Entry Title: Minneapolis Crossing
Award: Honorable Mention
Team Number: 1250
School: University of Pennsylvania
About: The Minneapolis Crossing proposal intends to reactivate the east side of downtown Minneapolis in preparation for development of a stadium. It is important to recognize that this is an opportunity to hinge reinvestment to activate the east side of downtown by providing strategic park and open-space systems. This given priority will draw street activity from the stadium to the central business district (CBD). The design concept is based on connecting various hubs of activity: the river, university, stadium, CBD, and surrounding neighborhoods. This allows corridors of buildings to be reactivated through both the ground plane as well as an extension of the skyway system. Through the connection of two corridors—one leading from river to neighborhood, the other from stadium to downtown—an open-space system forms a knot through which pedestrian activity is given prominence. This strategy gives value to ground-level retail spaces as well as direct connections from the skyway to the ground plane. The placement of the main pedestrian plaza allows the historic Armory to become a focal point and, through adaptive use, a cultural node serving as a marketplace.
Hello, We are Urban Design students at Lawrence Tech University in Michigan, and we really enjoyed your competition entry. Could you tell us which software you used in producing the site plan? It is very nice and clean looking. Thank you.
Kay