The Butler Square building was once a 1,800-seat athletic venue for the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints. A century later, this nine-story historic landmark in Downtown Minneapolis is better known as the home to corporate offices for companies like AIMIA. After an extensive renovation, INSTALL Warranty contractor Sonus Interiors was thorough with the new flooring installation, creating zoned workspaces that are welcoming to both clients and employees.
Project: AIMIA Corporate Office
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Contractor: Sonus Interiors
Design Overview
Relocating AIMIA’s U.S. corporate headquarters to the historic Butler Square building in downtown Minneapolis was an opportunity for architect MSR Design to help the company redefine its workplace culture. Gone were traditional cubicles, and in entered expansive collaborative workspaces, meeting tables and lounge-type furniture that provide choice and flexibility for employees. Three different color-coded neighborhoods provide differentiation and facilitate wayfinding throughout the office.
Installation Challenges
Faced with a limited budget, MSR selected cost-effective finishes and furniture to be used in innovative ways. While these decisions ultimately saved money, the flooring installation process was complex and time constraints meant that there was zero room for error.
INSTALL Warranty Contractor Sonus Interiors was selected to head up the flooring installation based on a preexisting relationship with the property management team. They were entrusted with the renovation, and immediately got to work with the architect to plan and install the intricate zoned design.
Incorporating twenty four different types of carpet, this project was no ordinary retrofit. In fact, the interior architect’s design was so complex that one journeyman was devoted to navigating the pattern, while the other journeyman completed the installation.
The pattern wasn’t the only challenge. During the initial tear-out of the existing office space, the floors were so sticky from previous glue that you could literally get stuck in it. Having construction debris ground into the glue would have been a nightmare, so Sonus Interiors used a primer to seal the existing floors. If they had not done this, the time spent to scrape the floors of construction debris would have been exhausting, and it would have been a hazard to the other trades working in the space.
Results
While the project proved complicated, with unexpected finds and a tight timeline, there was no delay when it came to the flooring installation. Thanks to Sonus Interiors’ INSTALL training and certification, the team was able to ensure the integrity of the intricate design and provide a vibrant and contemporary new home for AIMIA. The resulting installation offers a seamless, bright and playful space that employees will enjoy for many years to come.
INSTALL understands the importance of quality installation. You can renovate with confidence and exceed expectations with INSTALL as your flooring insurance. We provide our certified flooring installers with the training and expertise to deliver the floor as you designed it.
Contact: John McGrath
Phone: 215-582-4108
Email: install@carpenters.org
Website: INSTALLfloors.org
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
Owen Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Officials at Michigan State University’s East Lansing Campus were concerned that Owen Hall, a mid-20th-century residence facility, was no longer attracting much interest from its target audience, graduate and international students.
| Oct 12, 2010
Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Gartner Auditorium was originally designed by Marcel Breuer and completed, in 1971, as part of his Education Wing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Despite that lofty provenance, the Gartner was never a perfect music venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Cleveland, Ohio
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. The Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was dedicated on the Fourth of July, 1894, to honor the memory of the more than 9,000 Cuyahoga County veterans of the Civil War.
| Oct 12, 2010
From ‘Plain Box’ to Community Asset
The Mid-Ohio Foodbank helps provide 55,000 meals a day to the hungry. Who would guess that it was once a nondescript mattress factory?
| Sep 16, 2010
Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health
The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.
