News Archives - 2007

Oren Gateway Center is a multiuse building of 118,000 square feet of  living, working, studying, eating, and meeting space, designed by BWBR Architects in St. Paul (who also designed Lindell Library). It contains:

• Offices—Institutional Advancement, including Development, Alumni, and Parent/Family Relations; Graduate programs, including MBA and MAL; and StepUP
• Trendy loft/condo housing for 106 students, with underground parking
• Johnson Conference Center, for meetings, events, classes, and seminars
• High-tech classroom/seminar rooms
• New Gage Family Art Gallery
• Barnes and Noble Augsburg Bookstore, now triple in size
• Nabo—A Neighborhood Café, a pasta/salad/sandwich/sweets restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating

Oren Gateway becomes Augsburg’s new “front door”—completing a 180-degree realignment from the early 1900s when Old Main welcomed a neighborhood from which it was later separated with the construction of Interstate 94.

Gateway is a building meant as an invitation, rather than a fortress on Riverside Avenue, beginning right at the welcome desk. Extensive glass on the street level beckons passersby for food and shopping, as well as showcasing the teaching and learning taking place inside.

The building design has been carried out in conjunction with energy efficiency and environmental responsibility from the beginning. Work with an energy consulting group has helped the building meet strict State of Minnesota energy standards. On the outside, with bioretention in mind, its landscaping design captures and filters much of the storm sewer run-off.

The next phase of planning will include a grander front entrance on 22nd Avenue from the Oren Gateway Center into the campus.