Archinect - News

Minneapolis architecture firm hit with whistleblower lawsuit alleging missing millions, retaliation

2024-10-09T17:56:00-04:00

The Minnesota Star Tribune is reporting on a strange case involving the former principal of Minneapolis-based RSP Architects & Planners after he filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation in response to his apparent discovery of missing funds. The employee in question, Todd Novak, claims he notified senior leadership that there was between $2-6 million absent from its balance sheets while in the process of applying internally for a CEO position.

The outlet says: "The suit accuses RSP of retaliation in violation of the Minnesota Whistleblower Act and seeks unspecified compensation for loss of income, mental anguish, emotional distress and other financial and emotional loss."

Novak was later laid off in a cost-saving move in March. Another caveat, per the Star Tribune: "The missing funds mattered for several reasons, including that RSP ran an employee stock ownership plan that was funded based on company profits."

Prasad Boradkar named new dean of the University of Minnesota's College of Design

2023-08-28T15:42:00-04:00

The University of Minnesota's College of Design has announced designer, anthropologist, educator, and researcher Dr. Prasad Boradkar as its new dean following a nationwide search.

The college houses the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design programs in addition to other design disciplines like Product Design, Apparel Design, and Human Graphic Design, to name a few.

Boradkar's extensive career in academia and the design industry can be seen through his work with Google, where he recently served as the UX Research and Sustainability Lead at the company's Advanced Technology & Projects division, and his prior professor of industrial design role at Arizona State University, where he held positions as the co-director of the Biomimicry Center and director of the InnovationSpace transdisciplinary research and education lab.

His multidisciplinary background has allowed him to collaborate across several disciplines, leading him to work in "cross-functional, tr...

World's longest elevated pedestrian loop at the Minnesota Zoo officially opens

2023-07-31T16:05:00-04:00

The Minnesota Zoo Treetop Trail, the world’s longest elevated pedestrian loop, is officially open to the public. The project, which saw 1.25 miles of a former monorail structure repurposed into a walkway, will take guests 32 feet above the ground and provide new views of and experiences with the zoo’s diverse wildlife, hardwood forest, and wetlands.

The scheme’s design was led by Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects, alongside engineering firm Buro Happold (known for its work on the High Line in New York City) and landscape architecture and urban design practice TEN x TEN. The construction leader was PCL. Together, the team was committed to minimizing disruptions to the zoo’s animals and guests before, during, and after construction.

“The Treetop Trail marks a new chapter for the Minnesota Zoo,” said John Frawley, the institution's director and foundation president. “As we look ahead to the Zoo’s next 45 years, the Treetop Trail is a major step in furthering connections to nat...

Minneapolis’ attempt to curtail EIFS cladding is causing pushback from architects and builders

2023-07-24T18:37:00-04:00

These kinds of guidelines cite “sustainability,” but miss a larger point about housing in Minneapolis. While it’s true that some types of texture and massing look “cheaper” than others, there are legitimate questions about whether or not newer types of building materials — EIFS, metal cladding, and the like — are more climate friendly and affordable than other materials that seem more traditional.

EIFS (aka “synthetic stucco” or “Exterior Insulation Finishing Systems”) are but one material in the proposed bans put forth by city planning officials in Minneapolis recently in an attempt to formalize a set of 2014 guidelines.

EIFS capabilities have advanced beyond a widely-known early design flaw, namely their proneness to water infiltration, and could now be an inexpensive but vital weapon for builders in the effort to deliver housing rapidly to the city’s beleaguered market.

Monorail track converted into elevated treetop trail by Minnesota Zoo and Snow Kreilich Architects

2022-05-04T09:00:00-04:00

The Minnesota Zoo is to begin construction on its Treetop Trail, which will see 1.25 miles of former monorail track repurposed as a pedestrian walkway. Scheduled for completion in summer 2023, the trail will see guests explore hundreds of acres of hardwood forest, wildlife, and wetlands from 32 feet in the air.

