Minneapolis + Design
This month, we’re staying close to home and looking at the people, places, and ideas that have shaped Minnesota’s design identity. Taken together, these books reveal a design culture rooted in modernism, practicality, craft, nature, and a belief that good design should improve everyday life. What makes a design feel distinctly Minnesotan—and what can we learn from the people who have been defining that point of view?
The Face of Minnesota
by John Szarkowski
University of Minnesota Press, 1958
A portrait of Minnesota before Minnesota had quite figured out how to see itself. Published in 1958 for the state's centennial, John Szarkowski's photography captures a place through its people, landscapes, industry, small towns, and everyday life. His eye finds beauty in the ordinary, offering a fascinating look at how the details of a place become its visual identity—and how that identity changes over time.
Julie Snow Architects
by Janet Abrams
Princeton Architectural Press, 2006
A look at the work of one of Minneapolis's most quietly influential architects—and at what it means to make modern architecture that belongs to a particular place. Julie Snow's buildings explore light, material, structure, landscape, and movement while responding to Minnesota's particular conditions. Her work proves that regional identity doesn't require nostalgia; it can be modern, restrained, and entirely its own.
A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota
by David Gebhard and Tom Martinson
University of Minnesota Press, 1978
Part architectural guidebook, part cultural history, and part invitation to look more closely at the places we pass every day. Gebhard and Martinson document Minnesota's built environment across centuries and styles, from civic buildings and churches to houses, commercial spaces, and modernist landmarks. More than a catalog of important buildings, it makes the case that architecture is a record of who we are and how we've lived.
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
by Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center, 1998
A look at one of Minneapolis's clearest expressions of the belief that art and design belong in everyday life. The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden transformed a former industrial site into an 11-acre public landscape where sculpture, architecture, horticulture, and landscape design come together. Its real story is the creation of a space where art is approachable, social, and woven into city life.
Slinging it.
Like sitting in a hammock swing, Heyday lets you lounge unencumbered by a frame or thoughts of ever getting up. Natural leather and powder-coated steel keep you suspended in comfort as long as you damn well please.
