I have a friend that is moving to Minneapolis later this year and is interested to know what are - if any - the smaller design firms in the area, that [s]he could send a resume. Any help is greatly appreciated.
MS&R, Julie Snow, Charlie Lazor, Charles Stinson, Cermak Rhoades Architects are just some of the good ones.
There are sooooooo many firms there, and you can always check CALA's job posting site (University of Minnesota College of Architecture and Landscape Architecure): link
Keep in mind that There are really two cities to check, Minneapolis AND St. Paul. They have a great bus system, and the new light rail is catching popularity and slowly growing. Careful living or working out in the burbs! There are a lot of firms out there, but most of them are pretty dreadful to work for, and the Twin Cities have probably one of the worst rush hours of any of the cities I've been in (I worked out in the burbs but lived close to the UofM, a 20 minute drive during no traffic turned into over 2 hours on the way home and 45 minutes there, and the summers can easily get into the 100's with 95% humidity...aweful driving for someone with no AC).
beatledud - ease up on the horror stories. I don't know if I've ever experienced a 100 degree day in MSP. The traffic also isn't near as bad as Chicago or Houston in my experience. It can be bad depending on where you live and where you're going, but what large metro isn't bad?
Check out www.aia-mn.org and search firms. They have a great extensive database of all the firms in the state. Most are in the MSP metro so it isn't that hard to find what you are looking for. There you can find details on what the firm size is and what they primarily work on. The numbers are typically a year out of date, but hold mostly true.
Not all suburban firms are bad and not all urban firms are good. My knowledge is mostly about the larger firms in town but have many friends in the mid to smaller sized firms. Good news is that most of the big firms are hiring so I'm assuming the demand is tricking down to the smaller guys too.
I meant where I've lived, I haven't lived in Chicago of Houston, but it is bad for the size of the city, partially because MSP has one of the largest spanding metros in the country. There is also more consistancy with other cities as far as congestion of traffic (I.E. going into the city in the morning is bad, but leaving the city in the morning is fine). MSP isn't so much the case.
And the weather is only bad if you're stuck in traffic with no AC like me...most people aren't that stupid.
Also, just keep close to work. Don't live in the burbs and drive to the city, or vice-versa. There are plenty of places that are near affordable by the university or in uptown. Downtown Minneapolis is hard to live in $ wise, but downtown St. Paul isn't. Actually the city kind of dies at night unlike Minneapolis. St. Paul is working with a lot to change this in the next 5-10 years and it's all very hopeful (One of my studio was doing one of the St. Paul villages). Be a good idea if you ask me to purchase a condo in downtown St. Paul...property values will jump fairly soon. It's pretty easy to travel from St. Paul to Minneapolis, so that broadens your options. All the cool places to go drink/eat are mostly in Uptown and Downtown Minneapolis.
Feb 8, 06 12:08 pm ·
·
Domain, James Dayton Design, Tanek, Miller Hanson, UrbanWorks.
well, i am spending the night in Wisconsin, and good to know winter is right on time, 32 degrees and my nipples are more pert than ever. brrrr. tomorrow we move into our new residence - complete with chef's kitchen - and friday we unload the moving truck. three cats and one wife 1150 miles in about a day and a half, priceless, gas = 120, food = 50, sleep = over rated. looking forward to new job. looking forward to new things. hoping that treekilla is interested in getting a twin cities AFH chapter started, if one doesn't exist already, and looking forward to ice fishing and all other winter sportage...well good night, and good lcuk...
Spending the night in WI? Aren't you coming from Cali? If you are in Wisconsin you went too far! Ha ha.
Welcome to town. I do believe there is a AFH chapter in the twin cities. Somewhat short notice but the MN-AIA convention is Nov 14-17 and a good place to network looking for things like AFH and such.
Minneapolis Firms
I have a friend that is moving to Minneapolis later this year and is interested to know what are - if any - the smaller design firms in the area, that [s]he could send a resume. Any help is greatly appreciated.
