A Comparative Analysis of the IDS Center and International Market Square
Introduction and Thesis: In this study to learn about what really makes a successful public space, my teammates and I studied two public spaces that we chose: the IDS Center and International Market Square in Minneapolis. These two buildings are comparable because of the presence of a public courtyard, and assorted stores or offices surrounding the courtyard, or in other parts of the buildings. Although the two places are supposed to be similar in function, as they both have public spaces, but also function as office spaces that can be rented out, a multitude of factors contributed to the major differences of the spaces. As my teammates and I realized this initially, we conducted further research of both of the spaces by visiting both places frequently throughout the semester. Each team member had an assigned 1-hour slot to conduct site visits each weekly of each site. During the research process, we created individual hypotheses and group hypotheses to test, and we demonstrated our results through different diagrams and pictures. These diagrams included site contextual diagrams, sections, daylighting diagrams, pictures of materiality and seating, scalar analysis, and gamma and beta diagrams. Through these diagrams, my teammates and I developed a thesis about the similarities and differences between the IDS Center and International Market Square, in relation to how each functions as a public place. After a semester of analyzing, our hypothesis bloomed to this: The IDS Center creates a successful public courtyard through its porosity, commercial access, and diffused daylighting, whereas International Market Square s : courtyard is better suited as an intimate space due to its deliberate privacy, exclusive clientele, and dynamic lighting. In the beginning of our research, we started broadly by looking at accessibility and site connections of the IDS Center and International Market Square, slowly getting narrower and narrower as we delved deeper into our research.
Figure 1.1, Site Connections of IDS. Figure 1.2, Site Connections of IMS. Site Connections In relation to one another, IDS and IMS are both in Minneapolis, but are in drastically different parts of the city. The IDS Center is located in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, whereas IMS is right next to the freeway 94W. The locations of both places have a heavy impact on the amount of traffic that each building receives, and inherently the kind of tenants and end uses each space has. As shown in one of the pictures in Figure 1.1, IMS is very isolated from downtown. The highest amount of traffic is by car because of the lack of public transportation routes in the area surrounding it, and because it is very near to a freeway exit. The light rail is more than a 20-minute walk away, and there is only one bus route even close to IMS (Figure 1.1). In result, IMS has three different parking lots for its employees and guests to use, since car is the most popular way to travel to IMS. Enforcing the lack of foot traffic is a fence that surrounds the property, making it seem less encouraging for pedestrians to wander into the building (Figure 1.1). Additionally, the front doors of the building are not facing the street, which create extra effort for pedestrians to come explore International Market Square without knowing what it is first. As shown in Figure 1.2, the IDS Center is located in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. Because of this, IDS is drastically more accessible than IMS. The IDS Center s location on Nicollet Mall, one of the most walkable streets in Minneapolis, encourages public transit and foot traffic to ensue. There are dozens of public transit stops within mere blocks of IDS, including the Green Line LRT station, which is a straight walk a few blocks from IDS. An outcome of the abundance of public transit is also the additional pedestrians that are able to travel to the cities to enjoy streets such as Nicollet Mall, which delivers people to wander into the IDS Center out of mere curiosity, increasing foot traffic within the building and making it more populated. While the IDS Center and International Market Square are almost incomparable in terms of location, the IDS Center draws in more foot traffic due to its central location in downtown Minneapolis. A public space such as the Crystal Court in IDS, or any other public spaces should to be located in a pedestrian heavy area in order for it to be popular and successful as a public space.
