I'm a soon-to-be graduate of an undergrad architecture program in the Midwest. Many of my fellow colleagues are choosing to move away from the Midwest for either graduate school or starting their professional career in architecture. This has led me to wonder what the state of architecture is in the Midwest. It seems obvious to me that there are many interesting opportunities for research and practice out in the west and east coasts, but what of the Midwest?
I've chosen to stay in the Midwest for graduate school due to many reasons. Some of them being personal, affordability, availability of technology, etc. However, the greatest reason for staying is my faith in the ability to become a skilled/progressive/hard-working architect through the teachings of faculty and mentors here in the Midwest.
I am interested in finding what people believe it takes to not only survive as an architect in the Midwest, but also have a significant presence in the architectural world. I see signs of people making an effort to make critical, well-thought architecture here. But too often architecture here seems to represent something less than what I believe is the greatest form of art. I know much of this is dependent on money, which is far less present here than it is on either the east or west coast. Does that excuse the lack of architecture that makes bold statements and provokes interesting architectural discussion?
I want to see a culture of architecture grow in the Midwest and I'm looking for insight on how to make it (happen).
Perhaps Midwest is too broad of a term. If I'm being specific then Indiana. However, I'm sure there are plenty of cities in the Midwest that face the same architectural circumstances. I'm interested in mid to small markets. I assume Chicago has a pretty well off architecture culture. The cities closest to me that I'm interested in is Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. Like I said, there are probably plenty of cities similar to those cities that are in the same situation.
Indy has some good architects. They also have several large local corporate firms that seem to do all the work. Check out Blackline Studio,Axis and a10 they're about it. Fort Wayne has a mall.
i'm in the midwest, and i think it's alright. really, the key to surviving as an architect here is just getting a job and keeping employed, same as anywhere. i don't think there is a lack of money for good architecture, i think it's a lack of desire to invest by those with the money. keep in mind one of the top 2 or 3 richest people in the world (the richest depending on which year you're looking at) is in omaha.
chicago did their millennium park and the bean, so that's something. maybe moline and the quad cities seems to have some investment from the industries located there (people like john deere). donna sink helped design 'chopstick' in indiana, which is one the better examples of architecture of the past few years. as far as i can tell, a lot of the new investment in smaller cities is focused on distribution or box stores. there might be some 'high art' type stuff in retail, small scale like a bar or restaurant or whatever. that's typically going to be an interior inside a strip mall though. randy brown from omaha tried to establish a footprint on the architectural community, but he had is father the lawyer's money to help with that. i didn't care much for his stuff. populous is in kansas city; they're a fairly big company that spun off of hok and they do sports stadiums which could be fun.
i would be interested in what other people have seen in the midwest too. as far as i can tell, there has not been a recent uptick in employment like you might hear of sometimes in other areas.
Maybe we should be asking ourselves why there is less "critical architecture" (just going to use this term from now on) around here? I know this post is young, but there certainly isn't a long list of examples that pops in my head when i think of critical architecture in Indiana, Midwest, etc.
If there are people out there making critical architecture in the Midwest, how did you do it? If not, then what does it take?
I recently graduated from BSU in Indiana. After working for awhile in Indianapolis, I ended up moving to the east coast to work for a larger firm. There are a couple of great firms in Indy, but I think that a lot of the work stays local. Needless to say, I had a great experience. MSKTD, Design Collaborative, Axis, Cripe, A3 Design, BDMD...CSO...all firms worth considering.
If those are your target areas, maybe start looking at Business Journal's Book of Lists. It's a great resource. Every year they publish the top firms based on size, money, and revenue/types of projects they're awarded. They usually publish one per year in almost any major city and that's how I got a good handle on the type of firms and work that was relevant.
I wasn't going to reveal where I'm about to graduate for the sake of the forum applying to people all over the Midwest, but I'm about to be a BSU grad as well. REPRESENT!
There are some great Midwestern markets with top-notch architectural talent. Chief among these is Chicago. Other great cities for architecture are Kansas City, Minneapolis, and to a lesser extent, from my perception, St. Louis and Omaha. I don't know about the others.
I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.-Kurt Vonnegut.
Thanks for the thinly veiled sarcasm about Chicago. Some folks from Indy (since he's at BSU) aren't interested in Chicago, since it has a lot of pros and cons.
