2Modern Design Talk is going to take you on a little tour across the United States, looking for the best in modern lifestyle resources by major metropolitan city. We are starting with Seattle and zig-zagging our way to New York. If you have any suggestions for our directory, which we will be constantly improving and adding, please let us know by providing comments to the posts.
Modern Minneapolis and St. Paul
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Photo courtesy Walker Art Center
Think "Minnesota" this time of year and you may picture a wintery landscape of snow-covered log cabins, frozen lakes and ice fishing shanties. Okay, granted, there are a lot of those. But the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul also offer modern living enthusiasts four-season access to an abundance of cultural, recreational and retail pursuits.
Bigelow Chapel, United Theological Seminary, © Paul Warchol Photography.
The infamous "creative class" abounds in the Twin Cities, widely recognized as one of the nation's creative industry epicenters. Ponder the following statistics, as reported by Ann Markusen, economist at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute:
In the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, [Markusen] says, "the design occupations [architects, designers and artists, from blue-collar to white-collar] are really overrepresented compared with other cities nationally. We have 36 percent more designers in our workforce than the nation does as a whole." The concentrations of architects and graphic designers stand out at, respectively, 54 and 42 percent higher than the national average. There is also, Markusen adds, tremendous cross-fertilization between architecture and design, and the area's deep-rooted theater, dance, visual arts, literature, music, and film communities.
- Metropolis, April 2005
Medtronic Patent Garden, © George Heinrich Photography, courtesy oslund.and.assoc.
This culture of creativity and innovation has given rise to a bustling arts scene, from world-class museums and galleries to independent studios and workshops. The Walker Art Center dazzles visitors with a priceless collection of modern and contemporary art second only in the U.S. to MoMA NYC. A number of successful contemporary furniture manufacturers have also incubated here, including local style gurus Blu Dot, whose furnishings are as "at home" on display in museums as they are on the shelves at Target (another Minneapolis-native style driver). National furniture retailer Room & Board is also headquartered in the Cities.
Twin Cities native Blu Dot. Pictured are "Couchoid" sofa and "Strut" tables.
Like any set of twins, Minneapolis and St. Paul are bound to have some differing tastes. Whereas Minneapolis never hesitates to tear something down and build something newer, taller, hipper in its place, the architectural sensibility of St. Paul is generally more guarded than avant-garde; traditional and revivalist themes dominate. One common trend, however, is the recent near-frenzied boom of historical warehouse renovation and redevelopment, sparking dozens of condominium developments and pushing the envelope of contemporary architecture on and around the Mississippi Riverfront areas.
FlatPak, a revolutionary take on prefabricated housing. Prototype as featured in international design exhibition "Some Assembly Required." Photo courtesy Lazor Office.
Modern Furniture & Furnishings:
International Market Square
Red Lure Red
Robot Love
Elements
Inside Design
Dwelling Designs
Finnstyle
Ligne Roset
Montaggio Kitchen & Bath
Room & Board home furnishings and accessories, many manufactured locally in the Twin Cities
Modern Art & Museums:
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis
Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul
Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis
Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis
Walker Art Center. Photo courtesy WAC.
Modern Architecture:
Minneapolis Public Library, Central Library
Guthrie Theater
University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center
University of Minnesota Regis Center for Art
University of Minnesota Barbara Barker Center for Dance
Target Corporation headquarters
Ninth Circuit Federal Reserve Building
Bigelow Chapel, United Theological Seminary, New Brighton
Minneapolis InterDistrict Downtown School
Dowling Studio lobby at the Guthrie Theater, © Gallop Studios, courtesy Guthrie Theater.
Modern Architects & Designers:
Hammel, Green & Abrahamson
RSP Architects
Ellerbe Becket
STEIN Trending Branding Design
tanek
oslund.and.assoc. landscape architects
Perkins + Will
University of Minnesota's McNamara Alumni Center, from the outside and from the inside.
Modern Etc. of the Twin Cities:
FlatPak
University of Minnesota Design Institute
University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum. Photo © Nattapol Pornsalnuwat.
Curt Lund is a designer and writer who, like 87% of his fellow residents, couldn't be happier living in the Twin Cities... except for the weather.