Figure 2.1, Destination Diagram of IMS. Figure 2.2, Porosity Diagram of IDS. Porosity and Destination Sections In direct result from the locations of both places, both IMS and IDS have their own specific qualities that are attributed to them. Because International Market Square is not in a downtown area and the buildings are more spread out individuals do not just discover IMS and wander in out of mere curiosity. The individuals that go there have specifically chosen or needed to get there, because they need to go to work, or visit a specific store. Because individuals most often come to IMS with a specific end goal in mind, IMS becomes a destination, rather than a means to an end. In conjunction with the location, the configuration of entrances and the floorplan of the building also contribute to the destination-like quality for the public place. The presence of only one set of doors for the entire building makes it more pronounced that once an individual enters the building, they are cannot go anywhere else without exiting through those doors; compared to the IDS Center, where multiple sets of doors allow for entry and exit out of different doors. The public courtyard in IMS seems like a destination for its inhabitants as well. All of the offices and stores are configured around the courtyard, and the courtyard is the place where the stairs and the hallways begin after entering in through the lobby. Since people are essentially forced to go towards the courtyard in IMS to get to any other place in the building, this is why the diagram 2.1 shows that from all sides of the building, the directions (arrows) take them to the courtyard, because that s where they have to begin their walk to their final destination (a store or their office). Just as the location of IMS contributes to the attributes that IMS acquires, the same goes for the IDS Center. The amount of entrances and exits out of the IDS Center into downtown creates a certain porosity to the space. On the ground floor alone, there are more than four exits for individuals to go in and out of, shooting them right onto one of the streets of downtown Minneapolis. In addition, the skyways that are connected to the IDS Center on the second floor give the building even more connections to other places downtown, like Macy s and Gavidae Commons. The amount of connections that the IDS Center has naturally transforms IDS to be used as a transportation hub for many pedestrians to get to the places that they need to be, such as work, or different stores or restaurants that they like to frequent on their way to work. It is a beautiful and popular place for people to travel through conveniently to their destinations. Since IDS is not always a destination for people, and significantly helps individuals get to their destinations instead, it is more frequented and always more populated than IMS. The arrow in Figure 2.2 shows just one example of how an individual can enter through one door and go straight out through another, demonstrating IMS s porosity.
Figure 3.1, Scale Analysis of IMS. Figure 3.2, Scale Analysis of IDS. Scale Analysis Even though IDS is in a much more dense part of Minneapolis compared to IMS, it is much larger than IMS. While the IMS building is still large, it could be much larger in proportion to the property that it is on. Instead of making the building bigger, there are 3 parking lots that take up a lot of the space, which is because International Market Square was adapted from a factory, so the structure had to be left in tact (CITATION). IMS itself is not as tall and is much narrower than IDS. Because of this, people are much more noticeable within the space, especially within the courtyard. Even the hallways are much smaller in general and make the place seem confusing and hard to navigate, as sight lines are restricted by the narrow hallway walls. The narrower nature of IMS makes an individual seem like an intruder in the space, rather than free to explore it like at IDS, due to the open, large walkways. Figure 3.1 reveals that the space an individual takes up in the courtyard at IMS. Additionally, the photo on the left in Figure 3.1 shows how narrow and enclosed a hallway is. IDS, specifically the Crystal Court, is much wider, taller, and longer than IMS and its courtyard is. Because of this, the individuals within it do not feel as if they make much of an impact on the interior of the space and aren t intruding as much, like individuals feel at IMS. Also, because of how large the Crystal Court at IDS is, more people can fit and use the space than the courtyard at IMS can functionally. Even the pathways at IDS, specifically the pathways around the courtyard on the second level taking people to the skyways, are very open, large, tall, and wide. This encourages more people to take these pathways. Figure 3.2 shows how large a person is in the Crystal Court, and especially reveals how much space there is to fit dozens of other people in the space. Additionally, at IDS there is a scale model showing pedestrians just outside of the doors to the ground floor, which further reveals the vastness that is IDS. As the IDS Center s interior is much larger than that at IMS, it is much more successful as a public space. Because it is so large, individuals are not intimidated to enter and explore the space, and feel like they blend in with the other hundreds of people. At IMS, the narrower and more condensed feel to the walkways and courtyard makes individuals feel more noticeable and self-conscious of their presence in IMS. Because of this, the larger the public space (within reason), the more successful it will be.
