Bauhaus Design and the Sidewalk Ballet: Two Conflicting Views of ‘Neighborhood Character’
The measurement and meaning of “neighborhood character” can be hard to pinpoint and define. But the debate is worth having, as our cities grow and change.
Category: Architecture
Simple Urbanism – Inspiration and Aspiration
As a follow-up to the critique of a recent post about the urban design of Harriet’s Inn, let’s consider the parts of the city that inspire us and the standards to which we should be aspiring. To do so, we need only look past Harriet’s Inn, as well as the gold standard for old urbanism […]
Simple Urbanism – So Elusive
At first blush, the new Harriet’s Inn at 40th Street and Lyndale Avenue in south Minneapolis is a nice addition to the city and its urban fabric. Jucy Lucy’s on the menu, Polygamy on a nitro tap, kids eat free on Tuesdays, what could go wrong!? Furthermore, the building has an attractive brick facade, big […]
Urban Design and Grocery Stores
With a grocery store proposed as part of a mixed-use development at 46th and Hiawatha (see the Planning Commission submittal to the Committee of the Whole last week for plans), it is time to review good urban standards for grocery store design. Grocery stores are complicated due to issues of customer access, parking, and truck […]
A Missed Opportunity for Placemaking
If you have ever referenced the Pannekoeken Building, the Days Inn, the Carlton Hotel, or that old building across from Rochester Methodist Hospital, well then you are already well acquainted with one of the only remaining historic hotels in downtown Rochester. And if you read the news every day, you are now aware that a […]
Street Connections
How important are connections between inside and out? Panino’s, a place my wife and I enjoy eating at fairly often, recently expanded into the space next door. The original space was kind of a quirky collection of areas but it worked and felt comfortable. Unfortunately the new space is a giant windowless sterile echo chamber […]
Form & Function: Four Corners – International Falls
This is the intersection of 3rd Street and 5th Avenue in International Falls. Overwhelmingly for me, the best of this is the NE corner where Coffee Landing is located. These buildings are enjoyable to walk by and to view from across the street. They have a great connection to the street inside and out (though […]
Between Shepard and West 7th
August 22, 2015 13.2 Miles Highland Park, West End (West 7th), Merriam Park A pleasant, sunny Saturday was a good day to pick up some of the streets I’d missed on previous rides in the southwest side of the city. By southwest I mean Highland Park and the West End (a.k.a. West 7th). The mid […]
Signs and Symbols
August 12, 2015 12.2 Miles Macalester-Groveland, Lexington-Hamline, Summit-University (Rondo), Summit Hill This sign is a great summary of how I feel about Summer. Except for the fishing part. How I do love summer-the heat, the humidity, the long hours of sunlight and being outside. Just like a boy, I’m out the door as soon as […]
U.S. Bank Stadium – A Review
If there is a billion dollar view to be had in Minnesota, it is from the concourse above the lower bowl on the east side of the stadium. There I stood last Wednesday, leaning one of those tall tables that line the concourses, beer in hand, gazing across the immaculate grass field toward the downtown […]