Xcel Energy Hiawatha West Substation

Located along Minneapolis’s Midtown Greenway – this new electrical substation is a hybrid of utility and site sculpture. Together they are among a small handful of substations in the country to have intentional design aspiration.

Meeting a requirement by the state’s public utility commission to engage local advisory input, Alliiance worked closely with Xcel Energy and community stakeholders to create an inspiring, soaring solution.

Perimeter gabion walls are topped with undulating mesh screens that engage the colors of daylight as the sun traverses the sky overhead. Ethereal night-time lighting will continue that thought provoking dialogue between utility, physical context and artful expression for this busy urban corridor.