Figure 4.1, Beta Diagram and Circulation Map of IMS. Figure 4.2, Beta Diagram and Circulation Map of IDS. Beta Diagrams and Circulation Mapping Building on the scales and configurations of the interiors of both IDS and IMS, the nature of popular walking paths changes in each space. Since the nature of IMS includes all of the winding hallways wrapping around the building and the courtyard, there is a much smaller amount of popular pathways, since the stores and offices are more scattered around the building, making more varied pathways. Additionally, the offices and stores in IMS are not located in private areas, causing there to be much more obscure routes at IMS than IDS. Because of this, and since the hallways are so tucked away within the building, they are much less travelled compared to IDS. The most popular pathway at IMS consists of entering the lobby and heading straight for the elevator or the double helix staircase. The Beta Diagram in Figure 4.1 demonstrates the routes at IMS, where the routes do not often overlap. The circulation in Figure 4.1 also demonstrates actual paths that individuals have taken in IMS during one of my team member s observation times, and the routes do not overlap half as much as they do for IDS, and have more route variations than at IDS. Since IDS is used as a transit way to other places, there are specific pathways that are very popular and are constantly being used to get from one entrance to an exit. Countless individuals enter the building, and either head straight to the elevators or escalators to get immediately to their offices. In Figure 4.2, the diagram shows the walking paths at IDS, where many of the walking paths intersect or overlap at some point, since many individuals are going in the same direction, because there are more common paths within IDS. In Figure 4.2, this circulation map shows the frequency of individuals taking their paths during a team member s one-hour observation time. The one pathway from an entrance to IDS to the escalators is the most walked path. This one heavily concentrated path, compared to IMS s multitude of more varied paths, shows that IDS is both more populated during one hour than IMS is, and also that IMS s paths are more scattered throughout the building, and specifically not in the courtyard, while IDS s most popular walk way is through the Crystal Court.
Figure 5.1, Gamma Diagram of IMS. Figure 5.2, Gamma Diagram of IDS. Gamma Diagrams These gamma diagrams demonstrate the privacy gradient within each building, which is very largely indicated by the location of the courtyard. At International Market Square, there is a much more developed privacy gradient, demonstrated by the multitude of fan shapes in the gamma diagram in Figure 5.1. There is only one door that individuals can use to enter the building, demonstrated by the open circle with the cross through it. Through this door, individuals have to go through the lobby to get to the main atrium space, indicated by the red circle. From the atrium, there are several different ways that individuals can go. However, individuals can skip going through the atrium at IMS, since there are several hallways that wind around the atrium itself to go to other places. Since the atrium is optional to go through, the privacy gradient is much more complicated. At the IDS Center, the multiple exterior space circles indicated the number of doors that are available on the first level to enter the building (Figure 5.2). All of these doors open up straight into the Crystal Court, which is the red circle in the middle of the diagram. From the Crystal Court, individuals can go anywhere in the space the skyways, or up the escalators to other spaces. This gamma diagram s biggest revelation is that all spaces lead directly to the courtyard making it the most central space in the IDS Center. Since it is the most central, it is a more successful space and populated space, since it is not optional to skip going through the Crystal Court.
Figure 6.1, Pictures of Commercial Access and Signage at IMS. Signage at IDS. Figure 6.2, Pictures of Commercial Access and Clientele, Commercial Access, and Signage IMS and IDS differ in terms of differences in clientele, commercial access, and signage. At IDS, they have major chains such as Starbucks, Yogurt Lab, Potbelly, and Banana Republic. Simply the presence of these types of stores and restaurants encourages the public into the Crystal Court simply to get food or to go shopping, and to sit down in the Crystal Court to finish their food. One of the main reasons why people do sit down in the Crystal Court is to eat their food, and then leave. Also, since IDS is connected to the skyway, it connects pedestrians to dozens of other places within downtown Minneapolis. By going to IDS, an individual can go anywhere he wants in downtown Minneapolis through the skyways. In addition to the recognizable tenants in the space, the signage at IDS is much more clear as well. The signage is very easy to decipher especially since there are only a few major (but very large and open) pathways surrounding the Crystal Court at IDS. It is pretty much self explanatory on how to get places that a pedestrian needs to go. They are very clear and indicate which stores or buildings they are heading to if they should choose to take that skyway somewhere else. At IMS, there are only ten stores that are fully open to the public, that people outside of the design profession can purchase from. All of the other stores require that professionals from the design field only buy from them. There is one convenience store at IMS, and that obviously does not attract outsiders to IMS, since it is not a recognizable or popular chain restaurant or store. There also is a restaurant, but it is relatively fancy and does not encourage casual eating outside or around it in the courtyard. Additionally, the signage at IMS is drastically different. For example, in IMS the sign says More Showrooms, which is extremely vague and only people that are frequently at IMS know where they are going. Instead of telling exactly which stores or offices a hallway lead to, it is unclear. On top of the unclear signage, the sheer amount of hallways with this kind of signage makes the entirety of IMS very confusing to outsiders, which does not encourage more traffic within IMS. Overall, IDS is the better example for a public place with clear signage, more popular stores and restaurants that attract strangers to the Crystal Court.
