Minnesota Architects

More than 250 biographies of architects who were born or worked for a significant time in Minnesota, featuring the architect's era of work, educational and professional experience, and descriptions of his or her most notable buildings.

African-American architects have been designing and building houses and public buildings since 1865. Although many of these structures survive today, the architects themselves are virtually unknown. This unique reference work brings their lives and work to light for the first time. Written by 100 experts ranging from architectural historians to archivists, this book contains 160 biographical, A-Z entries on African-American architects from the era of Emancipation to the end of World War II. Articles provide biographical facts about each architect, and commentary on his or her work. Practical and accessible, this reference is complemented by over 200 photographs and includes an appendix containing a list of buildings by geographic location and by architect.

It's an unfortunate reality that architects practicing in the great expanse between the East and West coasts all too often find themselves beyond the radar of the profession's so-called "tastemakers." And it's especially a shame in the case of Julie Snow, a Minneapolis-based architect who has, over the past decade, developed one of the most inventive practices anywhere in the United States. Snow's meticulously constructed work has the structural opacity and formal integrity that characterized Mies van der Rohe's architecture, but with a sense of humanity and a sensitivity to the environment that seems borrowed from her Midwestern progenitor, Frank Lloyd Wright. This, the first monograph on Snow's work, provides in depth documentation of 14 of her residential, institutional, corporate, and public projects, including the Koehler Residence in New Brunswick, Canada, a series of Minneapolis Light Rail Stations, the Minnesota Children's Museum, and the University of South Dakota School of Business. Julie Snow, Architect is produced in collaboration with award-winning designer Andrew Blauvelt, and features an introductory essay by Jan Abrams, director of the Minnesota Design Institute.