Milton Bergstedt, Chuck Wahlberg, Lloyd Bergquist, and Fritz Rohkohl — whose names identified the practice until it was simplified to BWBR Architects in the late ’70s.
With a staff of more than 140, BWBR has been named a “Great Place to Work” by The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, and has ranked in the top five on The Business Journal’s annual “Top 25 List of Architectural Firms” for the last several years. The firm approaches $300 million in construction annually, works actively in a number of markets, including health care, detention and justice, industrial, education, corporate office, recreation, and religious facilities. Educational facilities have been a focus since the firm’s earliest days, today accounting for five to 10 percent of its workload.
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