T3 Minneapolis

Year: 2016
Category: Commercial · Mixed Use
Type: Commercial
Status: Built
Firm: MGA | MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE
Location: Minneapolis, United States

T3, our new mass timber office building in Minneapolis, is a gamechanger for the commercial building industry and a milestone for mass timber construction in the United States. It is the first completed modern timber building to be built in the United States in more than 100 years, and the largest in North America. T3 is a unique approach to office building and an investment in both the past and future of Minneapolis – specifically the rich history of the warehouse district. We have designed T3 to build on the character of the past with a progressive modern perspective.

As businesses compete to attract and retain staff, T3 offers a modern re-interpretation of the historic building that appeals to young professionals. It celebrates the robust character of historic wood, brick, stone, and steel buildings, but provides state of the art amenities, environmental performance, and technical capability needed for competitive businesses in Minneapolis. The seven-story, 220,000 sq. ft. commercial building offers a mix of retail and office space, integrating into existing transit networks and the historic fabric of the city.

The design marries traditional, industrial proportions with modern materials and detailing. T3 is respectful of its neighborhood and responds to its context with a simple massing. The form and exterior articulation create a quiet building – responding to and complementing the historical buildings rather than drawing attention to it. Inside the building, exposed mass timber columns and floor slabs recall the heavy timber construction of the building’s predecessors. While the historic brick-and-timber structures of the district used old growth solid timbers for columns, beams, and even floor joists, T3’s modern technological approach uses engineered wood components (chiefly glulam and nail laminated timber).

These modern materials bring the warmth and beauty of wood to the interior, and promote a healthy indoor environment for occupants. While alluding to historic buildings of the district, the T3 project provides modern, clean, energy-efficient systems and technologies aimed at reducing the lifecycle carbon footprint of the project within its community. T3 Green Facts -180,962 cubic feet of wood was used to build T3 - It takes 15 minutes for the U.S. and Canadian forests to grow the amount of wood used in T3 - T3 stores 3,646 metric tons of carbon dioxide According to the Woodworks Wood Calculator tool’s Carbon Summary: - Using wood to construct T3 generates environmental benefits that are equivalent to taking 966 cars off the road for a year - The energy saved is enough to power a home for 430 years - By using wood, T3 avoided 1,411 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions Credits: - StructureCraft Builders Inc. - Design Assist + Build - Ema Peter - Photographer - Magnusson Klemencic Associates - Structural Engineer - DLR Group - Architect of Record - Dunham Associates - MEP - Loucks Associates - Civil Engineer - Hines - Client