Building Minnesota
By Todd Melby
To listen to an audio podcast, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to download and subscribe to podcasts.
Podcast Description
An engaging look at Minnesota architecture. Many of these fully-produced radio features aired on KFAI Radio in Minneapolis. These podcasts include the original stories, plus extended interviews with local architects.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
VJAA's Tulane University Project | In this podcast, Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos of Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA) discuss the recently completed student center at Tulane Univeristy in New Orleans. There are many photos of the center at the Building Minnesota website. So check that out as you listen. The address: buildingminnesota.blogspot.com. The post is dated November 28, 2007 or you can use the search engine on the blog to find the story and photos. | 11/28/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 2 | VideoAndrew's Modern House - The Final Chapter | Since December 2005, we've been documenting the construction of "Andrew's Modern House," a Minneapolis house designed by architect Julie Snow for client Andrew Blauvelt. We last visited in November 2006, when the house was under construction. Now Andrew has moved in. Come along for a tour! | 11/18/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
INTERVIEW: Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos of VJAA (Part 2) | In this interview, Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos discuss their influences and inspirations. James is the son of an anthropologist who took his family to Africa, Asia and Europe. As a teenager, James had building photograph competitions with his father and also admired his father's collection of architectural monographs. Yoos' father taught at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. That was her first encounter with extraordinary architecture. Today the pair design buildings together as part of Vincent James Associates Architecture (VJAA) in Minneapolis. Unlike Frank Gehry or Thomas Mayne, James and Yoos say they are "trying to avoid a repetition of the same kind of style." | 10/18/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
INTERVIEW: Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos of VJAA (Part 1) | Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA) is a firm that's probably better known outside Minneapolis than here at home. "We're not really marketers," says Jennifer Yoos, a principal at VJAA in a conversation with Todd Melby for a Building Minnesota podcast. "All of our projects seem to come to us from other architects. Our personalities, we're not really that outgoing. "Recent projects include a student center at American University in Beirut and Tulane University in New Orleans. James teaches at Harvard University and Tulane University. VJAA Architects has won national AIA design awards for the Type/Variant House and the Dayton House. | 10/18/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 5 | VideoMOVIE: Jim Dayton on MacPhail Center for Music | In Minneapolis, the riverfront district has become a showcase for edgy, modernist architecture. While the Guthrie Theater has grabbed most of the attention, the area also includes the Humboldt Mill condos, Mill City Museum and Gold Medal Park. In a few months, another addition will arrive on the scene: The MacPhail Center for Music. | 9/14/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
STORY: MacPhail Center for Music, Designed by James Dayton Design | In Minneapolis, the riverfront district has become a showcase for edgy, modernist architecture. While the Guthrie Theater has grabbed most of the attention, the area also includes the Humboldt Mill condos, Mill City Museum and Gold Medal Park. In a few months, another addition will arrive on the scene: The MacPhail Center for Music. | 9/9/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
INTERVIEW: Jim Dayton of James Dayton Design | Jim Dayton is the architect behind many innovative Twin Cities buildings, including Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Bookman Lofts, Bookman Stacks and now MacPhail Center for Music. Dayton's first job in architecture was with Frank Gehry's Santa Monica, California firm. In this interview, we learn more about Dayton's thinking behind material choices at MacPhail: Zinc, Cor-ten steel, etc. We also find out why he chose to work for Gehry and not Thom Mayne at Morphosis after graduation. | 9/5/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 8 | VideoMOVIE: Christ Church Lutheran: A Saarinen Gem | Visit Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis in this photo podcast. All photos, except historical ones of architects and designers (and the TWA Terminal) are by Scott Theisen. | 6/20/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
INTERVIEW: Christ Church Lutheran's Dick Gliem | Dick Gliem, 82, is one of the oldest members of Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis. He was at the church in 1949 when the Eilel Saarinen building was under construction. Back then, Christ Church Lutheran had four Sunday services — three in the morning and one in the evening. Today, the church has just one service. | 6/13/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
STORY: Christ Church Lutheran: The Saarinen Gem | Unless you’re an architecture buff, you probably haven’t heard of Christ Church Lutheran. It’s an elegant, modern church that was named one of the “31 buildings that changed American life.” And it’s right in our own backyard. | 6/13/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
