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Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present

Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present examines the enduring pursuit of the Future City, both globally and in Minnesota. The concept of future cities as a means to create more habitable, just, and sustainable places for people to live, work, and play has captivated visionaries across place and time. The exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis has been supported in part by the SOM Foundation as part of the 2024 Research Prize.

June 25, 2025–September 14, 2025
Weisman Art Museum
333 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455

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Minnesota Experimental City Authority, Minnesota Experimental City Illustrative Development Plan, Pine Moraine, 1973. Color ink printed on paper; Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Experimental City Authority, Design Strategy Statement, Preliminary Report Part 1.0 of Volume V, “Urban Design;” Original dimensions: 11 x 8.5 in.

The Minnesota Experimental City (MXC, 1966–73) was a bold and radical vision for urban innovation, led by Athelstan Spilhaus, former dean of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology. MXC aimed to address the challenges facing American cities in the 1960s by creating a noiseless, fumeless, and self-sustaining urban environment capable of accommodating population growth and industrial byproducts.

examines the enduring pursuit of the Future City, both globally and in Minnesota. The concept of future cities as a means to create more habitable, just, and sustainable places for people to live, work, and play has captivated visionaries across place and time. Organized by a team of University of Minnesota architecture and design faculty and students, Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present is a curated collection of illustrations, diagrams, and architectural drawings, featuring groundbreaking case studies that reimagine the form and function of future cities. Through a perspective that bridges global examples with pivotal projects from Minnesota, Imagining Future Cities fosters dynamic dialogue between international trends and local ingenuity.

Minnesota Experimental City Authority Implications for a new Urban Form – Megastructure with Dome and Gallery Network, 1973 black ink printed on paper Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Experimental City Authority, Design Strategy Statement, Preliminary Report Part 1.0 of Volume V, “Urban Design” Original dimensions: 11 x 8.5 in.

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Architects, urban planners, artists, civic leaders, and other thinkers have envisioned future human habitats that adapt and shape how humans live on, draw from, and care for the resources of our shared planet. Cities (one of the most complex inventions of human civilization) are constantly evolving and transforming; some changes emerge organically, while others stem from deliberate human intervention through imaginative innovation.

The installations in Imagining Future Cities invite critical reflection on how contemporary urban design can encourage a more sustainable, equitable, and efficient future, while also embracing beauty as an essential dimension of city-making.

Organized thematically, the exhibition presents three distinct approaches to designing future cities. The “Theoretical Approach” explores three utopian visions from the early twentieth century that have influenced the discourse on the city of tomorrow. The “Experimental Approach” highlights five key visions from World’s Fairs that tested, challenged, and ultimately redefined urban norms. The “Perceptual Approach” examines how people experience and interact with evolving urban and natural environments, leading to a contemporary discussion specifically centered on the future city that has a river as its urban spine. The exhibition culminates in an exploration of the Twin Cities as a “River City,” confronting the challenge of balancing urban growth, environmental stewardship, and cultural heritage.

As Minnesota stands at the crossroads of past aspirations and future possibilities, Imagining Future Cities serves as both a reflection and a call to action—urging us to shape the cities of tomorrow today.

Thomas Fisher, Joseph Hang, Nantida Thao, Xiaotong Liu, Zahra Adibzadeh, and Beau Gaulin; Lake Superior City, Perspective View, 2024; Digital color print; Minnesota Design Center; Original dimensions: 1189 x 841 mm. Inspired by E. O. Wilson’s “Half-Earth” concept, the Minnesota Design Center’s Lake Superior City envisions a condensed linear city as a sustainable alternative for future urbanization in the face of climate change. Designed to minimize ecological disruption, the proposal concentrates development along a narrow urban corridor positioned along Lake Superior. Preserving vast natural landscapes while fostering dense, efficient, and resilient communities, the project explores innovative solutions for balancing human habitation with environmental conservation, redefining sustainable city-making in a rapidly changing world.

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Public Programming

What: Imagining Future Cities: Civic Visions
When:
Wednesday, September 10, 6–7:30 p.m. |
Where:
Coffman Theater, 300 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Free, RSVP requested

A wide-ranging panel conversation on civic visions of the future city with city leaders and scholars in architecture, urban planning, and public policy. The panel conversation will take place in the Coffman Theater, with a reception to follow at the Weisman Art Museum, with light refreshments and cash bar.

Featured speakers: Former Minneapolis mayor, R.T. Rybak; MIT Vice Provost and professor of Urban Design and Public Policy, Brent Ryan; principal and president of the firm VJAA and head of the U of M School of Architecture, Jennifer Yoos; and exhibition curator Dingliang Yang; moderated by U of M professor of Architecture and director of the Minnesota Design Center, Thomas Fisher.

Exhibition Credits

This exhibition is curated by McKnight Land-Grant Professor, University of Minnesota, urban designer, and founding partner of vari architects, Dingliang Yang.

Exhibition team: Thomas Fisher and Jennifer Yoos (U of M faculty); Michael Keller (research fellow); Beau Gaulin, Silver Muzhe Li, Lewis Bayan Liu, Julian Whitman, Timothy Follett-Dion, Avery Blas, Nick Scott, Isaac Bernal, Julia Brand, Ruth Zaw, Jillian Humphreys, Ryland Sample, Duncan Seltzer, Mia Miao, Julie Zhu, Sydney Kramer, and Adam Gardner (research assistants).

Support

Imagining Future Cities is supported in part by the following University of Minnesota entities: College of Design, Imagine Fund, Minnesota Design Center, Research & Innovation Office, and School of Architecture. It is also supported by the SOM Foundation, Stratasys, and vari architects. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Additional general operating support is generously provided by AmeripriseFinancial. Special thanks to the KHR McNeely Family Foundation, thanks to Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely, for their support of the Weisman’s exhibitions and exhibition-related programming.

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“Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present,” Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, 2025. © David Schalliol.

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“Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present,” Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, 2025. © David Schalliol.

“Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present,” Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, 2025. © David Schalliol.

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“Imagining Future Cities: Global and Minnesota Visions, Past and Present,” Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, 2025. © David Schalliol.

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