Bicycle Center Space in St. Paul’s Union Depot
A few months back, after a meeting in the North Loop, we wandered into One On One Bicycle Studio. Gene Oberpriller was in the back, and we handed him a copy of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Bicycle Center Operator at the Union Depot in St. Paul. “You should do that, it’s perfect for you,” we told him. “You run the shop, we’ll do the interior architecture.” With Gene’s signature illegible expression, he thanked us, said he’d take a look, told us it looked interesting, and set the RFP on the counter. As we left, I imagined 24 hours would find it buried under merch catalogs, oily rags, and a box of fixed gear hubs.
A month later, about three days to deadline, Gene sent us an email, “Let’s do that St. Paul thing!” Two coffee fueled nights, multiple drafts passed between our office and their shop, a few beers thrown in for luck, and delivery of the proposal via bike (of course) led us to three months of silence from Ramsey County. That ended this week.
Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority selected One On One to design and operate the bicycle center within the Depot; the entire complex is being renovated as a pedestrian, bike, shared car, light rail, bus, and train transit hub. We did a walk through with the One On One team last week and gone was the deadpan expression. Gene smiled, he even offered a discrete high-five – but a Locus logo on the sleeves of One On One’s black Ts was a non-starter. Look for One On One’s new Locus designed space in 2013.
My kids and I were streaming The Game on Netflix the other day. David Fincher favors gloom, most shots were in the shadows. My internet connection is decent enough, but the blacks were poorly rendered, the resolution choked by the information available in the stream. “Can you believe this?’ I grumbled to my boys. “No big deal,” one of them mumbled, unfazed.
Why the acceptance of the flight from quality in the past 50 years? MP3s pale to the range of CDs and reel-to-reel tape, and for some, vinyl. Watching a movie on a smart phone offers little pleasure, even if you can watch anywhere at any time. YouTube content is damn near universally dreadful on every level (to paraphrase The The, anyone can be a filmmaker, so everyone has to try). Food – take out, fast, pre packaged (“value-added”), half baked, pre-prepared, instant, supersized, fun – lumbers into our pantries, replacing the time-consuming yet experiential process of learning to cook while preparing and eating home-cooked meals. Even games have devolved towards simplicity to suit mobile platforms and our diminishing attention span. Angry Birds is barely more sophisticated than Atari’s 1976 Breakout. I’m not nostalgic for the old days. I’ll admit some dependence on my smart phone, but wasn’t the future supposed to be more convenient and better?
Design in the past half century has focused on making goods and services more accessible, cheap, immediately gratifying, and desirable, yet so often briefly fashionable and disposable. In our profession, for the vast majority of buildings, aesthetic accessibility and value has translated to banal architecture. Home sizes have swelled in parallel to the American obesity rate, yet are commonly devoid of any shred of detail. Craftsmanship has virtually disappeared, as homeowners and businesses shift their spending to colorful or technological baubles meant to counteract the blandness of their spaces. The architectural version of the “race to the bottom”?
Minneapolis’ mayor R. T. Rybak recently announced Green Homes North, an initiative to build 100 healthy green homes on vacant lots in tornado-ravaged north Minneapolis. This is an excellent opportunity to test the vision and capacity of designers and public officials. Are they daring and smart enough to design and build prototypes that balance design excellence, community support, sustainable technologies, contextual influences, responsible materials and processes, and the fortitude to last 100+ years in Minneapolis’ punishing climate, all without overly relying on gap subsidies and nostalgic housing types? Past examples aren’t terribly encouraging, but I’m optimistic a well placed investment in capital and intelligence will set an example towards a better future for this neighborhood and others that follow its example.
Think Blue Ray, not streaming.
Locus' SAM would look great in north Minneapolis
Lose the mouse, ditch the iPad and shut down your laptop. These cubes aren’t for power pointing, conference calling, or graphing net operating income.
So many outdoor enthusiasts have been coming to the Lebanon Hills Ski and Mountain Bike Trailhead that Locus was asked to design a couple changing rooms (in addition to a few other outdoor facilities) to make the transition onto the trail more pleasant.
The wee wooden gems are simply detailed for a quick switch from daily attire into something a bit more off-road worthy. Gearing-up is made easily accessible with a smooth gliding door and wooden benches (inside). Ipe, a species of highly durable wood, clads the cubes and will keep them in great shape for years to come.
If you are looking for an office-to-trail transformation, you needn’t wait much longer. The trailhead expects to officially open this summer.
