CONTEXT
Peavey Plaza is a historic gem of Minneapolis, nearly lost to the deterioration of time. The landscape architecture led team set forth to preserve the character of the plaza while addressing issues of inclusivity and accessibility. Through a balance of innovation, modernization, and preservation, the project sets a new standard for the historic rehabilitation of landscape architecture.
In 1975, landscape architect M. Paul Freidberg conceived Peavey Plaza as the “living room” of downtown Minneapolis. The iconic sunken plaza balanced the tranquility of a central reflecting pool with a cascading concrete fountain and active programming that filled the plaza throughout the year. The project was completed in tandem with Orchestra Hall and was well-loved and heavily used by the people of Minneapolis.
CHALLENGES
Within a few years of opening, maintenance challenges arose. The water features relied on a new technology, and the pumps quickly failed—succumbing to the harsh Minnesota winters—while the vegetation required constant but hard-to-access maintenance.
As decades passed, the deterioration of Peavey Plaza accelerated. Lawns were replaced with concrete; light fixtures failed and were removed; wooden site furnishings were painted; chemicals in the water tarnished the fountain’s stainless-steel canisters and stained the concrete. Eventually, the basin was drained, leaving the fountains, runnels, and canisters dry. This once bustling plaza lay dormant—no longer the central destination it had been for so long.
BUILDING CONSENSUS
Amid concerns regarding the effort that a restoration would require, the plaza was slated for demolition. The Cultural Landscape Foundation— a non-profit that educates and engages the public to make our shared landscape heritage more visible —stepped in at the last minute to try to save the space through legal avenues. Through their involvement, the Peavey Plaza was saved from destruction and elevated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
The City of Minneapolis, alongside the State of Minnesota and private donors, then began a revitalization process to breathe life into the downtown living room and preserve its iconic brutalist character—all while improving accessibility, safety, and sustainability.
Coen + Partners was selected as the landscape architect. Given the high-profile nature of this historic project, we embarked on a robust stakeholder and community engagement process. Through 60+ meetings with the client and community, we worked towards a consensus that would address the City’s needs.
We walked a diplomatic tightrope from the start: the plaza was in desperate need of “modernization”, but several stakeholders pushed for rehabilitating the project to its original condition. Faithfully restoring the original design would perpetuate several of the plaza’s issues: namely, poor ADA accessibility, significant water waste, and safety issues.
To build consensus, we assembled a technical review team comprised of historic preservationists, accessibility community representatives, and safety officials, as well as the facility management team. At the start of each meeting, we re-established the shared project goals project and ensured each stakeholder had time to speak. No meetings were held without key representatives from each technical perspective. This process established trust and created a strong foundation for design decisions.
REHABILITATION
Rehabilitating this masterpiece of brutalist architecture involved a detailed examination of the original design. Restoring the cascading fountains was key to creating a sense of renewal and revitalization. Select terraced lawns were reinstated while others were replaced with permeable pavers for increased accessibility and stormwater management. Site furniture, steel sculptures, and light fixtures were either restored or recreated. The use of board-formed concrete finishes on new walls seamlessly integrates with the original design.
The 1974 planting plans were missing from the original construction drawing set. The design team developed the plant list based on researching other documentation, including letters, cost estimates from construction administration, historic photos, and analysis from the Historic Structure Report (HSR). The restored cascading fountains and vegetation create an atmosphere that transports you out of the city—bringing a sense of renewal and revitalization.
EQUAL ACCESS
The implemented design integrates a more accessible entrance in an area already compromised by failing non-historic CMU walls. This new entrance from Nicollet Mall is comprised of 4% sloped walkways connecting between existing terraces to serve as landings, therefore increasing accessibility to the smaller intimate areas across multiple levels as well as the lowest basin level. By utilizing board-formed concrete finishes that mimic the horizontal planes and weaving the walkways within the existing structure of the plaza, it is difficult to tell where the new design begins and the original ends.
We raised the basin of the sunken plaza to enhance accessibility, strengthen the plaza’s flexibility, and create a more welcoming public space. However, raising the basin also disturbed the character-defining reflecting pool. Through careful yearlong technical coordination, prototyping, and consensus-building, the strategy assured the impact and corresponding aesthetics were appropriate for the site in this revitalization.
In restoring the basin, the design team was challenged with preserving the existing concrete coping. We used a point cloud survey and Revit model to understand the nuances of the existing concrete and find the perfect elevation of the weir stone. The scrim stands alone, elevated on CIP walls and precast planks. The basin floor was preserved and reused as a spread footing for the CIP walls. A stainless steel “bridge” piece attached to the scrim provides a final solution for the micro-adjustments to mitigate the vertical and horizontal gap between the chamfered concrete coping and weir stone. Reconfiguring the reflecting pool into an accessible water feature was critical to creating equal access and a vibrant public realm.
SUSTAINABILITY
Reducing the water depth from a 10” pool to a 1/4” scrim pool lowered the total required volume from 62,000 gallons to 14,000 gallons. The basin originally took days to fill or drain, and all water was expelled to the storm sewer. Now, the basin can fill in 15 minutes and drain to a storage chamber in an hour— saving water and providing flexibility to transition from an accessible water feature to a dry programmable plaza quickly. 95% of stormwater is captured on-site through permeable pavers, lawns, and below-ground storage to be reused on-site.
Peavey Plaza
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Designer Credit: Coen+Partners
Client: City of Minneapolis
Company Role on Project: Landscape Architect
Collaborators/Other Consultants:
Fountain Design: Fluidity Design Consultants
Historical Consultant: New History
Civil, Electrical and Structural Engineering: Barr Engineering
Lighting Design: Tillett Lighting Design
Images: Courtesy of Coen+Partners
Winner of the 2024 WLA Awards – TCLF Cultural Landscape Award
