The center of our region is booming again. The city of Minneapolis issued permits for construction valued at more than $2 billion in 2014. A substantial portion of that value results from the approval of more than 2,000 new housing units. Consistent with the city's vision for growth, Minneapolis has welcomed a net population increase of more than 20,000 people since the 2010 census. People are enthusiastic about the future of this great city.
The city's vision for the future is distinctly urban, with a plan to add a thriving mix of uses — including thousands of additional residents and jobs — downtown and in areas well-served by a variety of transportation options. Regulation of this growth is the subject of significant debate. For every new residential or mixed-use building that rises along our transit corridors, there are a range of opinions about issues such as building design and scale.
Unfortunately, Tom Fisher's recent article ("Apartments caught in the muddle," Variety, Feb. 14) did little to inform people about how the city influences the design of new development. A simple phone conversation between the author and a Minneapolis city planner could have provided important clarity.
Fisher tells of a friend who asked why so many new apartment buildings "look so ugly." The author confidently states that the source of the problem is a city document entitled "Guide to Exterior Building Materials and Walls."
There is one major problem with this accusation: Not a single building has been both approved and completed since the city started using this document less than a year ago. In fact, these guidelines were actually a response to the kinds of buildings that Fisher seems to be complaining about.
We appreciate the creativity of many of our local architects and developers. However, in some cases this creativity has resulted in buildings with six or more primary materials on a single building wall. We're asking for no more than three. Furthermore, because we have serious concerns that some of these materials are not going to age well, we now suggest reasonable limits on certain materials. (Interestingly, prior to enacting our guidelines, some developers asked us why we allowed fellow developers to use lesser-quality building materials.)
Contrary to the suggestion that a mishmash of materials has been mandated by the city, our staff worked with our city Planning Commission (which includes award-winning architects) and several design firms and developers to essentially say, "Please simplify! Give us a reasonably simple palette of durable materials that will add lasting value to Minneapolis." Most in the design community seem to have welcomed this guidance.
Architects should feel free to use one or two high-quality materials when designing buildings in Minneapolis. Indeed, we can think of wonderful new buildings that have done just that. Building walls must at least include windows and entrances facing streets. And on walls facing neighboring properties? If the building doesn't include windows, then massive blank walls must be broken-up with recesses/projections or other features, which may include a change in materials. We argue that these principles are essential to building a great city. We're aware of very few in the local design community who disagree.