2004 FLASHBACK: Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center (Part 1) | (2004 story) Finding new uses for historic buildings is seldom easy. In Minneapolis, the Grain Belt Brewery and Milwaukee Road Depot both sat idle for more than two decades before developers found new uses for them. So, what does one do with a vacant state mental hospital that’s nearly one-third of a mile long and just forty-feet wide? Todd Melby traveled to Fergus Falls, Minnesota to find out. For an update on the mental hospital, go to the Building Minnesota blog at http://buildingminnesota.blogspot.com/. | 5/31/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
2004 FLASHBACK: Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center (Part 2) | (2004 story) Fergus Falls, Minnesota faces a big historic preservation challenge: How to save the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center. Originally known as the state mental hospital, this 114-year-old building was once home to about 2,000 people. Todd Melby has the story. For an update on the building, go to the Building Minnesota blog at http://buildingminnesota.blogspot.com/. | 5/31/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
INTERVIEW: John Dwyer's Clean Hub | John Dwyer started a Minneapolis firm called Shelter Architecture, but his big project at the moment isn't meant to house people. The Clean Hub is a device designed to provide clean water, electricity and toilet facilities for urban slums and refugee camps in poor parts of the world. Dwyer will make a presentation on the Clean Hub at Solutions Twin Cities at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Tickets are $6. | 4/5/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
14 |
INTERVIEW: Mike Schrock on LEED certification | Mike Schrock is a Minneapolis-based architect whose design of an Elk River school is aiming for LEED certification. Leadership in Energy and Envrionmental Design or LEED is a "nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buidlings." To go for the green, architects' efforts are graded. "LEED drives a lot of the design," Mike Schrock says. "There's so much decided before you start your building. I think that's really confining for a lot of architects, but I really like it." | 3/30/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 15 | VideoMOVIE: Gehry performs makeover on his 1993 Weisman Art Museum | In the past few years, it seems as if every major art institution in Minneapolis has gotten a facelift or a new building. The Guthrie Theatre, Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Arts all hired big-name, out-of-town architects for their makeovers. Now it's the Weisman Art Museum's turn. | 3/20/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
16 |
STORY: Gehry performs a makeover on his 1993 Weisman Art Museum | In the past few years, it seems as if every major art institution in Minneapolis has gotten a facelift or a new building. The Guthrie Theatre, Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Arts all hired big-name, out-of-town architects for their makeovers. Now it's the Weisman Art Museum's turn. | 3/18/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
17 |
INTERVIEW: Lyndel King on the Weisman Art Museum's expansion | Lyndel King, Weisman director, unveiled plans for an expanded Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota campus. First constructed in 1993, the new 11,000 square-foot addition will include four new galleries, a cafe and a studio, all designed by the original architect: Frank Gehry. And there was a lot of talk about the Los Angeles-based architect who went from being an eccentric who put asphalt in the kitchen of his Santa Monica house to designing the world's most talked about museum (Guggenhein Bilbao, not the Weisman). | 3/13/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
18 |
FLASHBACK: My Architect: A Son's Journey | Most critics consider Louis Kahn one of the great architects of the 20th century. When he died in 1974, Kahn left behind a few masterpieces and many unanswered questions about his personal life. His son, Nathaniel Kahn, was just 11 at the time of his father’s death. They never spent much time together. They couldn’t, really. Louis Kahn was married, but not to Nathaniel’s mother or another woman he had a child with. In recent years, Nathaniel Kahn has tried to learn as much as he could about his father. And he did it with a camera crew in tow. The result is the documentary film “My Architect: A Son’s Journey.” In this 2004 Building Minnesota story, Todd Melby interviews Minnesota architects and director Nathaniel Kahn about the film. | 2/17/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
19 |
Andrew's Modern House, Part 5 (Audio Only) | It's November in Minnesota. Construction workers are trying to tighten up Andrew Blauvelt's modern house before the snow arrives. Last time we visited the house (in September), architect Julie Snow and Blauvelt were frustrated with the way the concrete base turned out. We'll see what they have to say about the house this time. | 11/28/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 20 | VideoMOVIE: Andrew's Modern House, Part 5 | It's November in Minnesota. Construction workers are trying to tighten up Andrew Blauvelt's modern house before the snow arrives. Last time we visited the house (in September), architect Julie Snow and Blauvelt were frustrated with the way the concrete base turned out. We'll see what they have to say about the house this time. By the way, this is the first Building Minnesota podcast with photos. We hope you like them. The photos were taken by Scott Theisen. | 11/26/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
21 |
Andrew's Modern House, A Summary So Far | When the design director at the Walker Art Center and a top local architect pair up to build a modern house, the goal is perfection. But the actual construction of a house can be humbling experience. Unexpected obstacles can alter a house’s design as Todd Melby tells us in this Building Minnesota report. | 9/26/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
22 |
Andrew's Modern House, Part 4 | The point of no return has arrived. We return to the construction site of Andrew Blauvelt's modern house to examine the concrete walls. Are they smooth or rough? Blauvelt and architect Julie Snow hope the walls are elegant and modern, i.e., no bumps, bubbles or divots. | 9/20/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
