Features | Architecture MN Magazine

AIA Minnesota

Features

Creating the Future, Together

Architecture MN is at the end of its run, and what a great run it’s been. What’s next is ENTER, the digital weekly and annual print publication that will replace Architecture MN starting in January 2021.

The Ten Ten

A look back at the 10 buildings designed by Minnesota architects that have won an AIA COTE Top Ten Award, the most prestigious honor in the country for sustainable design excellence

Corey Brinkema Interview

Saving the world’s vanishing forests means slowing climate change. Forest Stewardship Council US president Corey Brinkema says architects play a vital role in promoting forest health and conservation.

Air Era

The Minnesota architects involved in the four-year, $158 million renovation of the U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel make a steep descent into the modern landmark’s rich history

Arvonne Fraser Library

A credit-union-turned-library designed by modernist architect Ralph Rapson becomes a full-fledged, 21st-century library with help from MacDonald & Mack Architects

The Optimism of Midcentury Concrete

Yes, you read that correctly

Rapson Revival

A studio-residence designed by modern master Ralph Rapson is revamped nearly a half-century later by one of Rapson’s students

Hermit’s Hovel

A distinctive family cabin designed by AWH Architects opens up to its northern Wisconsin surroundings

X House

An ultra-modern home on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan, immerses its owners in a shoreline forest

Robyne Robinson Interview

The leading arts consultant and administrator on the role that public art plays in creating emotional equity in architecture

Absolute Zero

The City of St. Louis Park is on track to achieve Zero Energy certification from the International Living Future Institute for its HGA-designed Westwood Hills Nature Center, opening in June

Petal Power

An office relocation spurs MSR Design to pursue Living Building Challenge Petal certification for a workplace renovation with an aspirational approach to building materials

21CD Performance Area Spotlight: Materials

An interview with leading architectural educator Blaine Brownell, FAIA, on the latest in sustainable-materials research—and on where it’s headed next

Residential R&D

The director of the Minnesota Design Center on his first experience working with a residential architect—and on the ways in which the house aims to model a sustainable future for urban neighborhoods

Goose Creek Safety Rest Area

A new I-35 rest-area facility shows how the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has prioritized quality design for travelers

Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center Phase 3

Macalester College ushers in a new era of performance, learning, and multidisciplinary collaboration on campus with a flexible facility for theater and dance

Paul Bauknight Interview

A Q&A on the importance of community engagement in park planning

Rothe Amundson

Owners with a passion for land restoration build a site-sensitive modern cabin on Lake Superior

Local Materials

The big idea in the tiny Foraged Boathouse

Derby Line I-91 Land Port of Entry

A new border station in Vermont optimizes operational performance while welcoming visitors to the U.S. with nods to the local landscape

Minnehaha Academy Upper Campus

After a tragic event leveled a beloved building, Minnehaha Academy turned to Cuningham Group Architecture to help rebuild its campus and community

Blake School Ice Arena

The Blake School celebrates its rich sporting history by renovating its midcentury ice arena to preserve the past

Mikko Koivu Interview

The Minnesota Wild captain on the design character of the two places he and his family call home: the Twin Cities and Turku, Finland

Best Practice

Recipient of the prestigious AIA Minnesota Firm Award, Perkins and Will’s Minneapolis studio is changing its approach to design, process, and practice as if its future—and perhaps the profession’s—depends on it

Land O’Lakes Headquarters Expansion

Perkins and Will helps Land O'Lakes cultivate its future with a LEED-Platinum headquarters expansion that’s big on work-style flexibility while reducing the cooperative’s overall footprint

Field Studies

An innovative graduate program at the U places students in Twin Cities architecture and construction firms to conduct research on topics related to the future of the industry

21CD Performance Area Spotlight: Equity

An interview with Renewable Energy Partners founder Jamez Staples on his company’s efforts to foster equity in the built environment through a job training center for green-energy careers

One Discovery Square

Rochester’s ambitious Destination Medical Center gets a kickstart with a building designed to incubate innovations in healthcare technology

Design Advocate, MD

Dr. Jon Hallberg discusses the expansion of the M Physicians Mill City Clinic and its focus on welcome, light, and art—and something called joy in practice

CentraCare Health–Long Prairie

A flexible new Critical Access Hospital provides a small town in central Minnesota with a hub for community health and gathering

Hennepin Healthcare Clinic & Specialty Center

A colorful and light-filled new medical center marks a bold first step in making an urban healthcare campus more convenient, easier to navigate, and—most of all—more welcoming

MSAD Wilkins Hall

How can a building be designed to serve the unique needs of Deaf people? A new residence hall at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf showcases the answers.