Paul, my business partner, once told me, “Architects are their own worst enemies.” By that, I think he meant the way many architects, architectural schools, and even the AIA (the main architects’ professional organization in the U.S.) have worked hard to promote architects and architecture as “Artists” creating “Art”. This has certainly given us some social credibility – how many times have I heard “I always wanted to be an architect (but I wasn’t good in math)” – but the byproduct is an aura of precious elitism which the profession has cultivated. Have we branded ourselves as intelligent, creative, and irrelevant?
Last month, while paging through the February issue of ARCHITECT, this photo inspired a snide bark of a laugh. It’s the architecture jury from the most recent Progressive Architecture (PA) Awards. Eschewing the typical frontal shot, the jurors face the edge of the frame, jaws clenched, as if steeling themselves against some architectural disaster just out of the frame. I imagine my dentist or accountant or any number of friends – realtors, social workers, financial advisors, politicians, bike mechanics, restauranteurs, businesswomen – running across this photo while waiting for a haircut. If the question, “Fun to work with this group?” popped into their head, I’m guessing they’re thinking “Not so much.” Architects, in our serious quest to be taken seriously, sometimes forget the appeal, or approachability, of charisma. Creating can be a rigorous exercise to be sure, but also deeply satisfying and even (gasp!) fun. This photo certainly speaks to me, “don’t trap me in the corner with someone who is going to blab endlessly on aesthetics,” but it doesn’t say ” join us at our end of the table!” I don’t want to be that kind of architect.
Architects almost universally whine about a) losing design market share to realtors, design/build contractors, and controlling owners; and b) being under compensated. Might we learn a lesson from the playbook of residential realtors – who are considered virtually indispensable to home buyers and sellers? Concentrate on quantity to the same degree as quality, and don’t under deliver on customer experience. Not customer service, customer experience. I think Frank Lloyd Wright, a prolific tinkerer, understood that; while Le Corbusier, a crabby perfectionist, probably did not. Both were acclaimed designers with sweeping careers. Bonus points to anyone who can guess which one architects more commonly study in design school. HINT: not the one from Wisconsin.
We like to immerse in a complicated project with a lavish design budget as much as any firm, but many of our clients need less than “full service” – a few inexpensive sketches to solve a space planning issue, preliminary ideas to establish a budget for a project, or schematic designs that will be finalized later by an owner or contractor. They can’t always afford a masterpiece, or just don’t want to pay for one, but they still want creative. This “design lite” model isn’t our ideal project; it has liability implications, and can be challenging if clients expect to receive apples-to-apples competitive construction bids. However, more moderate services are often more in line with what clients expect or are willing to spend. We don’t propose doing the same amount of work for less, we suggest providing a quality service, lesser in scope, commensurate with the fee. The advantages to architecture firms in terms of increased workload might outweigh the headache of reassigning risk and altering established project delivery methods. Who wants to write a spec anyway?
I’m not for belittling the creative, sometimes magical, energy we bring to people and projects, but I think the profession would be economically healthier if we marketed and leveraged our imaginative abilities, rather than broadcasting the aloof persona of stubborn design crusaders hell bent on delivering a legacy.
These guys look like more fun.
SAMini was built earlier this year by Locus in collaboration with Weis. The portable office currently houses a leasing station for Soltvå – a new apartment building in the Warehouse District. Stroll by 701 N 2nd St. for a looksee; word has it the doors are open most afternoons.
-Laura G., Minneapolis
(A true story from the my inbox. If we’d only known Laura then.)
I am not a Locus customer at all. Never was. Therein lies the problem. When it was time to build a second story on my house, I did not hire an architect to design the space. Imagine my delight when I found a draftsman who could complete the blueprints for only $165! I had saved thousands by not using an architect. I felt clever and thrifty.
Fast forward 4 years. My small daughter is now a teen; the household has expanded to include a husband/stepdad, and I can’t find my black pumps or winter sweaters in the only jumbled (now “his and hers”) puny closet in the master bedroom. The walk-in closet of my dreams became a furnace room in the final building moments due to lack of HVAC planning. Upstairs, books fight with homeless laundry for space on the floor because – oops – there are windows where there should be bookshelves. But the windows are all transoms for some reason– too high to see out of ––except the one in my room, which looks out on an expanse of grey asphalt roof shingles. There are also three really big windows on the tiny Northwest corner bedroom my daughter outgrew five minutes after it was completed. These floor-to-ceiling windows make the room bone-chilling cold in the winter and bring maximum exposure of the room and all its contents to every pedestrian on the busy street below. We overcome the lack of modesty by simply never opening the heavy curtains. The poor teen goes to bed and awakes in complete darkness year round, never quite knowing what time or season it is. And every morning profanity fills the air as my husband trips over a vacuum cleaner (did I mention no storage closets?) or stray shoes and falls into the standing garment rack on wheels blocking the bedroom doorway. And the profanity comes from me, not him. I can’t hear what he’s saying above the din.