23 |
Andrew's Modern House, Part 3 | An important day has arrived at Andrew Blauvelt's modern house. The Walker Art Center design director wants the exterior concrete wall on his house to be as smooth as freshly fallen snow. So we visited the site to watch workers pour of the concrete wall. More importantly, we talked with general contractor Mike Wallien of Daiku Corporation about his worries concerning the pour. | 9/12/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
24 |
Cabin Fever with Dale Mulfinger | In Minnesota, the idea of owning a cabin has almost universal appeal. It’s a place of retreat from the stress of the city. It’s a place for family. It’s a place to enjoy the outdoors. So, what should the newly constructed cabin it look like? In this report, Todd Melby leaves the city with architect Dale Mulfinger to find out. | 8/22/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
25 |
Lao America gets design help from Architecture for Humanity | Fourteen cities in the U.S. have local Architecture for Humanity chapters. Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of those cities. After the 2004 Asian tsunami wiped out villages in Sri Lanka, the group designed a library, school and other buildings for one town. They are also volunteering their time locally. The group recently helped Lao America come up with plans to rebuild its north Minneapolis home. | 8/1/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
26 |
Andrew's Modern House, Part 2 | Andrew Blauvelt, design director at the Walker Art Center, and architect Julie Snow continue their discussion of Andrew's new house. The pair are most worried about an 11-foot high concrete wall. It must be poured perfectly to obtain the right effect. As of July 13, 2006, that pour hasn't occurred at the job site, located at 38th and Lyndale Avenues in Minneapolis. | 7/13/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
27 |
Minneapolis Central Library | Critics haven't swooned over Cesar Pelli's buildings the way they have the creations of other star architect. And Pelli's new library in Minneapolis won't change that. But Pelli has delivered a drop-dead gorgeous building ... on the inside at least. | 5/22/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
28 |
Rebirth of the 1928 Sears Building | When the massive Sears store closed in 1994, it marked the end of an era. The Lake Street landmark had sold paint, ladders, clothes and family portraits to generations of Minneapolis residents. The shuttering also worried city officials and neighborhood leaders. Could the 14-story Sears Tower that spans three city blocks be saved? The answer, it turns out, is “yes.” | 5/15/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
29 |
Jane Jacobs | -- | 4/29/06 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
30 |
iPod Your House: A Look at Modern Prefab | If you like cool design, there’s plenty of neat stuff you can buy. But what if you want a modern house? Until recently, you couldn't really just go buy one. Now you can, sort of. | 12/15/05 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
31 |
Some Assembly Required | An interview with Andrew Blauvelt, Walker Art Center design director, about the exhibition "Some Assembly Required: Contemporary Prefabricated Housing." The show features the weeHouse and FlatPak house, by Minnesota architects Geoffrey Warner and Charlie Lazor. | 12/6/05 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
32 |
Andrew's Modern House, Part 1 | Andrew Blauveldt and Julie Snow are friends. He's a design curator at the Walker Art Center. She's an architect. After designing Julie's modernist book, Andrew is having Julie design his modernist house. But they're both worried about the outcome. The south facing exterior wall is concrete and concrete is tricky to get perfect. Listen to their conversation about the house, which hasn't been built yet. | 12/6/05 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
33 |
David Salmela, Duluth | David Salmela is a self-trained architect practicing in Duluth, Minnesota. Since 1985 his projects have won fourteen Minnesota AIA Honor Awards and sixteen national awards, including a National AIA Honor Award for Architecture. In this report, Todd Melby interviews Salmela and visits his new house, currently under construction, in Duluth. | 11/28/05 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
34 |
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis | It's like sticking a 14-story building out the window. That's how structural engineer "Bud" Ericksen describes the cantilever bridge on the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The blue-tinted landmark doesn't open until June 2006, but Todd Melby has already ventured out on the edge of the 178-foot cantilever. The new theater was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. | 11/28/05 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
35 |
Bigelow Chapel, New Brighton | Joan Soranno is the architect behind the curving white Barbara Barker Center for Dance on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota campus. In this Building Minnesota architecture radio story, reporter Todd Melby explores a new Soranno structure: Bigelow Chapel in New Brighton. It also defies 90-degree angles in an unusual way. | 11/28/05 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 35 Episodes |
Viewers also subscribed to
- Conferenze e talks of Architettura by Antonino Saggio
- Antonino Saggio, professor of Architecture Rome La Sapienza
- View In iTunes
- WTTW Arts - Architecture | Video Podcast
- WTTW Arts Online
- View In iTunes
- On the Air
- Jordan Geiger / CCA Architecture
- View In iTunes
- ArchCast: A podcast from the American Institute of Architects San Francisco - info@aiasf.org
- American Institute of Architects San Francisco
- View In iTunes