Allianz Field

Inside and out, Minnesota United's new home offers fans a world-class sensory experience of Major League Soccer

Full Plate

The Travail Kitchen and Amusements team turns to three Twin Cities architecture firms to design a flagship restaurant, a pizza place, and a barbecue joint

Kickernick Building Renovation

Studio BV refreshes the interiors of an old garment-making factory with nods to the structure’s history

Survey Says

The Minneapolis office of global architecture firm Perkins and Will measures the success of its 2016 move to a free-address studio environment

Light Therapy

Designer Traci Lesneski loves the light and the layers in Kenzo Tange’s MCAD and Mia buildings

Side Street Suite

A crisply contemporary accessory dwelling unit in South Minneapolis—Home 10 on the 2019 Homes by Architects Tour—celebrates small-footprint, easy-maintenance living

21CD Performance Area Spotlight: Energy

An interview with LHB CEO Rick Carter, FAIA, on ways to reduce the energy footprint of building projects and move the buildings toward the regenerative end of the of the 21st Century Development matrix

NorShor Theatre

A shuttered auditorium in the heart of downtown Duluth stages a dramatic resurgence

Minnesota Museum of American Art

One of Minnesota’s oldest visual-arts organizations is building a new home for American art in a landmark building in downtown St. Paul

Dan Hartman Interview

Glensheen director Dan Hartman on the magic of the historic Congdon estate in Duluth—and on securing the property’s future

Spero Academy

HDR’s Minneapolis studio designs a new home for a charter school where kids with autism and other disabilities can learn and thrive

Peter J. King Family Foundation Leadership Center

A scouting headquarters designed by Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc., adds to the active community around historic Fort Snelling at Bdote

Molding the Future

The story of Minnehaha Academy’s new hand-molded Danish brick

Box Camp

SALA Architects designs an indoor/outdoor summer retreat in Wisconsin for a Chicago family

Westminster Welcome

Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis uses a rare building opportunity to more fully engage with the surrounding community

Concrete Poetry

VJAA architect Jennifer Yoos on her lifelong experience of the Marcel Breuer–designed St. John’s Abbey Church

Dr. Bruce Corrie Interview

The City of St. Paul's director of planning and economic development discusses the city’s efforts to fuel economic opportunity and growth with a rich array of existing cultural assets

21st Century Development

Introducing a new framework that provides a pathway to achieving the best in development

Woodland House

A glass house by ALTUS Architecture + Design brings the beauty of a secluded natural setting indoors

Clearings

CityDeskStudio blends sustainability and practicality in a Stillwater home that lives lightly on the land

Brookview Elementary School

A new school blends 21st-century flexibility and daylighting with midcentury-modern refinement

Chicago Architecture Center

The new venue stirs the public’s interest in architectural history and innovation with dynamic exhibits and programs for visitors of all ages

Community Voice

Musical artist PaviElle French on her performances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra at the Ordway Center—and on setting St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood to music

The Performance City

The director of the Minnesota Design Center makes the case for replacing traditional zoning with performance-based zoning

Carleton College Music and Performance Commons

Carleton College has a dynamic new home for its music students and faculty

Haverford College VCAM Building

MSR transforms the interior of an old gymnasium into the Visual Culture, Arts, and Media Building, a maker space for every student on campus

John Cuningham Wins the AIA Minnesota Gold Medal

Cuningham Group founder John Cuningham is awarded the state's highest individual architectural honor for his enormous impact as a designer and as a mentor to future leaders in the field

University of Minnesota Athletes Village

University of Minnesota athletics take a quantum competitive leap forward with the new Athletes Village

Room with a View

Architect Shida Du finds uplift in the underground Sky Pesher

Urban Fabric

Allianz Field revitalizes a material approach that has a blemished local history

Carol Strohecker Interview

The dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design look backs on her busy first year

Hide & Seek

Minnesota’s Dream the Combine designs an intriguing installation for MoMA PS1 in New York City

Rondo Commemorative Plaza

A new pocket park in St. Paul memorializes a neighborhood destroyed by interstate construction—and celebrates the community and creativity that remains and thrives a half-century later