Don’t be like me. Hire an architect.
Hour 24: SAMini arrives at the Soltvå construction site where Weis Builders will install Thermotech windows and complete interior finishes.
Hour 23: SAMini riding through Minneapolis’ Ware House District toward the North Loop.
Hour 22: A forklift transfers SAMini to a low boy trailer for highway transport (by Ramsey Excavating).
Hour 19: Metal trim & white TPO roofing (from Top All) seal up SAMini.
Hour 13: Tar paper and corrugated metal siding waterproof SAMini’s walls.
Hour 09: Half inch plywood sheathing wraps SAMini’s interior and exterior.
Hour 05: Insulation and electrical (by Ben Franklin) installed within SAMini’s truss cavity.
Hour 03: Trusses (prefabricated at Littfin) erected over SAMini’s wood floor.
Hour 01: The SAMini kit arrives from a local lumber yard (Lamperts) to an indoor workspace (courtesy of Shaw Design Associates and Jepsen Construction Services).
Locus designed SAM as an easy-to-build, Sustainable, Attainable, and Modern home (see WCCO’s Real Estate Round up for 3/30/11). SAM plans currently exist in different sizes, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 , but we recently made our first test run in constructing SAM as a petite, portable office.
SAM + Mini = “SAMini”
Paul, Wynne, and Adam built SAMini’s shell in just under 24 (non-consecutive) hours! Check out how we did it in subsequent postings…
Arrived in my email inbox this week, from a client in CA. We designed their home in the late ’90s. Email carried the title, A Love Note (to Our House).
“Hi and Happy New Year!
Roger and I were in Reno at a reception, and stayed overnight with his gallery owners at their very beautiful house on the mountain overlooking Reno. It’s a treat to stay in a beautiful “architected” house (Mark Mack), and we enjoyed it.
But here’s the thing – we live in a beautiful “architected” house, and it is a terrific feeling to be able to live, sleep, and just inhabit a thoughtful, lovely space. Our house is every bit as wonderful as their 7,000 sq ft showpiece. So this is a thank you …”
Ever wonder how creativity fits into a child’s social, emotional and academic development? Join Dr. David Walsh, leading psychologist and author, and Dan Butler, founder of Circus Juventas, as they share the latest brain research and under the “bigtop” perspective on the important role of creativity in the lives of children.
Saturday February 4, 2012, 7:30 pm at GaLA (Gallery at Locus Architecture), 708 W 40th St, MInneapolis. RSVP [email protected] $10 suggested donation (night of the event, cash only).
With roofing nearly complete, a new landmark emerges for the Lebanon Hills Ski and Mountain Bike Trailhead. Framework for the changing rooms is complete and will soon be covered in Ipe slatting. The two cubes bisect the visual axis between picnic shelter (foreground) and parking lot (beyond).
...this is your place
Here we are at the NH primaries, where 9 midnight votes cast in tiny Dixville Notch made leading news.
We’ve been bombarded by news from Mitt, Michele & Sons just like everyone else. At lunch today, we decided to do some of our own research on the campaigns. Foreign policy has already been covered in depth, economic plans have been scrutinized; heck, one of the candidates was asked to produce proof he was born in the U.S. We wanted to know something more important to us: how much architectural training did any of them have? A little digging on wikipedia told us not one had been trained as an architect. Not one.
Attorneys, a military man, a doc, and a couple fellows who know how to fire people. Good assets to have on your side when bringing forth a frivolous lawsuit, to be sure, but more inclined to pick a fight than dissolve one.
What would the political spectrum be like if we had more architects in charge?
- Architects know budgets, and are required to meet them.
- Architects are well versed in juggling multiple priorities and solving complex problems.
- Architects resolve conflicts more often than making them.
- Architects make beautiful things.
At least the good ones.
That’s why you should support our friend Raymond Dehn, who is running for MN State Legislature this year. He’s been a fixture in Twin Cities’ architect’s offices for years, working his magic to create a better city. We want you to meet Ray, and support his campaign.
We’re hosting a meet-n-greet fundraiser for his campaign at the Locus studio on January 19th, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Missing this is pretty much like a vote for the status quo!
An excerpt from Ray’s website:
I am running for the Minnesota House of Representatives because our politics have become increasingly polarized, to the point that winning is more important than doing what is right for the people of our community and our great State of Minnesota.
I am seeking the DFL endorsement for House District 58B because the people of our district need a Representative who can build broad coalitions to move our community forward. We need experienced leadership and new strategies to improve all people’s lives.
