Coen + Partners was honored with two awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter (ASLA-MN) in 2012.

The Hawthorne EcoVillage was recognized with the Honor Award in the category of Analysis and Planning.  The unique design process included a series of four community focused meetings with neighborhood residents and leaders, community agencies and the City to create a shared vision that responds pro-actively to the area’s toughest issues: rising foreclosure rates, vacant housing, poverty, crime, and overall resident health. The master plan leverages urban and ecological services in the yard, street, and open space; utilizing best practices in community based and low-impact development, neighborhood revitalization, sustainability, and storm water management.

Recognized with a Merit Award, The Mississippi River Bridge Plaza is a bold, multi-phased conceptual project that inventively engages the public and University of Minnesota campus through a participatory light installation and evocative gathering spaces, materials, and forms, responsive to the context.  The design adeptly functions as an adaptable extension of the Weisman Art Museum and associated Target Studio for Creative Collaboration by pulling the institutional mission and architecture into the site, allowing for limitless diversity of events and public uses within the plaza.  Through these site specific spaces, the plaza and entire bridge are envisioned as a 21^st Century campus mall, strategically and artfully reconnected to the Mississippi River edge and the larger campus through sustainable, technologically advanced, and contextually-driven landscape architectural and lighting design.

The 43^rd annual awards celebration and gala takes place April 20, 2012 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Following Coen + Partners award winning work with the General Services Administration, Shane Coen will speak about the role of landscape architecture and integrated design with architecture and engineering. Shane will present work from the recently completed U.S. Land Port of Entry in Warroad, Minnesota (2010 GSA Design Award, Landscape Architecture Citation) and the currently under construction, Van Buren U.S. Land Port of Entry (2010 GSA  Award Citation ‘On the Boards-Architecture). The lecture will be held on February 23^rd in Fort Worth, TX and will be moderated by Les Shepherd.

Recently Shane Coen led a talented and diverse jury in selecting the Professional and Student awards for the ASLA Arizona Chapter. The jury was comprised of:

Planner: Beth Elliot, Principal City Planner, City of Minneapolis

Architect: Matthew Keilich, RA, Principal, Julie Snow Architects

Academic: Matt Tucker, Professor, University of Minnesota, College of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture

Artist: Rebecca Krinke, Professor, University of Minnesota, College of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture

The submissions were judged to recognize the variety, scope and excellence of the work of landscape architecture profession in the state of Arizona.

Furthermore Shane will present the keynote address at the 2012 Awards Gala at the AE England Building in downtown Phoenix on March 31.

The American Society of Landscape Architecture has elevated Shane Coen to the Council of Fellows for 2011. Fellowship is among the highest honors ASLA bestows on members and recognizes the contributions of these individuals to their profession and the society at large based on their works, leadership and management, knowledge, and service. The designation of Fellow is conferred on individuals in recognition of exceptional accomplishments over a sustained period of time.

In the nomination Shane’s work was described as “a new, distinct voice to the profession, and the strength of his work, derived from his emphasis on collaboration, is a lesson for all. In his projects, the role of the landscape architect is comprehensive from the outset. He drives primary design decisions through careful interpretation of human and environmental context. With optimal sensitivity to site and materials, his work demonstrates a timeless aesthetic.”

The honor was bestowed at the ASLA Council of Fellows Investiture Dinner on Tuesday, November 1, at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego. This event coincided with the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, where Shane also participated with a presentation of “In the studio of Coen + Partners.”

The design team at Coen + Partners has joined with Project for Pride in Living to help create a vision for the Hawthorne EcoVillage.  The development represents a shared vision among Hawthorne neighborhood residents and leaders, community agencies and the City of Minneapolis to respond pro-actively to the area’s toughest issues: crime, poverty, rising foreclosure rates and vacant housing, unemployment, and overall resident health. Located on the four blocks Southeast of the intersection of Lowry and Lyndale in North Minneapolis, the EcoVillage will soon be connected to the city via the iconic Lowry Bridge and intends to be a catalyst for change as a model for more healthy, stable, and livable communities.

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Client: Project for Pride in Living

Bishan Residential Project Design Is Unveiled

Coen + Partners has been working closely with the Boston and Singapore Offices of Safdie Architects on a new Residential Tower in Singapore.  Located in the centrally located Bishan residential neighborhood, the project provides a number of amenities for residents, including lap, leisure, kids and roof top pools, a water wall, reflection gardens, as well as three bridging ‘sky gardens’ connecting the two towers.

