Author: Adam Ferrari

Adam Ferrari

About Adam Ferrari

Adam Ferrari is an Architect living and working in Rochester, MN. He is a passionate advocate for quality design of the built environment and promotes the power of design as a tool to help individuals, organizations, and neighborhoods develop a shared vision of a sustainable future. Adam has a breadth of experience with architecture, urban planning, community engagement, community development, affordable housing development, urban design, economic development, and process design. His firm, 9.SQUARE Community Design, is an outgrowth of his years of work performed in Rochester's neighborhoods, with colleges and universities, as a volunteer with the Minnesota Design Team, and his years with the Rochester Area Foundation. 9.SQUARE was recently recognized as a recipient of the Mayor's Medal of Honor for Industry and has been driving force behind adaptive reuse of historic buildings in downtown Rochester, Minnesota.

Arial view of downtown Rochester, MN

The Dirty Words of Urban Design

• April 29, 2016

Previously I have described the inherent qualities of urbanity.  So if you are trying to reinforce or perhaps create from scratch that essence of being urban–determining what typifies the essence of a livable city–where should you begin? I believe that to truly begin to embrace urban is to accept two rudimentary principles.  Two vilified, egregious, […]

What it Means to be Urban in Rochester

• April 21, 2016

“Cities resemble lovers, offering allure, annoyance, and late-night availability.” -Emilie Buchwald I am a self-described urbanist. I grew up in a city, I have lived near city centers, and I have relished in the urban renaissance being experienced across the United States.  Here in Rochester, Minnesota I have been a passionate advocate for grassroots long-range […]