Minneapolis’ architecture community has spoken out following violent scenes in the city in recent weeks.
Two U.S. citizens, named Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, have been killed by federal immigration officers during a surge in ICE activity across the city; actions which have triggered mass protests and strikes across the United States.
As the situation continues to unfold, Archinect spoke to architectural organizations and firms in the city for their on-the-ground perspectives.
AIA Minnesota
“While everyone is experiencing this differently, there is an overall feeling of heaviness and hyper vigilance,” AIA Minnesota Executive Director Mary-Margaret Zindren told Archinect, whose organization also oversees local chapters in Minneapolis and St. Paul. “And a desire each day to do something to protect and care for the people being most targeted and impacted.”
“Some members have told us they fear leaving their homes or letting their immigrant parents or children of color do so. Their fear is based on countless documented accounts and direct experiences of people who look or sound like them being targeted, regardless of immigration status; harassed or harmed even when they are U.S. Citizens.”
While everyone is experiencing this differently, there is an overall feeling of heaviness and hyper vigilance. — Mary-Margaret Zindren, AIA Minnesota
Zindren also told Archinect of fears among members of speaking out or joining a protest over potential consequences for loved ones, while members visiting family outside the U.S. have extended their stays due to ICE activity in their neighborhoods, “where people are seemingly being stopped based on race, and being detained or abused.”
“Firm leaders are recognizing the strain of living and working under these conditions and are doing what they can to support their teams,” Zindren added. “Many closed their offices for the Day of Truth and Freedom march and economic shutdown. They are also supporting virtual working and encouraging people to take care of their mental health. Hyper-vigilance, fear, anger, and grief are taking a toll.”
“On a personal level, the current situation has been deeply felt across our studio,” Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects, winners of the 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award, told Archinect. “Many of us are navigating fear, grief, and anger as ICE agents have been present in our neighborhoods at daycares, schools, grocery stores, and on the streets where we live and care for our families.”
“Several members of our studio attended and supported the Day of Truth and Freedom demonstration on January 23, while others volunteered within their communities to help keep our immigrant neighbors safe,” the firm added. “The mental and emotional toll of the past weeks continues to be significant, not only for our staff but for their families, friends, and broader networks across Minneapolis and the Twin Cities.”
Many of us are navigating fear, grief, and anger as ICE agents have been present in our neighborhoods at daycares, schools, grocery stores, and on the streets where we live and care for our families. — Snow Kreilich Architects
While Snow Kreilich has remained operational throughout the past few weeks, the firm told us that its priorities have shifted. The studio has focused on offering flexibility to colleagues, sharing resources, and monitoring volunteering opportunities. They have sought to make their studio into a place where “people can gather, process, and support one another while continuing the work of designing toward a more just and equitable world.”
“The Day of Truth and Freedom strike was a powerful form of collective action,” the firm added. “It demonstrated the strength of solidarity across labor, community, and professional sectors and affirmed that participation, whether through presence, volunteering, or stepping back from work, is a meaningful way to show up. For us, it reinforced that architecture does not exist apart from civic life. Our work is inseparable from the safety, dignity, and belonging of the people and communities we serve.”
Meanwhile, we asked fellow Minneapolis firm TEN x TEN how the current situation has impacted the team on a personal level. “It is an exhausting combination of disbelief, rage, and fear, wrapped in an expansive blanket of love and pride for our community and for our team,” the firm’s founders and principals, Maura Rockcastle and Ross Altheimer, told us.
Like Snow Kreilich, the chaos has caused the firm to switch its priorities, now minimizing non-billable work to prioritize important projects. “We have hosted conversations and offered increased flexibility for our team, as well as offered them four hours a week of volunteer time to use as they need to support their neighbors,” the firm told us. “We have reached out to the landscape architecture leaders in our community to suggest a roundtable conversation and brainstorm ways of supporting each other now and into the future as we anticipate the ripple effects of this occupation.”
The firm has also been involved in activism and protest in the wake of violence by ICE agents. “The positive energy and hope many of us felt participating in the strike and march last week was a powerful antidote to the previous weeks of grief and anger,” TEN x TEN told us when asked about their experience of recent strikes. “Protest is an incredible form of activism, and we felt uplifted to walk with so many others in our community to make our voice heard. Sadly, we woke up Saturday morning to the news of Alex Pretti’s murder and crumbled. We do not have the words to express our sadness at the loss of Renee Good and Alex Pretti; at the violence our neighbors are experiencing at the hands of the federal government. We are on edge, distracted, and in pain. We need to be louder together, and we need a groundswell of change, now.”
When asked what message they would give to the architectural community for this story, the firm told us, “Please take action in your own communities now. Put your representatives’ contact numbers in your phone and call them. Donate, organize, support each other, be peaceful, lead with love, and don’t let up. This is a huge threat on our Democracy, but we will prevail if we all work together.”
“We have been vigilant about open communication and the safety of our small studio,” Arno Adkins, Partner at COOKFOX Architects and head of the firm’s Minneapolis office, shared with us. “The recent events have not impacted our business operations directly, yet. We are also acutely aware that many in the community can’t say the same; construction sites have labor shortages; Minneapolis and St. Paul schools changed to remote learning; restaurants have temporarily closed; and many are working remotely until they feel safe going out into the community again. Our city has been pushed to the edge and is exhausted. The exhaustion is palpable; you can feel it in the air.”
Our city has been pushed to the edge and is exhausted. The exhaustion is palpable; you can feel it in the air. — COOKFOX Architects
“On a personal level, it’s been difficult to focus on visionary design when our community has been overwhelmed by chaos, grief, and the pressing need to assist those affected while being mindful of the safety of my family and colleagues. While we navigate the present crisis, we are also mindful of the recovery and healing our communities will need to navigate moving forward. Minneapolis has been forever changed, but we remain optimistic for our future and for our city.”
Adkins added: “The events in Minneapolis, and in so many other communities in our nation, have created a situation in which we believe we have a moral imperative to express our dissent and come together to grieve what is happening. To witness thousands of our neighbors show up in sub-zero temperatures to protest the escalating violence by the federal government created a sense of awe and belonging.”
The architectural community continues to respond
In addition to the firms we spoke with, several firms either headquartered or operating satellite offices in Minneapolis have taken to social media to share a mix of sadness, outrage, and calls to action. Below, we have set out a selection of such messages:
JXTA | Environmental Design Lab
We want to hear from you: Are you an architecture or design firm in Minneapolis experiencing similar challenges? Please share your personal situation in the comments below.