Instead of the LA, NYC, Chicago, and Seattle discussion, lets think about the best small/smaller cities. Do you think it is something like Des Moines, Cincinatti, Aspen, etc.? I know for sure it isn't in Florida.
How do you consider SanFran a small city? The metro area has 7 million people. If you're listing that then you should say Boston....smaller population and all.
Virginia Beach, Va. (Hampton Roads Area) It's by the beach and there is tons of construction going up. Its a pretty big area as far as land goes but it has a small town mentality. Plus were rated in the top 50 safest cities in the United States.
parts of new york city feel very small town-ish, so i'd say that the best small town for architects/architecture in the us...unless we count airports as towns, then i'd have to change my vote
So how does a decent architect make a living in these smaller towns? My wife & I have discussed moving to Lawrence, Kansas or St Louis, but there seems to be very little demand for anything that's not a McMansion. Can some of you include links to small town firms doing interesting work?
When I read small towns I'm thinking anything that has a metro area under 1 million. Portland...Minneapolis...San Francisco! WTF? All of those cities are in the list of the top 25 markets in the USA. It's frusturating that foreigners think of the USA as NYC, Chicago and LA. Now people are calling San Francisco a small town and saying that NYC has a "small town" feel. Has anyone ever been in a small town?
What is wrong with you people? A small CITY is like Cincinnati or St. Louis. When I think small town, I think places like Richland City, WI (bonus points for whoever can tell me why that place is important besides it's where my Dad grew up...)
Now if you mean good size places on the virge of a city/town, then I'd have to say my home metro: Madison, WI qualifies (although there isn't great architecture going up there. Somone needs to step in). Cities such as Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Portland, are NOT small towns. Lawrence, KS i think qualifies.
This isn't to say that places like the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, SF, or Portland are growing places with interesting architecture situations. They are just FAR from a small town, let alone a small city.
what about... santa monica or venice? home to hundreds of architecture firms. though you might count it as LA....
i think a problem is sustainability. you have to bring in everything to a small town. it's somewhat difficult.
i'm putting a vote down for williamstown, MA... pop 8424 (2000 census). ando's doing an addition to the clark art institute. elite liberal arts college to provide the impetus and desire for good architecture, and the picturesque berkshire mountains... within 200 mi of boston and nyc.
Vado, perfect video to explain to some of our confused confidants on what a small town is...however I don't know how I feel about your expansion of you tube links...Where do you keep this hand database of videos and pics?
Granted, the title says "Small Town" but the original post said small cities, and seemed to be framed for a search for second tier cities outside of the big 3 or 4 that are doing interesting architecture, not merely in hopes of visiting, but actually working there ("architects/architecture").
Would Columbus fit the bill for small towns? Or does simply having good architecture in your town/city not necesarily equate to a thriving architectural community...
I live in Boise, Idaho. I know it probably doesn't sound like that appealing of a place given the political stigma Idaho seems to garner, but it is a nice place to live. With a population of just about 200,000 and growing. Architecturally there are no buildings with a name attached to them (save Mark Mack's help with an art museum addition.) We have a sad but growing skyline (I just look at the foothills instead), and interest in LEED certified and green buildings seems to be growing as fast as the city is developing. You can still drive about 45 minutes in any direction and be kind of in the middle of nowhere. You can drive about 6 hours in any direction and be in a "city."
And, shamelss plug, my office is hiring. We need good people.
We should have set a population guideline from the start. Some think small is below 100,000, and others think it is below 1 million. I like louismeier assumed the later since the original post said small "cities"!!
Ok, educate me here – but if we are talking about places fewer than 100,000 then most of the locations we have called out do not fit.
Portland – 556,000
Minneapolis – 382,000
Milwaukee – 556,000
SF – 739,000
Cincinnati – 311,000
St. Louis – 2 million + (is this accurate? And some call this small???)
We should have set a population guideline from the start. Some think small is below 100,000, and others think it is below 1 million. I like louismeier assumed the later since the original post said small "cities"!!
Ok, educate me here – but if we are talking about places fewer than 100,000 then most of the locations we have called out do not fit.
Portland – 556,000
Minneapolis – 382,000
Milwaukee – 556,000
SF – 739,000
Cincinnati – 311,000
St. Louis – 2 million + (is this accurate? And some call this small???)
Ok, you caught me. I am bored at work and I have time to research stats:)
Portland, Maine
(City-65,000, greater Portland 250,000)
Active design community
A Bruder library on the way
Historic preservation organization that encourages buildings of their own time
Walkable seaport city
Katze - those population figures are misleading. Most cities aren't like Indinapolis and Houston where they can annex the smaller towns around them and have one burgeoning city population not made up of pop figures from one core city and several outlying smaller suburbs.
