KKE Architects, Inc., a 160-person firm in St. Paul, broke ground last month for the new healing center for the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), an international organization that helps treat people physically, mentally, and spiritually. The firm provided reduced-fee and pro bono services to renovate an historic home and transform it into a working office and care facility for the group.

The architects say that they consider it their privilege to preserve the historic, welcoming warmth of this 1886 house for CVT’s services while renovating it to serve as a functional, modern-day office. “Sensitive to the unique needs of this center, we have carefully created an interior where patients and staff feel embraced by a home-like environment rather than the potential discomfort of a clinical, sterile institution,” says KKE Architects’ project designer Rob Grundstrom, AIA. “Working closely with the Heritage Preservation Commission and the entire building team, we also have ensured that the exterior easily blends within the architectural traditions of this residential neighborhood.”

The new St. Paul Center will have room for support-group meetings as well as special spaces for working with children and for healing ceremonies. In addition to the homelike offices and meeting rooms, the center will include an exam room and physical therapy room. The increased space will permit an additional 150 adult clients, the majority of whom hail from Africa, to receive care and rehabilitative services each year. The St. Paul expansion also will enable CVT to conduct more complex research studies, which will be used to improve torture-treatment programs around the globe.

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