Rendering via Minnesota Zoo

The scheme was designed by Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects, who began feasibility work on the project in 2016, including appraisals of the monorail track’s structural capacity. The architects gave particular attention to five so-called “touch-down” points from which visitors would access the trail.

“These points should hint at what will be explored on the trail and invite visitors to explore nature,” said the architects as well as serving as amenity stations with clear paths to dining, programs, and exhibits.

Rendering via Minnesota Zoo

The design of the scheme was inspired by the New York City High Line, which saw a comparable 1.45-mile...

MASS Design Group, Minneapolis to be honored by UPenn's Weitzman School

2021-11-18T17:04:00-05:00

MASS Design Group will be honored alongside the city of Minneapolis by the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design in a public celebration held at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy this evening.

The Boston-based firm will receive the prestigious Kanter Tritsch Medal for its “design excellence and commitment to a climate-positive future.”

Likewise, Minneapolis is being honored with the Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal for its comprehensive 2040 resiliency plan that was developed with the help of Buro Happold.

“MASS and Minneapolis remind us of the central role for design in overcoming seemingly intractable challenges like unequal access to jobs and housing, and mass incarceration,” Weitzman dean Frederick Steiner said in a statement. “Our professions have a lot of work to do to see that entire communities aren’t left out of the design process.”

The non-profit, non-...

Buro Happold has been tapped for an ambitious Twin Cities climate resiliency plan

2021-09-09T16:27:00-04:00

An industry leader in sustainability approaches has once again been selected for a project that will define the Minneapolis-St. Paul region in the 21st century.

Buro Happold has been named the winner of the competitive RFP process for the Metropolitan Council’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan that aims to lay a foundation for regional planning policy for years to come.

The firm has done other significant projects in major cities around the country, including Los Angeles, and Cambridge, MA. A 2017 research project for the C40 organization revealed that an estimated 223,000 lives could be saved if the prescribed actions included in Buro Happold’s report were taken.

Protesters gather outside the statehouse in St. Paul, MN for a demonstration against the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline in 2018. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Fibonacci Blue (CC BY 2.0).

“The plan aims to support ongoing mitigation and resilience efforts in the region, including for its most vulnerable communities...

RAMSA breaks ground on tallest residential tower in Minneapolis

2019-10-23T14:38:00-04:00

Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) and developers Arcadia and Ryan Companies have broken ground on Eleven, a 41-story condominium tower slated to become Minneapolis's tallest residential building.

View of the tower against the city skyline. Image courtesy of RAMSA.

The 550-foot, stone-and-glass tower features punched windows, glass balconies, and a stepped crown filled with penthouses and luxury amenities. Each floor of the tower will contain four individual units along the lower levels of the building. Higher up, the building will contain either one or two units per story.

The tower is wrapped in balconies and terraces. Images courtesy of RAMSA.

For the project, Ryan Companies is serving as a co-developer, builder, and design architect partner; Additional design services are being provided by Peterssen/Keller Architects and Martha Dayton Design.

Minneapolis bans new drive-through facilities

2019-08-10T07:00:00-04:00

Research has shown that areas around fast-food restaurants are especially dangerous for pedestrians because drive-throughs require more driveways, which introduce potential points of conflict. Plus, drivers tend to be distracted just before they have ordered their food — and in the moments when they start driving away with it. A Florida study found that each fast-food restaurant in a low-income block added an average of 0.69 pedestrian crashes every four years.

Streetsblog reports that as part of an ambitious comprehensive plan update, Minneapolis has outlawed the creation of new drive-through facilities within the municipality.

The forward-looking Minneapolis 2040 plan will also do away with parking requirements and single-family zoning across the city.

Minneapolis public housing chief picked to lead NYCHA

2019-06-27T12:44:00-04:00

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday that the city had tapped Gregory Russ as Nycha’s new chairman, following 14 months without a permanent leader and after an exhaustive nationwide search, which included a salary increase to entice reluctant candidates.

Gregory Russ, current head of Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, has been picked to lead the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

Russ told The New York Times, “Nycha’s issues actually are not just important for New York City, but they’re important nationally.”

