Projects

Discovering the Future of Granary Corridor

The Granary Corridor is again the source of multiple land use discussions at the City of Minneapolis. An original but currently abandoned railroad easement links the historic neighborhood of Saint Anthony Main at the base of the Mississippi River waterfront along a horizontal alignment crossing the University of Minnesota and the Marcy Holmes neighborhood, into the City of Saint Paul to the east.  Previously, the corridor was to be utilized as the new main Light Rail alignment connecting the city of Minneapolis with its twin city Saint Paul. After this promising proposal failed, the city of Minneapolis provided a new proposal for the Granary corridor to serve as a track-route linking highway 280 with interstate I-35W. To counter this proposal, the Metropolitan Design Center in collaboration with the University District Alliance, provided an infill urban design alternative for the future of the Corridor. The work was conducted as part of a graduate urban design studio at the School of Architecture with five students, Tep Piset, Allison Verdoorn, Stacy Hanley, Jason Lord, and Nathan Roisen, choosing the Granary Corridor as part of their preferred studio project.

 

 

Overcoming Crime: Transforming the Physical Design Character of Peavey Park

Peavey Park in metropolitan Minneapolis is a notorious place in the city for it's frequent crimes, shoot-outs, and drug commerce. The Ventura Villiage Community in conjunction with the Minneapolis Police Department, hired the Metropolitan Design Center to study the possibilities of curbing the crime scene while providing a design strategy for the park and the community. The intent was to design the park with a well-fitting program of activities in an effort to create a welcoming civic park place for the benefit and joy of the community. The work involved three phases of design/research:

a) The geography of crime

b) A children's view of a creative park

c) Toward a plausible design strategy

 

 

Urban Design Framework for the University District Alliance

The Metropolitan Design Center is engaged in developing an Urban Design Framework for the University District in collaboration with The University District Alliance Committee. The University District is composed of the Minneapolis Campus of the University of Minnesota and the adjacent four communities.

Phase 1 will investigate how to restructure the District into a future model sustainable community. Understanding the community as a subset of greater urban and ecological systems is critical to understanding how it has come to be what it is today. This research will provide the foundations for envisioning the possibilities for developing this human habitat in harmony with the bioclimatic regime of the region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riverfront Open Space Framework for the East Bank of the Upper Mississippi River Above the Falls

An urban design framework for the Mississippi River above Saint Anthony Falls. The project explored biophysical processes as well as settlement history. Topographic variations along the riverfront terraces were provided to illustrate the various opportunities for interactions between human and natural systems.

 

 

 

Smith Avenue Landscape Design Strategies

The Center developed urban design strategies to recover and improve the streetscape of Smith Avenue in Saint Paul. Working with the Riverview Economic Development Association, the study identified state-of-the-art solutions that would create a safer streetscape for pedestrians and bikers and provide an exciting street life experience. The plan also implements ecologically-sustainable design strategies to recover "lost spaces", reduce impervious surfaces, and store and treat stormwater.

 

 

 

 

 

City of Dayton Parks Department

Landscape and Streetscape Design alternatives for improving the existing surface drainage system primarily along South Diamond Lake Road and adjacent lands, using a system of stormwater basins and a selection of salt tolerant plants species. The work included alternatives for the existing water retention ponds and a landscape design for several rain-garden and water filtration systems on the grounds of Dayton Elementary School.

 

 

 

 

Friends of Triangle Park

Re-Design Options for Triangle Park Located at the Entrance of Minneapolis Downtown.

Residents of Elliot Neighborhood have requested the revitalization of Triangle Park as a neighborhood amenity and a gateway to the Minneapolis downtown financial district, a complex project involving multiple sloping surfaces between two access ramps to highway 65.  A difficult design strategy that requires experiencing the Park from multiple positions while traveling at different speeds. MnDOT actively supported the design proposal and recommended the project to be presented to Minneapolis Mayor Rybak.

 

 

Mississippi River Initiative in collaboration with NE District Neighborhood Association and the Mississippi Life Project

Urban Design Framework interconnecting different neighborhoods via a series of open space corridors linking the open space framework with the Mississippi Riverfront.

Research included evaluating the existing land uses in the Northeast District, including existing industrial lands along the waterfront, main public transportation and railway corridors. The outcome was a plausible urban design design framework to be used by the District’s community, the Mississippi Life Project, the Minneapolis Riverfront Corporation and the National Park Service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cedar Neighborhood, Brian Coyle Center
Preparation of a physical 3-D model

The Brian Coyle Center is in need of a 50% expansion of its existing facilities. The facility program layout was conducted by DJR architects. The DDA provided the preparation of a detailed physical model to be used for funding purposes.

 

 

 

Demographic Synthesis: Population, Housing and Community Characteristics of the City of Minneapolis + the 7-County Metro Region.

The main logic of this demographic research and summary report was to use a graphic design approach to visually communicate to the general public demographic changes ongoing in the city of Minneapolis and the 7-county metropolitan region. The study has become popular in community presentations and is widely used by students in the design professions.

 

 

 

Cedar Riverside Neighborhood Cultural Center
Urban design and landscape design strategies to improve Cedar Avenue’s Cultural Vitality

An integrated framework of transportation requirements and mixed-use residential infill proposal to support the urban revitalization strategy and landscape design improvement plan for Cedar Avenue including different street geometries, bicycle lanes, expansion of sidewalks and incorporation of new pavement materials to enhance community identity, mobility and cultural livability.

 

 

 

University Neighborhood Alliance, Cedar Riverside Neighborhood-Cultural Center, and The University of Minnesota
Re-design of the University of Minnesota West Bank LRT Station to revitalize the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. Multiple clients assemble together including the County and MnDOT transportation representatives, members from the Minneapolis Planning department, community members from Cedar Riverside + the University Alliance and the University Planning Office. An urban design framework that incorporates multiple goals to revitalize the district, including new design alternatives for the LRT Station.

 

 

 

 

City of Saint Paul Planning Department
Urban Design Strategies for the redevelopment of the Randolph Site with alternative design concepts for connecting the Randolph site to the Island Station corridor along the Mississippi waterfront, including design alternatives for the ADM Silos.

After a careful site analysis the proposal was to think of the Randolph site, not as an isolated site, but as to be part of a larger district plan that integrates the Randolph site with the Schmidt Brewery, the abandoned Xcell energy plant, the Ford Plant rail line and the Mississippi River waterfront as part of an integrated district master plan.

 

 

 

For additional information please contact:

Ignacio San Martin, Professor

Dayton Hudson Chair of Urban Design

Director, Metropolitan Design Center
smartin@umn.edu
612-625-9000 (center)
612-624-3509 (direct)