Interview: Tony Layne, Managing Director and Principal at Perkins & Will in Minneapolis

When we last spoke with Tony Layne in October, the managing director and principal at the Minneapolis office of architecture firm Perkins & Will talked about retaining talent, receiving an AIA award and the core values at his Minneapolis office. The world has changed since then. Much of Layne’s focus has been on work for corporate clients, including renovation and repositioning work of office buildings. Some of his projects include the repositioning of the AT&T Tower in downtown Minneapolis, the expansion and renovation of Land O Lakes Arden Hills headquarters and the conversion of a midcentury, single-tenant office building at 3701 Wayzata Blvd. in Minneapolis into a multi tenant office building. Layne, 42, grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned a master’s degree in architecture at the University of Minnesota. He currently lives in Bloomington with his wife and their son. Reporter Matt Johnson caught up with Layne to talk about the evolving nature of design. Layne sees a future in which his work advances the integration of technology into a workplace that is both mobile and office centered. Commercial office space will continue to have a solid place in that work world, but more as a place where people choose to be together rather than a place they are required to go every day. Related links: https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/qa-architect-envisions-office-as-place-where-workers-want-to-go/