News

Lakewood Garden Mausoleum

Project Details

General Contractor:
Mortenson Construction

Architect: HGA Architects

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Size: 24,500 SF

Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

Built into a hillside to preserve the cemetery’s pastoral character, the Lakewood Garden Mausoleum features an elegantly simple, granite-clad design that quietly integrates with the landscape. The 24,000-square-foot, two-level structure includes six crypt rooms, six columbaria rooms, three family crypt rooms, a committal room, and support spaces.

Natural light filters through bronze metal curtainwall, slim-slotted windows, and ground-level skylights, creating a serene, contemplative space for those grieving. Inside, skylights and lantern windows enhance the connection between the spiritual and the earthly. The mausoleum’s three horizontally oriented pods, clad in gray granite and white mosaic marble, reflect the historic family mausoleums found throughout the cemetery.

Widely regarded as one of the finest constructed projects in Minnesota, the mausoleum showcases exceptional craftsmanship and material quality throughout. Empirehouse sourced premium materials and delivered custom bronze and glass elements for the curtainwall, doors, and windows—ensuring a final result that is both contemporary and complementary to its surroundings.

Scope:

  • Six Flat Skylights
  • Custom Fabricated Bronze Clad Windows
  • Ten Oversized Bronze Balance Doors with Decorative Grills and Art Glass
  • Glass Guardrails
  • Family Crypt Gates
  • All Framing Systems

Discover the Beauty of Partnership: Contact Empirehouse Today.

Minnesota Orchestra Hall

Project Details

General Contractor:
Mortenson Construction

Architect: KPMB Architects

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Size: 131,440 SF

Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

Empirehouse provided preconstruction engineering and cost studies to help define the glazing package for this complex, high-performance façade. The primary exterior system features roughly 23,400 square feet of conventionally glazed aluminum pressure-wall engineered for high-span applications. Much of the glazing rests on a carbon plate base, giving the impression of a suspended cantilevered wall. To meet the design’s +/- 5/8″ movement tolerance at each connection point, custom horizontal extrusions and independently loaded connections were developed.

The back-of-house scope included 8,900 square feet of applied veneer glazing to refresh existing façades with minimal demolition. Secondary systems introduced dramatic design elements, including a top-hung, cantilevered structural glass fin wall offering sweeping city views. Installing some of these oversized panels—up to 76″ x 140″—required custom-engineered lifting equipment due to sequencing challenges with precast sunshade elements.

To balance performance and aesthetics, Empirehouse also delivered a 4,500 square foot custom aluminum bar stock-supported wall at the plaza level. This was implemented as a value-engineered alternative to an unsupported structural glass wall, reducing material costs while preserving visual impact.

Scope:

  • 23,400 SF aluminum pressure-wall glazing system

  • 8,900 SF applied veneer wall glazing

  • 3,400 SF top-hung cantilevered structural glass fin-supported wall system with stainless steel fittings

  • 4,500 SF custom aluminum bar stock fin-supported glazed wall system

  • 1,100 LF of glass handrail

  • Decorative, back-painted, and custom laminated glass infill panels

Orchestra Hall opened in 1974. The 2012 – 13 renovation replaced the original lobby with a larger, more functional space that includes an event space known as the City Room.”

Discover the Beauty of Partnership: Contact Empirehouse Today.

Bell Museum of Natural History

Project Details

Owner:
University of Minnesota

General Contractor:
McGough

Architect: Perkins & Will

Location: St. Paul, MN

Size: 89,857 SF

Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

Empirehouse partnered with McGough to deliver complex architectural glass and metal systems for the University of Minnesota’s new Bell Museum and Planetarium. Featuring approximately 16,000 square feet of bird-friendly low-e insulated glass, Empirehouse engineered and installed a variety of advanced curtainwall systems—including four-sided structural glazed, dual-cantilever box curtainwalls and monumental spans—to provide abundant natural daylighting while supporting the museum’s sustainability goals.

Through 3D modeling, thermal analysis, and VDC coordination, Empirehouse addressed intricate design elements such as extended jambs, parapet bypasses, and curtainwall corner transitions. These details ensured seamless integration with the museum’s distinctive architecture, including the green roof vestibule and a soffit transition at the main entrance.

Scope:

  • Four-sided structural glazed, dual-cantilever box curtainwall systems

  • Monumental span aluminum curtainwall systems

  • Aluminum thermal entrance doors

  • Exterior glass railings

  • Vestibule and glass entrances

  • Interior diorama glass displays

  • Skylight

  • Virtual Design & Construction (VDC), thermal, and 3D modeling

  • Bird-friendly low-e insulated glazing systems

To support the University of Minnesota’s commitment to conservation, Empirehouse installed specialty bird-friendly glass at the Bell Museum—helping reduce bird strikes while preserving the natural world the museum is dedicated to showcasing. As a natural history museum, minimizing bird deaths isn’t just important—it aligns directly with their mission.

Discover the Beauty of Partnership: Contact Empirehouse Today.