A Field Guide to Public Interest Design in the Twin Cities

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A Field Guide to Public Interest Design in the Twin Cities PUBLIC IN PRACTICE A Field Guide to Public Interest Design in the Twin Cities Evan Hildebrand 1 Undergraduate Research Scholarship (URS) Project Evan Hildebrand Spring 2013 - Fall 2014 [email protected] College of Design, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Mentor: Prof. Ozayr Saloojee A Field Guide to Public Interest Design in the Twin Cities PUBLIC IN PRACTICE Contents Introduction 5 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 59 Saint Paul Riverfront Corp 60 Overview 9 Works Progess 64 LARGE FIRMS 17 The Starling Project 68 HGA 18 College of Design, University of Minnesota 72 Perkins + Will 22 AECOM 26 Conclusion 79 MEDIUM FIRMS 31 APPENDIX 87 MSR Design 32 Acknolwedgements 89 ESG Architects 36 Bibliography 90 MSAADA 40 SMALL FIRMS 45 Cermak Rhoades 46 Alchemy 50 Locus 54 2 3 Introduction “You are not a profession that has distinguished itself by your social and civic contributions to the cause of civil rights, and I’m sure this does not come to you as any shock. You are most distinguished by your thunderous silence and your complete “Complete irrelevance.” irrelevance.” – Whitney M. Young, civil rights leader, speaking to the AIA National Convention in 1968 The Whitney M. Young quote to the left is one that has begun numerous writings and publications about public interest design, including the recently released Latrobe Prize research document “Wisdom From the Field,” but it is a quote that bears repeating here. Young’s scathing commentary rocked the design profession and left it grappling with a singular question: how can “The short answer is yes, and I think that’s one of the reasons I architecture become a socially responsible discipline? chose a design profession.” – Michael Richardson, co-chair of Students for Design Activism, when asked if he thought designers have a responsibility As evidenced by the other two quotes included to the left, the architectural to improve people’s lives world of today is vastly different from that of 1968. An entirely new field has arisen, out of and within the existing design disciplines, one that direct- ly addresses the challenges that Young set out more than forty years ago, a field that has come to be known as “public interest design.” “It’s nice to think that you have the entire world and probably a client base of 5 or 6 billion people. It’s also nice to know that Public interest design is broadly defined as the idea that everyone deserves your work is really needed…you’re profoundly helping people good design, and is seen as the effort to provide quality design to those who might not normally be able to afford it - to design for the larger public good. in ways that a lot of architects, a lot of designers don’t get a Dean Thomas Fisher, quoted to the left, describes how this new field is, in chance to.” – Thomas Fisher, Dean of the College of Design at the Universi- many ways, radically different from traditional architectural practice and a ty of Minnesota, on the field of public interest design model that relies on paying clients. Public interest design, lacking conven- tional structure, comes in all shapes and sizes, ranging from volunteer ser- vices provided by traditional firms to non-profit organizations that operate exclusively within the domain of the public interest. Interest in public interest design has only been growing, with groups like Architecture for Humanity and the Rural Studio getting national media cov- erage, exhibits like the U.S. architecture pavilion at the latest Venice Biennale (“Spontaneous Interventions: Design for the Common Good”). There are more and more designers, like Michael Richardson, quoted to the left, who 4 5 are entering the profession based on a desire to help the community: accord- prehensive: it is intended as a representative snapshot of the overall field of ing to the aforementioned “Wisdom From the Field,” 81% of nearly 400 sur- public interest design as it currently exists in the Twin Cities. There are more veyed architects reported being somehow engaged in public interest design1. firms, organizations, and individuals than the ones mentioned here involved in the practice of public interest design. At a more local level, Minnesota - and the Twin Cities in particular - is quick- ly becoming a leader in this field. The College of Design at the University of Each organization is profiled in its own entry, arranged and divided accord- Minnesota’s recent hosting of Public Interest Design Week, a first of its kind ing to size4. Each entry begins with a concise overview and a quote from event, drew speakers and attendees from across the country. The College of the interviewee. Additional project examples, inspiration and/or precedents, Design is also formalizing a public interest design certificate program that and images have been included when applicable