21st Century Minneapolis | infill and development

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by Bedhead

Great shots and interesting discussion. What DuluthJon says rings true of some cities I know about - I guess it's difficult to get a balance between doughnutting and outright gentrification.

I loved the library, and also like the infill that breaks up the facade with recessed balconies and windows, like this one:



Great study!

I agree with you on this project Bedhead. It certainly does its duty as far as accessibility to the street that is often deplorable in modern developments. I also am partial to brick/concrete and stone as opposed to a lot of the molded concrete panels and flat metal cladding that warps, kinks and will age badly.

[ifeeldope9779]

this city looks so pleasant....and clean. nice pics as always!

[Chef]

Since we are on the second page I might as well post some updates. I went down to the Warehouse District today with the intention of shooting the condo developments from the last 10 years. Instead I mostly took some more photos of Target Field. It is hard to capture all of it in one photo but I think it will go down as one of the classic baseball stadiums of this era (I may be biased).

O'Donovans (top half is new) - Warehouse District


mplsnov2011126 by afsmps, on Flickr

Target Field - Warehouse District


mplsnov2011128 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011136 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011137 by afsmps, on Flickr

Target Field commuter rail station


mplsnov2011135 by afsmps, on Flickr

Target Field mural - "Sustainability reborn"


mplsnov2011130 by afsmps, on Flickr

Target Field mural - "A history of Minnesota baseball"


mplsnov2011131 by afsmps, on Flickr

Target Field mural - "Transit then and now"


mplsnov2011132 by afsmps, on Flickr

Hiawatha Line LRT - Target Field Station


mplsnov2011134 by afsmps, on Flickr

Graves 601 Hotel - Warehouse District


mplsnov2011139 by afsmps, on Flickr

[giovanni sasso]

excellent post. some really great stuff (i'm not alone in loving the guthrie), some really hideous stuff. i believe it's company policy that hilton garden inns be the ugliest, nondescript shite in whatever town's mercy they be thrust upon.

this, on the other hand ...



i was just about to comment on how, finally, classic european architecture can be mimicked without looking schlocky, then i saw those little half balconies. god i hate those things. why are modern builders so insistent about including these pointless dog cages?


also: target field looks amazing. it was finished but not open yet the last time i passed through mpls. i can't wait to catch a game there. kirby puckett was my favorite player before ken griffey jr came along. it's awesome to see a statue of him in the game 6 fist pump.

[mhays]

Pointless? They let you open a full-height door, which wouldn't be allowable otherwise.

It's a great looking building.

[giovanni sasso]

right -- you get to open a full-height door and go nowhere through it. these in particular don't even look like there is room for flower pots or planters. i agree that it's a nice looking building, i just hate those dog cages.

[futuresooner]

Gotta love the Federal Signal 2001 series tornado siren directly beside the Bridgewater Lofts. You'd think the city would move it.

[MNMike]

Well at least they will know real quick if there is a tornado! That is kind of weird...usually those are on top of buildings around here.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by giovanni sasso

right -- you get to open a full-height door and go nowhere through it. these in particular don't even look like there is room for flower pots or planters. i agree that it's a nice looking building, i just hate those dog cages.

So you're advocating either (a) smaller windows or (b) letting people fall out.

[mousquet]

Yeah, le Parisien looks nice but in fact I'd rather be interested in things like this for example, for our latest developments over here:



Large windows, cool design with a neat facade, looks like good standards, should age well and match our 6 to 8 story habit, it would be fine in our recently built blocks. The Village Lofts and the Eitel caught my eyes too for the same reasons.

[Omaharocks]

Originally Posted by mhays

So you're advocating either (a) smaller windows or (b) letting people fall out.

Err, what? It seems to me he's arguing for balconies that function as actual balconies, not a cage/railing thingy that effectively is useless.

Nice pics, btw, it's been years since I've been to Minny and hope to make a trip again soon.

[giovanni sasso]

Originally Posted by mhays

So you're advocating either (a) smaller windows or (b) letting people fall out.

oh come on. don't get mad, 'toine. omaharocks is right: balconies that are actual balconies -- these, i like. they can either protrude from the building or be recessed. granted, either of these would make le parisien look considerably different, but i just don't find these little railings practical. 1, i have more faith in humans to NOT fall over open ledges (dogs, less so, thus "dog cages"), and 2, if there's going to be a door, you ought to be able to walk through it to somewhere.

again, great pics chef. i love the twin cities.

[mhays]

So you want smaller windows that people can't fall out of. Why are your restricting freeeedom?

[ShadowMaster]

The Minny is doing it fine. Good job with the pics, kind sir!

[Dream'n]

Remember the ugly decrepit tan stucco building that used to be there?

[Columbusite]

The amount of development I've seen is quite impressive, from Uptown to Northeast. Would you say that the (streetcar-like) LRT Downtown helped spur some of the developments pictured above?

[MNMike]

Originally Posted by Dream'n

Remember the ugly decrepit tan stucco building that used to be there?

Are you being sarcastic? Here is a picture of the building that was there...I was a bit sad when it was torn down. It was old, but not particularly run down. Average run of the mill vintage apartments(if not slightly more ornate than average) at the time of it's demise. maybe you are thinking of the house that was across the street from this, that was torn down recently for the newer apartment building? I think that one was stucco. Edgewater court was brick.


http://collections.mnhs.org/visualre...archType=Basic

Columbusite...I wouldn't say the LRT had much to do with these...most of these developments aren't near it at all. There are some along Hiawatha that it is responsible for.

[halifaxboyns]

Chef> Great photo spread. I had hoped to make it to the Planner conference in Minneapolis, but missed out. The photo spread is impressive because the level of 'mid rise' type development is very interesting. The style is typical for what I would call "prairie" architecture which is very similar throughout Manitoba/Sask/Alberta and to some extent BC. I always considered Minny to be part of the US prairies personally.

Coming from a smaller city on the east coast of Canada (Halifax) which has been known for nimby backlashes against buildings 5 stories and up; these photos provide some excellent examples of what would be workable in Halifax (and not). Gives some good ideas to consider...

[Dream'n]

Originally Posted by MNMike

Are you being sarcastic? Here is a picture of the building that was there...I was a bit sad when it was torn down. It was old, but not particularly run down. Average run of the mill vintage apartments(if not slightly more ornate than average) at the time of it's demise. maybe you are thinking of the house that was across the street from this, that was torn down recently for the newer apartment building? I think that one was stucco. Edgewater court was brick.


http://collections.mnhs.org/visualre...archType=Basic

Columbusite...I wouldn't say the LRT had much to do with these...most of these developments aren't near it at all. There are some along Hiawatha that it is responsible for.

I think we're both partially right. The tan stucco building was more southwest of the Edgewater on the south side of memorial? plaza .
Or maybe it was across the street to the east.

[Rocket1964]

It IS only about a 6 hour drive from the Ontario border and 7 from Manitoba.