New Melleray Abbey and Cedar Square West Receive
AIA Minnesota 25-Year Awards
The New Melleray Abbey and Cedar Square West have won AIA Minnesota's prestigious 25-Year Award for 2004. The abbey renovation, completed in 1977, was designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cedar Square West, completed in 1974, was designed by Ralph Rapson, FAIA, Ralph Rapson and Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
AIA Minnesota established the 25-Year Award in 1981 to recognize exemplary architectural projects, 25 years or older, that have withstood the test of time. Jury members were Andrzej Piotrowski, Associate Professor, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; David Salmela, FAIA, principal, Salmela Architects, Duluth, MN; and Paul Neuhaus, AIA, Perkins & Will, Minneapolis, MN. The jury thoughtfully considered a building's social impact, the complexity of its program and the state of its current condition, as factors in weighing the building's architectural importance. The jurors critiqued the ten submissions based on digital images and information assembled in a binder from the architect/architectural firm. They were not allowed to visit the project sites.
New Melleray Abbey
For years the monastic community of the Abbey of Our Lady of New Melleray
in Dubuque, IA, had considered the possibility of renovating a deteriorating
two-story wing of their 1858 monastery. The wing contained worship spaces
on two levels that had been renovated over the years. The renovation in
1977 of the monastery church at New Melleray Abbey transformed a collection
of disparate rooms on two levels into an understated but powerful worship
space. At the time restoration began, plaster was falling off some walls
and stone had begun to deteriorate along the foundations. In addition to
restoring the structural integrity of the Abbey, unnecessary partitions,
plaster and previously added ornamentation were removed. The floor of the
original sanctuary was removed, creating a dramatic two-story space.
The 1977 AIA Honor Awards Jury gave this project an
honor award, observing, "The good sense of retaining the exterior intact,
combined with the courageous decision to expose the masonry wall and timber
trusses, had created a sanctuary of great proportions, simplicity and serenity."
The 2004 25-Year Award jury made similar comments, noting, "The ornate structure
on the outside contrasts its modern interior. The blending is great - it's
what modernism should be about. It succeeds in enhancing the past by doing
something drastically
different."
The idea of discovering a completely different and unintended space by stripping away original structure was extremely controversial at the time. The completed project has become the heart and soul of the Abbey through its assertion of simplicity, respect for the existing building and an understanding of Cistercian monastic life. The jury thought this project had a simple design program, yet a challenging technical program, and was architecturally well done. "It practices a self-imposed discipline," they continued, "It's a controlled jewel."
HGA's
lead designer for the abbey was the late Theodore Butler, FAIA. Butler was
the design force behind many award-winning worship spaces including the
Colonial Church of Edina. The jury appreciated Butler's consideration in
handling the old materials, "The architect chose to let the original materials
shine through. This approach was a precursor of the process architects are
putting at the forefront of their practices today."
Cedar Square West
 Cedar Square West, a recipient of a 1975 AIA Minnesota Honor Award, was the first of six neighborhoods proposed for the Cedar Riverside area in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Initially the architects were commissioned to research, design, and provide feasibility studies for the renewal of an older residential complex of buildings near the University of Minnesota East Bank Campus. Analysis and design studies were slowly expanded to other sites. Ultimately the assignment was expanded to provide a complete urban design proposal for the Cedar Riverside area across the Mississippi where the University of Minnesota proposed building a new West Campus.
The architects convinced the client, a private developer, to provide a diverse and integrated racial, economic, and cultural community of over 1,300 housing units on the premise that high quality, high density living facilities are possible in the center of the city. The jury commented, "Affordable and safe housing is one of the greatest challenges in our city today-Cedar Square West was built to meet this need and still does today." They also recognized how the diverse apartment types help to draw different occupancy groups including low-income people, modest market rate renters, higher income people, students and the elderly. Over the years the buildings have consistently been fully occupied or 97% filled.
The jury could clearly see that the idea of racial and cultural diversity has been a theme from the beginning, "People living at Cedar Square West seem to thrive in this community - it's almost like a small town within the city. The area has had vitality about it since the building's  completion in the seventies. It continues to be a welcoming environment for people of all different races and backgrounds."
Cedar Square West is in the heart of the 240-acre Cedar-Riverside area and bounded by two major freeways and the Mississippi River. "Cedar Square West's heroic gestures give it an artful, meaningful presence that has positively impacted the West Bank," the jury commented. They discussed how the contrasting bright and neutral-colored panels among the concrete forms seem to reflect the lively, diverse population active in this urban environment. They also noted that this building evokes an emotional response. It has often been put up as an example about what's good and bad about modernism. "The public cares one way or another about this building - people feel passionately about it," agreed the jury. "There are many undeniably intriguing parts to this building's social impact," the jury concluded, "It's a building that has withstood the test of time, its use remaining true to the original intent, yet it's evolved to mean so much more to the city."
These architects and clients will be formally presented with their awards at the AIA Minnesota Awards Celebration on November 20, 2004.
|
|