Figure 7.1 Pictures of the Interior Lighting at IMS. Figure 7.2, Pictures of the Interior Lighting at IDS. Artificial Lighting and Color Palettes At both International Market Square and the IDS Center, the artificial lighting, in conjunction with the color palettes and the natural lighting affect the ambiance of both spaces. At International Market Square, the warmer color palette gives off a homey ambiance into the space. The dramatic shadows that the artificial lighting create generally gives a more intimate feeling to the space. At the IDS Center, the Crystal Court is a very natural space. The abundance of natural lighting from the ceiling combined with all of the exposed artificial lighting gives individuals in the space almost a feeling of outdoors without the exposure to the elements. The exposed light bulbs and can lighting adds a semi-industrial aesthetic to the space, which is becoming more trendy. In conclusion, a more successful public space has more trendy aesthetics, and err on the more natural side in combination with the daylighting.
Figure 8.1, Natural Daylighting Diagram of IMS. Figure 8.2, Natural Daylighting Diagram of IDS. Natural Lighting The presence of windows and glass is one of the decisive factors of why IDS is a more successful space than IMS. At IMS, while there is a large section of the roof that is dedicated to windows, it does not consist of the entire roof, and is much narrower and smaller in general. Because of this, the lighting is more directed and angular than that at IDS, as shown in Figure 8.1. In fact, the angle that the light comes in often barely directly shine onto the floor of the courtyard. Additionally, the hallways that weave their way around the entire building get no natural light whatsoever, forcing them to completely rely on artificial lighting, which also contributes to the warmer color palette of the building. Since the entire ambiance of the building feels more manmade, the building feels more intimate. At the IDS Center, the entire roof for the Crystal Court consists of glass. Because the Crystal Court is so wide, that allows for a lot of natural light to diffuse into the building, as shown in Figure 8.2. This natural lighting is conducive to a natural ambiance to the space, encouraging people to feel welcome and invigorated there. Individuals always go towards the light compared to staying in the dark when given the choice to, so the presence of abundant natural light in the space might even make the space more attractive to strangers.
Figure 9.1, Materials in IMS. Materials Figure 9.2, Materials in IDS. The materiality of both the IDS Center and IMS is vital to the perception of the spaces. IMS was transformed from a factory into the building and amalgamation of businesses that it is now. Because of this, IMS had to take into account the existing materials that were there when they were designing it. For example, the pre-existing warm colored brick throughout the entire building made a huge impact on the ambiance of the building, giving it a more home-like feeling. While it might seem like in result it might be more welcoming because of that, it might even do the opposite for the space. Since International Market Square has such an exclusive community within it, it might feel like home to its employees, but may even do the opposite for visitors of the space. Visitors and strangers can even feel as if they are intruding on someone else s home because of the finishes. These finishes include brick for the walls, carpeting and tiling for the floors, metal decking for the ceilings, and curvilinear fencing around the higher levels surrounding the courtyard. In addition, the presence of foliage in IMS made a definite impact on how people feel in the courtyard. In addition to these finishes, IMS has foliage that looks like it is from exotic places. When I was visiting IMS, I questioned whether or not the foliage was real, and discovered that it was indeed real. Since it was exotic, and often sitting in a vase on top of a carpet flooring, it seemed out of place, and makes the individuals feel out of place as well. At IDS, the presence of real, natural foliage makes the Crystal Court seem more like an outdoor space, in combination with the diffused natural lighting that occupies the entire space. Since most or all of the foliage within the space is native to the Midwest, people do not feel out of place in the space. The cooler color palette that the materials in IDS have give the space a more relaxed and natural setting. These finishes include plasterboard for the ceilings, glass storefronts, a speckled concrete or stone for the flooring, very flat carpet for the skyways, glass fencing for the upper floor walk ways, and glass for the roof of the space. The abundance of glass allows for natural light to bounce around in the space, making it full of light and even more conducive to an energetic space.
