Archives

  1. Utah Valley University Browning Administration Building Clinic, Classroom & Faculty Facility

    This reconfiguration of Utah Valley University’s Brown Administration Building addresses a domino effect of new construction on campus that resulted in portions of the building becoming available for new purposes. The design team provided test fits to determine how the space could be used most efficiently to support room for future growth. The project was expedited to coordinate it with the schedules of new building openings, demolition of other buildings, and the academic calendar. The design incorporates the university’s brand identity and wayfinding into a mix of spaces, including a student hub, hangout and study spaces, student collaboration area, classrooms, faculty offices, a clinical therapy suite with a public lobby, therapy rooms, observation rooms for teaching, and clinical offices.

  2. Utah Valley University Foreign Language Department Student Hub & Liberal Arts Garden

    This project involved renovating space that opened up as the result of other departments moving to another location. The building houses Utah’s most robust ASL program. The renovation creates a strong identity for the department and maximizes interaction and collaboration among students across departments. The design transforms a completely enclosed space into a hub that is transparent on both sides, providing spaces for active student programming, hanging out, and group and individual study. It features acoustical recording booths where students can create content. MSR Design also developed high-quality graphics and signage for wayfinding and visual identity.

  3. Missoula Public Library

    The new building houses four other community organizations (MCAT, Families First Learning Lab, SpectrUM Discovery Area, and the University of Montana Living Lab) to create a library, museum, and science and community center that blends Missoula’s rich heritage with world-class innovations all under one roof. The design process involved an intensive week-long visioning session with leadership from the library and partner organizations to establish project goals and guiding principles. The main floor offers a marketplace with a cafe, retail store, new library materials, and the audiovisual collection; a makerspace; MCAT’s high tech production studio, equipment check-out services, and sound booths; a teens’ area; and the University of Montana Living Lab. Focused on children, families, and play, the second floor houses the Hank and Nancy Harrington Children’s Library, Families First Learning Lab, SpectrUM Disovery Area, and a mix of collaborative learning spaces shared by the partner organizations. The third floor includes a demonstration kitchen, reference services, fiction and nonfiction collections, a business center, and genealogy center. The top floor provides spaces for public engagement and gathering and access to an exterior patio.

    MSR Design served as design architect and interior designer, and A&E Design was the architect of record.

     

     

  4. City of Minneapolis Public Service Building

    A design collaboration between Henning Larsen and MSR Design, the new City of Minneapolis Public Service Building provides Minneapolis citizens with a customer-centric experience as the new public service face for the city. Situated next to City Hall, the building helps create a contemporary workplace for city business that reflects the diversity of Minneapolis. It introduces a wholly reimagined public service model. The design features innovative collaborative workspaces, integrated sustainability, and access to daylight as a contributor to a healthy work environment. It is truly a building for everybody. The design invites the public into the building by placing public functions towards Government Plaza. Taking inspiration from the city’s abundant parks and lakes, the design incorporates open community space at street level, gesturing towards City Hall and activating the adjacent plaza. The new building’s main entrance is oriented to minimize wind exposure, with its massing and façade oriented to optimize daylight.

    MSR Design served as architect of record for the project, with design architect Henning Larsen.

     

  5. L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

    Design guiding principles for this library building transformation included creating a destination for the region that serves as the heart of the city and linking the building to the Eau Claire River and downtown civic facilities. Stakeholder-directed improvements include a 200-seat program space, an expanded children’s area, a mix of meeting rooms, quiet spaces for study, space for tweens and teens, and a learning lab. Inclusive design elements include aspects that support neurodiversity, gender-inclusive toilet rooms, and comfort rooms.

    A makerspace called the Dabble Box and innovation lab spaces provide access to specialized technology, teaching kitchen equipment, and art equipment to support maker sessions, STEAM-based education, and nutrition literacy. All major building systems, dating back to 1975, were replaced with more efficient and sustainable systems, including a geothermal heating and cooling system that runs below the plaza. Redesigned vertical circulation provides more intuitive wayfinding and better visual connections between all four floors.

