Building Minnesota

VJAA's Tulane University Project

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:34:50 -0600

In this podcast, Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos of Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA) discuss the recently completed student center at Tulane Univeristy in New Orleans. There are many photos of the center at the Building Minnesota website. So check that out as you listen. The address: buildingminnesota.blogspot.com. The post is dated November 28, 2007 or you can use the search engine on the blog to find the story and photos.

Andrew's Modern House - The Final Chapter

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:22:53 -0600

Since December 2005, we've been documenting the construction of "Andrew's Modern House," a Minneapolis house designed by architect Julie Snow for client Andrew Blauvelt. We last visited in November 2006, when the house was under construction. Now Andrew has moved in. Come along for a tour!

INTERVIEW: Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos of VJAA (Part 2)

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:50:31 -0500

In this interview, Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos discuss their influences and inspirations. James is the son of an anthropologist who took his family to Africa, Asia and Europe. As a teenager, James had building photograph competitions with his father and also admired his father's collection of architectural monographs. Yoos' father taught at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. That was her first encounter with extraordinary architecture. Today the pair design buildings together as part of Vincent James Associates Architecture (VJAA) in Minneapolis. Unlike Frank Gehry or Thomas Mayne, James and Yoos say they are "trying to avoid a repetition of the same kind of style."

INTERVIEW: Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos of VJAA (Part 1)

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:12:20 -0500

Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA) is a firm that's probably better known outside Minneapolis than here at home. "We're not really marketers," says Jennifer Yoos, a principal at VJAA in a conversation with Todd Melby for a Building Minnesota podcast. "All of our projects seem to come to us from other architects. Our personalities, we're not really that outgoing. "Recent projects include a student center at American University in Beirut and Tulane University in New Orleans. James teaches at Harvard University and Tulane University. VJAA Architects has won national AIA design awards for the Type/Variant House and the Dayton House.

MOVIE: Jim Dayton on MacPhail Center for Music

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:27:32 -0500

In Minneapolis, the riverfront district has become a showcase for edgy, modernist architecture. While the Guthrie Theater has grabbed most of the attention, the area also includes the Humboldt Mill condos, Mill City Museum and Gold Medal Park. In a few months, another addition will arrive on the scene: The MacPhail Center for Music.

STORY: MacPhail Center for Music, Designed by James Dayton Design

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 17:02:31 -0500

INTERVIEW: Jim Dayton of James Dayton Design

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:45:00 -0500

Jim Dayton is the architect behind many innovative Twin Cities buildings, including Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Bookman Lofts, Bookman Stacks and now MacPhail Center for Music. Dayton's first job in architecture was with Frank Gehry's Santa Monica, California firm. In this interview, we learn more about Dayton's thinking behind material choices at MacPhail: Zinc, Cor-ten steel, etc. We also find out why he chose to work for Gehry and not Thom Mayne at Morphosis after graduation.

MOVIE: Christ Church Lutheran: A Saarinen Gem

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:43:36 -0500

Visit Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis in this photo podcast. All photos, except historical ones of architects and designers (and the TWA Terminal) are by Scott Theisen.

INTERVIEW: Christ Church Lutheran's Dick Gliem

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:46:23 -0500

Dick Gliem, 82, is one of the oldest members of Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis. He was at the church in 1949 when the Eilel Saarinen building was under construction. Back then, Christ Church Lutheran had four Sunday services — three in the morning and one in the evening. Today, the church has just one service.

STORY: Christ Church Lutheran: The Saarinen Gem

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:37:26 -0500

Unless you’re an architecture buff, you probably haven’t heard of Christ Church Lutheran. It’s an elegant, modern church that was named one of the “31 buildings that changed American life.” And it’s right in our own backyard.

2004 FLASHBACK: Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center (Part 2)

Thu, 31 May 2007 09:07:26 -0500

(2004 story) Fergus Falls, Minnesota faces a big historic preservation challenge: How to save the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center. Originally known as the state mental hospital, this 114-year-old building was once home to about 2,000 people. Todd Melby has the story. For an update on the building, go to the Building Minnesota blog at http://buildingminnesota.blogspot.com/.

2004 FLASHBACK: Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center (Part 1)

Thu, 31 May 2007 09:42:02 -0500

(2004 story) Finding new uses for historic buildings is seldom easy. In Minneapolis, the Grain Belt Brewery and Milwaukee Road Depot both sat idle for more than two decades before developers found new uses for them. So, what does one do with a vacant state mental hospital that’s nearly one-third of a mile long and just forty-feet wide? Todd Melby traveled to Fergus Falls, Minnesota to find out. For an update on the mental hospital, go to the Building Minnesota blog at http://buildingminnesota.blogspot.com/.

INTERVIEW: John Dwyer's Clean Hub

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:22:01 -0500

John Dwyer started a Minneapolis firm called Shelter Architecture, but his big project at the moment isn't meant to house people. The Clean Hub is a device designed to provide clean water, electricity and toilet facilities for urban slums and refugee camps in poor parts of the world. Dwyer will make a presentation on the Clean Hub at Solutions Twin Cities at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Tickets are $6.

INTERVIEW: Mike Schrock on LEED certification

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:10:23 -0500

Mike Schrock is a Minneapolis-based architect whose design of an Elk River school is aiming for LEED certification. Leadership in Energy and Envrionmental Design or LEED is a "nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buidlings." To go for the green, architects' efforts are graded. "LEED drives a lot of the design," Mike Schrock says. "There's so much decided before you start your building. I think that's really confining for a lot of architects, but I really like it."