Many of the towers’ residents will have good views of lush Bishan Park below. At ground level, 75 percent of the site’s area will be developed into gardens, outdoor “garden rooms,” swimming pools, and walking paths.

“While providing great quality of life, mitigating a sense of density, and maximizing contact with nature, the complex also results in a village-like clustering of residential units, echoing hillside developments and the integration of architecture and plant life into a singular experience,” said Moshe Safdie, whose firm, Safdie Architects, is based in Boston and also has offices in Jerusalem, Toronto, Singapore, and Shanghai.

Design of the project is in progress, as is development.  Sales are targeted for the first half of 2012, and first occupancy is expected in 2015.

View the YouTube video of the design here.

Bishan Residential Development – Images Courtesy of Safdie Architects/Capitaland

Coen + Partners to Collaborate with Award-Winning Architecture Firm Studio Gang Architects on Design of New Theatre Building

Additionally, Coen + Partners recently kicked off the Conceptual Design Phase for a new Writers’ Theatre building on their current site in downtown Glencoe, Illinois, a North Shore Suburb of Chicago, with award winning Studio Gang Architects.

Coen + Partners collaborated with ALTUS Architeture + Design and Peterssen / Keller Architects to complete two homes to be featured as part of the Homes by Architects Home Tour Sponsored by AIA Minnesota on Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18th.  Coen + Partners will be present at each home throughout the weekend to guide you through the landscape and answer your questions about the integration of each home’s unique architecture and landscape design.

#4.  4016 Baker Rd, Minnetonka, MN 55305
ALTUS Architecture + Design
Tim Alt, AIA, Roger Cummelin and Chad Healy, Assoc. AIA

#9.  20 Park Lane, Minneapolis, MN 55416
Peterssen /Keller Architects
Lars Peterssen, AIA, Andrew Edwins, Assoc. AIA and Gabe Keller, Assoc. AIA

Coen + Partners have a number of projects under construction this fall.  Projects in Chicago, Illinois, Tulsa, Oklahoma and The Woodlands, Texas along with a renovation of 1935 International Style home on Cedar Lake in Minneapolis are among the residential projects currently under construction.  Additionally, the Van Buren Land Port of Entry in Maine, a P/A award winging project with Julie Snow Architects, is currently under construction.

Coen + Partners completed their submission for the Mississippi River Bridge Plaza Design Competition on Thursday, September 1st.  The timeline for selection of the winning entry among the four finalist teams is listed below.

October 1, 2011 Revealing: The Weisman Art Museum Grand Reopening Gala (Sold-Out)

October 2, 2011, 1pm WAMdemonium: WAM Grand Reopening & Exhibition of Design Competition Submissions

October 26, 2011, afternoon Team Presentations to Jury

October 26, 2011, 7pm Public Presentation of Designs, Weisman Art Museum

October 27, 2011 Decision Announced

Modernizing MIT is a site-based design studio exploring the relationship between modern landscape design and significant works of architecture located throughout the campus of MIT. Students will be challenged to create ‘modern’ landscapes that embrace the architectural context and celebrate MIT’s mission and history. Last year, we redesigned the central core of the western half of MIT. This year we will focus on three new sites described below (students will choose one). The design process will be inspired and strengthened by frequent site visits, weekly critiques, and rigorous contextual research.

Site One is the existing rail corridor located on the northern part of the campus, running from Steven Holl’s Simmons Hall in the west to the cogeneration plant across Massachusetts Avenue to the east. Rail service will reopen with a new stop at MIT, presenting new opportunities for regenerating the corridor.

Site Two is the redesign of MIT’s Killian Court. This landmark pedestrian entrance opens to the river and Boston, and is enclosed on three sides by the historic MacLaurin Building. The solutions will explore how a ‘modern’ landscape responds to a landmark architectural context in a way that celebrates MIT’s mission.

Site Three is an inwardly focused site located east of the Killian Court. Site edges are mostly formed by solid façades of Neoclassical and modern buildings with I.M Pei’s Dreyfus and Green Building in the center.

The studio will be divided into three phases: Analysis and Conceptual Design, Schematic Design, and Detailed Site Design and Detailing. Phase One includes a series of conceptual studies that evolve from a concentrated analysis. Phase Two will focus on refined landscape designs that reverberate from the existing architecture.  Technical plans and details will be developed and incorporated in concert with the site plans. Phase Three will focus on the development of a series of technical drawings and details with supporting graphics and models.

A prominent artist will be joining the studio for a presentation and workshop during the schematic design phase.