Architecture Minnesota

Changing the World
November|December 2009
Vol. 35 No. 6

Features

24 BEST PRACTICE

By Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA

VJAA caps its run of top national and regional design awards with an even higher honor: The American Institute of Architects Minnesota Firm of the Year Award.

27 GLOBAL POSITIONING

Minnesota architects continue to establish themselves on the global stage with projects that lift the soul, blossom, nurture the sick, and electrify a city square.

Wings of Desire: Woljeon Museum of Art

page 28

By Amy Goetzman

Rotten Tails & Lotus Flowers: Radisson Plaza Hotel Tianjin

page 32

By Camille LeFevre

Five-Star Health: Welcare World Health Systems City Hospital

page 34

By Linda Mack

The Light in the Middle of the Tunnel: Dar Luz, GLOW 2008

page 38

By Phillip Glenn Koski, AIA

40 THE RIPPLE EFFECT

By Amy Goetzman
The Minnesota architecture community includes many designers who grew up in other parts of the world. We spent some time with four of them to find out how their far-reaching backgrounds have shaped their design interests and the way they give back to their communities.

44 MINNESOTA MODERNISMS

By Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA
“Lost amid [the] reductive arguments about modernism, pro or con,” writes Thomas Fisher, “has been modernism itself, which, from the perspective of the 21st century, appears to have been much more diverse and much less divergent from what preceded it than either its boosters or its detractors would have us believe.”

Departments & Directories

7 Editor’s Note

11 Post It

A recent Threshold post augmented our July/August cabins showcase by highlighting a getaway whose rusty parts have traveled far and wide.

13 Culture Crawl by Camille LeFevre

In between apple picking and raking leaves, take time out for art and design exhibitions in Rochester and Minneapolis.

15 Platform by Glenn Gordon

A black-and-white postcard of a 1940s street scene springs to life in a mural by Scott Murphy.

19 Conundra by Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA

Can traditional architectural education and practice be altered to bring design to the people around the world who need it most?

21 Studio by Heather Beal

The office of a top energy-modeling firm is made over in a subtle green.

23 Wayfarer by George Heinrich

One of Architecture Minnesota’s favorite photographers stands at the Curly Gates in Pátzcuaro, Mexico.

72 Place by Pete Sieger, AIA

The sky is truly the limit at one of Minnesota’s best-loved modern buildings.

65 Directory of General Contractors

70 Credits

71 Advertising Index

On the Cover

From left to right: Kar-Keat Chong, Assoc. AIA; Francis Bulbulian, FAIA; Tu-Anh Bui, Assoc. AIA; Marcelo Valdes, AIA

"It was an easy decision to do our first ‘people’ cover in nearly four years when we saw Don Wong’s photos for ‘The Ripple Effect’ [page 40],” says editor Christopher Hudson. “Believe it or not, Tu-Anh Bui also appeared on our January/February 2006 cover, which featured members of the Minnesota chapter of Architecture for Humanity.”

Mission Statement

Architecture Minnesota, the primary public outreach tool of the American Institute of Architects Minnesota, is published to inform the public about architecture designed by AIA Minnesota members and to communicate the spirit and value of quality architecture to both the public and the membership.