Example, Minneapolis has just shy of 400,000 residents in the city limits. St. Paul right next door has just over 300,000. Then there are dozens of surrounding cities with populations anywhere from 20k to almost 100k. So for business purposes (and architecture is a business) in Mpls/St. Paul there is a local product consuming population just over 3,000,000. Do the same for San Francisco, counting the entire bay area and you're looking at 7,000,000.
On the other side is a city like Fargo, as mentioned above. They are an independant city whereas Minneapolis would be considered the closest major metro. You live in Fargo and want to see a professional sports game, see a broadway play, fly internationally, attend a major convention....well, for all that the closest place to come is Mpls. That, to me, is what qualifies Fargo as a "small city." Population plays a factor in that, but Fargo could double in size to a Boise sized town and it still would be "small" under that criteria.
the small towns john mellencamp was singing about don't come anywhere close to 700,000 or even 70,000 people. here in TX a small town is 10,000 or lower. and lemme tell ya, there's not even a single architect in the vast majority of towns with populations of 10,000.
i just did a search on the TBAE web site ... marfa TX has a population of about 5,000 and there is not a single architect there. or, from what i hear, a pharmacist. but oh you can get a $50 dinner and a fancy pair of shoes. and there's a PRADA there...wink wink.
What's going on in Boulder right now? I have only visited once, but I loved it - as a place to live. But know nothing of architecture.
To louismeier, Columbus, OH is not small weighing at at the country's 16th most populated city. Unless you meant Columbus, IN. Cool architecture there.
Marlon Blackwell, architects
UACDC (community design center run by Steve Luoni)
both are starting to carve a niche for themselves in their respective fields. Both have been averaging at least one national award a year for the last 4 or 5 years now. With marlon's just being great buildings and the UACDC's work reaching way beyond typical community design center city beautification shit.
check em out if ya want
Fayetteville is also the 4th fastest growing MSA in the country the last several years running and has a great nightlife area in Dickson St. while still being comfortable nestled in the Boston Mountains with tons of outdoors activities, and the nation's third largest bike rally, and can boast the highest percentage of billionaries per square mile in the world(crazy eh?)
I'm half way between New York and Bean Town...and yup were small town....but the city is a hop and skip away. Been here ten years with my shingle out. I do get a commission once in a while which is worth getting excited about. I'm not telling you were I live cause you will want to be here...sly smile.
damn I have to go to Portland Maine...if Bruder has a library on the way....will it be completely digital? Actually I always liked the Portland Art Museum...by I.M. Pei...(office). Of all the museums I have wondered thru around the world....I would rank it near the Top along with Kahn's Yale British Museum.
curious. Marlon Blackwell is lecturing in Jacksonville, FL next month,
Steven Luoni was a professor at the University of Florida School of Architecture for some time, until leaving to take his current position, and Miami, FL - "2nd tier" but not small city - is a hot- (no pun intended) -bed of progressive architecture.
1. Miami is not a small city. I do agree it does have some great work as well as a ton of garbage.
2. Yes, Marlon Blackwell is lecturing. Great. It is easy to pay a lecturer, much harder to actually get the locals to build the kind of work he is doing .
3. I had Luoni as a professor, great designer, but great professors at UF do not make Florida or Miami a hot bed for progressive architecture.
hence why they initially were brought up in reference to fayetteville. We have at least 7 of marlon's buildings and that number should rise significantly in the next couple of years. Also Steve's style of work is really taking on here his uacdc is actually get a couple of projects built which is new for Steve... while some of the 'architecture" coming out of there is not cutting edge the planning and the models for working definately are.
Best small towns for Architecture/Architects in US
Instead of the LA, NYC, Chicago, and Seattle discussion, lets think about the best small/smaller cities. Do you think it is something like Des Moines, Cincinatti, Aspen, etc.? I know for sure it isn't in Florida.
Nashville
milwaukee, younger firms are growing and getting work built, culture of the city is changing
I would second the potential of Milwaukee, as well as tipping my hat to Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Portland.
I know for sure that Fargo has nothing going on right now.
louismeier - Fargo eh? Did you know Brian Dougan when he was teaching there?
I would definately agree with louismeier on the Portland and San Francisco locations.
How do you consider SanFran a small city? The metro area has 7 million people. If you're listing that then you should say Boston....smaller population and all.
Virginia Beach, Va. (Hampton Roads Area) It's by the beach and there is tons of construction going up. Its a pretty big area as far as land goes but it has a small town mentality. Plus were rated in the top 50 safest cities in the United States.
Maybe we should put a population cap on this rating. I would say that because of geography that SF seemed more isolated to me than Boston.
Are we talking second/third tier cities? This would eliminate SF, Boston, Seattle, etc.
Anyone vote for St. Louis?
