PUBLISHER’S NOTE
CREATING THE FUTURE, TOGETHER There is a unique electricity in this moment. It’s a feeling that reminds me of the first time I walked out onto the high dive. It was the early 1980s in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when they still had threemeters-high platforms at public pools. I can feel the solid surface under my feet, but my stomach is a swirl of anticipation and fear. I’m recognizing that the handrails that guided me upward and outward are now behind me; there is no turning back.Yet all this trepidation is outweighed by a powerful intention— a commitment to move forward; to take the leap, fall through the open air, and plunge deep into the water. As our Minnesota community comes to grips with the converging and evolving crises of racial injustice, climate change, and the global pandemic, there are very few knowns; we have more questions than answers. But we do know change is not just inevitable; it is imperative. We know that a bright future can only be created if the ambiguity of the unknown is embraced and we recognize that what got us to today won’t bring us to our highest and best potential tomorrow. We also know that to reach that potential, all who influence the future—in particular, the future of the built environment—need to be better connected to each other. We need to grow our collective awareness of the systems of the past and present, and challenge our assumptions. We need to ask timely questions, amplify insights, and actively explore a wide range of solutions. We need dedicated attention to the most challenging issues of our time and regular inspiration to spark innovation, to keep joy and love in our work, and to not lose momentum in our efforts.
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ARCHITECTURE MN
September/October 2020
And, at AIA Minnesota, we know that a bimonthly print magazine just isn’t well suited to this purpose.
Architecture MN is at the end of its run, and what a great run it’s been. With this final issue, we’re celebrating where we’ve been and what we’ve learned, while at the same time eagerly imagining and preparing for what’s next. What’s next is ENTER (page 84), the digital weekly and annual print publication that will replace Architecture MN starting in January 2021. (Sign up now at www.entermn.com.) While this change was in the works for a long time— the decision to embrace the benefits of more frequent digital content and less frequent print publication was made with unanimous support of the AIA Minnesota board of directors more than 18 months ago—the events of the past six months have given us even greater confidence that this is the right path forward.
Architecture MN has never been static. It has won awards year after year because it has evolved and become better over time. The credit for that upward progress, that deep commitment to continuous improvement, lies solidly with a team of collaborators and contributors (see sidebar) led by Chris Hudson, who has been the editor of Architecture MN for more than 15 years. While my history with Architecture MN does not extend back to before Chris’s time, simply looking at past issues of the magazine over the decades shows that previous editors—Camille LeFevre, Eric Kudalis, Heidi Fischer, Linda Mack, and Bill Houseman—had a similar commitment to excellence and desire to meet the moment, and aimed to both anticipate and help shape the future.