Iversen Center for Faith

The Iversen Center for Faith addition to the historic Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas at the University of St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus is an incredibly challenging and significant project – one that we were excited to tackle. Some of the challenges our team members addressed included:

• The design of the addition had to work within the historic nature of the existing Chapel, to complement and not compete with its prominent setting on the campus and to seamlessly integrate with the use of the Chapel and the surrounding campus.
• The construction of the addition, being primarily below grade and wrapping two sides of the Chapel, was a very delicate endeavor that involved excavating, shoring and reinforcing along the foundation of the Chapel, all without damaging it in any way. And to make it even more challenging, we had very few construction drawings of the existing Chapel to work with.

During design, we took full advantage of all of our available visualization and graphics tools to model and represent the Chapel and campus surrounds to provide an accurate context for evaluating design options. Exploratory borings were done along two sides of the Chapel to determine the size and depth of the existing foundation wall and footings. We examined the unexcavated crawl space below the floor of the Chapel, along with the extensive attic space above the high Chapel ceiling. This evaluation process helped us to develop options and guide solutions for the design of the addition and the physical connection to the Chapel. As the design developed, we conducted a continual review process with our designers, project architects, structural engineers, project managers, the field coordinator and the representatives from the University of St. Thomas to ensure constructability and compliance with the design intent, the program, the building codes and the construction budget.

The expertise of our unique, fully-integrated in-house design-build team that allowed us to undertake a project of this magnitude successfully include the following:

• Our experienced designers, project architects, structural engineers, project managers and field coordinators have an incredible knowledge base. Despite the overall complexity and uniqueness of this project, there was little we encountered that we haven’t dealt with in some form on other projects.
• We’re inspired by our clients’ visions and goals to create unique solutions for them.
• We were able to present fully-vetted options and recommendations to the University, allowing them to make informed decisions along the way.
• As we learned more about the existing Chapel and footings, we were able to adapt and evolve the design and structure based on constructability, cost and functionality.
• We managed the design, detailing, budgeting and scheduling expectations of our client throughout the process.
• Using our building modeling and visualization tools allowed all parties to achieve a shared understanding of the project and properly evaluate design options and constructability conditions.

Visitors to the University of St. Thomas know The Quad is a well-known and well-traveled landmark on campus. The Iversen Center for Faith elegantly encompasses this large grassy area with its graceful and weightless approach as it expands beneath the historic Chapel. Creating this delicate interaction between the new structure and the existing natural landscape was a challenging endeavor for the project team. However, working through each challenge holistically offered opportunities for us to improve our design approach that ultimately made the project a greater success.

Because The Quad doubles as the roof of the Iversen Center for Faith, we needed to accommodate heavy loads, so more columns were placed throughout the space than a typical building would have. The large expanse of uninterrupted glass on the exterior required us to move these columns inboard, rather than flanking the exterior of the structure. Likewise, in the Campus Ministry office we placed the private offices along the interiors walls, opposite the window expanse. This allows more natural light to flood into the space and prevents direct sight lines into the offices.

Our main priority when programming the interior of the building was to make sure we understood and addressed the University's need for an interfaith center that incorporates multi-purpose spaces for various campus ministries and functions. While gaining this insight and collaborating with the University, it was critical that we created flexible rooms that would benefit both the students on campus and the community as a whole. This direction challenged us to maximize efficiency and functionality within the interior, including:

• Bride and Groom Suites that double as conference rooms
• Wudu stations integrated into the restrooms to allow for the proper Islamic purification ritual
• a large multi-purpose space that can accommodate large gatherings such as receptions for weddings and funerals or be divided into three smaller rooms by using the integrated, operable partitions
• a gallery space that doubles as the main thoroughfare and internal link for students between student housing and on-campus resources

Because of the amount of heavy traffic the gallery will receive, we selected a terrazzo flooring finish. Terrazzo has been used in monuments, worship spaces and other important buildings for hundreds of years due to its beauty and durability. Along with the terrazzo, we incorporated a limited, clean palette throughout the Center. This will allow art in the gallery to shine, event décor in the conference spaces to blend beautifully and the architecture of the building to stand proudly within its setting on The Quad.

