The glass fritting being installed on the 3-story lobby curtainwall is the first of the more than two dozen sponsored art projects in the Hagfors Center. To learn more about the artists and art works designed for the Hagfors Center, see the Art & Identity web site.

Construction Site Work:

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  Glass fritting on the lobby curtainwall. Installation of the glass curtainwall for the Hagfors Center lobby is underway. This includes the first art installation: the glass fritting created by sculptor Andrea Stanislav and sponsored by Paul and Abigail Pribbenow.

  The pattern is Martin Luther’s handwritten score of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” overlaid with the cell structure of elm wood (see photo at right). For more information, read the gift announcement story: .

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  Rooftop greenhouse. Work continues on the structural aluminum framework for the rooftop greenhouse (see photo at right). Crews will also continue installing glass for the greenhouse this week.

• Skyway painting. The final sections of the skyway painting will be completed this week. The sections over 21st Avenue South are finished, and the street has been reopened to traffic and parking.
• Mechanical area. Crews are beginning to install the metal panel exterior for the mechanical area, now that all the mechanical equipment has been set into place in that area.
• Freight elevator. Installation of the north elevator will begin this week.
• Hand-laid brick. The hand-laid brick wall on the flexible classroom is complete. (The remainder of the south wall will be glass.) Crews are setting up scaffolding and framing for the brick work on the main entrance this week (see photo below, at left).
• Tower crane retires. The work of the construction tower crane on the Hagfors Center site is complete. Crews are demobilizing the crane and removing it from the site this week. See photo below, at right, for a last look at the tower crane over the construction site.

It’s spring break at Augsburg, but construction on the Hagfors Center continues this week. Below is a summary of scheduled construction work this week.

Construction site work

• Skyway painting and street closure. The steel structure for the skyway between the Hagfors Center and Lindell Library is scheduled to be painted this week. This work requires the closure of 21^st Avenue South between South 6^th and South 7^th streets. McGough Construction scheduled the skyway painting during spring break in order to minimize the impact on traffic and parking on campus. Depending on weather, the painting project could possibly continue into the weekend of March 18-19. As a result, an afterhours work permit is required from the City of Minneapolis. Notification is part of this permit process. Any complaint regarding this work can be received by Minneapolis Information and Services at (612) 673-3000 or by calling 311 for phones with a 612 area code.
• Lobby curtainwall. Installation continues this week on the structural framing for the lobby curtainwall. Crews are also installing the aluminum curtainwall framing (see photo above) for the three-story exterior of the main lobby.
• Rooftop mechanical area. Crews have completed installation of the exterior insulated finish on the wall between the fourth story and the rooftop mechanical area. The duct work for the air handlers will be set in place on the roof this week, which is the last of the major installations in the mechanical area. (See photo below, at right.)
• Greenhouse. Installation of the structural aluminum framework for the rooftop greenhouse is in progress. This work can be seen on the south side of the building, above the chapel roofline. (See photo below, at left.)
• Brick wall on the flexible classroom. The hand-laid brick wall on the flexible classroom is scheduled to be complete this week (see photo above). Crews will then begin setting up scaffolding and framing for the brick work in the main entrance area.

It’s the week before spring break at Augsburg, and progress on the Hagfors Center continues to advance, with exterior work on the lobby and suspended chapel providing a vision for how the main entrance to the building will enhance the campus.

Construction Site Work

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  Framing for lobby curtainwall. Crews have begun installing the framing for the glass curtainwall on the three-story lobby area of the building.

• Stairwell work. Curtainwall glass installation is underway on the north stairwell this week.
• Framing and glass for the chapel. The glass installation around the cupola of the chapel is done. The photo at right shows the beam that was signed at the ground breaking ceremony and was lifted into place during the November topping off ceremony. When construction is complete, the beam will be hidden from view by the chapel ceiling, but McGough Construction strategically placed it in a location that did not require covering the signatures with fireproofing.
• Brick wall on the flexible classroom. Work on the hand-laid brick wall on the south side of the building continues this week. After the wall around the flexible classroom is complete, brick work will continue near the main entrance.
• Interior work. Interior work this week includes drywall installation on the second floor of the north wing and ceiling grid installation in the basement.
• Skyway painting and street closure scheduled next week. The steel structure for the skyway was installed last year. Beginning Monday, March 13, McGough Construction will be painting the steel structure for the skyway that was installed last year. Depending on weather, the painting work could possibly continue into the weekend of March 18-19. This work will involve the closure of 21^st Avenue South between South 6^th and South 7^th streets. Given that some of this work may need to be completed on the weekend, an afterhours work permit is required from the City of Minneapolis. Notification is part of this permit process. Any complaint regarding this work can be received by Minneapolis Information and Services at (612) 673-3000 or by calling 311 for phones with a 612 area code.