and available. The entries would be the second such program in the country2. are bookmarked by an overview of public interest design in the Twin Cities at the beginning, including connections and inspirations, and a conclusion Despite such growth, the field is still a relatively new one, and the question profiling some of the issues facing the future of public interest design. of exactly what is public interest design and how it is practiced remain open; even the name “public interest design” is not without controversy3. How • • • public interest is practiced and viewed professionally remains unclear, espe- cially to students and young designers interested in becoming involved but The field of design has come long way from the “thunderous silence” Young unsure of where to start. The rising prominence of public interest design, observed forty years ago. Design and architecture are seen as increasingly coupled with this uncertainty, and the rising importance that Minneapolis relevant and increasingly necessary to solving societal and ethical problems. and Saint Paul are playing in the field, a pertinent question to ask is “How is More and more designers are entering the field out of a desire to help others, public interest design viewed and practiced in the Twin Cities?” to use their creative talents to directly benefit the community at large. Thun- derous silence has been replaced by thunderous noise, many voices rising • • • in volume but difficult to make out clearly. It is the hope of the author that this project will perhaps be able to make things just little clearer by isolating The goal of this research is to try and answer that question, or at least to some of those voices and listening more closely, trying to make out what they address it. This is a field guide to public interest design in the Twin Cities, a are trying to say. catalog of recent projects and a compendium of different viewpoints. Twen- ty designers were interviewed, representing three large, three medium, and three small architecture firms, as well as three organizations involved with public interest design, in addition to the University of Minnesota’s College of Design. They are all in some way involved in public interest design, and their interviews form the basis of this guide. The firms and organizations profiled were chosen for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, their already publicized work and reputation for public interest design, their size and presence in the Twin Cities, and the recommendation of previous interviewees. Effort has been made to showcase organizations at a variety of sizes, practicing in a variety of different ways. This document is not com- 1 This information, as well as the quote by Whitney M. Young, is taken from page 15 of the Latrobe Prize report “Wisdom From The Field: Public Interest Architecture In Practice, A Guide to Public Interest Practices in Architecture.” The number of architects surveyed was 383. For more information, see the first footnote under Conclusion: The Pipeline Problem, page 79 4 There is some overlap between categories, particularly between the “Medium” and “Small” firms (ex. MSAADA, listed as “medium,” employs 10+ people; Cermak Rhoades, list- 2 For more information, see the entry for the College of Design, page 72 ed as “small” employs 9), but the division was kept in order to continue the groups-of-three 3 See Conclusion: “Public Interest Design” (Terminology), page 83 pattern, to better organize the information. 6 7 OVERVIEWOVERVIEW 8 9 Works Progress HGA ESG Map AECOM College of Design Perkins + Will Alchemy MSAADA Starling MSR Project Saint Paul Cermak Rhoades Minnneapolis St. Paul Riverfront Corp Locus Cermak Perkins + Will HGA AECOM Rhoades Alchemy Locus 420 5th Street North, 84 10th Street South, 800 LaSalle Avenue 275 East Fourth Street, 856 Raymond Ave, 708 W 40th Street Suite 100 Suite 200 Suite 110 Suite 800, Suite G Minneapolis, MN 55409 Minneapolis, MN 55401 Minneapolis, MN 55403 Minneapolis , MN 55402 Saint Paul, MN 55101 Saint Paul, MN 55114 (612) 706-5600 (612) 758-4000 (612) 851-5000 (612) 376-2000 (651) 225-8623 (651) 647-6650 St. Paul Works Starling College of MSR ESG MSAADA Riverfront Corp. Progress Project Design 710 South 2nd Street 500 Washington Avenue 122 Franklin Ave. West, 25 West Sixth Street hello Public Design Rapson Hall 8th Floor South #1080 #518 Saint Paul, MN @worksprogress.org Exchange 89 Church Street SE Minneapolis , MN 55401 Minneapolis, MN 55415 Minneapolis, MN 55404 55102 2300 Myrtle Avenue Minneapolis, MN Suite 158 55455 (612) 375-0336 (612) 339-5508 (612) 259-0054 (651) 293-6860 Saint Paul, MN 55114 (612) 624-7866 10 11 Perkins + Will + Perkins MSAADA Alchemy AECOM Riverfront Rhoades Locus Cermak Progress MSR HGA Starling ESG St. Paul St. Paul Project Works Works Non-Profit Organization For Profit Organization Org.-wide Pro Bono Overview Individual Volunteer Pro Bono Grassroots Level Within Org.
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