Best of B3 Design:

The 80,600-sf Minnesota Veterans Home – Bemidji exemplifies a sustainable, resident-centered care model rooted in the VA’s Small House design. Designed to serve 72 veterans, the facility embraces a Northwoods aesthetic while prioritizing energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Through collaboration with OtterTail Power’s Enhanced Energy Design Assistance program, the project aimed to use a primarily electric heating system to minimize its carbon footprint. Key strategies include a horizontal geothermal field, VRF heat pumps, and a high-performance envelope with triple-glazed windows.
Native landscaping enhances bird and wildlife habitat, and the landscape design minimizes lawn area, reducing irrigation needs. Stormwater is managed through on-site underground infiltration basins.
Common areas are oriented for daylight access, connecting residents to views of the surrounding woods. The thoughtful integration of thermal comfort, ventilation, and acoustic quality ensures a nurturing, home-like environment that supports both sustainability and quality of life. Jim Larson, the first veteran resident, remarked to the Star Tribune: “No one likes to leave their home, but there are times when you have to move forward. I’ve visited a lot of people in nursing homes [and] this place is more like home.”

Best OF SB 2030:

Located on the shore of Lake Waconia, Paradise Commons enhances the experience of parkgoers year-round. Locals and travelers alike can enjoy recreational rental activities and gathering spaces, with excellent views to Coney Island of the West, a site listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

In warmer months, visitors find themselves surrounded by native grasses and native plantings such as Purple Coneflower, Prairie Blazing Star, Black-Eyed Susan, and Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry. The aesthetically pleasing landscape supports pollinators and species while reducing demand for irrigation and maintenance. Acknowledging water as a precious resource, the building itself reduces potable water use by over 60%.

Moving in and around the building, visitors and staff benefit from the multifaceted architectural approach taken by the design team. Canopies cover outdoor public spaces while shading exterior glazing. Access to views is prioritized, and bird safe glazing helps the building achieve a threat factor under 13.

Holistic energy strategies ensure the building operates as efficiently and effectively as possible for both cost and carbon savings. High performing envelope systems, geothermal mechanical systems, and enhanced lighting equate to a building energy reduction of 75%. Sufficient roof exposure with solar PV provides an additional 10% energy savings for a total EUI reduction of 85%.

The project team attributes its success in achieving ambitious energy and carbon reduction goals to having a multi-disciplinary team that worked closely with the owner to develop measurable goals with streamlined workflows. This charted a path for meeting guidelines through elegant design and clear documentation, and the result is a project worthy of experiencing in person.

Best of INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (IEQ)— Workplace:

St. Cloud Technical & Community College prioritized sustainability and indoor environmental quality when consolidating several academic programs into a Health Sciences Center. The adaptive reuse of an existing outpatient clinic preserved walls, ceilings, doors, and mechanical systems, reducing material waste and environmental impact.

Interior materials were selected for low VOC emissions, durability, and recyclability. Existing HVAC systems were supplemented with new heat pumps and enhanced with additional outdoor air and upgraded controls for improved comfort. Lighting upgrades in labs and classrooms, combined with high-reflectance finishes, enhance visibility and reduce energy use. Interior windows and half walls improve sight lines and supervision, supporting active learning.

Findings from the post-occupancy evaluation indicated that students using the facility had a high satisfaction level in seven IEQ categories including furnishings, electric lighting conditions, acoustics, and overall indoor air quality.

Best of B3 Benchmarking:

The city of Eden Prairie tracks energy use for 15 buildings, comprised of about 853,000 square feet.

Several energy efficient improvement projects included in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan helped reduce energy consumption in municipal buildings. Recent highlights included replacement of air-handling units, rooftop cooling/heating units, and boilers with higher efficiency models as well as extensive lighting retrofits with LEDs.

Demonstrating renewable energy generation is also important to Eden Prairie; they now have one ground-mounted solar array and rooftop solar installed at four city facilities.

The City of Eden Prairie reduced its 2023 benchmark ratio by over 14% from the previous year.

Janet Streff Leadership Award:

We are recognizing an individual who has been on the leading edge of sustainability advocacy in Minnesota since the 90s when the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance funded development of the Hennepin County Sustainable Design Guide. He was one of the contributors when, in 1999, these guidelines were modified to become the Minnesota Sustainable Design Guidelines. When the B3 program officially began in 2001, he represented LHB on the management team that also included CSBR and The Weidt Group (now Willdan).

Recognizing that sustainable design would not be enough to address the growing concerns around climate change, in 2007, Rick Carter participated on Governor Pawlenty’s Climate Change Advisory Group and advocated to adopt green building guidelines for all commercial and residential buildings in MN that would be consistent with Architecture 2030 targets. This effort led to establishment of the SB 2030 program in 2009 with an aim to demonstrate how state funded buildings could be a model for the creation of net zero carbon buildings by 2030. Rick continued to serve on the B3 management team for many years and has spent his 40-year career as an architect in Minnesota tirelessly advocating for better building standards, use of Energy Design Assistance programs, adoption of advanced energy codes and local government sustainable building policies, greenhouse gas emissions data tracking. After serving as the CEO of LHB, he continues to work in a part-time role persistently working on achieving new carbon-neutral developments in St. Paul and Arden Hills.

B3 would not be the world class program it is today without leaders like Rick Carter.