Architecture Centennial Party

Friday night: Legend has it that architects prefer bow ties because they don't fall into their work at drafting tables. That probably doesn't matter now, since most architectural drawing is done on computers and modeled by 3-D printers. But traditionalists may want to bow-up for the party that the University of Minnesota's architecture department is throwing to celebrate its centennial. Besides roaming through studios and modeling labs, visitors can enjoy a show of "100 Years of Student Drawings" and marvel at a curvy sculpture of the School of Architecture's history composed of 8,080 colored No. 2 pencils held together by 100 robotically routed plywood ribs (shown here). And they'll probably spy photos of some of the 36 Minneapolis buildings designed by U of M architecture grads, including the Uptown (1937) and Varsity (1938) theaters, the Minneapolis Convention Center (1989) and the Mill City Museum (2003). Plus nibbles and cash bar, of course. (6-8:30 p.m. Fri., free. Ralph Rapson Hall, 89 SE. Church St., University of Minnesota, Mpls.)