England swings like a pendulum doBobbies on bicycles, two by twoWestminster Abbey, the tower of Big BenThe rosy-red cheeks of the little children Roger Miller, 1965 I’m on board an Airbus A350 from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow. Last night, my home was the TWA Hotel at JFK. The hotel’s public spaces are in the restored… Continue reading The Day Swinging England Invaded America
Category: Design
TWA Hotel
Wandered through soaring, flowing spaces, admiring how architect Eero Saarinen understood how to leave so much out yet leave us with more. Tonight my home is TWA Hotel, New York JFK Airport. Public spaces are in the restored and reassigned 1962 TWA Flight Center.
Ralph Rapson
The theme of today’s cycle ride was star architect, Ralph Rapson. Met a friend at the 1971 Rarig Center at the University of Minnesota then went on to mainly single family homes. We have several pieces of furniture based on Rapson’s designs.
Thompson Center
Flew to Chicago, walked, flew home. My “find” was the Thompson Center in the Loop, a postmodern building, with a huge atrium, a teardown candidate. Later, at the Chicago Architecture Center saw inspiring winning entries for a competition to transform and
Tallest Buildings
Cycled downtown to pick up meds. Before cycling back, looked up at the Foshay Tower (1929) framed by buildings of the IDS Center (1972). The Foshay was the tallest building in Minneapolis at 447 ft (607 ft including the antenna mast) until the IDS Tower (792 ft) was built.
Shaped by Function
Cycled past places shaped by function in an industrial area of North Minneapolis.
Post-Industrial Space
Cycled through this space in the Crown-Arts Campus, Northeast Minneapolis.
Former Instant Coffee Factory
On a Minneapolis North Loop walk, gave this apartment/retail building a second look. Recently learned 100 years ago this was an instant coffee factory that was claimed to be the largest in the world.
Large Timber Construction
Wandered around the Minneapolis North Loop with a friend, staring at repurposed industrial buildings. Many of the modern buildings draw upon the ethos of the area. When this building (T3 Building) opened in 2016, it was the largest mass (laminated) timber building in the country.
New Use for a Bank
Included some of my favorite indoor spaces on my Downtown walk. This was originally the banking hall for the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, my first bank when I arrived in Minneapolis. The original space is quite recognizable, although it’s now the lobby of a Westin.