PALIMPSEST embraces the history of the site, its roots, as a serene Northern Quebec landscape and an important agricultural region along a prominent river in Canadian history that is the St. Lawrence, while maintaining and celebrating the site’s new and current function as a place for conversations and discourse about art, design, and our roles as humans in the reshaping of the natural world.

CROSS * PURPOSES was submitted to an international design competition that seeks to foster creative challenges to the idea of the garden and its role in contemporary culture while also creating unique visitor experiences. The design speaks to humanity’s irreconcilable urge to both build and break down barriers. Through the inevitable mixing of ideas, barriers become blurred. It is no accident that borders are often sites of innovation and new cultural fusions. This process represents the subversive agency of métissage, quietly defying constructed walls and human separation. Our desire to build and break barriers is at cross-purposes. The myceliation of the birch artifacts in our installation mirrors this idea as wood breaks down into something new.

TVLS is uniquely positioned to research and analyze spatial land and demographic data to inform potential development opportunities in Central Minneapolis. The research in this document collects and analyzes GIS and US Census Data related to ecology, mobility, economics, safety, and demographics in and around this focus area. As research indicated the potential for North Loop park development, we analyzed composite data to identify potential sites for park development.