About

The Idea

Hummingbird Place is a working model of mixed-use neighborhood design: living, working, learning, and gathering on one small urban footprint. We believe a building can be a gift to its neighborhood — active at the sidewalk, generous with light and green space, and home to a community rather than just tenants. Around here, we call it the Bird.

The Name

In the delicate grace of the tiny hummingbird, we found an unexpected muse. It's one of the smallest birds but also one of the most agile, flying up to 35 miles per hour — and the only bird that can fly backward and upside down. That's a model for the kind of agility we all need to thrive in a continuously changing world. Much like the hummingbird, we believe in defying the limits of size and doing more with less.

The Building

As leaders at the World Economic Forum have argued, buildings need to be rapidly reprogrammable — accommodating office work, social gatherings, and learning. The Bird was created to serve all of these functions, as well as a place to live and play.

The building embodies more than a dozen human-centered design patterns, learned from client communities and partner architects while working in 50 countries. It was also shaped by the principles of Regenerative Design, which is modeled on natural ecosystem processes that return energy to the environment rather than consuming it.

An urban ecosystem

High-density, mixed-use living, working, and learning space on a small footprint makes the most of valuable urban land. The site is contoured for visible connections to the sidewalk — "eyes on the street" that improve neighborhood safety — and active pedestrian edges connect high-use workspace to the sidewalk and bus stop.

Daylight and fresh air

South orientation and extra-tall, operable windows leave 90% of usable spaces naturally lit. An extensive system of operable windows — low intake, high venting — provides natural ventilation via the stack effect.

Green in four seasons

Linden, oak, and aspen trees shade the property and public boulevard. A rain and butterfly garden lines Hennepin Avenue, varied four-season landscaping supports attractive walking, and every one of the five units has its own green yard, terrace, or balcony.

Open to everyone

Elevator and washroom accessibility invite diverse populations to live, work, and visit. Interior and exterior bike storage plus a building shower support alternative transportation. And the Vertical Gallery — a four-level stair hall with gallery lighting — features art, architecture, and photography, inviting people to pause, reflect, and interact as they move through the building.

The People

The Bird is a team project, designed by Randy Fielding, Architect, and his partner and co-owner, Kristina Fielding, a five-star real estate host, along with the team at Fielding International.

What's Next

Hummingbird Place is a prototype. Through Design Emerging, we plan to bring mixed-use neighborhood design to more places — the next product in our pipeline, following ClassroomReimagined.ai. We're building a network of small developers and community builders now, and we offer building tours for anyone who wants to see the ideas in person.

Curious? Learn more at Design Emerging or email hello@hummingbirdplace.com