We have reached the halfway point in terms of the number of days for the Hagfors Center construction project, and progress continues on time, under budget and with a good safety record.

Construction Site Work

Below is a summary of construction work for this week as well as plans for a street closure the week of March 13:

• Stairwell work. Glass installation on the west stairwell is complete and will begin on the north stairwell this week.
• Framing and glass for the chapel. Crews have begun framing the windows for the chapel (see photo above).
• Roof work. The final roofing layer — the white roof — is complete on the north and west wings. The vapor barrier has been installed on the roof of the lobby area (see photo above). The final layer will be installed in that area after the lobby curtainwall is in place.
• Brick wall on the flexible classroom. The hand-laid brick around the flexible learning space on the south side of the building is is anticipated to be substantially complete by the end of the week. Brick work will then move to the main entrance area.
• Window frames and glass. Installation of window frames and glass continues this week on the west wing, with a majority of the work focusing on the third level.
• Planned closure on 21st Avenue South. McGough is working to obtain approval from the City of Minneapolis to close a portion of 21st Avenue South — between 6th and 7th streets — as of Monday, March 13, for skyway painting work. The closure is planned to coincide with Augsburg’s spring break. Additional details will be posted over the next two weeks as plans are confirmed.

Unseasonably warm weather helped advance construction work on the Hagfors Center last week. Below is a view from the tower crane of the roof work on the west wing.

Construction Site Work

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  Roof work. Installation of the final layer of the roof is more than half done. The high roof (the roof of the fourth floor on the north wing) is complete (see photo at right), and work continues on the third-floor roof on the west wing (see photo above).

• Lobby. Balcony railings will begin to be installed in the lobby this week. Crews also continue the work of laying out the horizontal steel support that will be attached to the concrete columns in the lobby and support glass lobby enclosure.

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  Brick wall on flexible classroom. Brick laying continues on the south side of the flexible learning space. The exterior wall now reaches about 15 feet high. Work will continue on this wall for several weeks, then brick laying will begin on the front of the main entrance.

• Stairwell work. Installation of the glass curtainwall on the west stairway is scheduled for this week.
• Window frames and glass. Window frame and glass installation continues on the west wing this week, with crews focused on glass installation at the third-floor level.
• Precast exterior. Precast installation is completely done except where the skip hoist is currently located. Installing the final precast brick in that area, once the skip hoist is removed, will require only a couple of days’ work. The mobile crane used for the precast installation has been demobilized and removed from the construction site.
• Interior work. Crews are installing drywall on the first floor of the north wing. In the basement, ceiling grid installation has begun, and interior painting is ongoing.

As the weather helps construction crews make progress on the final layer of the Hagfors Center roof, crews prepare the steel structure on the stairwells and lobby for installation of the glass curtain wall in the coming weeks. Following is a summary of construction work expected on the Hagfors Center this week.

Construction Site Work

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  Stairwell work. Crews will begin installing the glass curtainwall on the west stairway this week. (The photo above shows crews welding the frame on the west stair in preparation for this work). Crews are also staring work on the frames on the north stair this week.

• Rooftop greenhouse. Construction of the base for the rooftop greenhouse (see photo, at right).
• Lobby exterior. Work continues this week on the horizontal steel support for the three-story glass lobby enclosure. The concrete columns will be uncovered for this work, and then recovered after the horizontal steel support installation is complete in order to protect them during ongoing construction work in the lobby area.

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  Roof work. Weather has slowed installation of the final roofing layer, but some progress was made last week, The high roof (the roof of the fourth floor) should be done this week. The photo at right shows crews working on installation of the white roof layer, which reflects sunlight and heat and is part of the building’s LEED certification requirements.

• Window frames and glass. Window installation on the north wing is complete except for areas around the stairway and the skip hoist. Installation work continues on the west wing.
• Precast exterior. Crews will demobilize the mobile crane the mobile crane this week. It is no longer needed for installation of the precast exterior; the remaining remaining precast installation can be completed without the crane.

Construction Site Work

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  Precast exterior brick. Crews are installing the final section of the precast exterior brick on the south side of the west wing. Precast installation should be substantially complete by the end of next week. The photo at right shows several sections of precast ready to be installed. Completing the precast installation is a significant milestone in the construction project. Once that work is done, the mobile crane will be taken down and removed from the construction site.

