Survival Shelter for Mississippi River Sculptors

College of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota, 1976

Professor Holloway assigned his Energy Design Studio 4th-year students to design, construct, and deliver a passive solar survival shelter for a group of sculptors who were struggling to continue their art work, during the cold season, under the Hennepin Avenue Mississippi River Bridge, in downtown Minneapolis. The super insulated shelter inspired by the"land of lakes ice fishing house", was modified with a sloped south- facing multii-layered fiberglass-glazed wall. The south wall was insulted at night with closeable panels. The panels, opened during the daytime, were covered on the inner side with reflective metal, which amplified the solar incidence onto the glazed wall.

Construction materials for the project were donated by local Twin Cities businesses.