Figure 10.1, Pictures of Seating in IMS. Figure 10.2, Pictures of Seating in IDS. Seating In compilation with the materials of both courtyards, the seating at the IDS Center and International Market Square has a drastic impact on the uses of the courtyards. In the courtyard at IMS, the movable individual chairs are facing inward towards a table shared with other chairs (Figure 10.1). Because of this, people are less confident to sit at the same table if other individuals are present, since there is the confrontation aspect that occurs when one approaches a table that another individual is already occupying. Additionally, the seating at IMS changes on a regular basis. Throughout the times that my teammates and I visited IMS, the seating configuration had changed at least three different times, making the courtyard seem less like a normal, constant place for people to approach, but more of a place only for special events. Even though the courtyard at IMS is used for special events, on the days that it is not, the courtyard is unapproachable and unwelcoming, and individuals do not know if they are supposed to sit there, or if it is allowed. In the Crystal Court at IDS, the benches are facing away from a central point, which happens to be a tree, which is even more natural for users (Figure 10.2). Since the benches face away from a central point, the people do not have to visually confront each other to let the other know that they are sitting at the same junction that someone else is in. Facing away from others makes it easier for an individual to do, giving each individual their personal space. When given a choice, people often avoid confrontation so this configuration is much more suitable for a public space. Also, the seating is permanent and gives the users of the space a sense of confidence that sitting there is perfectly fine and allowed. In conclusion, seating that faces away from a central point is ideal in a public space, as users of the space do not have to as often visually confront each other when sitting down, just like the seating in IDS. In a public space, the less confrontation there can be, the more approachable and popular it will be.
Conclusion The differences between International Market Square and the IDS Center are largely caused by location, tenants, and materials used in the spaces. The location of the IDS Center is much more optimal for a public space, as it already has much more foot traffic due to its location on Nicollet Mall and all of the public transit surrounding it. Also, because of its location, IDS is able to house popular tenants such as Starbucks, Banana Republic, Cozi, and Yogurt Lab, which attracts strangers to the place, increasing the foot traffic even more. The outdoorsy feeling due to the plentiful natural lighting everywhere in the IDS Center, the native Midwestern foliage, and the background noise of the waterfall makes it seem like a much more natural public place for people to be in, Compared to the IDS Center s Crystal Court, International Market Square s location is not optimal, and is not encouraging to foot traffic. No individuals discover IMS like some do at IDS, because it is not in a centralized location. In addition, the tenants at IMS are more exclusive than those at IDS, making IMS a more exclusive place for designers and their clients to be. This does not encourage the building, and especially the atrium to be used as a public place almost feeling discriminative to others not in the design field. Because IMS was adapted from a factory, the finishes and lack of natural lighting in the space are not as natural, making it seem even more exclusive than it already is. It feels homey to its residents and regulars, with the brick finishes and artificial lighting that create dramatic shadows, but it makes visitors and strangers feel out of place since it is not their home. Both of these summaries of IMS and IDS support my teammates and I s thesis: The IDS Center creates a successful public courtyard through its porosity, commercial access, and diffused daylighting, whereas International Market Square s : courtyard is better suited as an intimate space due to its deliberate privacy, exclusive clientele, and dynamic lighting. Throughout the semester, my teammates and I learned so much about the study of public places. Because we studied IMS and IDS, we now know some factors of what it takes to make a successful public space. This project will help us in the future to analyze sites and other buildings that can be precedents to our own projects as designers. This experience greatly helps us comprehend what research and effort goes into a design of a public place, and will give us a head start on our futures as designers.
Bibliography About IDS Center. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://idscenter.com/?page_id=11 About IMS Center. (n.d.) Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://imsdesigncenter.com/ Observational data by Data available by request. Photos by. Skyscraper City. (2016). Retrieved November 30, from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=15349