Ellerbe Becket: No. 1
Every January, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal lists the area's Top 25 architectural firms. Ellerbe Becket, ranked the second largest firm last year (as measured by "architecture revenue") edged up to the No. 1 slot with $67 million in billings. The rest of the top seven looked like this: RSP Architects, KKE Architects, Cuningham Group Architecture, BWBR Architects and Hammel, Green and Abrahamson. HGE suffered the biggest drop in the rankings, falling from the top position in last year's rankings to number six. The newest entry to the listings is Collaborative Design Group of Minneapolis. The 39-employee firm had architectural revenue of $4 million and ranked 23 on the the Top 25 list. Building Minnesota radio featured an interview with Collaborative Design's Phillip Waugh and architect Lee Sepping about the firm's work on the Midtown Exchange. Rebirth of the 1928 Sears Building is available for listening online. (Photo of Augsburg Fortress Publishers office design courtesy of Ellerbe Becket website.)

Charlie Nelson, historical architect, dies
Charlie Nelson, an architect with the Minnesota Historical Society, died of cancer on Jan. 20. He was 61. "When we lost Charlie Nelson, we lost wisdom and knowledge that ... is an enormous loss for the entire state. He was a rare blend. He knew buildings, he knew people," said Nina Archabal, MHS executive director. An obituary in the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes Nelson's gift for compromise. The Star Tribune's obituary recalls Nelson's statewide survey of historic buildings and his passion for log cabin renovation. On a personal note, I met Charlie Nelson about a decade ago while working on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Home Tour. Nelson's lovely --- and historically accurate Old Highland neighborhood home --- was a highlight on that year's tour. The kitchen wasn't modernized; it included an ancient black oven that gave the place a real sense of place.

College of Design Lecture Series
The newly merged College of Design department at the University of Minnesota has announced speakers for its spring lecture series. Kenneth Helphand, University of Oregon professor of landscape architecture, is one of three speakers at events in February — he leads off the series with a speech on "Defiant Gardens" on Feb. 5. Other speakers that month include Eames Demetrios, Eames Office director and grandson of Charles and Ray Eames (Feb. 8) and Ken Reardon, Cornell University professor (Feb. 19). Meanwhile, the Goldstein Museum of Design is featuring an exhibit titled Design Redux: Eames as Paper on a new line of paper the Eames Office has co-produced. That exhibit opens on Jan. 27.

Twins ballpark: Modern or traditional?
Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman wants to make sure the new stadium doesn't "stick out like a sore thumb," according to an article in the Downtown Journal. Although new stadium plans won't be released for another month, an HOK Sports spokesman says materials may include "Minnesota limestone, ironwork, glass walls and exposed structural steel." The $522 million ballpark is due to open in 2010. One thing is certain: Fans will be able to enjoy plenty of sun at the outdoor stadium.

Milo Thompson wins AIA-Minnesota Gold Medal
Linda Mack of the Star Tribune wrote a profile of Milo Thompson, the Minneapolis architect, who "designs landmarks that people love." Those landmarks include Metro State's "powerful New Main towers" in St. Paul and the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis. The story also quotes one admirer as saying, "Milo is the only guy I know who thinks in three dimensions. He can take a design and turn it around in his head like a computer would, just with his sketch pad."

AIA MN Blog
Building Minnesota isn't the only architecture blog in town. AIA Minnesota is publishing its own musings on all things architecture: AIA MN Blog. Recent entries include stories on Building Minnesota, AIA Minnesota Awards (and a comment critiquing the winners) and great urban design.

Home of the Month
The Star Tribune and AIA Minnesota have teamed up to create the Home of the Month. The May 2006 - April 2007 winners include work from Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, SALA Architects, Robert Gerloff Residential Architects, TEA 2 Architects and others. The homes are selected by a jury. To be eligible for next year's Home of the Month, architects should complete the Entry Form by March 16.

Midtown Exchange, Minneapolis
Seven months after its grand opening, the former Sears building in Minneapolis is back in the news. Linda Mack, Star Tribune architecture critic, tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the project came to life in a lengthy article. The project eschewed a star architect in favor of a group of talented locals, including Elness Swenson Graham, Collaborative Design Group and Close Landscape Architecture. Building Minnesota radio reported on the Midtown Exchange in this May 2006 report. But not all is well at the Chicago-Lake Street landmark. The Star Tribune recently reported that some businesses at the global market are struggling; one observer believes prices are too high.

Architectural Theology
Dorothy Probst of St. Paul is combining her interests in architecture and Christianity in Architectural Theology, her new blog on the subject. Probst describes herself as an associate architect with a bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Arizona and a master of leadership in Christian education from Luther Seminary in St. Paul.

It isn't easy being green (but everyone is doing it)
Recent stories on National Public Radio and in the Star Tribune highlight architecture's hottest trend: green buildings. A story by NPR's Kathleen Schalch includes information on the Washington Nationals new ballpark, a enviro-friendly place to play nine innings. Minnesota is also getting in on the act with greenish buildings by Minnesota Public Radio, University of Minnesota football stadium, Minnesota Department of Agriculture and others. The Strib story quotes Tom Hysell of Architectural Alliance as saying, "Someday all architects will be green architects." That day may not be too far off.

As old Guthrie succumbs to wrecking ball, attendance is up 30 percent at new Guthrie
Theater lovers are flocking to the new Guthrie Theatre, designed by Jean Nouvel, according to an article in today's Star Tribune. Although patrons continue to complain about a lack of skyway access and some critics dismiss the architecture (Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal calls it "dark, oppressive and laid out with irksome logic"), attendance is up 30 percent for June-December 2006 compared to the same dates a year earlier. Those 2005 shows played at the Ralph Rapson-designed Guthrie, pictured above. (Building Minnesota visited the new Guthrie when it was under construction. You can listen to that story here.) Those wishing to pay their last respects to the old Guthrie better hurry, there wasn't much left of the original landmark on the morning of January 2, 2007. (Photo by Todd Melby)