Head Sack House: Design and Ideas Competition
This proposal for the reuse of a retired grain elevator in downtown St. Paul was one of the winners of the Design and Ideas Competition, designed in collaboration with Peter Vevang and John Dwyer.
Our low-energy intervention celebrated the site as an icon of ruin and accentuated the qualities of the structure as it had become: abandoned, void, in a state of decay and invasive growth.
The building is reimagined as an anchor of the St. Paul landscape, strengthening the physical and cultural connections between the city’s landmarks: the Mississippi River, Harriet Island, Irvine Park, Shepherd Road, Kellogg Boulevard, Wabasha Street Bridge and the High Bridge. Rows of trees form a backdrop to the building, holding the place where grain elevators once stood, and linking the building to an expansive promenade.
