Finishing work in the Hagfors Center lobby is making rapid progress as continued wood panel installation, terrazzo art work, and lighting placement are being diligently undertaken by crews and supporting staff. For a look at last week’s progress and this week’s priorities, continue reading below.

Construction Site Work

The roundabout. A blend of regular and colored concrete will be poured this week to form the walkways circling the roundabout (photo, above).

Interior finishes. Work in interior spaces continued last week as bathrooms were tiled, acoustical ceiling tiles on the first level offices were installed, and lighting was hung in the main lobby (photo, right).

Grow rooms. 18-feet by 15-feet grow rooms (similar in form to walk-in freezers), were installed in the grow rooms for the biology department. In the next two weeks, the project will finish with the installation of special lighting and shelves (photo below, left).

Terrazzo. Finishes on the terrazzo floor are taking place this week (see photo of last week’s progress below, right). Next week we can anticipate a dramatic before/after picture highlighting the work done in the final phase to complete the installation.

Exterior work. Foundational landscape work continues as the sprinkler irrigation system for planting is embedded in the green space surrounding the Hagfors Center.

Mechanical missioning. Piping for the heating system was recently cleaned and is being filled with a water mixture. Testing, balancing, and commissioning of this system will then begin.

While the behind-the-scene work continues (electrical, grading, ventilation, etc.), this phase of construction tends to be even more exciting for onlookers. Much of the interior and exterior finishing work is taking place so rapidly that passers-by are able to more readily see concept become reality.

Highlights from this week and progress from last week include:

Terrazzo lobby floor. This week, crews are entering the completion phase for the Hagfors Center’s terrazzo art installation (see photo above – also, see last week’s update for a view of the progress and information regarding the concept). The process of grinding it with finer and finer stones, then finishing with a special sealer for preservation, begins this week.

The roundabout. Prep work and grading is complete, and concrete pours for the sidewalks circling the roundabout (see photo, right) will take place this week.

Stormwater basin. The construction trailers, used as offices for site supervisors and as a meeting point for touring donors, were removed last week to make room for excavation, allowing crews to finish grading for the stormwater basin.

Oren Gateway. Concrete pours surrounding Oren Gateway (pictured, below) are yet another finish that started last week and will continue through this week.

Grow rooms. Installation of grow rooms will begin this week. These rooms are climate-controlled chambers used for plant research.

Carpet installation. On the interior, flooring installation continues. Resilient flooring started previously and will be moving up to the second floor while office areas are being prepped for carpet installation.

Construction Site Work

Terrazzo lobby floor. Crews began pouring the terrazzo art installation on the floor of the Hagfors Center lobby (see photo above). The artist, Stan Sears, has been on site, working directly with the construction crews for this layout and installation work. Learn more about this art work in this video, narrated by Sears. Information about other art installations in the building, is available on the sponsored artwork page of the Art and Identity web site.

Terrace and sidewalk work. Concrete pours continue this week on the charcoal portions of the main terrace. (See photo, at right, of crews working on the terrace.) Concrete pours also are ongoing for the sidewalks in the rotunda area.

Transfer to permanent electrical service. The transfer from temporary power to permanent service for the building will be substantially completed this week.

Storm water basin. Digging continues on the south side of the building for the storm water basin. The second photo at right shows how the basin is taking shape. This week, three construction trailers will be removed from the site to allow for the final grading in the pond area.

Work begins this week to prepare the lobby floor for the terrazzo art installation. The artist, Stan Sears, will begin work on site to lay out the floor. To learn more about this and other art installations in the building, see the detail about the sponsored artwork on the Art and Identity web site.

Construction Site Work

Removal of 6th Street curb cuts and approaches. Existing curb cuts and former driveway approaches on the south side of South 6th Street are anticipated to be removed in the next couple of weeks, The construction fence will be temporarily modified as necessary to complete the work. The curb approaches are not needed on South 6th Street because the driveway to the parking lot on the north side of the building will be built on 21st Avenue South. Regular curb will be installed along South 6h Street at a later date.

