BWBR is a multi-disciplinary firm founded in 1922 by William M Ingemann with his wife Dorothy Brink Ingemann. During the initial years, the firm explored and experimented with the various styles of architecture belonging to periods of the 1920s and 1930s. In the year 1941, Ingemann hired Milt Bergstedt which led to the official formation of BWBR whose philosophical roots are still being followed. The employee-owned firm is at Saint Paul (Minnesota), Madison (Wisconsin), and Omaha (Nebraska). The firm primarily focuses on solutions to enhance the quality of space and human-centered safety. Here are a few selected projects by BWBR.
1. Gustavus Adolphus College – new Warren and Donna Beck Academic Hall | BWBR
- Location – St. Peter, Minnesota
- Size –159030sft gross
- Year – 2011
The hall is designed as a gathering space for students to collaborate outside the classrooms. The building features a three-storey atrium with an informal setting of movable furniture with dedicated rooms connecting the atrium. The quality of the space is enriched with maximum indoor daylighting. The structure is built with an energy-conscious design using alternate energy consumption through photovoltaic and solar thermal energy.
2. State of Minnesota – Minnesota Senate Building
- Location – Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Year – 2017
- Size – 293000sft
The administrative building designed in collaboration with Pickard – Chilton, consists of 67 legislator offices, workspace for 360 people and three hearing rooms with its largest room that occupies 250 seats. The building is treated with limestone, quartered White Ash wood, and Danby Marble to showcase Minnesota craftsmanship.
3. Avera McKennan Hospital – Avera Behavioral Health Centre | BWBR
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Year: 2006
- Size: 1,30,000sft
The design breaks the stereotype of a mental health treatment hospital. The rigid, formal, and gloomy atmosphere that a hospital portrays is replaced with a two-storey courtyard which forms the main feature and connects the people to nature through its ample daylight. The courtyard also houses colored walls, water body and meditation room to create an environment that evokes the sense of tranquility, and reduces the anxiety of patients.
4. Eagle Brook Church
- Location Anoka, Minnesota
- Year – 2017
- Size – 60000sft
The uniquely built church was a former vacant Kmart building that was designed in an unconventional way to resemble a convention center and enhances community gathering. The church also houses a kids’ education center which is designed with bright colors and open space to connect to nature and encourages the younger members to be a part of the church and promote excitement and celebration.
5. Saint Paul Public School – River east K8 Special Education Centre | BWBR
- Location: St Paul, Minnesota
- Year: 2018
- Size: 80,000 sq. ft. renovation; 35,000 sq. ft
A former industrial building redesigned into a school with a prime focus on the mental health and wellbeing of students; the building shell is designed to create a therapeutic environment, and spaces are carefully designated to connect students and staff. Yet avoids rigidity and houses a calming ambiance which encourages students to express themselves.
6. Parish Community of St Joseph
- Location – New Hope, Minnesota
- Year – 2004
- Size – 15000sft sanctuary
This religious chapel houses a flexible seating of 900 to 1100 arranged in a semi-circular pattern with an open sanctuary that connects directly to the gathering space. An open space is created to enhance socialization and act as a multi-functional space for community meetings and greetings before the commencement of the service.
7. Minnesota Capitol Complex Parking Ramp F
- Location – Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Year – 2017
- Size – 187711sft
The four-storyed structure can accommodate 530 cars and is located between several office buildings and connects with major streets. It was designed in less than 3 months to avoid congestion. Located next to the Minnesota Capitol Complex, the building is designed to respect its context. Landscaping features with retention ponds and pedestrian plaza acts as a public realm and contributes to enhancing the value of the surrounding structures.
8. Fortune 500 Company – Research & Development Building | BWBR
- Location – Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Size – 466000sft gross area
- Year – 2016
The 4-storiedLEED certified research building addresses sustainable design standards. The structure is strategically designed to place the research area at the center with its mechanical systems and office spaces connected to it. The quality of office space is improved with the use of large windows for natural lighting and an open plan to encourage interaction and avoid rigidity.
9. Oshkosh Correctional Institution – Health Services Unit Building
- Location – Oshkosh, Wisconsin
- Size – 17000sft new construction, 12400sft remodel
- Year – 2018 (phase 1) 2019 (phase 2)
The health care unit with its functional clinic spaces and long-term care unit is designed with the elements of path finding to make it easy for the patients and other visitors to move freely without any confusion. The patient treatment spaces are placed on either side of a double-loaded corridor with a security station on one end. The quality of space is further enhanced through natural lighting with clerestory openings.
10. E. Brands New Corporate Headquarters / Anytime Fitness | BWBR
- Location – Woodbury, Minnesota
- Size – 80000sft
- Year – 2016
The office space was designed considering the mental well-being of its employees by adopting an open office plan with flexible furniture, to create an informal setting that encourages interaction and thus enhances the quality of space. The heart of the office space consists of a double-height common space with a wood-paneled staircase and curtain wall glazing.
11. Pankalo Education Centre
- Location – Lake Elmo, Minnesota
- Size – 76000sft
- Year – 2017
The education center is designed specifically for students with autism and emotional behavioral disorder. Hence the main design interventions focused on achieving human-centered safety features through the built environment to meet a safe learning environment. Each classroom was designed informally with openings through which students can connect to nature and set a calm atmosphere. The staff area is located in such a way that continuous monitoring of students can take place without affecting their everyday activities and promote their self-growth.
12. Saint Ambrose Catholic Church and School
- Location – Woodbury, Minnesota
- Year – 2000
- Size – 110000sft
The church houses worship and education and is built as an eight-sided sanctuary. Clerestory windows and stained glasses shower the Nave with natural light. The main feature of the church is the open to sky glass ceiling through which one can witness the bright blue sky that is created to achieve a heavenly aura.
13. Hennepin Healthcare – Clinic and Specialty Centre | BWBR
- Location – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Size – 384000sft
- Year – 2018
One of the biggest renovations and expansion hospital projects in Minneapolis houses one of the busiest trauma centers with 26 primary specialty clinics spread out on 6 floors. The building features a helistop placed at the top of the building to received trauma patients by air and is connected directly to the emergency department, operating rooms, and intensive care units. The helistop doubles the capacity to receive trauma patients and improves safety.
14. Infor Commons
- Location – Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Size – 450000sft
- Year – 1999
A 13-storied mixed-use building houses office tower with retail arcade, housing, and restaurants. The exterior structure encompasses an amalgamation of brick, stone, glass, and wood and is built in harmony with its surroundings. To connect the high-rise building to its surroundings, the base of the building is built like pedestrian arcades and visually connects with the streets. The top of the building is crowned with glass to emphasize the business symbolically.
15. North Barstow Parking Structure
- Location – Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Size – 4 level, 775 stall structure
- Year – 2016
The post-tensioned structural system is located amidst housing development and offices and is built as a solution for increased parking requirements. To enhance the quality of a parking structure, an urban plaza is created with a mix of hardscapes and softscapes. The design intervention avoids narrow bottlenecks and allows free flow of traffic without any confusion.
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