Currently, Russ oversees housing for 11,000 people in Minneapolis. NYCHA, on the other hand, houses over 400,000 residents. The New York Times reports that Russ's annual salary, $402,000, will make him New York City's highest-earning public official.

The decision comes as New York's Regional Plan Association selects Peterson Rich Office to oversee research into finding ways for addressing NYCHA's unmet capital improvement needs, an effort that will require over $45 billion in repairs.

Archinect Sessions Episode 141; A Conversation with Dream the Combine

2019-06-20T16:40:00-04:00

On this latest episode of the Archinect Sessions podcast we're joined by Jennifer Newsom and Tom Carruthers of the Minneapolis-based practice Dream the Combine.

Jennifer and Tom are a husband and wife team that specializes in site-specific installations. Their work is deeply-collaborative, directly referenced in the name of their practice, and looks at the overlaps in art, architecture, and cultural theory, while manipulating the boundary between real and illusory space.

Tom Carruthers & Jennifer Newsom

Listen to episode 141 of Archinect Sessions, “A Conversation with Dream the Combine”.

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Gateway project in Minneapolis may become city's first new tall skyscraper in years

2019-05-23T13:28:00-04:00

The Minneapolis skyline has been mostly untouched for nearly 20 years. By the end of June, the city is expected to finalize the sale of the former Nicollet Hotel Block for the Gateway project, a 37-story, mixed-use tower that will become one of the 10 tallest buildings in Minneapolis and one of a few office skyscrapers to be built in the Twin Cities this century. Construction is expected to start soon after, though some work has already begun on the site.

Image: United Properties

James Dayton, Minneapolis architect, dies at 53

2019-02-15T11:53:00-05:00

Dayton worked with renowned architect Frank Gehry in Los Angeles before striking out on his own in 1997. With its angled exterior walls made of galvanized steel, Gehry's influence is evident in the MacPhail building on Second Street in downtown Minneapolis. At its grand opening in 2008, Dayton told MPR News that his goal for the project was to put music front and center.

Minneapolis, Tackling Housing Crisis and Inequity, Votes to End Single-Family Zoning

2018-12-14T00:36:00-05:00

In a bold move to address its affordable-housing crisis and confront a history of racist housing practices, Minneapolis has decided to eliminate single-family zoning, a classification that has long perpetuated segregation.

A look back at the 60's "Minnesota Experimental City", the brainchild of South African futurist Athelstan Spilhaus

2018-11-06T13:43:00-05:00

In proposing his prototype 21st-century city, Spilhaus correctly diagnosed many of the shortcomings of the 20th-century one. He cottoned on early to concepts such as air pollution, even speculating that it was changing the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Minnesota Experimental City has been documented in the film The Experimental City. Watch the trailer below...

Peek inside All Square's new grilled cheese restaurant in Minneapolis, designed by Syracuse-based Architecture Office

2018-09-21T20:34:00-04:00

Since Archinect spoke with All Square founder Emily Hunt Turner in 2017, the nonprofit civil rights social enterprise now has its first brick-and-mortar gourmet grilled cheese restaurant that opened in Minneapolis earlier this month.

Located along Minnehaha Mile, All Square's mission — which aims to prevent recidivism and employ and empower formerly incarcerated individuals — now has a physical presence. The project symbolizes “the importance of a clean slate and community support while sending a message that those who have paid their debts to society are ‘all square’ with society and should be afforded the right to live, unhindered, into their future,” Turner told Archinect in 2016.

Photo: Caylon Hackwith.

Jonathan Louie and Nicole McIntosh of Syracuse-based Architecture Office were in charge of converting a 900 square-foot space into a welcoming, community-oriented casual dining spot. The resulting project features a simple interior of white and gray tones ...

A Conversation with Snow Kreilich Architects, Recipient of the 2018 AIA Firm Award

2018-02-06T13:33:00-05:00

On this episode of Archinect Sessions Paul travels to Minneapolis to join Ken in a conversation with Julie Snow and Matt Kreilich of Snow Kreilich Architects, winner of the 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award.