Juxtaposition Arts

An innovative arts and design enterprise helps creative young people in North Minneapolis pursue futures in art, design, and architecture

Emanuel Housing

The winner of the 2018 Affordable Housing Design Award brings design quality, affordability, and support services to residents making their way out of long-term homelessness

Artspace Hastings River Lofts

A new mixed-use project fills a hole in the fabric of historic downtown Hastings with distinctive affordable housing for artists

Senta Leff Interview

A conversation with one of Minnesota’s leading affordable-housing advocates

Before Building

A trip to Puerto Rico post–Hurricane Maria teaches Minnesota architecture students about the complex challenges of their future profession

Homes by Architects Tour

The popular, self-guided circuit of architect-designed houses spans the Twin Cities metro with design character for every taste, from cozy traditional to clean-lined midcentury to airy contemporary

Medical Wonder

Architect Rebecca Lewis revels in the beauty of the lobby of Duluth’s Medical Arts Building

Ceylon

Minneapolis-based Opus refines the multifamily-housing development with an elegant boutique apartment building near St. Louis

Virtual Learning

HGA Architects and Engineers uses virtual reality to help its designers and clients better understand the experience of users with disabilities

Ray

A transit-rich St. Paul apartment building filled with “micro” units taps into a 21st-century yearning for smaller footprints and simpler (but still plenty nice) living

How to Achieve Invisible Sustainability

Coulson's Carly Coulson, AIA, a signatory to the American Institute of Architects’ 2030 Commitment, shares her firm’s design process

Getting It Wright

The second owners of a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed property near Stillwater, Minnesota, painstakingly bring a Usonian-style studio into the 21st century

Bell Museum

The design of the new museum, as well as its exhibits, celebrate the diversity of Minnesota’s natural resources

Emily Larson Interview

The mayor on Duluth’s unique blend of built and natural environment—and on efforts to expand the city’s ongoing revitalization

Pathways Innovation Center and Roosevelt High School

Two connected schools in Casper, Wyoming, let students learn the real-life skills the business world needs

Gathering Spaces

The design philosophy of midcentury Northfield architect Edward Sövik through the lens of two of his hometown projects

Natural Science

The material story cooked into the new Bell Museum

Walker Art Center Expansion

The story of how the Walker unified a 19-acre arts campus with a seamlessly integrated new entry pavilion

Snow Kreilich Wins AIA National Firm Award

The highest honor given to a U.S. architecture firm goes to a Minnesota studio

Amber Room

Architect and Urban Sketchers president Amber Sausen would rather draw in the Guthrie Theater than take pictures

Wayzata Residence

A modern home by Snow Kreilich Architects maximizes indoor/outdoor lakefront living

Deloia

A striking new residence in Duluth brings out the art in architecture

Tom Oslund Interview

The award-winning landscape architect on what you’ll see when the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden emerges from the snow

Hyytinen

Salmela Architect employs geometry and color to masterful effect in a Northern Minnesota cabin

White Space

A 50-year history of the modern future

Lofts at Mayo Park

Rochester’s plans for a river renaissance gain momentum with an award-winning new multifamily project

Faulkner Performing Arts Center

Minneapolis architects convert a 1930s gymnasium at the University of Arkansas into a 21st-century performance hall

Straight River Northbound Safety Rest Area

A rest-area facility just south of Owatonna, Minnesota, brings a new slant to highway architecture

MPR Cube Critics Interview

Stephanie Curtis and Euan Kerr talk about the roles that architects and buildings play in cinema

Q Wood and Steel

Two architects and a small team of artisans craft an unforgettable outbuilding in a Northern Minnesota forest

Mill Street Parking Structure

Architects take the design of public parking to a whole new level in Wayzata, Minnesota

La Mesita

A design-build workshop for architecture students leaves a lasting imprint on both its participants and the community it serves

Little Rock

The long and varied history of the hardiest landscape material

Ramsey County Library–Shoreview

The design of a new regional library takes its inspiration from the form and experience of actual books

Crystal Gazing

Architect Nathan Johnson in the public space he loves most: the IDS Center Crystal Court