Constant and ongoing communication between the designers, project managers, field associates and the University of St. Thomas allowed us to make these design decisions as a team, turning what were once the challenges of the project into opportunities and successes.

Modifying a significant historic structure like the 100-year-old Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas was a tremendous opportunity. New additions to historic buildings have the potential to change the historic character as well as damage significant historic materials and features. Our vision was to design an addition that enhances and preserves the Chapel’s historic character.

After taking the time to understand the University of St. Thomas’ needs and their vision of the future, our team worked collaboratively to identify a solution that would elevate this profoundly important building by placing the Chapel on a plinth above the addition, which was accomplished by embedding the addition below the main floor level of the Sanctuary. We improved the accessibility of the Chapel while also providing day lit spaces and active exterior plazas.

With the expertise of our fully-integrated, design-build team, we had resources beyond what would typically be available at the beginning of a project such as this. Our design team had the benefit of working closely with our engineers, interior designers and visualization associates to be sure the design would not conflict with the historic significance of the Chapel. At the same time, our project managers and field associates were able to work collaboratively with the designers to detail how we would delicately connect to the existing building and marry the two structures in a respectful manner.

In the end, we delivered a fantastic solution to the University of St. Thomas that will support the mission of the institution and further enhance the campus.

Building immediately adjacent to the 100-year-old Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, an iconic landmark on the University of St. Thomas campus in St. Paul, Minn., allowed us to take on a number of engineering challenges.

To preserve the Chapel’s status and not distract from it, the addition is recessed into the ground such that the roof is covered with natural greenery and sidewalks matching the existing Chapel entrance elevations. To minimize the disruption to the campus community, we worked on a shortened construction schedule, which required workable details for construction workers.

The below-grade construction required new foundations placed well below the Chapel footings with every precaution to protect the adjacent Chapel. This was accomplished with the creative use of earth retention systems, underpinning and strategic positioning of structural members. To minimize the demands on these systems and provide maximum safety to the Chapel, critical foundations were designed as integral with the finished floors. These solutions helped advance the construction schedule while maintaining a safe environment for the construction workers and the existing Chapel.

Thanks to our truly in-house design-build team, extensive coordination with our project managers and field associates was possible and benefitted us in many ways. We discussed how to safely and efficiently build adjacent to the Chapel. Being able to walk down the hall and talk with the person who is actually going to build the project is invaluable. With their input, details reflecting the methods and sequence of construction could be designed into the project on the first pass and avoided delays. Further, alternative building materials, such as lightweight backfill used at the Chapel, were explored and evaluated with the full project team to determine the best solution. With their input, we found a balance between the project’s program, shallow structure, economy and schedule.

Building adjacent to and underneath the 100-year-old Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas was a significant challenge that was made more difficult due to the lack of good records. The Chapel’s plans were hand drawn, lacking in detail and difficult to read – and there was no one around from the original project to share why or how certain aspects of the building were designed and built. Additionally, the architectural standards regarding what should be on the drawings have changed substantially in those intervening years.

With an in-house team of multidisciplinary experts, we have the expertise needed to take on this challenge.

Under the entire existing Chapel is a crawl space with a dirt floor. The new project included the construction of a new lower level lobby under the Chapel’s main entry lobby. The original foundations of the Chapel were higher than the new lower level lobby and required modifications so we didn’t undermine the Chapel’s structure. As more field information became available, our engineers were able to complete the structural design.

Vibration monitoring devices were placed in the Chapel during construction, notifying all team members via email or text if the construction activities caused excessive vibrations. If needed based on the vibration levels, we could modify construction activities to reduce or eliminate vibrations.

Our fully-integrated, in-house, multidisciplinary team was inspired not only by this significant project but also by the University of St. Thomas’ needs and vision for their future. From early design planning through construction, all members of our team were available to discuss the project’s status and make changes as needed.