Landscaping. Excavation work continues on the storm water basin on the south side of the site. The photo below shows a glimpse of the progress on digging the basin. Crews also are spreading top soil throughout the construction site in preparation for landscaping work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrace work. Crews will also pour charcoal-color concrete bands on the building’s south terrace. The colored concrete is the darker color shown in the drawing of the main entrance plan (below). A similar pattern will also ring the rotunda area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rotunda. The curb that forms the inner ring of the rotunda has been poured, and crews now are working on the curb that will form the outer ring. (See photos below.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lobby ceiling. Crews have finished installing the elm wood that surrounds the chapel suspended over the Hagfors Center lobby. (See photos below.)

 

 

 

 

 

Last week, the temporary work platform around the Gundale Chapel was removed. The photos above and to the right now show how the suspended chapel soars over the Hagfors Center lobby.

Construction Site Work

Lobby ceiling. With the removal of the temporary platform around the suspended chapel, the 3-story lobby ceiling is now visible (see photo at right). Crews will install elm wood panels beneath the chapel this week.

Chapel window framing. Crews are also working to install aluminum window framing for the chapel. (See photo below.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Electrical yard. Work continues on the north side of the construction site, where crews are nearing completion of the the screen fence for the electrical yard (see photo at right).

Skyway and rotunda. Crews will be installing metal panels underneath the skyway this week. Surveyors also will visit the site this week to survey the radius of the roundabout area at the intersection of 21st Avenue South and South 7th Street.

Site work. Excavation for the storm water basin on the south side of the building resulted in several large piles of dirt on the construction site (see photo below) — some will be reused on the site, other piles will be recycled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth of July holiday. Construction crews will continue work during the week of July 3 – 7, except for the Independence Day holiday. There will be no construction update next week. The next update will be the week of July 10.

 

McGough Construction crews and HGA architects did an early morning shift last week–arriving on campus at 4:30 a.m., before dawn, to position the main ceiling lights in the lobby to illuminate the 2-story elm wood wall. The photos below show the warm glow of the lights from inside the lobby and outside the building, a glow that will be much appreciated during the short days of winter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction Site Work

Lobby ceiling. Last week, crews worked to install the lobby ceiling grid, tile, and lights and complete other work at the upper level of the lobby area (see photo at left). With the completion of this work, the temporary work platform around the suspended chapel will be removed this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Electrical yard. Work continues on the screen that will surround the electrical yard on the north side of the building. The photo at left shows a back hoe digging footings for additional posts for the screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North side stairs. Steps from the sidewalks on north and east sides have been poured. The photo at left shows crews working on the north stairs, along South 6th Street, last week. Digging also continues for the storm water basin on the south side of the building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interior work. Crews continue with mechanical, electrical, and sheetrock installation on all levels of the building and in the skyway. The photo at the left shows an interior view of the fourth-floor boiler room, which was substantially completed several weeks ago.

 

 

Construction Site Work

Interior

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  Elm wood wall. Crews continue installation this week of the elm wood panels on the two-story wood wall at the center of the lobby. (See photo above.)

• Lobby work. Electrical, mechanical, and sheetrock work continues in the lobby area of the building this week. Crews are also completing the work in the upper level of the lobby area, after which the temporary work platform around the suspended chapel (which was installed in early April) will be removed.
• Skyway. Work has begun on the skyway tie-in to Lindell Library, which includes installation of a glass curtainwall and door system. For now, the work is visible only from the skyway side (not from inside the library).
• Other interior work. Installation of electrical, mechanical and drywall is underway on all levels of the building (see photo of a corridor under construction, at right). Crews also are continuing lab casework installation on the second level, having completed this work in the basement and on the first floor.

Exterior

• Outdoor stairs. Steps from the sidewalks on north and east sides of the site will be poured this week, weather permitting. Site plans ensure that all sidewalk areas of the site also have accessible entrances and exits.

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  Electrical yard. Installation of the posts for the screen wall on the north side of the building is underway (see photo, at right). The wall will screen the electrical equipment on the site from view.

• Site work on the south side. Crews began digging the storm water basin on the south side of the building this week. The long-term plan is to extend this basin to the east, creating a greenway across 21st Avenue South and into the center of campus. That extension requires the demolition of the existing science building and would be part of a future construction project. Until then, the basin will be located within the Hagfors Center construction site boundaries.
• Color accent on the flexible classroom space. The color-accent fins — similar to those on the bump-out windows on the rest of the building — have been installed on the exterior of the flexible classroom space on the south side of the building.