As for Fargo, I never lived there, just in the state, and I like to make fun of it.
parts of new york city feel very small town-ish, so i'd say that the best small town for architects/architecture in the us...unless we count airports as towns, then i'd have to change my vote
Denver/aspen - might be amazing in a couple of yrs.
minneapolis - it's gaining some great new projects.
what do you think?
Please take San Francisco off anybodies list - All they have is a great bookstore
So how does a decent architect make a living in these smaller towns? My wife & I have discussed moving to Lawrence, Kansas or St Louis, but there seems to be very little demand for anything that's not a McMansion. Can some of you include links to small town firms doing interesting work?
When I read small towns I'm thinking anything that has a metro area under 1 million. Portland...Minneapolis...San Francisco! WTF? All of those cities are in the list of the top 25 markets in the USA. It's frusturating that foreigners think of the USA as NYC, Chicago and LA. Now people are calling San Francisco a small town and saying that NYC has a "small town" feel. Has anyone ever been in a small town?
aspen is one of the most expensive cities in the country.
When I hear small towns I think closer to the 100,000 number. That's a small town. These places being mentioned here are all large cities.
What is wrong with you people? A small CITY is like Cincinnati or St. Louis. When I think small town, I think places like Richland City, WI (bonus points for whoever can tell me why that place is important besides it's where my Dad grew up...)
Now if you mean good size places on the virge of a city/town, then I'd have to say my home metro: Madison, WI qualifies (although there isn't great architecture going up there. Somone needs to step in). Cities such as Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Portland, are NOT small towns. Lawrence, KS i think qualifies.
This isn't to say that places like the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, SF, or Portland are growing places with interesting architecture situations. They are just FAR from a small town, let alone a small city.
Eugene, Oregon
Bishop, California
what about... santa monica or venice? home to hundreds of architecture firms. though you might count it as LA....
i think a problem is sustainability. you have to bring in everything to a small town. it's somewhat difficult.
i'm putting a vote down for williamstown, MA... pop 8424 (2000 census). ando's doing an addition to the clark art institute. elite liberal arts college to provide the impetus and desire for good architecture, and the picturesque berkshire mountains... within 200 mi of boston and nyc.
wow! ando! when is it suppose to be done?
richland city, WI --> birthplace of frank lloyd wright.
Vado, perfect video to explain to some of our confused confidants on what a small town is...however I don't know how I feel about your expansion of you tube links...Where do you keep this hand database of videos and pics?
funny how a bunch of architects have problems with the difference between a small town and a city. ha.
Charlottesville, VA....great design community
Denver/Boulder....a lot is going on here finally
Granted, the title says "Small Town" but the original post said small cities, and seemed to be framed for a search for second tier cities outside of the big 3 or 4 that are doing interesting architecture, not merely in hopes of visiting, but actually working there ("architects/architecture").
Would Columbus fit the bill for small towns? Or does simply having good architecture in your town/city not necesarily equate to a thriving architectural community...
I live in Boise, Idaho. I know it probably doesn't sound like that appealing of a place given the political stigma Idaho seems to garner, but it is a nice place to live. With a population of just about 200,000 and growing. Architecturally there are no buildings with a name attached to them (save Mark Mack's help with an art museum addition.) We have a sad but growing skyline (I just look at the foothills instead), and interest in LEED certified and green buildings seems to be growing as fast as the city is developing. You can still drive about 45 minutes in any direction and be kind of in the middle of nowhere. You can drive about 6 hours in any direction and be in a "city."
And, shamelss plug, my office is hiring. We need good people.
errrr proofreading...the population is areoun 500,000....
and i work for HUMMEL ARCHITECTS!
oh, and....
Forbes #4
We should have set a population guideline from the start. Some think small is below 100,000, and others think it is below 1 million. I like louismeier assumed the later since the original post said small "cities"!!
Ok, educate me here – but if we are talking about places fewer than 100,000 then most of the locations we have called out do not fit.
Portland – 556,000
Minneapolis – 382,000
Milwaukee – 556,000
SF – 739,000
Cincinnati – 311,000
St. Louis – 2 million + (is this accurate? And some call this small???)
We should have set a population guideline from the start. Some think small is below 100,000, and others think it is below 1 million. I like louismeier assumed the later since the original post said small "cities"!!
Ok, educate me here – but if we are talking about places fewer than 100,000 then most of the locations we have called out do not fit.
Portland – 556,000
Minneapolis – 382,000
Milwaukee – 556,000
SF – 739,000
Cincinnati – 311,000
St. Louis – 2 million + (is this accurate? And some call this small???)
Ok, you caught me. I am bored at work and I have time to research stats:)
Portland, Maine
(City-65,000, greater Portland 250,000)
Active design community
A Bruder library on the way
Historic preservation organization that encourages buildings of their own time
Walkable seaport city
this video was a no brainer beatle as i are a indiana university grad!
