Residential

4Marq

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Projects // 4Marq

A Showstopping Tower

Today, the 30-story 4Marq residential complex occupies the last available parcel on a busy downtown block, anchored between two streets in Minneapolis: Marquette and Fourth Street. The building features 260 units, residential balconies and a showstopping top floor, complete with billiards and club rooms with floor-to-ceiling NanaWall windows that open and close.

Though the project began with some design and construction challenges, Wells worked closely as a partner to achieve this new point of local pride. The 4Marq high-rise is a transformative addition to the area, aligning with the Minneapolis Downtown Council’s 2025 plan to expand the downtown residential population to 70,000 residents — creating a more vibrant city for those who live and work in the area.

Contractor: Mortenson Construction arrow_outward
Architect: UrbanWorks Architecture LLC arrow_outward
Engineer: Palanisami & Associates arrow_outward
Owner: AIG Global Real Estate
Year: 2014
Building Systems: Architectural
Design Features: Acid Etch

It’s an amazing effect. When you can open this entire wall you have a shared amenity of indoor space and an outdoor roof deck with the skyline as your backdrop. DAVID MILLERAIA, LEED AP, DESIGN PRINCIPAL, URBANWORKS ARCHITECTURE

The close proximity to other buildings required careful planning to ensure construction would fit on a relatively tight 15,800 sq ft site. This posed numerous logistical challenges: figuring out deliveries, staging the tower crane and the hoists over two major downtown roads, dealing with busy city streets and erecting at night. The tight schedule also required careful planning and innovation with work at the lower levels being finished while the building was being erected.

Overcoming Challenges

Wells provided time-saving advantages that helped overcome construction challenges and complete the $72.9 million space.

It was important to the design team that the panels visually expressed their exoskeleton nature of cladding the building. We collaborated with Wells and their engineers early in the process to push the envelope by minimizing the horizontal and vertical sections of concrete, maximizing window area, and beveling the openings and joints to create a seamless and uniform aesthetic. DAVID MILLERAIA, LEED AP, DESIGN PRINCIPAL, URBANWORKS ARCHITECTURE

Creating Success

Using a combination of lightly prestressed concrete and very intricate bent mesh and rebar, the Wells team manufactured large, cost-efficient acid-etch finish panels while still meeting the tower crane’s weight limit.

To meet the challenge of maintaining a watertight seal during construction, the Wells team developed an approach that protected critical joints and kept work moving efficiently. Once the prefabricated system was in place, our team completed exterior joint finishing to ensure long-term performance.

A precast enclosure system allowed us the ability to get the building enclosed much quicker than a conventional multi-layer, stick-built enclosure system would have. We were able to set an entire level of precast in five days; so every five days there was another floor that we could start interior construction on. KELLY MANSELLCONSTRUCTION EXECUTIVE, MORTENSON

The building reused the foundation walls remaining from the parking lot that once covered the site. 4Marq’s parking garage was placed on the seven floors above the lobby and is hidden by perforated panels. To improve cost-efficiency and eliminate the need for expensive mechanical ventilation, tinted two-layer anodized panels were placed to allow air to flow in from three sides.

The result is an elegant composition of precast that fit the budget, stayed on schedule, and achieved our design goals in an efficient and unique way. DAVID MILLERAIA, LEED AP, DESIGN PRINCIPAL, URBANWORKS ARCHITECTURE