Xcel Energy completed the final electricity connection to the Hagfors Center last week (see photo below), and the new gas meters have been installed (with gas connection expected in the next week or so). Meanwhile, construction work continues both inside the building and throughout the site — see below for this week’s updates.

Construction Site Work

• East side exterior seating. Work continues on the concrete walkways connecting the circular seating areas on the east side of the building (see photo below, at left). Weather permitting, the sidewalk along 21st Avenue South also will be poured this week.
• West side site work. Grading and preparations for concrete work are underway on the west side of the building. Bases for the light poles that will be installed in this area are also in place. (See photo below, at right.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Interior. Drywall installation continues on the first level of the building. In the photo below, at left, Norm (far left) and Vangie (second from right) Hagfors stand in the Religion Department home with HGA Architect Bill Blanski (second from left), and President Paul Pribbenow (far right).
• Skyway. Work is underway on the mechanical, electrical, and drywall installation for the skyway’s recessed soffits (see photo below, at right).

 

 

 

Crews have completed installation of the window fin extensions that add accent colors to the exterior of the Hagfors Center. The photo below shows several of those windows, as well as the perfect blending of the precast brick with the handset brick on the flexible classroom.

Construction Site Work

• Elm wood wall. Preparations are underway for the two-story elm wood wall in the lobby area. The elm wood extends to the ceiling, marking the area of Gundale Chapel floor. Elm wood panels will be attached to the metal strips, shown in the top right photo.
• Skyway. With the glass installation complete crews have begun roughing in the mechanical and electrical ceiling work this week.
• Basement staircase. The final staircase — located just north of the lobby and running from the basement to the first floor — is being installed this week.
• Lab flooring. Crews have begun installation of rubber flooring in the labs on first floor this week.

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  Exterior seating. Now that the circular seating areas on the east side of the building have been poured, crews are working on pouring the circular concrete areas and sidewalks that connect them together. This work also includes pouring the sidewalk along 21st Avenue South and is contingent on weather. See photo at right.

• Cable installation. Many yards of network cabling are being installed as crews continue to sheetrock, tape, sand, and paint interior spaces. See photo, lower left.
• Louvers for mechanical area. Installation of the louvers on the exterior wall of the rooftop mechanical area is wrapping up this week. The louvers allow for ventilation while screening the mechanical equipment from view. See photo, lower right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last May, the building crews for the Hagfors Center were just beginning to break ground and lay basic foundations. This side-by-side comparison of the construction site from last year to this year shows how much progress can be made in twelve short months. Read below to learn more about last week’s highlights and this week’s priorities.

Construction Site Work

• Closure of 21st Avenue South; restricted parking in Lot A. In order to accommodate the next phase of construction, a portion of 21st Avenue South and South 7th Street are now closed to pedestrian and street traffic through the summer. Pedestrians are still able to cross 21st Avenue South to access Anderson and Luther residence halls to the south of the construction site; and vehicles can still

  

  access South 8th Street and the parking lots south of it. Vehicles and pedestrians are able to use the north end of 21st Avenue South to access Riverside Avenue, South 6th Street, the driveway adjacent to Oren Gateway Center, and the private home south of Oren. Augsburg also has designated Lot A as construction-related parking only. Special permits are required to park in that lot.

• Seating. The site’s three, gray-toned, concrete benches took form last week (pictured, right) after being formed and poured. Crews will now focus on backfilling and leveling the ground around the perimeter of the curved structures.

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  Sidewalks. Crews are continuing to develop the walkways along the east side of the building and 7th Street this week by forming and pouring the concrete for sidewalks (weather permitting).

• Skyway. Artist Teri Kwant’s glass art instillation was finally set in place and now offers a uniquely layered perspective of downtown for those passing through (pictured, right). Now that the artistic glass has been set, work can begin on sealing up the skyway – which will start with installation of the spray foam at the head of the skyway.
• Main entrance. Crews are beginning to install the window system flanking the center’s west entrance.
• Main lobby. Recessed lighting was installed and strategically positioned to illuminate the elm walls in the lobby while shade pockets in the learning commons and main lobby are being placed along the windows (see design, bottom right).

  

• Basement flooring. The installation of a few colors of flooring for the building’s basement level began and will continue through this week. The flooring includes colored rubber at classroom and lab entry alcoves that coordinates with the color of the exterior fins (pictured, bottom left).