Katze - those population figures are misleading. Most cities aren't like Indinapolis and Houston where they can annex the smaller towns around them and have one burgeoning city population not made up of pop figures from one core city and several outlying smaller suburbs.
Example, Minneapolis has just shy of 400,000 residents in the city limits. St. Paul right next door has just over 300,000. Then there are dozens of surrounding cities with populations anywhere from 20k to almost 100k. So for business purposes (and architecture is a business) in Mpls/St. Paul there is a local product consuming population just over 3,000,000. Do the same for San Francisco, counting the entire bay area and you're looking at 7,000,000.
On the other side is a city like Fargo, as mentioned above. They are an independant city whereas Minneapolis would be considered the closest major metro. You live in Fargo and want to see a professional sports game, see a broadway play, fly internationally, attend a major convention....well, for all that the closest place to come is Mpls. That, to me, is what qualifies Fargo as a "small city." Population plays a factor in that, but Fargo could double in size to a Boise sized town and it still would be "small" under that criteria.
wha?
the small towns john mellencamp was singing about don't come anywhere close to 700,000 or even 70,000 people. here in TX a small town is 10,000 or lower. and lemme tell ya, there's not even a single architect in the vast majority of towns with populations of 10,000.
mentone TX -- pop. 17. THAT's a small town.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0009/feature7/index.html
i just did a search on the TBAE web site ... marfa TX has a population of about 5,000 and there is not a single architect there. or, from what i hear, a pharmacist. but oh you can get a $50 dinner and a fancy pair of shoes. and there's a PRADA there...wink wink.
depends on what you mean. great architecture usually means a more cutthroat job market.
A - I see your point. Thx!
alright, i'm headed to marfa...cow shit & all
What's going on in Boulder right now? I have only visited once, but I loved it - as a place to live. But know nothing of architecture.
To louismeier, Columbus, OH is not small weighing at at the country's 16th most populated city. Unless you meant Columbus, IN. Cool architecture there.
i found seven architects listed in columbus indiana one of my bosses lives there. she is an interior designer however.
Fayetteville, Arkansas
two great places to work there:
Marlon Blackwell, architects
UACDC (community design center run by Steve Luoni)
both are starting to carve a niche for themselves in their respective fields. Both have been averaging at least one national award a year for the last 4 or 5 years now. With marlon's just being great buildings and the UACDC's work reaching way beyond typical community design center city beautification shit.
www.marlonblackwell.com/
uacdc.uark.edu/
check em out if ya want
Fayetteville is also the 4th fastest growing MSA in the country the last several years running and has a great nightlife area in Dickson St. while still being comfortable nestled in the Boston Mountains with tons of outdoors activities, and the nation's third largest bike rally, and can boast the highest percentage of billionaries per square mile in the world(crazy eh?)
I'm half way between New York and Bean Town...and yup were small town....but the city is a hop and skip away. Been here ten years with my shingle out. I do get a commission once in a while which is worth getting excited about. I'm not telling you were I live cause you will want to be here...sly smile.
damn I have to go to Portland Maine...if Bruder has a library on the way....will it be completely digital? Actually I always liked the Portland Art Museum...by I.M. Pei...(office). Of all the museums I have wondered thru around the world....I would rank it near the Top along with Kahn's Yale British Museum.
curious. Marlon Blackwell is lecturing in Jacksonville, FL next month,
Steven Luoni was a professor at the University of Florida School of Architecture for some time, until leaving to take his current position, and Miami, FL - "2nd tier" but not small city - is a hot- (no pun intended) -bed of progressive architecture.
Florida?!
Miami
Miami
Freakin Miami!
I know for sure it isn't in Florida.
is itself compact, but the whole area's large.
santa barbara/goleta?
http://www.stoutbooks.com/
?
sf has well-performed sidewalk pissing, too.
actually, Fargo-Moorhead.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Fargo-Moorhead++population+area+census
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota
"As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 64308"
some parts of canada are english speaking. not sure about immigrating restrictions.
jackson hole, wyoming
AP,
Have you been to Florida lately?
1. Miami is not a small city. I do agree it does have some great work as well as a ton of garbage.
2. Yes, Marlon Blackwell is lecturing. Great. It is easy to pay a lecturer, much harder to actually get the locals to build the kind of work he is doing .
3. I had Luoni as a professor, great designer, but great professors at UF do not make Florida or Miami a hot bed for progressive architecture.
hence why they initially were brought up in reference to fayetteville. We have at least 7 of marlon's buildings and that number should rise significantly in the next couple of years. Also Steve's style of work is really taking on here his uacdc is actually get a couple of projects built which is new for Steve... while some of the 'architecture" coming out of there is not cutting edge the planning and the models for working definately are.
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