The prestigious Fellowship affords young architects an opportunity to advance their design education by pursuing foreign or domestic travel-study. First awarded in 1989, eligible candidates must be under 40 years of age and have received a professional degree from the University of Minnesota or practice in a Minnesota architectural firm.
Kennedy is a design director at Ellerbe Becket, one of the oldest and largest firms in the country. The company has offices around the world, with its largest office location in Minneapolis.
The $12,000 Fellowship was awarded to Kennedy on the basis of a weekend juried design competition. “Twin Cities Gateway” challenged contestants to design an icon situated between Minneapolis and St. Paul on University Avenue. Rather than designing a single object such as a tower or archway, Kennedy took a different approach.
“I found the assignment to be most difficult and I must admit that I almost declined,” he said. “I was having a hard time at first, so I decided to go out on a limb in interpreting the challenge."
His winning design is an urban space that forms the gateway. Viewed from above (see images below), the space comprises two semi-circular buildings facing one another with a boulevard running through the middle. On either side of the boulevard is a plaza and in the middle is a monument/light rail transit station for motorists and pedestrians to view as they travel through the development.
Kennedy said the four-story, arc-shaped buildings could be mixed-use, meaning they have the potential to offer residential, office and retail space.
After his initial reticence, Kennedy found he enjoyed the design challenge. Accustomed to working in teams at Ellerbe Becket on large-scale projects, he said the Rapson challenge was an opportunity to do something by himself.
“I was especially pleased that Ralph Rapson was on hand again this year,” Kennedy said of the Minnesota architect and educator who inspired the Fellowship. Kennedy had entered the competition in the past and had even been a finalist in previous years. “He (Rapson) remembered me and complimented my drawings and ideas.”
Kennedy will use the $12,000 prize in 2003 to study in Europe. He’ll take two months and visit urban spaces in Italy as well as reconstructed spaces in Berlin. A 12-year Ellerbe Becket employee, Kennedy has worked on projects as diverse as the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and the Nicollet Mall Redevelopment in downtown Minneapolis. He also has worked on international health sciences projects such as Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea.
An innovator since its founding in 1909, Ellerbe Becket Becket is a leader in architecture, engineering and the construction industry with office locations worldwide.
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