February 9, 2000
Commentary: 'U'
alumni center is worth a look inside
By Linda Mack; Staff Writer
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
The University of Minnesota's East Bank
campus in Minneapolis is often an overwhelming
and intimidating place. And at first blush,
the new McNamara Alumni Center/Gateway
on the eastern edge of campus fits that
image: The humongous granite-and-copper
building rises like a beached ocean liner
in a sea of parking lots near the corner
of Oak St. and Washington Ave. S.E.
But the building is meant to be like a
geode a rough-hewn rock that, once cracked,
reveals a hollow inside lined with crystalline
treasures. And the inside is both impressive
and inviting.
Design architect Antoine Predock of New
Mexico is known for powerful forms that
reflect the geology of an area, and his
buildings in the Southwest make stunning
sculpture inspired by the desert landscape.
Here, the shape is influenced by Split
Rock, a towering, craggy cliff on the
North Shore.
The eight-story granite shell encloses
a large gathering space called Memorial
Hall. The horizontal layers of a six-story,
copper-clad office block home to the University
of Minnesota Alumni Association, University
of Minnesota Foundation and Minnesota
Medical Foundation reflect the state's
limestone layers.
But this collision of geomorphic forms
half a block from the small-scale storefronts
of Stadium Village is unsettling. And,
even though the nearby buildings Williams
Arena, the Aquatic Center, the Radisson
Hotel Metrodome are huge, the alumni center
seems to dwarf them.
The building's scale and enigmatic shape
combine to form something of a mystery.
But freshman and returning alumni looking
for a traditional, white-columned alumni
center may find this building to be a
more fitting metaphor for today's education.
A computer is just a hunk of plastic until
you turn it on what's important is what's
inside.
And inside the center, natural light floods
the 85-foot-high Memorial Hall through
glass fissures in the geode. The outside
curved wall of light-colored wood slats
contrasts with a darker interior patina
of copper. A subtle reflecting pool provides
the soothing sound of water.
On one wall is the historic brick-and-limestone
Memorial Arch saved from Memorial Stadium
when it was demolished in 1992. The arch
signals the entry to the memorabilia-filled
Heritage Hall, an eclectic collection
of university history. Predock decided
to "hang" the arch like a painting
on the inward sloping wall rather than
using it in a more expected manner as
an entry or a freestanding monument. But
its precarious angle gives it a cartoonish
presence that saps its emotive power.
The working spaces the Board of Regents'
headquarters and other offices overlook
the Memorial Hall. The regents' boardroom
manages to be both spacious and intimate
and a far cry from the cramped quarters
in Morrill Hall where the governing body
has met for 75 years.
The boardroom and two committee rooms will
be available for general use, as will
main-floor conference rooms, the largest
of which sports copper walls, a flashy
wood ceiling and a lovely New Mexico touch:
a corner fireplace. Another fireplace
will greet folks arriving via tunnel from
the nearby Radisson.
Predock's promise to ground the Gateway
center's design in the Minnesota landscape
and his engaging enthusiasm helped him
win the commission. That metaphor of building
as geology is a reach, but the alumni
center does offer a powerful metaphor
for education: It's challenging, it's
perplexing, it's inspiring, and sometimes
it's even fun.
Copyright 2000 Star Tribune. Republished
here with the permission of the Star Tribune.
No further republication or redistribution
is permitted without the express approval
of the Star Tribune.
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