The design for this family mental health clinic began right before the start of the pandemic and finished shortly thereafter, just in time to serve the slew of kids traumatized by school closures and social isolation. We prepared Ellie to take on the important work of resuscitating the well being of our beleaguered young ones.
Project Highlights
Size: 3,600 sq. ft.
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Timeline: Completed 2024
Typologies: Adaptive Reuse - Commercial Architecture - Interior Remodel - Mixed-Use
Project Collaborators
Greiner Construction (General Contractor)
Hyde Development (Developer)
Focal Point Fixtures (Cabinetry)
Lifting Up Little Ones
In the same way Ellie worked to rehabilitate injured senses of self, we worked to rehabilitate this raw and unfinished historic building. The challenge was not simple, especially since their leased space was mostly sunk underground. We had to transform a dim and dingy space into the kind of bright and airy, light and positive place you’d want to walk into when seeking mental health therapy.
Some things were immovable and couldn’t be changed. The floor level obviously. Also, the windows were higher and smaller than normal and embedded in thick foundation walls. Heavy structural concrete carved up the space. We had to work with what we had. We used ample and especially luminous light fixtures to brighten the space. Colorful interior design pallets were implemented to make it warm and cheery. Concrete walls were left exposed but painted a bright white. The old bones of the building weren’t hidden, simply made more suitable. The most important rooms—the therapy offices—were placed selectively so that every office had a window, and there were just enough windows to go around.
