art space

CREATIVE PROBLEMSOLVING BRINGS FINESSE TO A MINNEAPOLIS ROW HOUSE GUTTED IN 1979, BLENDING HISTORIC ELEMENTS AND MODERN USE IN 1200 SQUARE FEET.

- PATRICIA POORE

OVER TIME, MANY OF THE 1890s brick-and-brownstone row houses ringing downtown Minneapolis were demolished to make way for freeways and urban development. This one survived, despite a 1979 renovation that divided the building into condominiums and stripped out the original woodwork.

The homeowner's condo occupies half of the second floor and all of the top floor, affording million-dollar views of downtown. Research found that the building was designed by architect Warren Howard Hayes and built in 1889. It deserved better.

"I was drawn to working with an architect because I knew they would be able to bring creative problem solving and an artistic finesse that builders might not," says homeowner Seth Goodspeed, who chose David Heide Design Studio after seeing their work on another historic row house. "The Studio brought a lot of value ... because this is a tight space, I had an even better reason to hire an architect.

I also wanted someone who valued the architectural heritage of the building." "When Seth interviewed us, we realized he would be our youngest client-by more than a few years," Heide says, "He wanted to do well by the building and to spend his money wisely."

During the 1979 conversion, the floor plan had changed and the plaster was removed from the brick walls. The only original element was the staircase, though the balustrade was hidden behind knee walls. The second-floor space had been open concept-with no walls or closets.