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May 2012 – Edina, Minn. – The first-ever KOHLER Signature Store, a kitchen and bath showroom that delivers a signature Kohler experience to designers and homeowners, recently celebrated its grand opening at its new location in Edina, Minn. The 3,000-square-foot store’s arrival was made possible in part by the architects at Krech, O’Brien, Mueller & Associates, and it extends Kohler’s long history of using trusted distributors to showcase their products. [Read more…] about KOHLER Signature Store by First Supply Celebrates Grand Opening

May 2012 – Plymouth, Minn. – The Bühler Food Innovation Center, a premier food-grade processing facility, recently opened its doors in Plymouth, Minnesota, and did so with the help of engineers and architects from Krech, O’Brien, Mueller & Associates.

Bühler, a global leader in technologies and services for food production, wanted to develop an innovative facility that showcased its various food processing options and equipment. The facility also needed to fully extend the company’s industry-leading Food Safety Initiative, which seeks to give customers the knowledge, equipment and other resources to fully understand and comply with FDA guidelines. To that end, it was important that the facility itself adhere to specific sanitary standards in both design and operation.

KOMA and longtime partner PCL Construction worked as a design-build team to create and execute the Bühler space.

Mike Lisowski, PE, KOMA principal engineer, said, “An area of an existing structure was identified and we developed plans to create both the various processing lab spaces as well as an observation and meeting room on the second floor. Bühler also has a number of state-of-the-art pieces of processing equipment – mixers, extruders, dryers, etc. – and we needed to accommodate these both spatially and structurally.”

He continued, “Because of the various sanitary guidelines that are in place for a facility such as this, we needed to avoid using some traditional elements that might compromise the FDA standards. For example, we used closed-tube members to avoid flat spaces or ledges where dust might collect.”

KOMA worked closely with Bühler and PCL throughout the design-build process. Lisowski continued, “We’ve worked with PCL for many years and complement each other very well. We both bring a particular set of experiences and expertise to the table, and we deliver a better project because of our collaboration.”

Lisowski was also quick to point out the value of having both KOMA’s architects and engineers involved with the project. “Our structural engineering team works well with outside architects – in fact, we do so on a good many projects – but having our own team involved from a design standpoint allows us to realize efficiencies and deliver even greater value to our client.”

Bühler operates in more than 140 countries and employs nearly 9,000 individuals. It is widely recognized as a global leader in the field of process engineering.

March 2012 – Bloomington, Minn. – Just in time for spring, Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe recently celebrated the official grand opening of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock ride. Krech, O’Brien, Mueller & Associates served as the architect of record and provided broad structural engineering services for the project. [Read more…] about Record-Breaking Grand Opening!

March 2012 – Bloomington, Minn. – Twists and turns, sensational speeds, and thrills, thrills, thrills! Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe recently unveiled Dutchman’s Deck Anchor Drop, a stainless steel spiral tube slide system designed by German ride manufacturer Josef Wiegand. This new attraction slots into the corner of Nickelodeon Universe adjacent to The Flying Dutchman Ghostly Gangplank Ropes Adventure Course, and does so with the help of engineers and architects from Krech, O’Brien, Mueller & Associates. [Read more…] about Try… Not… To… Scream!

March 2012 – Bloomington, Minn. – The bubble tea craze has come to Mall of America. An Asian import already popular on the coasts, bubble tea is a unique beverage featuring pearls of tapioca or other flavors at the bottom of the cup. And its recent arrival at MOA – in the form of new franchise Chatime – was made possible in part by designers from Krech, O’Brien, Mueller & Associates. [Read more…] about Sip. Sip. Sip.