Oslund and Associates

The firm’s projects range from large corporate campus and university master plans to small private gardens and residences. Oslund and Associates believes that shaping a landscape entails not only providing a place for social, physical, and intellectual interaction, but sculpting the open space into an artful form. The firm has a team of three design principals and seven design professionals. Among the 10 design professionals, five are RLAs.

The principals are Thomas Oslund, FASLA, FAAR, and Jay Coatta, CFO. With offices in Minneapolis since 1998 and in Chicago since 2004, the firm has garnered awards from ASLA and the American Institute of Architects. Principal Thomas Oslund has been honored as a Fellow by ASLA and the American Academy in Rome. Design software the firm uses is AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Sketchup, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Pagemaker.

Gold Medal Park, Minneapolis

Gold Medal Park is in the historic Minneapolis Mill District, sited on 7.5 acres immediately adjacent to the Mississippi River and Jean Nouvel’s Guthrie Theatre. This park brought much needed public open space to the river area and is the city’s first public/private partnership in establishing legacy green spaces. The design intention was an unprogrammed recreational space for myriad uses. There are places for sitting in the sun or shade, eating lunch, throwing a football or a Frisbee, or taking in the views. There are close to 300 hand-chosen mature trees, 6" to 12" in. dia. A sculptural observation mound—32 feet in high and 350 feet wide—has a bosque of Amur maples and seating at the apex. A spiral walkway, bound in Cor-ten steel, allows ascent to the top. From this height there are great views of the river, the Stone Arch Bridge and the skylines of the Twin Cities. The observation mound was also the solution for the on-site environmental remediation by encapsulating the contaminated soils left from the historic land uses. The site furnishings, custom-designed by Oslund and Assoc., include LED-lit Ipe benches, pedestrian pole lights using W-section steel members, Ipe enclosures for utility screening and trash receptacles.

Harley-Davidson Museum, Milwaukee

In July 2008, the 130,000 sq. ft., $75 million Harley-Davidson Museum opened to celebrate the rich legacy of the company and all those affiliated with their products. The building and site materials reflect the industrial heritage of the area and of Harley-Davidson, as seen in the extensive use of steel members and rivets as visible features. Oslund and Associates played a crucial role in crafting engaging site elements by designing custom I-beam benches, pole lights, planters, riverwalk railing and memorial rivets.

The site, not just the building complex, was considered the “Museum,” and thus the museum experience extends to the outdoor space. A series of riverwalks connect formal outdoor spaces of the museum complex with informal open spaces and the parking gardens to the west. Bosques of trees in steel bench planters line the Founder’s Terrace to reflect the geometries of the museum towers, providing a place for gathering and relaxation. The museum brings a breath of green back to a derelict industrial site and helps to unite the city center with the Menomonee River Valley.