US Courthouse Plaza, Minneapolis, MN

From CollabLandWiki

Landscape Architect: Martha Schwartz

The US Courthouse Plaza design, also known as 'Drumlin Park,' was designed with the intent of acknowledging the founders of Minnesota. Martha Schwartz says that she wanted people to recognize the forest growth in Minnesota and how the first pioneers utilized the forests to create logging industries and provide shelter for their families. For this reason she created seating with log benches and used the stunted Jack Pine, common to Minnesota. In her Book, "The Vanguard Landscapes of Martha Schwartz," she explains the creation of the drumlins was inspired by the "typical Minnesotan field of Drumlins." The drumlins are meant to not only keep people safe and guide them into the courthouse, but to also enhance the drumlins and their sculptural effect on the plaza during the winter months.

This design is successful in a couple of ways, the first way is that it is used and experienced during the winter time. Because of the way the drumlins are placed, people must walk through and around the drumlins. This is noted by all the foot paths leading to and from the snow creating an unusual effect on the design. The snow also brings out the green in the Landscape, a color that is not seen much in the winter time.

Minnesotans tend to be a conservative group, and they don't typically deal well with change. So a design like this has its weakness in how much the site stands out from the rest of the area and how modern the site looks. The general consensus among critics is that the design is a degradation to the city; logs and drumlins don't belong in downtown Minneapolis.