  6. MSR Design 510 Marquette Studio

    Located in a large open space on the second floor of a 1925 office building, MSR Design’s new studio cultivates the firm’s design culture through spaces that support the myriad ways of making architecture and make the design process visible. The design arranges workstations around the perimeter near large windows that overlook the urban setting. Staff can choose from a mix of flexible spaces for individual focus or collaboration in a dynamic environment that promotes productivity and creativity. The juxtaposition of a solid black box inserted into the open, white perimeter areas defines and delineates the various zones. The project’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system includes enhanced air filtration, monitors, and controls for the health and well-being of staff and visitors. The project has achieved Living Building Challenge (LBC) Petal Certification for the materials, beauty, and equity petals.

     

  7. Capitol Region Watershed District Office

    This adaptive reuse project involves the conversion of a supply garage from the 1940s into a new workplace and educational environment for Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD), an environmental stewardship organization. The renewed building utilizes sustainable design building principles, including innovative stormwater management practices and energy efficiency measures to conserve natural resources, create a healthy workplace, and protect the Mississippi River and its native habitat.

    The office design promotes human health and well-being. The open and unified workplace fosters a culture of collaboration, communication, and partnerships. Flexible meeting spaces not only accommodate internal staff meetings, but also are available for community organizations to use. Providing maximum workplace choice and flexibility, the office features a mix of spaces that support staff socialization and informal meetings, as well as quiet, focused tasks. A community pocket park provides space for interactive learning and recreation.

  8. Salt Lake City Northwesst Pipeline Building

    This project involves converting the historic Northwest Pipeline Building, which served as Salt Lake City’s public safety complex, into mixed-income housing and commercial tenant space. It is part of the Housing Assistance Management Enterprise’s larger vision for The Grove—a green, dense, mixed-use community focused on family-friendly housing and community amenities. The project will include rent-to-own and rental apartments. Focused on family-friendly design principles, the design features multiple play areas, a planned childcare center and health clinic, dog park, and ample green space shaded by native trees. Connected to the city’s emerging Green Loop, the project will incorporate parking reduction strategies, such as off-site and shared parking. The Northwest Pipeline Building conversion is the first phase of a comprehensive approach to redeveloping the greater site through extensive community engagement into a planned near-net zero, micro-community that will positively contribute to the vitality of the neighborhood.

    MSR Design is partnering with the Housing Assistance Management Enterprise (HAME), Xylem Projects, and Common Ground Institute on the project.

    View more project details here.

     

     

     

  9. Louisville Free Public Library Northeast Regional Library

    Located adjacent to a historic house and landscape, Louisville Free Public Library’s third regional library brings service to an outlying region of the city. Conceived as a pavilion in a park, the building offers sweeping views of the park and historic site. It features a special technology-driven classroom, highly flexible reading room, makerspace with audiovisual lab and demonstration kitchen, and a college corner in the teens’ area. A column-free interior, multi-function access flooring, and rooms enclosed by movable furnishings support adaptability to meet perpetually evolving library demands and ambitions. Sustainable design strategies contributing to the building’s LEED-NC v.3 Gold certification include siting the building to take advantage of natural daylight and a geothermal mechanical system, among numerous others. Circulation for the first month of operation broke the library system’s previous record by 25%.

    MSR Design collaborated with architect JRA Architects and landscape architect MKSK.

  10. Hennepin County Library Southdale Library & Edina Art Center

    This new regional library and art gallery will serve as an extension of an 8-acre urban green space, featuring a trailhead for regional trails, activated terrain, native plantings, and wetland gardens. A partnership between the Hennepin County Library and Edina Art Center, the new building will showcase how these community organizations are better together. The library and arts center is designed to meet the ambitious goals of Hennepin County’s Climate Action Plan and the State of Minnesota’s B3 sustainable guidelines. A combination of passive design, a high-performance façade, efficient building systems, and on-site renewables will enable the project to achieve near net-zero energy. The completed design will include a spectrum of restorative landscapes, from open water within the low areas of the site to wet prairies, a freshwater marsh, tallgrass prairies, and oak barrens. The library and arts center will also serve as a trailhead for the Nine Mile Creek regional trail system and provide a missing link in the Edina Promenade to connect local parks and regional assets.