Kassia Stacia Payne
architecture & design
case study: Minnesota's Heart of the Zoo
August 2013 - October 2013
project type:
student group work
with Andrew Dietz, Kenneth Meyer
location:
Apple Valley, Minnesota
skill set:
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- InDesign
- Microsoft Office
A major semester project was an investigation that attempts to discover, define, and describe the characteristics of exemplary practice and document the findings in a comprehensive final report. This enabled us to become aware of an architect’s leadership roles starting with a project’s inception and continuing through design, design development, construction documentation, contract administration, and construction completion. Though the interviewing process of each participant of the Minnesota Zoo’s Heart of the Zoo project, my team and I were able to recognize the roles and boundaries, special talents and expertise of each architectural project team member and the importance of diverse talents in the realization of a project. Select the button below, following the abstract, to continue reading excerpts written for the case study project.
Abstract
In spring 2011, The Minnesota Zoo unveiled its completed renovations for the highly anticipated African Penguin exhibit at the South Entrance. Resulting from an integrated collaboration between HGA Architects, Mortenson Construction, and the Portico Group, the renovations also included an upgraded entrance sequence, green roof, classroom facilities, children’s playroom, and a relocated aviary theatre. These represent the first phase of a new master plan, set on uniting the Zoo’s regions through a common architecture of sustainability and educational experience. The acclaimed success of phase one has brought upon an unintended consequence by rendering phases two and three obsolete, delivering a harsh lesson to architects on the relationship between quality and commodity.