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Staff: Newer designer, firm veteran both on mission to serve clients

A long-established principal of CNH Architects and a newer arrival both labor to support client needs and desires, offering their expertise in multiple ways. Kelly Hanson joined CNH as an architectural designer last summer after graduating with a five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture degree from Iowa State University. She is also LEED Green Associate, and

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Rooftop fun at sizable south Minneapolis day care

A former Walgreens and home goods store on Lake Street has been transformed by CNH Architects into a Jardin Spanish Immersion Academy with a captivating two-part rooftop playground. Drone imagery reveals the innovative design. The entire interior of the Minneapolis structure was stripped and reinforcements were added to support the rooftop playground, explains Architect Jessica

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Volunteer: Senior Designer’s dog foster are enters next round

Senior Designer Al Tsai at CNH now has a 4-year-old in the house, Lucky, and he’s a dog. His family offers a friendly place for such animals, and has a special relationship with Secondhand Hounds, a Minnetonka-based pet adoption agency. Thus, the established pooch and the Tsai family recently welcomed a new companion. Mimi, a

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History: CNH logos, professional modesty and meaning

It began with a drafting style lettered design. Then tall and skinny letters were “in.” Bold letters followed, and finally, torn paper imagery separated an all caps visual. That about sums up 50 years of CNH Architects’ logo history. Flashy signs and catchy taglines were a bit foreign to the architecture field, and that, like

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Building an IT culture through design

Color, feel and careful interior design came together for an information technology client that places a high value on culture and its employees, Imagine IT. The Bloomington firm needed a new and larger space to bring several separate offices together, and the owners wanted a design centered on staff and their needs. CNH Architects worked

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Legacy project: Paving way for geothermal, Apple Valley Liquor Store No. 3

The first building project in Minnesota to receive Green Globes certification, Apple Valley Liquor Store No. 3 uses a highly efficient geothermal heat pump system to save on energy costs. The “sustainable” CNH Architects design appeared in southeast Apple Valley in 2008, before the word was widely recognized in environmental circles. “This was all about

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Current: Tripling space to help families, individuals in southeast suburbs

A nearly $1 million expansion project for Rosemount Family Resource Center has broken ground, and will bring greater help to people in this southeastern Twin Cities suburb. Architect Jessica Johnson with CNH Architects said the upgraded, residential-type design blends well with the residential neighborhood. Owned by the City of Rosemount and operated by the nonprofit

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CNH history: Through the years, map illustrates CNH projects’ reach

“It’s a benefit to our clients that have regional businesses that we regularly work across the broader upper Midwest,” Quinn Hutson, Principal, CNH Architects With individuals licensed in nine states, CNH Architects has offered its services across a substantial swath of the Midwest, as well as in Colorado and South Carolina. With that reach, still

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BURNSVILLE FIRE STATION NO. 1

CNH’s largest fire station to date, the City of Burnsville’s Fire Station No. 1 is home to a crew of all full-time firefighters and more than 44,000 SF with 10 apparatus bays. Firefighter safety was one of nine top priorities for the station. Multiple contamination zones and a designated de-contamination area will allow firefighters to keep contaminated equipment and clothing in the apparatus bay until decontaminated. Another priority in the design was firefighter mental health. A warning system that slowly ramps up with alert tones and lighting while only alerting responding staff ensures firefighters are not awoken in an abrupt manner. The station includes areas for relaxation with different lighting to promote natural sleep rhythms, as well as a yoga studio and meditation garden. Extensive firefighter training features including Firefighter 1 and advanced training elements are another highlight of the station.