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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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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. — MinnPost
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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
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... View full entry
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. — The New York Times
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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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.
— Star Tribune
Image: United Properties View full entry
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.
— MPR
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. — NYT
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 Guardian
The Minnesota Experimental City has been documented in the film The Experimental City. Watch the trailer below... View full entry
