CourseDiscourse1701

Find a social design issue. Document it. Become an advocate for it.

I chose to visit the new Central Public Library in downtown Minneapolis and document it as a social design solution.

First, of all, the building itself in absolutely incredible. It was designed by architectural team Cesar Pelli and Associates. The 353,000 sq. ft. building is 5 stories. Four stories are devoted to the library and the fifth story will be home to the new Minneapolis Planetarium, which is scheduled to open in 2010. The library has a green roof which adds much needed greenspace to the downtown area to help clean the air. The building also has no interior load bearing walls so it will be adaptable as public needs and technology changes. The facade is wrapped in translucent and transparent glass which is meant to represent seasonal imagery such as snow, water, and ice. The interior space is very bright, open, and welcoming.

The new library should benefit the community in several ways. First, the library is very accessable to anyone who rides the bus, light rail, ect. This is important because many Minneapolis families have no access to a car. The library offers 300 computers for patrons to use the internet. I am sure many residents do not have internet access. I cannot imagine how different it would be to find a job if you had no internet access AND no transportation.

The library also has an enormous collection of...books. I guess I should have mentioned that first. I heard that there are the equivelant of 38 miles of books housed at the new library. That's a lot of books. Librarians use an electronic shelving system to keep the books organized and save space. I was impressed by the selection of books for learning language. There is also a resource center for non-English speakers at the library to help with their English skills. The Children's area also stocks books in 30 languages.

The library also features community gathering rooms which can be booked by the public, a children's area, an area specifically for teens, the language resource center, cd's, dvd's, a grand piano which I am assuming people are allowed to book times to practice on, art on display, and classes and special events.

I felt that the new library was a very welcoming space and I am excited to spend more time there. The only downfall is that since downtown parking is so limited, you have to pay to park and it is quite expensive. 3.00 for the first hour and $1.00 per hour for every hour after. At first I thought this was insane to charge to park at the library...since it would make it more difficult for low income people to have access to the library. But I don't know any way around that really. If parking was free, everyone working downtown would park there and library patrons could not find spaces anyway. The downtown location is great for those who use public transportation, but not so great for those who drive. But really those who use public transportation need convenient access to the library the most, so I suppose the public is well served.

It is wonderful to see the public's needs so well served by this civic building because Minneapolis has the fourth largest population of library card holders of the cities in the U.S. Also, 80 % of Minneapolis children have a library card...the the other 20% can get one any time and probably will want to if they visit the new Central Library.

Posted by Lindsey Anderson at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Go to the Midtown Market on Lake St. Observe. Define Energy. List
the ways in which you might create, use and exchange energy here.

This was the first time I had visited the Midtown Exchange, but I had heard a lot about it because my daughters father is a carpenter and had worked at the site during it's renovation for over a year. He was very proud of his work and I really enjoyed seeing what I had heard so much about.

When I arrived at the market I was first aware of the exchange of cultural energy because it surrounded my senses. The individual sights, smells,colors,sounds,and accents of the variety of cultures was interesting, but also the market as a whole was completely different from most American shopping settings.

The second energy exchange I encountered was emotional, which I experienced firsthand. I walked into a store and met the owner Jim who began telling me about his grandfather Bill. Bill was a merchant at the Minneapolis Farmers Market for over 30 years. Jim said that his grandfather would take him with him to the market as a child and when his grandfather passed away last Fall Jim decided to rename his store in memory of his grandfather. I was very touced by Jim for both his openness and his love and respect for his grandfather. Jim is pictured below with the organic beef sign.

I could feel historical energy in the market as well, like the carpenters boot print in cement which was preserved in the floor from when the building when it was originally built. The footprint lead me to imagine all of the ways the space may have been used for decades past, or not used.

The was a great exchange of social energy as well. This is a place where people who may not otherwise cross paths talk about melons, or cactus, or Norwegian pastry. Or perhaps the weather, or art, or their families. I loved to see the tables for chess and checkers. It made this more than just a place to exchange goods, but also a place to spend time, interact, and slow down.

Before I left I came upon a man who was playing an accoustic guitar and singing. On his break I asked him if it would be o.k. if I took a photograph of his guitar...since I feel it is impolite to walk up to a person and start photographing them or their personal possessions without permission. He said that would be fine and offered to play a song for me. He played two songs actually...one by Dave Matthews and one by Paul Simon. He was very kind.

I found the most remarkable thing about the market was the way it made people open up socially. I think this is because the atmosphere makes you feel included even if you have never been there. I see people everyday who are clustered into little pockets of people who look and sound the same and it was refreshing to be among such a variety of people at the market. I thought I would feel uncomfortable there but it was quite the opposite. I felt more included there than I do at most of the places life takes me.

Posted by Lindsey Anderson at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)