Rough Rider Center

JLG Architects designs a sports and events complex for a North Dakota boomtown

Phenow Pavilion

In Maple Grove, U+B designs a park pavilion that doubles as a warming house

Resident Expert

Mia curator Yasufumi Nakamori has a lifelong interest in architect Kenzo Tange, who expanded the museum with a modern addition in the 1970s

AIA Minnesota Firm Award

Kodet Architectural Group receives one of AIA Minnesota's most prestigious honors for its 35-year commitment to design excellence and client and community service

Design Travel: Des Moines

Our photographic tour of 70 years of modern architecture in Iowa’s capital features buildings by luminaries of 20th- and 21st-century design

Minnesota State Capitol Restoration

A $310 million renovation designed to keep the landmark humming with civic life and history for another century

Designs on Higher Office

A conversation with two architecture-trained state legislators on the unique design-thinking and problem-solving skills they bring to elected office

Flight Plan

Seeking to alleviate congestion and boost the passenger experience at MSP International Airport’s Terminal 1, the Metropolitan Airports Commission turns to two Minneapolis architecture firms

The Jet Age

A look back at the original Lindbergh Terminal, a building that captured the spirit of its forward-looking era

VP of Child’s Play

The Minnesota Children’s Museum’s Barbara Hahn talks about a $30 million makeover that begs to be touched

Better Schools

Facilities director Tom Parent, AIA, discusses St. Paul Public Schools’ efforts to build equity and inclusion into the school system’s flexible new facilities master plan

Homes by Architects Tour House 17

A Stillwater couple with a passion for design and creativity build a family home that’s sophisticated yet approachable, lively, and open

The Hewing

Nordic meets North Loop in a new boutique hotel in Minneapolis

Wittkamper Reiff

Wittkamper Reiff visits with Architecture MN at one of their recent projects, Wild Mind Artisan Ales

Millwright Building

The newest “old” building in downtown Minneapolis

License to Steel

Musings on the corrugated-metal craze in multifamily housing

maurices

A Duluth-based retailer consolidates its several offices into an attractive new downtown high-rise that’s big on natural light and harbor views

Hibbing High School

Past and present merge at an Iron Range gem

Mayor Chris Coleman

St. Paul's three-term mayor talks to Architecture MN about a few of the building and infrastructure projects that altered the face of the city on his watch

Timber!

A short history of the reclaimed barn wood era

St. Louis County Gov’t Services Center

St. Louis County and architecture firm Perkins+Will blend advanced sustainability and comfort in their renovation of a 1980s municipal building in downtown Duluth

Duluth Transportation Center

Architecture and engineering firm LHB fits an easy-to-navigate, light-filled, and durable new transportation hub into a tight downtown site

T3 Building

A new mass-timber, transit-connected, technology-rich office building fits Minneapolis’ Warehouse District to a T

Temple Israel

Indoors and out, a recently expanded Minneapolis synagogue radiates timeless modern design

Eric Dayton Interview

The Bachelor Farmer owner on his new expansion, his design tastes, and his views on the fate of downtown Minneapolis

Linden Hills Residence

Green technology and contemporary design merge seamlessly in a Minneapolis residence by Christian Dean Architecture

Stack House

Lazor Office creates a tree house in Minneapolis for a couple passionate about contemporary living and design

Peltier Addition

In the late 1940s, midcentury masters Close Associates designed an unusual duplex. Almost 70 years later, they designed an addition.

Tashjian Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center

A new Minnesota Landscape Arboretum facility brings added buzz to an important area of ecological learning

Sonoma weeHouse

Alchemy Architects’ latest prefabricated gem revels in the views of its Northern California landscape

The Commons

A flexible new two-block park in downtown Minneapolis puts the city on dramatic display

Larson Bergquist

Time and timelessness combine in a Finnish-flavored retreat on Minnesota’s North Shore

Emerson Process Management

An Eden Prairie manufacturer transforms its concrete-walled headquarters into a daylit facility that energizes its workforce

Pat Kessler at the Capitol

A visit with the WCCO-TV political reporter at the newly restored civic landmark

Memory, Meaning, and a Mill

Architect Thomas Meyer, FAIA, muses on the rich psychological resonance and improbable survival of the Washburn Crosby A Mill in Minneapolis

Masqueray in Minnesota

Architecture MN marks the centennial of the death of Emmanuel L. Masqueray with the story of how the French architect came to design the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Basilica of St. Mary at nearly the same time

3M Design Center

Minnesota’s preeminent product maker carves out a stunning new creative hub on its St. Paul campus

HDR Studio

The Minneapolis architecture studio of a global architecture and engineering firm fuels its own imagination with a winning blend of transparency, brand color, and technology

Rochester: A Design Tour

The southeastern Minnesota city contains numerous design gems, including works by Franklin Ellerbe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Eero Saarinen

Robert Mack Wins AIA Minnesota Gold Medal

MacDonald & Mack Architects’ Robert Mack, FAIA, is honored for his long and influential career in historic preservation

U.S. Bank Stadium

How does the new stadium measure up as a facility, an experience, and a work of art? Seven points (touchdown!) to consider.

