UMN Shepherd Laboratories (Floors 1-3)
This project turned a once-drab 1970s-era building into an airy and naturally lit home for the University of Minnesota’s robotics program. The project consisted of renovating three floors totaling 25,000 sq. ft., with the addition of a new exterior entrance. The project included new robotics research laboratories, solar vehicle research areas, a drone lab, teaming rooms, and conference areas. The 20,000-square-foot renovation overhauled the first and second floors of the five-story building with the goal of creating new work areas and nine flexible labs for robotics faculty and graduate students. During construction, floors three through five remained occupied with science and engineering programs.
The improvements to the laboratory spaces allow for unprecedented innovation and collaboration among students, staff, and researchers. Knutson employed University of Minnesota students on the project as interns allowing for a hands-on learning experience and important relationship building with project stakeholders on their own campus.
Sustainability in Action
The University set a sustainability goal of B3, prioritizing energy efficiency throughout the project. Sustainable features include ENERGY STAR equipment, occupancy sensors and individual classroom HVAC controls, upgraded windows for natural light and efficiency, and optimized mechanical systems. Knutson also diverted 88.6% of construction waste from landfills through recycling and carefully selected materials to minimize future renovations, creating a durable, long-lasting facility built to serve generations.
Unique Project Features
+ First of its kind two-story drone flying laboratory with a 35-foot tall ceiling allows for researchers to test fly drones inside the building and allows spectators to watch from the second-floor observation areas through storefront-like windows.
+ Flexible collaborative workspaces encourage innovation between user groups
+ Writable walls and movable furniture
+ Glass walls that invite observers to view ongoing research inside the laboratories and create an open feel.
+ The Patrick J. Starr Solar Vehicle Project Laboratory brings the university’s famous solar car project to the forefront with a new drive in workshop with glass walls along the public interior corridor allowing observers a firsthand look.
Challenges and Solutions
During construction, levels 3-5 of the building were occupied by researchers. Knutson had to ensure that construction dust and debris did not encroach on the areas where research was being conducted. The team also needed to provide a clean entry/exit to the building so that dust would not track onto other floors. Noise and vibration constraints also needed to be enforced in order to not disrupt research and very sensitive equipment.
To mitigate these risks, we installed vibration sensors to ensure we were not exceeding the threshold that would negatively impact equipment and research. We also implemented a texting hotline that was communicated with flyers and newsletters placed throughout the building that so that occupants could use it to inform the crews of any cleaning concerns throughout the duration of the project.
The Second Renovation
After a successful renovation of floors 1-3 of Shepherd Laboratories in 2018, Knutson renovated the existing 3rd and 4th floors along with approximately two-thirds of the 5th Floor for the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) that were previously occupied. The goal of this renovation was to accommodate new robotics and vision, virtual reality/augmented reality and graphics/visualization, human-computer interaction/social computing, and natural language processing.