Julie Snow and Matt Kreilich

Julie Snow Architects was founded in Minneapolis in 1995. Matt Kreilich later joined Julie, his thesis advisor from college, to form Snow Kreilich Architects.

Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, wrote in his letter of nomination for the AIA award, “Their body of work is distinguished by a restrained formal elegance and a refined minimal tectonic sensibility while avoiding the nostalgic and technological excesses of our discipline. Indeed, they see architecture as a material practice and a cultural act born of a sensual pragmatism."

Snow Kreilich Architects. Photo courtesy of AIA

This award is great because it didn't come to Matt and I. It came to Snow Kreilich" - Julie Snow

Listen to episode 116 of Archinect Sessions, “A Conversation with Snow Kreilich Architects”...

HGA’s renovation and expansion unifies the Walker Art Center

2018-01-30T14:10:00-05:00

As part of their 75th anniversary, the Walker Art Center unified its 19-acre campus with renovations by HGA. The new museum design features a bold new entry pavilion, a renovated lobby, and improved access points throughout the museum.

Walker Art Center, located in Minneapolis, renovation by HGA. Image: Paul Crosby Photography.

HGA's design focused on an understated exterior to fit with the existing buildings. Design principal Joan Soranno stated, “Architecturally, the buildings are very different from each other. The Walker didn’t want a third architectural expression. Our expansion had to be compatible and harmonious with what was already there.”

Walker Art Center, located in Minneapolis, renovation by HGA. Image: Paul Crosby Photography.

The Walker Art Center now boasts easier navigation throughout the museum, a design hiding the mechanical guts, and "destination-worthy" dining.

Wal...

David Chipperfield to create master plan for Minneapolis Institute of Art

2017-10-27T13:14:00-04:00

The Minneapolis Institute of Art has tapped the British architect David Chipperfield to reconfigure its campus, which boasts a 1970s extension by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange and a new wing designed by Michael Graves from 2006. This is the first step for the museums's long-term strategy to enhance the visitor experience, expand the community’s access, and make room for the it's ever-growing collection.

On the left, the McKim, Mead, & White designed building (1915). On the right, the Michael Graves- designed Target Wing (2006). Image courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Kaywin Feldman, the Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President, said Thursday morning that Mia is thrilled to work with the acclaimed firm, whose recent museum projects include St. Louis Art Museum; The Menil Collection, Houston; Neues Museum, Museum Island, Berlin; The Royal Academy of Arts, London; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; and Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center.

“Mia has seen tremendous growth in...

A 1960 Frank Lloyd Wright home near Minneapolis is now for sale

2017-04-19T12:43:00-04:00

Over the past couple days, there’s been a string of iconic modernist homes put on the market. Now, a pretty incredible Frank Lloyd Wright is for sale. 2206 Parklands Lane, close to downtown Minneapolis, is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home built in 1960. It’s made primarily of brick, stone and wood and set on a 3.77 acre lot. It’s stocked with some original furniture too. Check out the listing here.

Get Lectured: University of Minnesota, Fall '16

2016-08-22T15:44:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2016

Gearing up for another eventful school year this fall? Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss. Mark those calendars!

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

First up is the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. Their Fall 2016 Lecture Series brings together a range of leading architects, designers, historians, and theorists whose work is actively reshaping discourse in the architectural industry and education. Lecturers will present their current bodies of work and research through unique lenses guiding their own design practices and pedagogy.

Sept 21
Ferda Kolatan / PennDesign | Brooklyn, NY

Sept 26
Jennifer Siegal / Office o...

Prince's Minneapolis estate to become a museum

2016-04-28T19:59:00-04:00

Prince’s Paisley Park home in Minneapolis is set to be turned into a museum, according to the late musician’s brother-in-law, Maurice Phillips. “We will turn Paisley Park into a museum in Prince’s memory,” Phillips told the Sun. “It would be for the fans. He was all about the fans — this would remember his music, which is his legacy.” Prince died last Thursday at the Paisley Park estate. An autopsy was conducted, but the cause of death has yet to be announced. His remains were later cremated.