Higher Ground St. Paul

The first phase of Catholic Charities’ impressive new housing and social-services center nears completion thanks to a powerful public–private partnership

Schmidt Artist Lofts

An adaptive reuse of an historic St. Paul brewery by BKV Group transforms a 15-acre industrial site into affordable housing for artists

Design Travel: The Kimbell Art Museum

Two landmark modern museums make Fort Worth, Texas, a top design destination

Design Travel: The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Two landmark modern museums make Fort Worth, Texas, a top design destination

The On-Demand Museum

The digital world and the sharing economy present serious challenges—and even greater opportunities—for the traditional museum

Print Run

Architecture MN turned 80 this year. We mark this milestone with a look back at five distinct eras in the magazine’s evolution.

Perkins+Will

An architecture firm designs a new space for itself in Minneapolis’ IDS Center with a focus on mobility, flexibility, and adaptability

Homes by Architects Tour House 8

A strikingly modern residence brings California-style indoor/outdoor living to Minneapolis’ Lake Calhoun

McCann Minneapolis

Snow Kreilich Architects creates a crisp, open studio for a creative agency on the top floors of a midcentury tower

Steven Streeter Interview

The president of Streeter & Associates on the how and the why of building architect-designed homes

Blu Dot

A contemporary furniture maker moves its Northeast Minneapolis headquarters one door down to a storied warehouse space

Mia Lobby Redesign

The Minneapolis Institute of Art renovates the multilevel lobby in its Kenzo Tange–designed wing to create flexible, technology-infused spaces for a variety of uses

Five Days in Havana

Minneapolis architecture firm MSR travels to the Cuban capital—and returns with indelible impressions of its architectural beauty and economic hardship

Northern Light

A new retreat by Rehkamp Larson Architects is the Minnesota cabin at its most sophisticated

Madeline Island Retreat

Albertsson Hansen Architecture melds modern and traditional in a cozy shoreline cottage

B3 and SB 2030

A roundtable interview with the team that has shaped and administered Minnesota’s robust, nation-leading energy management system for public buildings

Intelligence Community Campus

The Minneapolis office of Leo A Daly gives an intelligence community campus near the nation’s capital a striking new look

Poole House

The story of how a Ralph Rapson–designed cottage in Chanhassen, Minnesota, has endured as a midcentury jewel

Lake Waconia Residence

A modern Minnesota lake home offers a fresh look at the way design meets living

Alexandria Area High School

Alexandria, Minnesota, steps to the head of the class nationally with a light-filled new high school designed for 21st-century learning

Huss Center for the Performing Arts

St. Paul Academy sets the stage for creative learning with a bright and colorful performing arts center

Richard Graves Interview

Six questions for the director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Sustainable Building Research

The Rose

A new apartment building in Minneapolis sets a new national standard for sustainability in affordable housing

CHS Field

The crisply designed, wildly popular ballpark in Lowertown St. Paul brings minor league baseball into the modern era

Nordic Light

A distinctively modern home is designed to brighten the living experience in all four seasons

MCAD’s M/LAB

A renovation by James Dayton Design allows MCAD students to expand their experimentation with digital media

Xcel Energy Substation Enclosures

Two substation enclosures in South Minneapolis transform transformers into award-winning public art

Jay Coogan Interview

MCAD's president discusses the school’s efforts to update its campus for modern arts education—within the existing architecture

Mississippi View Apartment

A gallery-like apartment takes midcentury simplicity to new artistic heights

Leading by the Nose

For humans, walkable neighborhoods and commercial hubs reward strolling with varied architecture, safe street crossings, and a mix of things to do and see on foot. For dogs, there is a much larger world of scent. Can our canine companions guide us to a richer walking experience?