Some friends and I looked up the word "hoosier" once, and it said "ignorant rustic." I am NOT making this up. Some of my friends from Indiana say it really means "Hoosier daddy, hoosier mama." People from Indiana take these jokes in stride. In the South, they get defensive about anything that dials them back a notch.
I felt I had nothing left to do in Indianapolis, so I moved to Chicago. I haven't regretted my decision one bit. If you stay in Indy, look up one 10 studio as well. They are doing some really nice work.
Oddly enough, 1/3 of the firm I'm with now is from Indiana. All of them went to Ball State except for me. I flew south.
OK as an Indy resident I've stayed away from this thread because I'm feeling very, very down on this conservative burg these days. But the firms mentioned above are good, and People for Urban Progress (I'm on the board) and Big Car/Service Center are doing very cool urban design/community initiatives, and there is a burgeoning fashion and interior design scene too. LOTS of very small-scale interesting stuff is happening here.
One of the mantras of the local scene is that Indy is a small enough town that while there aren't as many opportunities to be a culture consumer (like there are in NYC or LA), there are lots of opportunities to be a cultural producer. You can do something small but very noticeable here.
That said, two separate nights in recent weeks I've had too many funky events going on at once to be able to get to all of them in one night. So if you're young it *can* be a fun city. It's affordable, too.
Thanks Donna Sink! I was hoping you would comment on this thread because I knew you would have something good to say. I've always felt that if I stayed here and made some kind of statement (be it architecture, art, community development, etc.) it would be heard by many. I know that my motives might sound a bit self-centered, but I am truly looking for opportunities for a successful and impacting career. I want to be able to bring light to what a great place the Midwest (specifically Indiana) is through my work.
With that being said what are some things I can do as a young designer to help cultivate culture? Are there specific needs in Indy/Indiana/Midwest that I can help fill with my skill and knowledge?
I'm also an Indy person, and I like it here. Indy has changed a lot in the past few years, and cost of living is significantly better than say Chicago. Chicago is its own world, but Indy has fared quite well through this recession, compared to other cities.
That said, I am aware of several A/E firms in the area who have had significant layoffs within the last few months.
10 years ago they looked like they could be quite the firm. Unfortunately, they lost their vision somewhere along the way. Outside of St. Bartholomew and the Indiana State Museum, they haven't done much to impress me.
I feel I need to clarify my previous statement on Indy. It was never about not having anything to do in Indy, there is plenty. I go to the IMA every chance I get when I'm down there. I just personally felt I accomplished everything I could in the city and that chapter of my life had closed.
The Midwest wants art culture and fine dining, Small town restaurants can be truly awesome, Talent however has a tendency to flee small towns, but do some digging and you find gems in the corn fields. It is a mistake to think that there is not a market for cutting edge innovative design in any region. The problem is they are dispersed and communities have to make one building do many things. Even gun toting conservatives like the one sitting across from me in this trendy coffee shop in Benton Harbor Pop 10 K want someplace cool to go to and to have art in a museum to show visiting family. I think if you have a political position that is more than an opinion you may feel the itch to be amongst likeminded folks and small town flight is a serious problem in the Midwest and one of the many ways to deal with it is to build business and institutions.
One small thing I will contribute, having moved around and lot both in and out of the midwest, is that temperament makes a big difference to who will enjoy which cities, and therefore it's ok to not want to live in the same sorts of places everyone else you know wants to live in. For me personally I've enjoyed living in a few different cities (for different reasons) and absolutely hated living in some that other people still, to this day, constantly tell me they dream of. I will say that once you find a good sweet spot, it becomes much harder to give it up and move on to something else. So try out a bunch of different options while you're young and can move around, and see what works for you. Give Indy a shot, and if it doesn't work out, don't be afraid to recognize that and leave. And if you think you love it, conversely it can be helpful to try something else out for a little bit (if possible) simply to learn more about yourself and how you react to different things, and bring that knowledge back to your practice in Indy. I don't know if any of this is making sense. I guess I'd say, a) you know yourself and your temperament better than anyone else, and b) life really does differ from city to city and it's good to know, to be aware of, what you like and don't like about differing living situations. Give yourself room to learn and grow.
