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CE Home > Welcome > CE Building History
State-of-the-Art Underground Design
When the Civil and Mineral Engineering Building on the Twin Cities campus was conceived in 1974, the country was in the grip of an OPEC oil embargo and energy conservation was a priority. The University decided to build an energy-efficient building that would also effectively use underground space to alleviate land constraints on the densely packed campus.
Civil and Mineral Engineering, which opened in 1983, was designated by the Minnesota Legislature as an earth-sheltered, energy-independent demonstration project. More than 95 percent of the building is underground, with the lowest level at 110 feet. A prominent feature is the four-story structures laboratory, which was designed to accommodate building models and the testing of large-scale structural components. Classrooms, other laboratories, and offices occupy the remainder of the space.
The earth-sheltered design, the area's natural groundwater, and site-specific landscaping all contribute to the experimental building's energy efficiency. Several active and passive solar heating and lighting systems were included for research purposes, though some are no longer in use.
For its pioneering design, the building received the American Society of Civil Engineers' prestigious Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award in 1983.
The department and the building were renamed Civil Engineering in 1994.
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