The
route between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Duluth on Interstate 35 is a
gradual transition from the metropolitan area to the north woods and a
cross-section
through the
major ecological biomes of the Midwest, from prairie and oak savannah
through deciduous forest and bog to the vast coniferous forest of
northeast Minnesota. Ninety minutes
north of the Twin Cities, sits Sandstone, Minnesota - a historic
quarry
town built along the gorge of the Kettle River in Banning State Park.
The study explored several alternatives with a concept
recommendation resulting from community workshops for the
long-term
development of the I-35 interchange which will preserve
the historic and natural identity of the
historic town while promoting the
sustainable growth of recreational tourism and other industry.
Lake Elmo Village Scale Housing Study
Lake Elmo, Minnesota
The historic Old
Village of downtown Lake Elmo is surrounded by a ring of
working farms, reflecting a legacy of open space and an agricultural
heritage that residents wish to preserve despite population growth in the entire region. Thorbeck Architects teamed
with experts in soil hydrology and real estate valuation to
develop comprehensive growth plans that would accommodate new
village-scale housing units in walking neighborhoods, while
establishing innovative stormwater and wastewater wetlands to
simultaneously solve practical utility issues and provide
additional greenspace. Through a series of public meetings,
the concept was refined to include new civic facilities and
senior housing, clustered housing at existing neighborhood
densities, a network of open spaces connected by
public greenways, and a buffer of working agricultural land.
Glen Toro
Mendota Heights, Minnesota
Glen Toro is a unique, environmentally-sensitive
housing development by Thor Company with nine single-family home sites that preserve
the
heritage and natural environmental quality of the 10-acre site and its
relationship with the Dodge Nature Center Lilly Preserve and the
Shepard
Estate. The site consists of three landscape characteristics -
prairie, wetland,
and woodland - and each individual designed house and site design will reflect
its
location and landscape character. To date five homes have been constructed.
Historic Barn Study
Milton Hershey School
Hershey, PA
Seventeen
historic barns on the campus of the Milton Hershey School, including a
series of stone and large timber bank barns from the 1860s-1890s, were
studied for adaptive reuse and/or relocation. Each structure
was assessed to determine historic and architectural
value,
and recommendations for rehabilitation, relocation, and reuse were
made, to help meet the school's current functional needs while
preserving the outstanding architectural legacy of the area.