Minnehaha Academy Upper Campus

摘要

In August 2017, just weeks before classes were going to resume at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, a gas explosion rocked the upper campus of the private Christian school. The blast took the lives of two people and critically injured a third. The historic heart of the campus—a century-old academic wing—was ultimately deemed unsalvageable. Grief-stricken school administrators scrambled to set up classes in temporary quarters. Then, after a period of mourning, the community began to weigh options for moving forward. Speed was paramount, of course, but school leaders wanted more than a replacement building. They saw a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a structure that could accommodate future changes in enrollment, technology, and teaching styles. Design-wise, they wanted a facility that blended into the existing campus yet looked contemporary and met modern expectations for environmental sustainability.