M Health Fairview Clinics & Surgery

The Clinics & Surgery Center at the University of Minnesota introduces a state of the art facility delivering innovative outpatient services. The urban location adjacent to the Mississippi River provided a context of layered limestone bluffs and native landscape which became the inspiration for the landscape design. As series of courtyards and patios are designed to provide patients, families, and staff with places of respite from stressful experiences. The utilization of native planting and local stone were integrated to connect people to a constructed nature and provide spaces within to wait, converse and have coffee. Focal elements and a seasonally changing landscape create a year round experience viewed from within the building or experienced as a pedestrian. Careful attention to the streetscape blends with the traditional neighborhood to provide a safe and visually appealing link to the river, neighborhood and the university campus.