At first glance, the bright and uplifting “Refresh” of Butler Square, a historic multi-tenant office building in Minneapolis, seems like a response to the global pandemic. However, though the building’s new amenities are in especially high demand by organizations striving to strike an ideal mix of in-person, hybrid and/or virtual work, this project’s vision took shape much earlier. In mid-2019, Jane Mauer, president of Butler Properties LLC, the building’s owner, conducted walk- throughs with Alliiance, the architecture firm. Construction began in January 2020 and was completed by spring 2021.
“The timing of the Butler Square Refresh has turned out to be ideal,” Mauer notes. “Construction began shortly before Minnesota’s COVID-19-related stay-home order was announced, and the finishing touches were completed in early 2021—just in time for the post-pandemic surge of economic, recreational and cultural activity. We are pleased to lead by example and to provide an inspiring place where an active, engaged, and growing pool of urban dwellers can work near their homes and enjoy all our city has to offer.”
SUSTAINABLE AND WELLNESS-FOCUSED
It’s serendipitous that many of the decisions made when Butler Square was first constructed in 1906—and improvements made by each of its owners—have been sustainable, meeting Mauer’s own desire for sustainability and wellness.
For example, the Douglas fir timber used for Butler Square’s famous timber post-and-beam structural system was harvested in northern Minnesota at one of the original owner’s tree farms. The brick used to construct the building was made in Chaska, Minn. The two atriums added in the 1970s introduced natural light into the building’s interiors and foster a sense of community by allowing occupants to view a wonderful range of activities occurring in adjacent areas.
“Butler Square’s first owner, T.B. Walker, invested in high-quality architecture, materials and construction. When Charles Coyer took ownership in 1972, his decision to transform The Butler Brothers Warehouse into a mixed-use commercial office and retail destination named Butler Square helped catalyze revitalization of the Minneapolis Warehouse District,” Mauer explains. “In 1979, the third owner, Jim Binger, redeveloped the west half of the building, making sure this part of the renovation was compatible with the first phase. He enhanced Butler Square’s beauty and performance by adding the West Atrium, new office and retail tenant spaces, and high-efficiency building systems. He had the ‘Speed Astir Glider’, the ‘Circus Fliers’ sculpture by George Segal, and other art installed in public spaces for enjoyment by the building’s occupants and visitors. As the fourth owner of this landmark building, I have continued this legacy by investing in ongoing upgrades to the building systems and refreshing and adding amenities that are not only highly valued by our tenants, but that also resulted in Butler Square receiving continued awards and accolades for its beauty; sustainability; connections with our community; and focus on healthy, high-performance operations, maintenance and management.”
Mauer’s commitment to high-quality facility operations and maintenance practices led to Butler Square achieving LEED EB O&M (2009) and LEED Silver EB O&M (2015) certifications. The building also has earned ENERGY STAR designation every year since 2008 and Outstanding Energy Performance awards from the city of Minneapolis in 2017 and 2018.
Butler Square also meets numerous health and safety standards that are now measured by national evaluation systems. For example, the building is BOMA 360 certified and WELL Health-Safety Rated as of 2021 through today. In 2022, Butler Square won the prestigious BOMA TOBY Award locally and regionally. The TOBY Awards consider all facets of a building’s operation, including community involvement, tenant relations, site management, and green policies and procedures.
THE REFRESH
The main challenge the project team faced with the Refresh was maintaining the historical integrity of the building’s architecture and interiors while using new materials and technology to modernize and expand the existing amenities. The project team overcame this challenge by working cohesively—from the designers and builders to the management staff and owner. The team agreed the monumental post-and-beam structure that has worked well for more than a century would be left untouched and, instead, be highlighted. The lighting design and new furnishings and finishes were thus selected to amplify the building’s most noteworthy attributes: its timber framework, brick walls and wooden ceilings.
The new white floor tile boosts natural light levels and amplifies the impact of the building’s soaring atriums. The replacement of the skylights in the West Atrium (2005) and East Atrium (2021) reduce heat gain and increase natural light levels.
High-pressure sodium and fluorescent sources in the public areas were replaced with high-color-rendering, warm-white LEDs. The lighting retrofit also added specialized fixtures to accentuate gathering places and art, uplight wood ceilings above corridors and enable management team members to change the color of the spotlights in the East Atrium via an app. In addition, a lighting management system allows the facility management team to know—at a glance—the status of every light in the building.
PHOTOS: Tom Wallace unless otherwise noted