Named after Prince's song of the same name, Paisley Park is located outside of Minneapolis. The $10 million, 65,000-square-foot space housed more than just the musician's private residence: it included recording studios, offices, and a nightclub.

The complex was built in 1987 and designed by Bret Thoeny of BOTO Design.

For more news from the intersection of music and art, check out these links:

In spite of sleet and snow, cycling prevails in Minneapolis

2016-01-18T13:33:00-05:00

Minneapolis, despite its frigid winters, has surged to the top of national rankings for urban biking and was the only U.S. city included last year on a global index of bike-friendly communities. Since 2000, the percentage of bike commuters here has jumped 170 percent [...] Minneapolis' bike-friendly reputation advanced on the saddle of key elected officials, grassroots advocates and critical investments that over the past decade helped transform it into a mecca for biking.

Walker Art Center goes green in $75 million project

2015-03-30T15:37:00-04:00

Positioning itself as a neighborhood green space and cultural gateway, Walker Art Center will add a new glass-walled entrance pavilion, groves of trees and acres of new grass as part of a $75 million project to be announced Tuesday.

Minneapolis rejects plan to build Minnesota's tallest new tower

2015-01-29T14:51:00-05:00

City of Minneapolis planners on Friday rejected a proposal for an 80-story tower downtown and revealed problems they saw in the efforts of its developer. The move quashed the prospects for a building that would have surpassed the IDS Center to become the tallest in Minnesota and injected new drama into an unusual public contest the city created to redevelop a parking lot on Nicollet Mall.

Minneapolis picks architecture finalists for stadium-area park

2014-11-07T14:33:00-05:00

Three landscape architect-led teams have been named finalists by the city of Minneapolis to design the new two-block long park called the Commons near the new Vikings stadium. [...] The three finalists are: The Olin Studio, Philadelphia and Snow Kreilich Architects, based in Minneapolis Hargreaves Associates, San Francisco, Damon Farber Associates, Minneapolis and VJAA, Minneapolis WORKSHOP Ken Smith, New York and Perkins + Will, Minneapolis

The Creative City Challenge asks Minnesota designers to create an installation as social space

2014-10-15T11:21:00-04:00

The Creative City Challenge is a competition for Minnesota-resident architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, engineers, scientists, artists, students and individuals of all backgrounds to create and install at the Minneapolis Convention Center Plaza an artwork, which is an innovative use of the space and acts as a sociable and participatory platform for scheduled and impromptu onsite programs throughout the summer.

Ruination: City of Dust

2014-10-13T23:38:00-04:00

According to Jane McGonigal, a well-known game designer and researcher, “games build the kind of trust, relationships and social networks so critical to [collective action].” Playing games, people naturally weave a tight social fabric.”

Mildred Friedman, 85, Dies; Curator Elevated Design and Architecture

2014-09-11T13:10:00-04:00

Mildred Friedman, a curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in the 1970s and ’80s who helped both the museum and the contemporary design and architecture it celebrated become objects of international acclaim, died on Sept. 3 in Manhattan. She was 85. [...] Ms. Friedman executed a curatorial hat trick: She elevated design even as she made it more accessible — and she did it in Minnesota, far from the traditional sanctums of aesthetics.

James Corner Field Operations selected for Nicollet Mall redesign in Minneapolis

2013-09-23T20:21:00-04:00

The City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Downtown Council announced on Sept. 19 that New York firm James Corner Field Operations and its team have been selected to carry out the $40 million redesign of Nicollet Mall, a major cultural and commercial center in Downtown Minneapolis. The winning proposal, called the "Nicollet Walk", is a 12-block stretch that divides the Nicollet Mall into three sections: Live, Work, and Play.

James Corner presented his team's project at a public event last Tuesday with the two other finalists: Daoust Lestage of Montreal and Tom Leader Studio from Berkeley, CA.