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."

Foster + Partners and CannonDesign lead reimagination of Mayo Clinic campus in Minnesota

2023-11-30T11:53:00-05:00

A team comprising Foster + Partners, CannonDesign, and Gilbane Building Company has designed a major healthcare addition to Mayo Clinic’s campus in Rochester, Minnesota. The project, titled 'Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester' features two new high-rise clinical buildings at the center of the campus.

The new buildings measure nine stories to reach a height of 221 feet, with the potential to expand to 420 feet over time. A new central point of arrival is created by the buildings, with north and south drop-offs converging at a unified main entrance.

Above the central arrival point, a sky bridge horizontally links the two new buildings with the existing Gonda Building to improve wayfinding and circulation. The sky bridge is also part of a double-height ‘social ame...

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...

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...

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

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”...

Frank Lloyd Wright designed Olfelt home is now for sale at $1.3M

2017-12-28T18:56:00-05:00

A rare find on the housing market: The Olfelt House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright can now be yours for $1.3 million. Located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota this rare find includes 3 beds and 2 baths set on 3.77 acres of private, grassy meadows. The house features a vaulted great room, walls of glass, and extensive built-ins. This 2,647-square-foot house was designed by Wright in 1958 and completed in 1960 for Paul C. Olfelt, a radiologist. The Olfelts worked with Wright personally before the architect’s death in 1959.

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...

From Minnesota to Pennsylvania: moving a Frank Lloyd House halfway across the country

2016-06-28T19:40:00-04:00

For more than 60 years, a home designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright stood tucked in the woods on the south side of Cloquet, little-seen and little-known as the city developed around it. Now, after being on the market for years, the R.W. Lindholm House has been deconstructed and its pieces are on their way to Pennsylvania, where they’ll be reassembled and the home opened to the public by a group dedicated to conserving Wright-designed structures.

The house is being carefully relocated to Polymath Park, a 130-acre "architectural park." While preservationists tend to prefer to keep Wright homes in their original context, the move is considered necessary for its long-term survival.

The house has already been dismantled, bit by bit, in a process that took four weeks. The team responsible for the deconstruction made sure to keep the project hush hush due to fears that souvenir seekers might raid the site.

Cloquet, Minnesota also happens to be the home of the world's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed gas station.

For more Wright-related news, check out these links:

Leaky gutter at unfinished Vikings stadium adds $3M - $4M to cost overruns

2016-02-22T13:18:00-05:00

Mortenson Construction Vice President John Wood said stadium designers and builders will cover the cost, so it won’t be added to the overall budget or cost taxpayers or the team any money. [...] the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority tentatively agreed to pay Mortenson $16 million for cost overruns even though the final figures are still being tallied. The authority is overseeing construction of the $1.1 billion stadium and approved the payment to resolve a mediation claim by Mortensen.

Related on Archinect:

Get Lectured: University of Minnesota, Fall '15

2015-09-28T11:34:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2015

Archinect's Get Lectured is ready for another school year. 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.

Our next featured poster comes from the University of Minnesota, College of Design with their Fall '15 Public Lectures: "Play".

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

Free and open to the public. Lectures begin at 6:00 p.m. at UMN School of Architecture Rapson Hall 100: 89 Church Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Oct 5
Beatriz Colomina / Princeton School of Architecture

Oct 12
Daniel D’Oca / Interboro/Harvard GSD

Oct 19
Dan Wood / WorkAC/Yale School of Architecture

Oct 26
Günter Zamp Kelp / Haus-Rucker-Co
Related: Gallery talk at Walker Art Center on October 25, 2:00 p.m.

Nov 9
Lisa Iwam...

Update: Frank Gehry's Winton Guest House auctioned for $750,000

2015-05-19T13:14:00-04:00

UPDATE: The Winton Guest House sold for $750,000 today at Wright's "Design Masterworks" auction in Chicago. During the approximately 40-minute livestream that began promptly at noon Central Time, the Winton Guest House was auctioned among several furniture pieces including a Charles Eames & Eero Saarinen Chair and Table, and a George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa. Although Wright's website listed $850,000 as the starting bid for the Winton Guest House, the bespeckled auctioneer Richard Wright opened up its bidding lot at $500,000 and increased it by $50,000 increments. As silence filled the room, the auctioneer nearly deemed the house as Pass/Unsold until a phone bidder named Michael purchased it for $750,000. "This is a bargain on an architectural masterpiece," Wright commented. Not too surprisingly, the pacing of bids for the Guest House was neither as competitive nor as enduring compared to the furniture pieces. However, the House's bidding lot closed on a small celebratory note as att...

Pondering the cultural value of Frank Gehry's Winton Guest House

2015-03-20T20:56:00-04:00

Frank Gehry's Winton Guest House was recently announced to be up for auction on May 19 in Chicago. Designed for Mike and Penny Winton during the '80s in Lake Minnetonka, MN, the Guest House helped propel Gehry into international stardom in the '90s. Currently, the University of St. Thomas owns the $4.5 million home, which was repurposed as part of the Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna, MN a few years ago. Ever since St. Thomas sold the Gainey last year, the Guest House is once again up for grabs and must -- also once again -- start relocation this June to meet its August 2016 deadline.

The Winton Guest House revives the question of what cultural value that the house -- and others vernacular structures like it -- possess. As this comment discussion shows, the topic is a subjective one with no clean-cut answer.

Some may agree that the Guest House's value lies in its history, like an art object that can be studied or referred to for inspiration. According to the University o...

Frank Gehry's Winton Guest House to be up for sale on May 19 in Chicago

2015-03-06T17:45:00-05:00

Frank Gehry's Winton Guest House must be sold! Completed in 1987 for Mike and Penny Winton, the Winton Guest House in Owatonna, Minnesota is one of Gehry's few residential projects that contributed to his rising fame during the 1990s. According to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul -- the home's current owner -- the $4.5 million home will be up for auction on May 19 in Chicago, with auction house Wright in charge of handling the sale.

Entryway to the University of St. Thomas St. Paul campus

Mike and Penny Winton commissioned Gehry to design the home in 1982 when they needed extra room for their family to accompany their Philip Johnson-designed residence on their property in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. Built from plywood, stone, brick, and metal, the 2,300 sq.ft guest house consists of five separate geometric spaces that include a central pyramidal living room tower, two bedrooms, a kitchen, fireplace room, two bathrooms, and loft space. The house's distinctive geometric-block de...

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.

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.

Get Lectured: University of Minnesota Fall '13

2013-09-11T11:08:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we just launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. Check back regularly to stay up-to-date and mark your calendars for any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Featured today is the "Architecture + Landscape Architecture Lecture Series" from the University of Minnesota College of Design.

This series will showcase expert educators and practitioners from around the globe. Each speaker will share their own perspectives and insights in architecture and landscape architecture as they reflect on one topic in their respective fields of expertise.

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

All lectures are free and will take place at 6:00 pm at 100 Rapson Hall.

SEPTEMBER

September 9
Neeraj Bhatia - Soft Territories
Director, The...

HKS is chosen to design new Vikings stadium

2012-09-28T12:08:00-04:00

A nearly two-month search for the firm that will design the new $975 million Vikings stadium ended Friday morning when the team and the public board overseeing construction of the project selected HKS Inc. of Dallas, which recently designed new NFL stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts.