05-12-2016

T3 by MGA, sustainable office building in Minneapolis

USA,

Wood,

Vancouver-based firm Michael Green Architecture (MGA) in conjunction with DLR Group designed T3, a seven-storey office building in Minneapolis and the largest mass timber building in the United States.



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T3 by MGA, sustainable office building in Minneapolis Vancouver-based firm Michael Green Architecture (MGA) in conjunction with DLR Group designed T3, a seven-storey office building in Minneapolis and the largest mass timber building in the United States. 



The first thing that comes to mind when you think about wooden buildings are small weekenders in fine natural backdrops, from the Norwegian fjords (link TYIN) to the Italian Alps (link Antoine, Bureau A). 
But large scale models are popping up too, and one of them is T3, designed by Vancouver-based Canadian firm
Michael Green Architecture (MGA) in conjunction with Architect-of-Record DLR Group.
T3, which stands for “Timber, Technology, Transit” offers 3600-plus cubic meters of exposed mass timber, recalling the heavy timber construction of the building's predecessors in the warehouse district of Minneapolis, with a modern take on the character of the past.
Building on the robust character of the district's historic wood, brick, stone and steel buildings, MGA introduced design solutions that save both resources - opting for renewable building materials, including timber from trees killed by the mountain pine beetle - and construction time. T3 was erected much quicker than conventional steel-framed or concrete buildings - in less than 10 weeks!
So, the building has intrinsically less impact on the environment than traditional structures and is also aesthetically successful due to its exterior iconic appearance and its warm, inviting interiors. T3 by the design team at MGA - which has always worked with a careful eye on the environment and on the connections of architecture with the community and the users - shows us how it is possible to build sustainably in a traditional context and still retain the beauty of a contemporary perspective.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Michael Green Architecture (MGA)
Architect of record: DLR Group
Location: Minneapolis, USA
Year: 2016
Images: Ema Peter
Thanks to v2com

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