University of Minnesota Bagley Outdoor Classroom

Project Details

Project Description

Salmela Architect in collaboration with COULSON, completed the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bagley Classroom in 2010. The building is located in a 50 acre nature preserve within the university campus and near the shore of Lake Superior. It serves as a multi-purpose assembly space and environmental studies center. Over 30 departments use the facility as a field station to supplement exercises within the nature area. Engineering students use the building as a learning laboratory and monitor building performance.

A LEED building was the initial goal of the client. The team achieved the highest LEED score and the first LEED Platinum project for the university, a near-zero energy building, and a near-zero waste and water facility. The groundbreaking implementation of the Passive House approach in this extreme cold climate achieved deep energy conservation, reducing the heating load by 92% where the peak heating load is just 3000 watts (two hairdryers), and allowed a very small photovoltaic system to reach near-zero energy. This resulted in a design aesthetic where technology doesn’t dominate and the amount of PV has a comfortable scale integrated into the design. The project uses 87% less potable water with vacuum-flush composting toilets, a first in Minnesota for a higher-ed building.

The innovative, yet simple structure is super-insulated and air-tight. It consists of a shallow concrete foundation wrapped in 12 inch EPS, 16 inch SIP walls and roof, reclaimed timber beams, and triple-pane windows. COULSON successfully lead a diverse group of stakeholders including interdisciplinary user groups, and the University of Minnesota Duluth Facilities Management Department who built this pioneering and poetic building with their own in-house construction team.