One of the Midwest’s most popular mountain bike parks is getting a new trail head facility next spring. Dakota County hired Locus earlier this year to design the Lebanon Hills West Trail Head building, which will be used year round by skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts in addition to Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists.
Two interlinking buildings will include restrooms, changing stalls and a picnic shelter. Construction has been underway for several weeks and is beginning to reveal the primary structural systems.
A forest of corten columns will soon support a roof 14 feet above the changing and shelter areas.
Laminated veneer lumber beams ready for placement above the columns.
Concrete masonry units contain the restroom while defining edges throughout the shelter. Twin Cities artist,
Kerry Dikken will be sandblasting the exterior surfaces with
bicycle tread prints come spring.
Over 300 people gathered at the Minnesota Historical Society last Wednesday to remember Pearl Harbor on its 70th anniversary. Star Journal newspapers (reclaimed from Locus’ ceiling earlier this summer) set the stage for the evening’s ceremony.
The papers have since returned to the Gallery at Locus Architecture (GaLA) and continue to reveal new connections to history. For example, a Minneapolis resident recently saw her mother, Susan Pillsbury Snyder, on the front page of The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune (June 30, 1940) after being wed to Rowley Miller.
Every once in a while a potential client asks what makes us different from our competitors. That’s tough to answer; as creatives, our expertise is subjective. We believe we excel in creating experiences, using our clients’ passion and our expertise in a custom process. The feedback we get from potential clients who interview multiple architects suggests this approach is unique.
Passion
We believe in the power of communities, and we’re committed to making experiences that will bond them. That might be a congregation, a neighborhood, a business entity, or a family. Whatever the structure, there are extraordinary synergies when people bond. We support and make communities in our work life, in addition to the usual stuff; volunteering, coaching our kids’ teams, or being involved in our schools and churches. A few examples:
- We led a group of University of Minnesota students to post-Hurricane-Katrina East Biloxi to document damages and build a park shelter; Paul continues to organize design+build seminars (RAW) with the intention of teaching young designers how to build exquisite structures for under (design) served communities both in the U.S. and abroad.
- We pulled together Twin Cities cyclists to make tread-print-art to raise money for Full Cycle. Rather than simply raising funds to provide them with a check (which we did), we designed the process of making tread prints to allow Full Cycle to use the process in the future (also available on YouTube).
- We curate an ongoing free lecture series, 2X2, that pairs visionary people who collaborate to make incredible things happen. We also host an open gallery and architectural reading room in our office.
Interacting with people inspires us. If we can’t enhance the experience of being in a community, using spaces we create, we’re only making nice structures. Any architect should be able to do that, even if many don’t.
Expertise
Architects love to prioritize project-type experience over just about every other skill (“We’ve done over fifty _______.”). Project-type expertise is only one facet of a successful project. When it comes to church design, for instance, we often have less project-type experience than our competitors. Even so, we usually make it to the face-to-face interview stage. Potential clients, even if they don’t ultimately hire us, want to meet us after reading more about our approach to design. It must stand apart. Our expertise includes:
- Sustainability. It’s in our DNA. While most firms jumped on the green bandwagon in the mid 2000s, we started our practice with a philosophical belief in sustainable practices the day we opened the door in 1995. It was the right thing to do then, it still is.
- Listening. We’re experts at it, which allows us to use the Missions of our clients to tailor their living and working spaces (and even design processes). We have no interest in shoehorning our clients into our preconceived notions. One size does not fit all.
- Design. Our teamwork with our clients has led to multiple publications, AIA MN Honor Awards, and an IFRAA National Award. Our first two religious commissions resulted in two local and one national design awards.
- Construction. With over 25 years of experience of hands-on construction in both residential and commercial projects, we know how to problem-solve alongside with contractors. We also host open houses to share our research with the public.
We feel our expertise is broad, and usually unmatched.
Process
Every project is different. When a client asks us how we plan to approach theirs, we usually tell them we won’t know until we get to know them better. Our listening skills are invaluable here. Ferreting out the ethos of an organization allows us to craft a 3-dimensional story – their story. We involve our clients in that process as a way of creating ownership and excitement about what they are doing. When we leave them with a building, they own it both financially and emotionally. We harness their energy to make forms that speak to them.
After wrapping up a church a few years back, Victoria Safford, the minister, took time to write us a note: “we’ve held four services now in the new sanctuary here, and every week it is as if we are entering the spaces here for the first time, so beautiful are the movements of light, the textures of steel, concrete and glass, the seemingly permeable boundaries between inside and outside. The congregation is in a state of amazement and gratitude – as am I. This work you have done here is beautiful. Thank you.”
Our clients’ passion fuels the energy. Our expertise provides credibility. The collaborative process harmonizes the two.
