THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARY COMPREHENSIVE VISION

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Client: The Basilica Landmark of St. Mary

Status: Comprehensive Vision Completed in 2020

Area:  2.5 acres

Team: TEN x TEN, HGA, Beyer Blinder Belle, Mortenson, Duval Companies

Awards: 2020 ASLA Minnesota Merit Award for Planning

What does it mean to be a Sacred Institution in the heart of a City? How does a Catholic diocese “become a gateway that invites encounters in a dynamic environment, that embraces tradition, provides refuge, build connections, and inspires service as a catalyst to build inclusive communities”? Our team proposed one arm of a solution through the lens of site, a comprehensive vision layered with meaning. We addressed a campus without cohesion that has been retrofitted incrementally over time to meet specific needs, and provided a concept that reflects a comprehensive, intentional vision through pedestrian-centric design and infrastructure improvements.

The comprehensive vision process came from self-reflection on behalf of the Campus Space Planning Committee. They were tasked with determining how The Basilica of Saint Mary could symbolize the significance and the values of Catholicism in our world today and tomorrow. In addition to developing the Project Vision Statement , the Campus Space Planning Committee developed a scope of work in three categories: Architecture, Historic Preservation, and Urban Strategy.

The Basilica campus has served the needs of the church over the course of the last 100 years and has been transformed as a reflection of the changing needs of this community. The site is designed to be a quiet canvas for a significant building and does not engage the with the neighborhood and visitors to welcome them in. The site design team participated in user group meetings to determine current and future needs based on programming, maintenance, use and mission. The needs that emerged from the group led to the idea of an Expansion and reorganization of the property to provide a better welcome and more pedestrian-centric campus.

Bell Sounds from the Basilica can be Heard from Afar Views of the Basilica can be Seen from Afar High Impact Zone of Sights and Sounds