What is the MDT visit?
The Minnesota Design Team (MDT) Visit is a three-day event during which a team of 12-20 volunteers from various design professions comes together with a Minnesota community that has requested design assistance from the MDT. The Visit is a
charrette-style weekend of learning, sharing, and developing ideas for the future based on the community's
shared vision. How long is the visit?
The Visit begins on a Thursday evening and ends on the following Saturday night or Sunday morning, depending on the community's preference.
Click
here for a more detailed look at the Visit schedule.
Who is the Design Team that participates on a visit?
Design Teams are different for different communities. Each team consists of two team leaders who are active and experienced MDT members. The team leaders recruit a team of 12-20 volunteers based on skills, expertise, experience, and the unique needs of each community.
Professionals and students from the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, transportation planning and design, engineering, and others with related backgrounds and expertise are usually part of each team.
A Design Team addresses the unique needs of each community. Team
members believe in the community-based design process, are interested
in the development of Minnesota communities, and welcome the
opportunity to work with their colleagues and with communities.
How do I join a Design Team for a visit?
If you are a design professional or student who wants to participate on a visit and are already a Minnesota Design Team member, click
here to sign up for an upcoming visit.
If you are a design professional or student but not yet a Minnesota Design Team member, click
here to join.
How can my community get the MDT to come for a visit?
Any interested community can apply for a visit. Click
here for more information.
How does the community participate in the visit?
Communities apply for a visit and then, if selected, form committees to prepare for and host the MDT visit. During the visit, community leaders, residents, business owners, employees, and others in town host MDT team members overnight in their homes, do research and present information about their town and region, give tours, publicize information about the visit, participate in public workshops, and attend a final presentation of ideas. Click
here for more information about the community's role in the Visit.
How many visits does the MDT do each year?
Usually, the MDT visits four communities per year: two in the spring and two in the fall.
What else should I know about the MDT visit?
The MDT visit is a:
- Mixing Bowl: The community’s knowledge of itself and professional expertise of Design Team members are stirred together in an intense, fast-paced work session.
- Flood: Information and a sense of community pride flow throughout the visit as Design Team members open the gates of their imagination and expertise.
- Generator: People are energized as design concepts crystallize before their eyes.
- Weaver: Design Team members show how issues and ideas relate to each other and to the entire community.
- Mirror: The Design Team produces a series of drawings and explanatory notes representing the community’s shared vision.
When a Design Team visits, a community shares its history, problems, opportunities and dreams for the future, focusing on what can happen rather than on what has not happened.
