McNamara Alumni Center

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McNamara Alumni Center (both trapezoidal structure and office building building on its left). The new TCF Bank Stadium is rising in the background, only a block away from the site of the former stadium. The photo also shows the associated park in the foreground, as well as the more recently constructed Alumni Wall of Honor, which echoes the design of the Alumni Center.

The McNamara Alumni Center, also known as the Gateway Building, at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota is one of the more architecturally-unique buildings in the area. Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction began the 230,000-square-foot complex in March 1998 and completed construction in February 2000.^[1]

Located at the intersection of University Avenue and Oak Street SE, the landmark building resides on land formerly home to Memorial Stadium. In fact, the interior of the building features an arch that was once an entrance to the stadium. Outside, there is a small water pool and fountain, although it is not in operation for most of the academic year because of the region's climate. The building opened in February 2000 and is named for Richard McNamara, a 1956 alumnus of the University and former football player.

University officials chose architect Antoine Predock in 1996 to design the structure.^[2]. KKE Architects of Minneapolis served as the project's executive architect and general manager. The university held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the complex during November 1997.^[3]

The building contains two main components: office space and a public reception area. About 75,000 square feet of copper clads the rectangular portion where university offices, including the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, are located.^[4] Whereas granite supported by 500 steel beams forms an asymmetrical geode-styled area of the building featuring an interior public Memorial Hall 85 foot tall.^[4] Some 2,200 rose-colored granite blocks weighing up to 1,000 pounds each form the geode's exterior. The structure required 40,000 square feet of granite.^[4]

Inside the hall, a series of balconies and a stairway joining the fourth and fifth floors extend from the office section into the reception area. The open expanse of the Memorial Hall's interior is sheathed with the same copper as the exterior in addition to six miles of hemlock planks.^[5] The rock band Incubus used this public atrium during the taping of its music videotrack "Drive", which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.

The building was criticized for many reasons when it was being built. Automobile parking has always been in short supply on campus, and a park area next to the building took away another campus lot (however, a new parking ramp was constructed nearby to help alleviate this problem). Many people considered the building to be unattractive, although that would be expected with any unusual structure^{[citation needed]}. Probably the most enduring criticism, at least among students, is the fact that contributions from alumni went into building the $45 million structure rather than into academic scholarships or other purposes that more directly enhance academics or benefit students^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Building History. McNamara Alumni Center. umn.edu. Retrieved on May 17, 2008.
2. ^ Alumni Center Timeline. umn.edu. Retrieved on May 19, 2008.
3. ^ Dream Come True. umn.edu. Retrieved on May 19, 2008.
4. ^ ^{a b c} The Geode by Vicki Stavig. umn.edu. Retrieved on May 17, 2008.
5. ^ McNamara Alumni Center. umn.edu. Retrieved on May 19, 2008.

[edit] External links

• McNamara Alumni Center