MPRB to approve Design Team selection for Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Reconstruction

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to approve Design Team selection for Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Reconstruction
Design Team led by Minneapolis Landscape Architects Oslund and Associates

August 15, 2014 - The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) will soon approve a design team for reconstruction of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and renovation of the Cowles Conservatory, a project being led by the MPRB in partnership with the Walker Art Center. The MPRB Board of Commissioners is expected to take action during its August 20 and September 3 meetings on the selection of Minneapolis landscape architecture firm Oslund and Associates, whose design team includes Snow Kreilich Architects. Community engagement is expected to begin this fall and construction is anticipated to start next summer. 

In 1988 the MPRB partnered with the Walker Art Center to develop the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the first major urban sculpture park in the country. Today the Sculpture Garden is one of the crown jewels of the park system, uniting two of Minnesota’s most cherished resources—its greenspace and its cultural life. The 11-acre site, home to the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, showcases more than 40 works from the Walker Art Center’s renowned collection. After twenty five years and more than 8.5 million visitors, the Sculpture Garden’s failing infrastructure needs to be reconstructed in a sustainable manner to serve visitors now and for generations to come.

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Reconstruction and Cowles Conservatory Renovation project includes repair or replacement of deteriorated and inadequate infrastructure such as irrigation, drainage and stormwater systems, walkways, retaining walls, and other physical assets of the sculpture garden. The project will also result in increased physical accessibility and improved energy efficiency. Construction is expected to begin in July 2015 and be completed in the fall of 2016. The garden and conservatory will be closed during construction.

The MPRB has received $10 million in public funding to reconstruct the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. In May 2014, the Minnesota State Legislature appropriated $8.5 million in state bonding funds to the project and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization has dedicated up to $1.5 million for innovative stormwater management systems in the project.

The MPRB publicly solicited and received proposals for the project in July. The design team assembled by Oslund and Associates demonstrated the best match for the needs of the project, particularly their overall understanding and approach to the project, their commitment to community engagement, and related project experience with art in the built environment.

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Reconstruction community engagement process is planned to begin in October 2014. For more information and to sign up for timely email updates regarding the project, visit the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden project page.

About the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
With 251 park properties totaling nearly 6,790 acres of land and water, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) provides places and recreation opportunities for all people to gather, celebrate, contemplate, and engage in activities that promote health, well-being, community, and the environment. Each year, more than 21 million visits are made to the nationally acclaimed Minneapolis park system. To learn more, visit www.minneapolisparks.org.

About the Walker Art Center
A multidisciplinary contemporary art center in Minneapolis, the Walker is a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and the active engagement of audiences. Taking a global and diverse approach to the creation, presentation, interpretation, collection, and preservation of art, Walker programs aim to examine the questions that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities. Visit online at walkerart.org.