Making It (Happen) In The Midwest
Greetings,
I'm a soon-to-be graduate of an undergrad architecture program in the Midwest. Many of my fellow colleagues are choosing to move away from the Midwest for either graduate school or starting their professional career in architecture. This has led me to wonder what the state of architecture is in the Midwest. It seems obvious to me that there are many interesting opportunities for research and practice out in the west and east coasts, but what of the Midwest?
I've chosen to stay in the Midwest for graduate school due to many reasons. Some of them being personal, affordability, availability of technology, etc. However, the greatest reason for staying is my faith in the ability to become a skilled/progressive/hard-working architect through the teachings of faculty and mentors here in the Midwest.
I am interested in finding what people believe it takes to not only survive as an architect in the Midwest, but also have a significant presence in the architectural world. I see signs of people making an effort to make critical, well-thought architecture here. But too often architecture here seems to represent something less than what I believe is the greatest form of art. I know much of this is dependent on money, which is far less present here than it is on either the east or west coast. Does that excuse the lack of architecture that makes bold statements and provokes interesting architectural discussion?
I want to see a culture of architecture grow in the Midwest and I'm looking for insight on how to make it (happen).
midwest? chicago, nebraska, TC???
I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.-Kurt Vonnegut.
Perhaps Midwest is too broad of a term. If I'm being specific then Indiana. However, I'm sure there are plenty of cities in the Midwest that face the same architectural circumstances. I'm interested in mid to small markets. I assume Chicago has a pretty well off architecture culture. The cities closest to me that I'm interested in is Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. Like I said, there are probably plenty of cities similar to those cities that are in the same situation.
Indy has some good architects. They also have several large local corporate firms that seem to do all the work. Check out Blackline Studio,Axis and a10 they're about it. Fort Wayne has a mall.
i'm in the midwest, and i think it's alright. really, the key to surviving as an architect here is just getting a job and keeping employed, same as anywhere. i don't think there is a lack of money for good architecture, i think it's a lack of desire to invest by those with the money. keep in mind one of the top 2 or 3 richest people in the world (the richest depending on which year you're looking at) is in omaha.
chicago did their millennium park and the bean, so that's something. maybe moline and the quad cities seems to have some investment from the industries located there (people like john deere). donna sink helped design 'chopstick' in indiana, which is one the better examples of architecture of the past few years. as far as i can tell, a lot of the new investment in smaller cities is focused on distribution or box stores. there might be some 'high art' type stuff in retail, small scale like a bar or restaurant or whatever. that's typically going to be an interior inside a strip mall though. randy brown from omaha tried to establish a footprint on the architectural community, but he had is father the lawyer's money to help with that. i didn't care much for his stuff. populous is in kansas city; they're a fairly big company that spun off of hok and they do sports stadiums which could be fun.
i would be interested in what other people have seen in the midwest too. as far as i can tell, there has not been a recent uptick in employment like you might hear of sometimes in other areas.
Maybe we should be asking ourselves why there is less "critical architecture" (just going to use this term from now on) around here? I know this post is young, but there certainly isn't a long list of examples that pops in my head when i think of critical architecture in Indiana, Midwest, etc.
If there are people out there making critical architecture in the Midwest, how did you do it? If not, then what does it take?
I recently graduated from BSU in Indiana. After working for awhile in Indianapolis, I ended up moving to the east coast to work for a larger firm. There are a couple of great firms in Indy, but I think that a lot of the work stays local. Needless to say, I had a great experience. MSKTD, Design Collaborative, Axis, Cripe, A3 Design, BDMD...CSO...all firms worth considering.
If those are your target areas, maybe start looking at Business Journal's Book of Lists. It's a great resource. Every year they publish the top firms based on size, money, and revenue/types of projects they're awarded. They usually publish one per year in almost any major city and that's how I got a good handle on the type of firms and work that was relevant.
I wasn't going to reveal where I'm about to graduate for the sake of the forum applying to people all over the Midwest, but I'm about to be a BSU grad as well. REPRESENT!
There are some great Midwestern markets with top-notch architectural talent. Chief among these is Chicago. Other great cities for architecture are Kansas City, Minneapolis, and to a lesser extent, from my perception, St. Louis and Omaha. I don't know about the others.
There are some great Midwestern markets with top-notch architectural talent. Chief among these is Chicago.
Wow I'll have to check this out. Thanks for the heads up!
I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.-Kurt Vonnegut.
