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The Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota Minneapolis campus were constructed in two phases. Empirehouse was contracted to provide the exterior curtainwall and composite metal-panel system cladding for the new five-story building and the nine-story clinic expansion.

The new building’s curved façade connects to the tower expansion by a skyway which is composed of a monumental compound curved, dual-cantilevered structural silicone-glazed cladding system.

Empirehouse provided both the aluminum panel and curtainwall systems which maximized the envelope product integration and efficiency of the building envelope installation.

Empirehouse selected the façade and functional components to integrate within the curtainwall system. This allowed for easy access to windows from the inside or the outside of the enclosure. Vapor barrier components were installed to ensure that the patient environment was free of water infiltration.

Scope:

• Multiple glass substrates, coatings, and frits.
• EFCO Corporation fully captured and structural silicone glazed curtainwall framing, custom painted stone grey finish
• Empirehouse provided mechanical louvers
• Revolving door systems, automatic bi-parting door systems, automatic bi-folding door systems, and oversized bi-folding traffic doors.
• Total glass and metal panel area: 36,000 square feet

Empirehouse teamed with RJM Construction and Architect Welsh Companies as the architectural glass and metal contractor for the Summit Orthopedics project in Eagan, MN. The Empirehouse team installed nine aluminum curtainwall systems, a storefront system, punched windows and entrance doors total a glass area of approximately 9,000 square feet.

Scope:

• Total Glass Area: 9,000 square feet
  Aluminum storefront thermal clip framing system with approx. 1,000 square feet of heavy-duty, triple-glazed tinted, insulated vision glass lites with high-performance low ‘e’ coating installed on the third floor to buffer the roaring decibel level of departing and landing airplanes
• Nine fully captured aluminum curtainwall systems with pressure-wall framing glazed with over 5,200 square feet of tinted, high-performance insulated vision and spandrel glass
• Aluminum storefront thermal clip framing system glazed with over 2,700 square feet of tinted, insulated vision glass lites with high-performance low ‘e’ coating
• Punched windows
• Fire safing areas
• Exterior aluminum doors

Description:

Both, Allina and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota realized the necessity for a location where mothers and their babies can bond while receiving the highest level of care. The first phase of this partnership was the development of The Mother Baby Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Minneapolis Children’s.

For this project, Empirehouse worked with Knutson Construction Services – Minneapolis, to furnish and install over 65,000 square feet of custom convex and concave curved, dual-cantilevered aluminum pressure-wall framing with ACM wall panel cladding systems. The framing materials provide enhanced thermal performance with the design of the fiberglass pressure-bar assemblies.

The Empirehouse glazing team safely accommodated this challenging installation on this busy South Minneapolis job site, and its small footprint offered limited staging area. Empirehouse provided logistical planning throughout the project with special care to accommodate the accelerated schedule when installing the skyway over the well-traveled 26th and Chicago Avenues.