MS&R, Julie Snow, Charlie Lazor, Charles Stinson, Cermak Rhoades Architects are just some of the good ones.
There are sooooooo many firms there, and you can always check CALA's job posting site (University of Minnesota College of Architecture and Landscape Architecure):
link
Keep in mind that There are really two cities to check, Minneapolis AND St. Paul. They have a great bus system, and the new light rail is catching popularity and slowly growing. Careful living or working out in the burbs! There are a lot of firms out there, but most of them are pretty dreadful to work for, and the Twin Cities have probably one of the worst rush hours of any of the cities I've been in (I worked out in the burbs but lived close to the UofM, a 20 minute drive during no traffic turned into over 2 hours on the way home and 45 minutes there, and the summers can easily get into the 100's with 95% humidity...aweful driving for someone with no AC).
Vincent James, Alchemy, U + B, Lead Inc, Red Lure Red, A-Studio, Locus Architects, Conway + Schulte, City Desk Studio, Loom, SITE II...
beatledud - ease up on the horror stories. I don't know if I've ever experienced a 100 degree day in MSP. The traffic also isn't near as bad as Chicago or Houston in my experience. It can be bad depending on where you live and where you're going, but what large metro isn't bad?
Check out www.aia-mn.org and search firms. They have a great extensive database of all the firms in the state. Most are in the MSP metro so it isn't that hard to find what you are looking for. There you can find details on what the firm size is and what they primarily work on. The numbers are typically a year out of date, but hold mostly true.
Not all suburban firms are bad and not all urban firms are good. My knowledge is mostly about the larger firms in town but have many friends in the mid to smaller sized firms. Good news is that most of the big firms are hiring so I'm assuming the demand is tricking down to the smaller guys too.
I meant where I've lived, I haven't lived in Chicago of Houston, but it is bad for the size of the city, partially because MSP has one of the largest spanding metros in the country. There is also more consistancy with other cities as far as congestion of traffic (I.E. going into the city in the morning is bad, but leaving the city in the morning is fine). MSP isn't so much the case.
And the weather is only bad if you're stuck in traffic with no AC like me...most people aren't that stupid.
Also, just keep close to work. Don't live in the burbs and drive to the city, or vice-versa. There are plenty of places that are near affordable by the university or in uptown. Downtown Minneapolis is hard to live in $ wise, but downtown St. Paul isn't. Actually the city kind of dies at night unlike Minneapolis. St. Paul is working with a lot to change this in the next 5-10 years and it's all very hopeful (One of my studio was doing one of the St. Paul villages). Be a good idea if you ask me to purchase a condo in downtown St. Paul...property values will jump fairly soon. It's pretty easy to travel from St. Paul to Minneapolis, so that broadens your options. All the cool places to go drink/eat are mostly in Uptown and Downtown Minneapolis.
Domain, James Dayton Design, Tanek, Miller Hanson, UrbanWorks.
along the same lines, my friend is also looking for decent neighborhoods to live in, any advice about where to look and what to avoid?
well, i am spending the night in Wisconsin, and good to know winter is right on time, 32 degrees and my nipples are more pert than ever. brrrr. tomorrow we move into our new residence - complete with chef's kitchen - and friday we unload the moving truck. three cats and one wife 1150 miles in about a day and a half, priceless, gas = 120, food = 50, sleep = over rated. looking forward to new job. looking forward to new things. hoping that treekilla is interested in getting a twin cities AFH chapter started, if one doesn't exist already, and looking forward to ice fishing and all other winter sportage...well good night, and good lcuk...
thanks to all those that helped make this happen.
Spending the night in WI? Aren't you coming from Cali? If you are in Wisconsin you went too far! Ha ha.
Welcome to town. I do believe there is a AFH chapter in the twin cities. Somewhat short notice but the MN-AIA convention is Nov 14-17 and a good place to network looking for things like AFH and such.
I was from the golden state. Beta was from the garden state.
Any words of wisdom regarding Walsh-Bishop?
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