urbanMSP

Lileks tackles the contenders in the Streetscapes column.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/286880401.html

Are there strict limits for video/dynamic signs? Times Square-like scrolling info banners, and video screens? Thought I recalled a tv station wanting to put one up on Hennepin, but the downtown leaders squealed against it...

Came across this tweet, hadn't seen it in the news. https://twitter.com/mnappeals/status/547491698767826944 "8th Circuit says MN vehicle #forfeiture laws based on #drunk driving do not violate #constitution. @maddonline" Anyone have Google-fu to find the exact law and the ruling about this...

My wife and I attended her sister's wedding in Boston a couple years ago. We were the only Minnesotans.

Every single guest was dressed in tuxes and fancy dresses. We... Well, were Minnesotan. I had never felt so out of place in my life.

Somali and Hmong?

The Duval description of the atrium describes the presence of restaurants and retail, as well as valet service for those. With the burgeoning residential around this end of Nicollet, nearly walking distance to the growing North Loop and the Mill District, I'd love to see an Apple Store in the Duval ...

Suburban homeowners are discovering their ponds aren't natural, nor are they truly ponds. Realtors sold it as (and they paid a premium to be on) waterfront property. The reality is those ponds are storm water infrastructure. Needing cleaning and expensive maintenance when it gets old and when storms...

Not sure you'd see it from Calhoun. The image above from 35W northbound you can barely see it. I wager it'd look splendid from the 35W bridge though.

That strib news story had a nice image of Duval's Nicollet Gateway's plaza and atrium, plus a good angle of the podium height. Looks like the Duval proposal doesn't make it easy to sling the street car from Nicollet to Hennepin like the other two we have seen.

Time to bring that up to the council members, esp. Frey?, to get that revisited and made easier to achieve a 40-seat restaurant.

There was that time, in the 90s?, when the city came close the enclosing a portion of Nicollet mall... Oh, and very enjoyable renders of the preliminary models. Fits very well in certain angle and sticks out in others. Imma gonna like it if it gets the grade. I can see filling in Marquette and 2nd's...

From very close look of the high res drawing of Duval it looks like it may come to a very sharp point on Washington. Almost triangular like the Flatiron, except the side on Hennepin might have a curved face...

Odd-shaped blocks really can produce innovative buildings.

If it wasn't a choice between these, if hypothetically any of these were offered with none of the others as alternatives, I would be happy and would only offer minor nits.

I want to see the an image of the Duval proposal from the same skyview-looking-down the United proposal offers.

I eagerly await the mockups showing these from other various iconic angles around the city. From 394 at Penn, from near the soon-to-close Port of Minneapolis, from behind home plate in Target Field, from the 35W bridge, from where 94 crosses the Mississippi...

At the least, they need to engineer the subterranean infrastructure in ways that future tracks won't require extra costs to relocate when the tracks are installed.

Brutalism getting some appreciation in a BBC show.

http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/12/b ... gn/383585/

Maybe not a full crime, but there is an insane amount of uninsured driving going on.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/sta ... 72331.html

Going back to give the city one more chance to embarrass everyone all around.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... -with.html

Copenhagen gets favorable treatment in urban-centric circles for its cycling culture. Found this article on Copenhagen going the Dutch route of summoning land from the sea to create islands to build new housing on. http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/12/how-could-copenhagen-increase-city-housing-buil...