They are sprouting like flowers pushing through a field of weeds.

A glean of sweeping steel here. Glazed curved glass there. A rain garden. A sustainable landscape design.

In the past decade, the architecture in the Mankato area has been moving from Midwestern ho-hum to cosmopolitan wow.

The slow but steady transformation has been brought about in large part by a few local architects who brought a wealth of experience and found a community of business owners and developers ready to bring some design flair to a fast-growing regional center.

“When I started in 1995, that was one of my goals. I thought the architecture was a bit stale,” said Bryan Paulsen, whose Paulsen Architects firm is responsible for a majority of the new designs in the area.

Mark Cipos, the senior architect at I&S; Group, the other locally grown firm with a large share of the area design market, said the sturdy, safe design of many buildings grew from conservative Midwestern sensibilities.

“Now, we are truly part of a global economy and influences from Europe and around the world come here. People travel more and are exposed to more, and there are more new people moving here.

“Our civic leaders are looking at things in other places and saying, ‘Why not in Mankato?’’’

Tom Peterson, who owns the Creative Company (see related story), said he’s seeing more business owners and developers taking some risks in design.

“Good architecture is an important part of any community,” Peterson said.

One of the first and largest projects to announce Mankato was coming of age in architectural design was the former Midwest Wireless headquarters (now Alltel) on the northeast edge of the city.

Paulsen, who designed the building in the late ’90s, said it remains one of his favorites.

“It was the first big commercial building with an out-of-the-box design. It really raised the bar for design in the community.”

Former head of Midwest Wireless, Dennis Miller, said the building’s style was more than just good architecture, it helped the wireless company recruit and retain top talent and provide a dramatic setting for potential customers. “It helped the business on so many levels.”

Paulsen said the key is to ensure his plans fit the business.

“Good design evolves around the function of the business. If the building doesn’t function for the business, it’s a failure.”

And, he said, architects must plan for the future.

“You always have to design with an exit strategy in mind, too. If a business has to leave the building, how do they market that building. You need to be able to turn it into multi-use space or something else that will work.

“You also have to consider how the business can expand in the future. You don’t want to box them in,” Paulsen said.

Cipos said business owners and developers understand that good design makes for good business.

“In the past, architecture was viewed as a luxury. I think people have become more aware of the value of architecture.”

Businessman Van Moody, who is building a four-story commercial and condo building on the former Marigold site in lower North Mankato, said good design is integral in marketing.

“We don’t want it closed in. We want green reflective glass. We want something unique. You don’t want heavy, solid brick like a bank. We want something more ethereal, more light, some water features,” Moody said.

One of Moody’s businesses, the Computer Technology Solutions, will move to the ground floor of the building.

“There’s no doubt a nice building helps keep happy employees. We’ll have a workshop attached, a dining area, a nice training area.

Employees want it light and airy. They don’t want small cubicles and fluorescent lights. And you must have good ventilation, it’s so important to keep people healthy,” Moody said.