Project category: New construction (completed March 2004)

Chief administrator: Phil Kelly, Administrator, (320) 564-4911

Firm: Engan Associates, PA, (320) 235-0860

Design team: Richard P. Engan, Principal-in-Charge; Luther Opjorden, Project Manager; Barbara Marks, Designer (Engan Associates, PA); Tracy Olson, Electrical Engineer (Fagen Engineering, LLC); Bob Dura, Mechanical Engineer (Solien & Larson Engineering, PC)

Photography: © Mark Peterson Photography; © Jerry Swanson

Total building area (sq. ft.): 45,824

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $112

Total construction cost (excluding land): $5,134,081


Recovery at Project Turnabout is spoken of as a whole new world. This concept became the driving force for the design of the new facility.

In developing the “New World” design concept, the architect utilized the natural environment, residential scale, and lifestyle environment, which enhance feelings of self-esteem and well-being in the individual.

The terrain of the Project Turnabout campus is in stark contrast to the tree-lined streets and clipped lawns of the small city of Granite Falls, Minnesota, and to the agricultural grid of the countryside. The original facility was destroyed by a tornado that rocked the community in July 2000. Emphasis on the rock outcroppings and the restoration of native prairie grass and cactus helps create an environment for recovery, graphically illustrating that life can be a new world, different and beautiful.

The facility maintains a residential scale. The population is divided into “houses,” which operate as a unit during treatment. Common areas within each house have a homey, comfortable atmosphere. This promotes closeness and conversation, which prove beneficial to recovery. Circulation and scheduling in the building are designed to allow each house’s residents to move between dining, activity, and recreation areas without encountering residents from other houses.

The healing environment throughout the facility is enhanced by window placement and artwork. Windows provide natural light and are located to frame natural features. Artwork, much of it donated by alumni, stresses nature, Native American, and rural themes, and supports the New World treatment principle.