The Bookmatch Apartments

Challenge

In Sandstone, Minnesota, an abandoned high school built in the early 20th century was reimagined and redeveloped by Jillpine, creating much-needed housing for the area’s growing workforce.

Opportunity

Create a dynamic brand that excites people to live in a former school—without leveraging too much nostalgia for a bygone era.

Outcome

Fellow took inspiration from both past and future to reposition this local icon for its next century. Key architectural details were repurposed into a brand system that pays homage to the school’s history and invites new residents. The name draws from “bookmatching,” the process of splitting and mirroring wood or stone. In 1910, the school was expanded after being struck by lightning and partially burned by simply flipping the original blueprints and creating an identical match to the remaining structure. The wordmark was inspired by distinct overlapping letters on the cornice, and icon by clover shapes carved in the banisters. Imagery of local and academic symbols is stylized like old schoolbook illustrations.