Problems with open floor plans

People just love their open floor plans. It seems as if every couple on the HGTV speaks of blowing out walls to get that open concept.

Open floor plans are liked for many reasons.

1. They create the illusion of more space.
2. Parents can watch their toddlers while cooking
3. Creates large spaces to entertain

However, is it all hunky dory?

One issue with open floor plans is the noise. Sure, everyone likes to be in the kitchen and see what is going on. That is where all of the action is. However, what if Suzie needs to study quietly at the dinner table and grandpa Nelson wants to watch his TV program at full blast? Stone counter tops, large expanses of walls, and hard floors combine with loud people, machinery, and tvs to create a vortex of sound.

Open concept also turns the kitchen into a showroom. Kitchens are meant to be places that can get messy. They are utilitarian spaces. However, when the kitchen is always in view, the mess is too. I've even heard of houses where a second kitchen existed in back because the first one was just for viewing!

In a Housing Studies class that I took, we looked at a study that specifically addressed this. It mentioned that in shared housing situations, a postwar open plan house may make the living conditions more stressful. As we have seen in the workplace, people need the opportunity to get away.

With all of the new construction that I have seen lately, open concept is clearly winning. The market will suite what people seem to like and it is definitely not going away. Here I found some creative solutions for dealing with the issues that come with open concept spaces. The article speaks of large movable panels and curtains that can help to make more intimate spaces that everyone can enjoy.

Metrodome Explosion

Yesterday construction crews exploded the ring around the metrodome. Unfortunately, I was sleeping when this happened. Time magazine, USA Today, and the NFL network picked up the story, along with local news networks. Of course people love watching things explode. Last week, a part of it collapsed unexpectedly which granted some publicity. On December 3rd, the official groundbreaking occurred and some local celebrities were there. 

(image courtesy Library of Congress- Singer Building)

Speaking of large buildings being demolished, the Singer Building in New York City is the largest intentionally demolished building in the United States. Built in 1908, it was 44 stories tall. In 1968, it was demolished to make way for SOM designed One Liberty Plaza.

(image courtesy of the MSUM 1970s image gallery - Neumaier Hall  )

 In the upper midwest, some notable building demolitions that pop into my head seem to be Neumaier Hall in Moorhead, MN on the MSUM campus which was imploded in 1999. Donald Schwert of the department of Geosciences at NDSU has a nice webpage here that sums up what happened to Neumair Hall. (some of the caissons had issues) Nonetheless, a new Neumair Hall stands today and it seems like they built it low rise to avoid caisson issues on the site going forward.

(image courtesy of the MHS Visual Resources Collection, Montgomery Ward and Midway Shopping Center, 1963)

The Montgomery Ward building (short history here) along University Avenue in St. Paul, MN also sparks my interest. It was the tallest building between the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul before it was imploded in 1996. It seems like it was completed in 1921 as a gigantic warehouse for the Montgomery Ward catalog company. It had 1.2 million square feet under one roof and its 257 foot tall water tower was supposedly the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the world according to Millett in the book; Twin Cities: Then and Now. It is too bad that was demolished because it possibly could have been renovated into lofts or something interesting (like this Montgomery Ward building in Chicago) . The new developer seemingly tried to emulate the tower in their design, however, it obviously doesn't have the same flair. (see below) Now, it is a non-memorable but utilitarian shopping center which will be a quick light rail ride away from the University of Minnesota soon.

Biking through snowstorm

Welcome to this blog! My bike home from class was great- I caught a few shots of the Pleasant St., Folwell Hall, and the Rapson Hall. Snowstorms always make moving around interesting.

Bus stop: Pleasant Street SE

Folwell Hall (completed 1907) at night next to weighed down evergreen

Bicycles, imprisoned by the snow

Neat rows of trees outside Rapson Hall Addition (built 2002)

The Profilit structural glazing on Rapson sending a warm glow into the snowstorm