Target Center, Minneapolis
Retrofit Team
Architect: Alliance + Sink Combs Dethlefs, now Perkins + Will, Denver, and Alliiance, Minneapolis
General Contractor: Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis
Glazier: Empirehouse Inc., Mounds View, Minn.
Materials
To maintain the aesthetic of the new glass façade installed in the main entrance and lobby and to promote the passage of light throughout the interior space, approximately 600 linear feet of glass railing was installed in Target Center’s $145 million renovation project.
Two types of specialty glass were used for Target Center’s glass railings. Cardinal Glass Industries and Bendheim Architectural Glass provided 1/2-inch tempered glass with a special PVB interlayer, resulting in a semi-transparent, “tinted” glass. GlasPro and Standard Bent Glass provided bent 1/2-inch tempered glass, including glass with a tight radius. Trex Commercial Products’ craftsmen produced stainless top rail to meet the flow and curvature of these railing designs. Custom railings, including the Dot Series railing; Track Rail; and floor, wall and glass-mounted handrail were installed.
The glass railing designs can be found alongside imaginative and artistic elements, such as the large basketball goal chandelier hanging from the atrium floor to the lobby, the coordinating metal basketball sculpture hanging above the atrium floor and the life-size statue of former Minnesota Lakers phenom George Mikan located in the Life Time lobby.
Railing Manufacturer: Trex Commercial Products
The Retrofit
Home to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, Target Center is one of the most utilized special events venues in the U.S. At 27-years old, the building was in need of a fresh look. Particular touches and finishes of high design now grace nearly every surface of Target Center.
Photos: Trex Commercial Products