• Lobby exterior. The plastic covering of the lobby area has been removed to allow crews to begin installation of the horizontal steel support for the three-story glass lobby enclosure. The steel supports will be attached to the tall columns in the lobby area. The columns, which have been covered for protection since they were poured last October, will be uncovered for this work. After the horizontal steel support installation is complete, the columns will again be covered to protect them during ongoing construction work in the lobby area.

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  Brick wall on flexible classroom. Brick-laying for the exterior wall of the flexible classroom space continues this week on the south side of the building.

• Roof work. With a bit of dry weather, crews were able to get started late last week on installation of the final roofing layer. Progress on this work continues to be weather-dependent.

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  Window frames and glass. Installation of window frames and glass continues this week, with work underway on both of the wings that face the community garden area on 20th Avenue South.

Construction Site Work

Following are the Hagfors Center construction activities for the week of January 30:

• Cooling towers. Weather permitting, the cooling towers for the Hagfors Center will be set in place in the mechanical area on top of the north wing this week. (The cooling towers will be located in the open spaces in the center of the mechanical area pictured above.)
• Interior work. Steel stud framing is being installed on the third floor of the west wing this week. Crews are also starting mechanical and electrical installation on the first level of the west wing and in the lobby area this week. Drywall installation begins this week on the first floor in the north wing. See the image at the right for a glimpse of how the Hagfors Center lobby area currently looks.
• Roof work. Due to wet weather, no roof work was completed last week. If weather permits this week, installation of the final roofing layer will begin.
• Window frames and glass. Glass and window frame installation will be substantially completed on the east side of the north wing this week (including the area south of the skyway). Installation on the west side of the north wing continues and preparation work — which involves installation of the color-accented framing — will begin on the north side of the west wing this week as well.
• Brick exterior on the flexible classroom. Construction of the brick exterior for the flexible classroom began last week and is expected to continue through February.
• Precast exterior brick. Crews are installing precast exterior brick on the final side — the south face of the west wing — this week. Precast brick exterior installation should be substantially completed by the end of next week.

Construction Site Work

Hagfors Center construction remains on schedule. Wet winter weather this week and last week has slowed some of the exterior work, causing crews to focus on advancing interior work. A look at the interior of the third floor on the north wing is above. Below is a summary of work scheduled for this week, depending on weather conditions:

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  Rooftop mechanical area. Construction crews are building the support of the screen wall that will cover the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning units in the rooftop mechanical area on the north wing. The top photo at right shows the mechanical area from the west side.

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  Precast exterior brick. The precast exterior is now being installed on the final side of the building — the south side of the west wing. Crews will also install the precast exterior brick on the south end of the north wing’s partial fourth floor this week. The bottom photo at right shows the precast brick installed on the north wall of the west wing.

• Brick installation. Work begins this week to lay the brick exterior of the flexible classroom on the south side of the building. The flexible classroom connects with the lobby area to form a learning commons.
• Window frames and glass. Glass and window-frame installation continues on the first three floors of the north wing. Crews are preparing the west wing for installation as well. The sealants used in this work require dry conditions, so the installation schedule is weather-dependent.
• Roofing. Installation of the final roofing layer is ready to start, but also is dependent on dry weather conditions.
• Interior work. As noted above, mechanical, electrical, wall framing and drywall installation continues this week. In addition, painting has begun in the mechanical rooms in the basement.

With the continued installation of the pre-cast exterior, window frames and glass, the north wing of the Hagfors Center is looking much like the finished building will look. (See the two photos, at the right, of the east and north sides of the building’s north wing.)

Construction Site Work

Construction work scheduled this week on the Hagfors Center includes the following activities:

• Roof-top mechanical yard. Exhaust fans will be installed this week in the mechanical area on the fourth floor of the north wing — near the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units that were set into place last week on roof of the north wing (see third photo, at right).
• Fireproofing and roofing. Fireproofing work was substantially completed as of last week. Installation of the the final roofing layer, for both wings, will begin this week.
• Precast exterior brick. Installation of the precast exterior is finishing up on the north side of the west wing and will be wrapping around to the west and south sides of that wing this week. Precast installation may continue on additional Saturdays this month. All Saturday work will be completed within the construction fence. An after-hours work permit is required from the City of Minneapolis for this weekend work, and notification is part of that permit process. Any complaint regarding this work may be submitted to Minneapolis Information and Services at 612-673-3000 or by calling 311 for phones with a 612 area code.
• Window frames and glass. Glass installation continues this week on the first three levels of the north wing.
• Main lobby stairwell. The concrete pour for the stair treads of the main lobby stairwell is scheduled this week.
• Interior work. Drywall installation continues this week in the basement level of the building.