Thanks for the thinly veiled sarcasm about Chicago. Some folks from Indy (since he's at BSU) aren't interested in Chicago, since it has a lot of pros and cons.
Some friends and I looked up the word "hoosier" once, and it said "ignorant rustic." I am NOT making this up. Some of my friends from Indiana say it really means "Hoosier daddy, hoosier mama." People from Indiana take these jokes in stride. In the South, they get defensive about anything that dials them back a notch.
Do you have any insights on its etymology?
I always heard that it came from a bar fight.
I felt I had nothing left to do in Indianapolis, so I moved to Chicago. I haven't regretted my decision one bit. If you stay in Indy, look up one 10 studio as well. They are doing some really nice work.
Oddly enough, 1/3 of the firm I'm with now is from Indiana. All of them went to Ball State except for me. I flew south.
OK as an Indy resident I've stayed away from this thread because I'm feeling very, very down on this conservative burg these days. But the firms mentioned above are good, and People for Urban Progress (I'm on the board) and Big Car/Service Center are doing very cool urban design/community initiatives, and there is a burgeoning fashion and interior design scene too. LOTS of very small-scale interesting stuff is happening here.
One of the mantras of the local scene is that Indy is a small enough town that while there aren't as many opportunities to be a culture consumer (like there are in NYC or LA), there are lots of opportunities to be a cultural producer. You can do something small but very noticeable here.
That said, two separate nights in recent weeks I've had too many funky events going on at once to be able to get to all of them in one night. So if you're young it *can* be a fun city. It's affordable, too.
This Hoosier recommends Google.
With that being said what are some things I can do as a young designer to help cultivate culture? Are there specific needs in Indy/Indiana/Midwest that I can help fill with my skill and knowledge?
I'm also an Indy person, and I like it here. Indy has changed a lot in the past few years, and cost of living is significantly better than say Chicago. Chicago is its own world, but Indy has fared quite well through this recession, compared to other cities. That said, I am aware of several A/E firms in the area who have had significant layoffs within the last few months.
the midest can be alright...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpVB9pn6Op8
Just out of curiosity, how come nobody has mentioned Ratio among Indianapolis firms?
10 years ago they looked like they could be quite the firm. Unfortunately, they lost their vision somewhere along the way. Outside of St. Bartholomew and the Indiana State Museum, they haven't done much to impress me.
I feel I need to clarify my previous statement on Indy. It was never about not having anything to do in Indy, there is plenty. I go to the IMA every chance I get when I'm down there. I just personally felt I accomplished everything I could in the city and that chapter of my life had closed.
Donna you are on target as usual
The Midwest wants art culture and fine dining, Small town restaurants can be truly awesome, Talent however has a tendency to flee small towns, but do some digging and you find gems in the corn fields. It is a mistake to think that there is not a market for cutting edge innovative design in any region. The problem is they are dispersed and communities have to make one building do many things. Even gun toting conservatives like the one sitting across from me in this trendy coffee shop in Benton Harbor Pop 10 K want someplace cool to go to and to have art in a museum to show visiting family. I think if you have a political position that is more than an opinion you may feel the itch to be amongst likeminded folks and small town flight is a serious problem in the Midwest and one of the many ways to deal with it is to build business and institutions.
Over and OUT
Peter N
One small thing I will contribute, having moved around and lot both in and out of the midwest, is that temperament makes a big difference to who will enjoy which cities, and therefore it's ok to not want to live in the same sorts of places everyone else you know wants to live in. For me personally I've enjoyed living in a few different cities (for different reasons) and absolutely hated living in some that other people still, to this day, constantly tell me they dream of. I will say that once you find a good sweet spot, it becomes much harder to give it up and move on to something else. So try out a bunch of different options while you're young and can move around, and see what works for you. Give Indy a shot, and if it doesn't work out, don't be afraid to recognize that and leave. And if you think you love it, conversely it can be helpful to try something else out for a little bit (if possible) simply to learn more about yourself and how you react to different things, and bring that knowledge back to your practice in Indy. I don't know if any of this is making sense. I guess I'd say, a) you know yourself and your temperament better than anyone else, and b) life really does differ from city to city and it's good to know, to be aware of, what you like and don't like about differing living situations. Give yourself room to learn and grow.
That was probably a useless comment, sorry. To sum it all up: you don't know until you've tried (whatever it is).
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