Kraus-Anderson has completed a $70 million expansion and renovation of Nobel Hall of Science at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Nobel Hall houses the departments of biology, chemistry, geography and geology, along with interdisciplinary programs in biochemistry, molecular biology and environmental studies.
KA’s partnership with Gustavus stretches over 40 years and includes the campus reconstruction after the 1998 tornado and recent projects such as Anderson Hall and Beck Academic Hall.
Designed by Hastings+Chivetta, the expansion nearly doubles the building’s footprint. The 182,828-square-foot project includes a 90,935-square-foot renovation of Nobel Hall, a 79,561-square-foot south expansion and 12,332-square-foot north expansion. The college’s innovative project is one of the first STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) buildings in the area through the connection of the Nobel Hall of Science with the Schafer Fine Arts building via an expansive lobby and laboratory theatre.
Nobel Hall improvements create new synergies among faculty with adjacencies that are based on common research endeavors, teaching collaborations and shared instrumentation.
The new complex will include additional research and teaching laboratories designed to accommodate leading industry standards for student and faculty safety, equipment and research methods. The project also adds new offices, classrooms, meeting rooms and libraries, as well as a museum, experimental theater space, greenhouse and auditorium. Other additions include 20 collaboration and conference spaces, a laundry, and increased support areas to allow for additional equipment rooms, chemical storage and hazardous material handling.
Building systems have been designed to handle the capacity of the new expansions and to allow for future flexibility. KA installed a new 1,000-ton water-cooled chiller for the south quadrant of the campus. Other central campus utilities such as steam, steam condensate, domestic cold and hot water, and sanitary and storm sewers have been extended to the building site. The project is seeking Silver LEED certification and has already helped contribute to over $186,000 in energy rebates for Gustavus.
