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Publications: Design Briefs
Design Briefs present principles and concepts of urban design,
relevant in the Twin Cities and the nation. Briefs serve three functions:
- To define and clarify terms and concepts
such as density or affordability; - To introduce general tools and techniques
such as overlay zones; and - To outline arguments for and against policies
and approaches such as regionalism
Design Briefs
- Design Brief 1, The Face of Affordable Housing, Part I (116
KB)
This Design Brief defines and articulates the need for affordable housing. - Design Brief 7, The Face of Affordable Housing, Part II (2.7 MB)
This Design Brief examines efforts to develop and supply affordable housing, from financing to design. It includes a gallery of images of recently built affordable housing in the Twin Cities. Interested in using the census to find out about your neighborhood but not sure about where to start? - Design Brief 8, Finding Neighborhood Housing Data: Using
Information from the Internet to Understand Housing Supply and Demand (168
KB)
Design Brief 8 provides step-by-step instructions for using the census internet site to find out about your block and census tract. - Design Brief 9, Measuring Density: Working Definitions for
Residential Density and Building Intensity (228 KB)
Design Brief 9 clarifies the concept of density and gives definitions of numerous types of density measures from parcel to metropolitan scales. It also deals with the related issue of the physical intensity of development on a site. - Design Brief 10, Making Difference in the Suburbs (2.5 MB)
Design Brief 10 highlights issues relating to the expression of individual difference in suburbia. - Design Brief 15, drapeWALL + drapeHOUSE: phase III - modular perfomative wall system (2.35 MB)
DrapeWALL is the third in a series of sustainable/low income housing studies. As a full-scale prototype of a porous wall system, initially conceived of in the “Pore House” project, it examines how environmental conditions can be selectively permitted to breach the typically hermetic seal of a building envelope.
- Design Brief 2, The Diversity of Green Spaces (1.5 MB)
Design Brief 2 includes a description of the over twenty types of green spaces found in the center of the Twin Cities region. - Design Brief 3, Urban Green Space: Effects on Water and Climate (1.2
MB)
Design Brief 3 reviews some of the ways that vegetation interacts with stream, lakes and the urban heat island. - Design Brief 4, People and Urban Green Areas: Perception
and Use (1.8 MB)
Design Brief 4 summarizes recent research about perception and values. - Design Brief 5, Plant and Animal Communities in Urban Green
Spaces (240 KB)
Design Brief 5 describes important interactions between urban flora and fauna. - Design Brief 6, Mapping Green Spaces in the Center of the
Twin Cities Region (6.4 MB)
Design Brief 6 summarizes how the Taking Notice green spaces project mapped and analyzed the location of green spaces in relation to those with limited mobility, such as children, the elderly, and those in poverty with less reliable personal transportation. - Technical Paper 1, (technical version of Design Brief
6) (7.6 MB)
Technical Paper 1 is a technical version of Design Brief 6 which includes technical explanations of the statistical processes used.
Design Tools:
Several design briefs and technical papers focus on measuring and analyzing
the metropolitan environment. These include:
- Design Brief 6, Mapping Green Spaces in the Center of the Twin Cities Region (6.4 MB)
- Technical Paper 1, (technical version of Design Brief 6) (7.6 MB)
- Design Brief 8, Finding Neighborhood Housing Data: Using Information from the Internet to Understand Housing Supply and Demand (168 KB)
- Design Brief 9, Measuring Density: Working Definitions for Residential Density and Building Intensity (228 KB)
- Design Brief 12, Picturing the Landscape: A Guide to Aerial
Photography (2.3 MB)
This design brief presents the lessons of years of aerial photography by Design Center staff. It covers arranging helicopter service, preparing for a flight, basic equipment needs, types of images, and tips for organizing an image collection. - Design Brief 13, Hennepin Community Works - An Overview (2.69 MB)
- Design Brief 14, Embodied Design: Allegheny Riverfront Park and the Walker Art Center (2.08 MB)
Two selected case studies; The Allegheny Riverfront Park in Pittsburgh by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and the expansion of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis by Herzog & de Meuron. These case studies contain strategies for designers interested in more consciously re-engaging the body and walking in our everyday lives.
Status: Complete
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