MOVIE: Gehry performs makeover on his 1993 Weisman Art Museum

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:31:17 -0500

In the past few years, it seems as if every major art institution in Minneapolis has gotten a facelift or a new building. The Guthrie Theatre, Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Arts all hired big-name, out-of-town architects for their makeovers. Now it's the Weisman Art Museum's turn.

STORY: Gehry performs a makeover on his 1993 Weisman Art Museum

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:56:31 -0500

INTERVIEW: Lyndel King on the Weisman Art Museum's expansion

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:42:01 -0500

Lyndel King, Weisman director, unveiled plans for an expanded Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota campus. First constructed in 1993, the new 11,000 square-foot addition will include four new galleries, a cafe and a studio, all designed by the original architect: Frank Gehry. And there was a lot of talk about the Los Angeles-based architect who went from being an eccentric who put asphalt in the kitchen of his Santa Monica house to designing the world's most talked about museum (Guggenhein Bilbao, not the Weisman).

FLASHBACK: My Architect: A Son's Journey

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 16:36:27 -0600

Most critics consider Louis Kahn one of the great architects of the 20th century. When he died in 1974, Kahn left behind a few masterpieces and many unanswered questions about his personal life. His son, Nathaniel Kahn, was just 11 at the time of his father’s death. They never spent much time together. They couldn’t, really. Louis Kahn was married, but not to Nathaniel’s mother or another woman he had a child with. In recent years, Nathaniel Kahn has tried to learn as much as he could about his father. And he did it with a camera crew in tow. The result is the documentary film “My Architect: A Son’s Journey.” In this 2004 Building Minnesota story, Todd Melby interviews Minnesota architects and director Nathaniel Kahn about the film.

Andrew's Modern House, Part 5 (Audio Only)

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:45:49 -0600

It's November in Minnesota. Construction workers are trying to tighten up Andrew Blauvelt's modern house before the snow arrives. Last time we visited the house (in September), architect Julie Snow and Blauvelt were frustrated with the way the concrete base turned out. We'll see what they have to say about the house this time.

MOVIE: Andrew's Modern House, Part 5

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:03:26 -0600

Andrew's Modern House, A Summary So Far

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:20:01 -0500

When the design director at the Walker Art Center and a top local architect pair up to build a modern house, the goal is perfection. But the actual construction of a house can be humbling experience. Unexpected obstacles can alter a house’s design as Todd Melby tells us in this Building Minnesota report.

Andrew's Modern House, Part 4

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:15:39 -0500

The point of no return has arrived. We return to the construction site of Andrew Blauvelt's modern house to examine the concrete walls. Are they smooth or rough? Blauvelt and architect Julie Snow hope the walls are elegant and modern, i.e., no bumps, bubbles or divots.

Andrew's Modern House, Part 3

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 13:55:22 -0500

An important day has arrived at Andrew Blauvelt's modern house. The Walker Art Center design director wants the exterior concrete wall on his house to be as smooth as freshly fallen snow. So we visited the site to watch workers pour of the concrete wall. More importantly, we talked with general contractor Mike Wallien of Daiku Corporation about his worries concerning the pour.

Cabin Fever with Dale Mulfinger

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 16:44:25 -0500

In Minnesota, the idea of owning a cabin has almost universal appeal. It’s a place of retreat from the stress of the city. It’s a place for family. It’s a place to enjoy the outdoors. So, what should the newly constructed cabin it look like? In this report, Todd Melby leaves the city with architect Dale Mulfinger to find out.

Lao America gets design help from Architecture for Humanity

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 10:47:21 -0500

Fourteen cities in the U.S. have local Architecture for Humanity chapters. Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of those cities. After the 2004 Asian tsunami wiped out villages in Sri Lanka, the group designed a library, school and other buildings for one town. They are also volunteering their time locally. The group recently helped Lao America come up with plans to rebuild its north Minneapolis home.

Andrew's Modern House, Part 2

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:55:42 -0500

Andrew Blauvelt, design director at the Walker Art Center, and architect Julie Snow continue their discussion of Andrew's new house. The pair are most worried about an 11-foot high concrete wall. It must be poured perfectly to obtain the right effect. As of July 13, 2006, that pour hasn't occurred at the job site, located at 38th and Lyndale Avenues in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis Central Library

Mon, 22 May 2006 17:06:57 -0500

Andrew's Modern House, Part 1

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 13:55:58 -0500

Andrew Blauvelt and Julie Snow are friends. He's a design curator at the Walker Art Center. She's an architect. After designing Julie's modernist book, Andrew is having Julie design his modernist house. But they're both worried about the outcome. The south facing exterior wall is concrete and concrete is tricky to get perfect. Listen to their conversation about the house, which hasn't been built yet.

Rebirth of the 1928 Sears Building

Mon, 15 May 2006 11:42:38 -0500

Jane Jacobs

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 09:58:21 -0500

iPod Your House: A Look at Modern Prefab

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 08:35:10 -0600

Some Assembly Required

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:37:33 -0500

David Salmela, Duluth

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 12:14:38 -0600

Bigelow Chapel, New Brighton

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 12:07:12 -0600

Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 12:07:33 -0600