The Design Dozen

Nouvel's big blue monolith sits easily among its old industrial neighbors, its curved shape echoing the grain silos. The building evokes the Guthrie's history, too. "I proposed putting ghosts on the walls," says Nouvel--and there they are: huge wispy images of past productions screened onto the exterior steel. Hokey? A little. But like much in this amazing building, the images are subtle and unexpected. Monsieur Nouvel, please take a bow.

Cathleen Mcguigan

MINNEAPOLIS CENTRAL LIBRARY: The heart of Cesar Pelli's glass-and-stone library, which opened last month, is an elegant, light-filled atrium. The façade's etched glass evokes a frozen forest.

WALKER ART CENTER: A tour-de-force by avant-garde Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, the building (it was their first U.S. project) features a huge silvery cube that seems to hover over the street.

MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: The city's great art museum just opened its new postmodern Target Wing (the retailer was a big donor) by Michael Graves, also a popular Target product designer.

Cathleen McGuigan