Construction crews have been busy this summer working on the Schoenecker Center, a $110 million state-of-the-art complex that aims to break down barriers in collaborative learning. Staff photographer Mark Brown captured photos and drone footage of the progress.
An aerial photo of construction crews working on the Schoenecker Center on south campus. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Named in honor of Guy and Barbara Schoenecker, the first-of-its-kind center will open its doors in 2024. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)"This building is actually not about contradictions, but an ideal," School of Engineering Dean Don Weinkauf said. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)In the works for years, the five-level Schoenecker Center will house dedicated spaces for the arts, engineering and sciences and several open spaces meant to facilitate collaboration and creative collisions. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Adding more than 130,000 square feet of facilities to the university, there will be musical performance spaces, rehearsal halls, an art gallery, engineering high bays and science labs. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)"Personally for me, the picture of a civil engineering student pouring concrete and then going to play her violin in the orchestra on the same afternoon in the same building is not a contradiction … it’s the foundation of the liberal arts," Dr. Mark Stansbury-O’Donnell, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)From libraries and athletics facilities to one of the university’s largest endowed scholarship programs, the Schoenecker family’s impact is felt widely across St. Thomas. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)The Schoenecker Center will transform the university’s presence along Summit Avenue, where it will adjoin O’Shaughnessy Science Hall. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Designed with advice from corporate industry partners, the center will foster collaboration among students who otherwise may not have worked together in traditional classroom settings. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Beyond its mission to bring together students at St. Thomas, the complex will serve to strengthen bonds within the Twin Cities community, providing learning, meeting and performance spaces for local K-12 schools and community organizations. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)The building will feature five levels of modular, multipurpose spaces and wide corridors and is expected to add more than 130,000 square feet of facilities to the university. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)An aerial photo of construction crews working on the Schoenecker Center on south campus. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Housing three academic areas (arts, engineering and sciences), it will include the emerging media newsroom, studios and classrooms, science and engineering labs and offices; an art gallery; a 250-seat choral rehearsal and performance space; an instrumental rehearsal space and storage; St. Thomas’ Centers for Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Water Justice; visitor lobbies, café and community spaces. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)The Schoenecker Center will provide more than 60,000 square feet of new labs, classrooms, offices, and collaboration spaces transforming how the School of Engineering collaborates with partners across campus and educates students in engineering. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)The facility is built to be adaptable and ready for use in several different conditions, flexible enough to continue to evolve as further emerging technologies are implemented, and supportive of student collaborations and research across campus. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)The Schoenecker Center’s open floor design will put learning on display, which, in addition to the complex’s flexible collaboration spaces, will help students to grow their appreciation of other disciplines. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Guy Schoenecker, a 1949 alumnus of the University of St. Thomas, was the founder, chairman and CEO of Edina-based BI Worldwide, formerly known as Business Incentives. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Since 1977, the Schoenecker Family Endowed Scholarship has provided more than 300 individual awards and $3.7 million in financial assistance to St. Thomas students, and it will make a transformative St. Thomas education accessible to generations more to come. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Construction crews work on the Schoenecker Center on south campus. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)An aerial photo of construction crews working on the Schoenecker Center on south campus. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)Guy Schoenecker '49 served on the St. Thomas Board of Trustees for 30 years (1978-2008) and was a founding member of the School of Law’s Board of Governors in 2001. (Mark Brown/University of St. Thomas)
