Wall house in StarTrib

Our recently completed Wall residence received some attention in an article by Kevin Behr in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Tuesday 4-20. It was a rather oblique article in that it wasn't about the house as much as it was about the trajectory of the property from a problem (rat-infested garbage house) to a new modern house. Apparently it was more important to the author to canvas the neighbors' opinions regarding the house than it was to talk to us about our intentions. It seemed a lost opportunity to contrast the predictably vague Lutheran disapproval of something this "different" with our thoughts and intentions in introducing something so admittedly bold into the neighborhood. We understand some difference of opinion on the "appropriateness" of this gesture is to be expected, and we'd welcome the opportunity to discuss this with anyone who would care to. We value traditional neighborhoods, but we also believe they need to remain living, evolving entities, not arrested in time a half-century ago. "Appropriateness" has its limits - at least it should; and It's often too easy to fixate on the stylistic difference of something new while neglecting to address the appropriateness of our neighborhoods and homes to unabashedly reflect how we currently live -- and build -- and to allow these structures to be what they are, without having to doll them up in historical drag in order to avoid upsetting the neighbors. It's a potentially interesting conversation, and one with should quickly get beyond the bromides of a thumbs-up/thumbs-down dialectic.

Also, we were mentioned in Todd Melby's Building Minnesota blog with regard to the Wall residence being one of the few modern houses on the Mpls/St Paul home tour. He quotes me from an email I sent him in which I described the salient features of the project. It doesn't sound half bad!

Minneapolis/St Paul Home Tour 2007

The house we designed for Kevin & Michelle Wall, and they've just moved back into, is being featured in this year's Mpls/St Paul Home Tour April 28 & 29. Don't miss it! It's number 48 on the roster. Here's a link to the description along with other relevant info at the Tour's web site. Wall Residence

Chris & I will be there for most of both days helping to manage the crowd and answering questions. And hopefully connecting with future clients...

Sears Centre published in PanStadia

The most recent issue of Panstadia International - The definitive journal for the sports facility industry worldwide - includes an article about the new Sears Centre in Chicago (Hoffman Estates to be precise).

V O L U M E 13/ N o 3 S P R I N G 2 0 0 7
133-074 PARK LIFE
Architect Donald Eyberg outlines the new 11,500-seat Sears Centre in Chicago, IL, USA, which looks set to become another landmark for the city.

Michael & Chris led the design effort on this 11,000 seat sports & entertainment arena, in a partnership with Walsh Bishop Architects, for Ryan Companies/Chicago. The article was written by our favorite arena consultant, Donald Eyberg, with a little help from Michael. Check it out -

Somewhere in the article it also mentions that the facility was chosen "Outstanding Project of 2006-07" by the Board of Directors of the Association of Subcontractors and Affiliates of Chicago.