Changes at Architecture School Urban Design Studios
Terry Schwarz
Kent State University has named Terry Schwarz the director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). A satellite of the College of Architecture, the CUDC provides urban planning and design services to underserved communities and neighborhoods. Schwarz has worked at the studio since 2000, creating, among other projects, the Shrinking Cities Institute, to investigate urban vacancy and declining population, and Pop Up City, an initiative to animate underused land with arts activities. Schwarz has a masters in city and regional planning from Cornell, and has lectured and published widely.
The Urban Design Studio in Louisville has focused its mission on sustainability, according to Broken Sidewalk. The University of Kentucky College of Design, based in Lexington, recently withdrew its involvement in the studio, leaving the planning program at the University of Louisville as the primary partner. The Studio will also expand it’s collaboration with AIA Central Kentucky raise awareness of contemporary design in Louisville.
Parks Advocates Picked for Jacobs Medals
Joshua David and Robert Hammond (photo: Joel Sternfeld)
Central Park Conservancy founder Elizabeth Barlow Rogers and Friends of the High Line founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond will receive this year’s Jane Jacobs Medals, presented by the Municipal Art Society and the Rockefeller Foundation. Rogers founded the Central Park Conservancy in 1980 and served in the dual position of president and park administrator till 1995. Read More
The Wonders of Weese
The D.C. Metro designed by Harry Weese. (photog courtesy of the Weese family, via Chicago Magazine.)
I finally got around to reading Robert Sharoff’s fascinating Chicago Magazine piece on the life and work of Harry Weese, the architect of one of my favorite works of modern of architecture, infrastructure, and urban design, the D.C. Metro. The piece is packed with 20th century Chicago architectural history, compelling biography, and insightful analysis of Weese’s work. Sharoff draws on Robert Bruegmann’s forthcoming book on the architect, and both make the case that Weese should be considered one of the preeminent figures in Postwar American architecture. Like his friend Eero Saarinen, he seemed to reinvent himself with each new project, pushing modernism in new, diverse directions and offering an alternative to Miesian orthodoxy. Sadly, his prolific career was brought to a premature end by alcoholism, but even so he made an indelible mark on the American landscape.
Lagrange out to Pasture?
courtesy Crain's
Crain’s reports that prominent Chicago architect Lucien Lagrange is throwing in the towel at the barely ripe age of 69. Not only his he closing up shop–at an as yet undisclosed date–he’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “Retiring, (there would be) a lot of liabilities are on my back. I can’t just walk away,” Lagrange told Crain’s. “Chapter 11 gives you a chance to plan ahead, organize and close in a decent way.”
While the AIA may be forcasting a brighter 2011, Lagrange, best known for designing high end condos, doesn’t see the market bouncing back for another five years. While he might be in a gloomy mood now, my hunch is that Chapter 11 won’t be the final chapter in his career.
Chicago and New York Score Big Bucks for BRT
A preliminary design for a reworked 34th Street. (image: NYCDOT)
Chicago and New York have well developed mass transit systems, notable for their extensive subway and commuter rail networks. But it’s buses that are getting a big boost in both cities. Chicago will receive more than $35 million in federal grants for two planned rapid bus service projects, and New York is getting $18 million to rework 34th Street with segregated bus lanes. Read More
At Home With Jeanne Gang
(photos: Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing)
The undulating balconies of Aqua have become one of the most recognized and talked about additions to the Chicago skyline. Less attention has been paid to the handsome townhouses, called “Parkhomes,” in the building’s base. Magellan, the developers, are trying to right that balance and drum up interest amid the still sluggish downtown condo market by enlisting Studio Gang to fit out the interior of one of the units. The six 3,200 square foot Parkhomes, have three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a two car garage, a rarity for condos in the immediate vicinity of the central business district. Read More
A Yearbook of Minnesota Architecture
A new go to guide for the Twin Cities and beyond.
Among the dozens of books that arrive in our office, I found myself quickly drawn into Alan K. Lathrop’s handsome new guide Minnesota Architects: A Biographical Dictionary. The volume includes nearly forgotten 19th century architects all the way up to leading contemporary practitioners like Vincent James, David Salmela, and Julie Snow. While the book might sound like a dry reference, Lathrop includes concise descriptions of the individuals and firms, including their educational and professional lineages. Black and white photographs, both contemporary and historial, illustrate the book, and most are larger than the postage stamp-sized images found in many guides. Lathrop also connects professional collaborations between individuals, so the book feels like a yearbook for the state’s architects.
It’s a form of refence book that should be copied. For now, Minnesota Architects is poised to become the new standard reference for anyone looking to learn more about the state’s rich built heritage and its well developed professional culture.
Museum Plaza Rises from the Grave?
Could REX’s massive office/condo/hotel/art center finally be alive? We heard from Joshua Prince-Ramus that a “big announcement” about the project was coming, and now word arrives that Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and the project’s developers have called a press conference for 10:00 AM tomorrow. Has financing been secured? Is the project being scrapped? We’ll know more tomorrow morning.
Hats off to Braden Klayko, the brains behind Broken Sidewalk and an AN contributor, who even when he isn’t blogging is still most in-the-know person about architecture, planning, and development in Louisville. Thanks for the tip.
UPDATE: Another tipster says the developers have secured a HUD loan for the project. Will the program be altered to meet the terms of the loan?
NeoCon Wrap-Up
NeoCon may not have the hipster cachet of ICFF or the design world glamour of Milan’s Salone, but every year I come away from Chicago’s Merchandise Mart having seen a lot of great products, and am reminded of the vast size, scope, and importance of the show. And as the way we work and the way we live become increasingly inseparable, design trends in the contract and residential markets are becoming similarly intertwined. Further, many Midcentury classics, now popular in the residential market, were first developed for the contract market. In addition to the great products we featured in our preview, here are a few more standouts from the show.
Antenna Workspaces, Knoll
The big news from Knoll was the Antenna Workspaces (above) collection by Antenna Design. The desk system is built around a table base with clean lines. A variety of box storage, drawer units, and panels can be attached to the center rail. The system looks particularly good when used with Knoll archival surfaces, such as the natural rattan and grass fabrics used in the NeoCon showroom. Read More
EPA Says Chicago Needs A Flush
(photo: ser.ddima/flickr)
The Environmental Protection Agency is urging the City of Chicago to clean up the Chicago River with the hope of meeting recreational standards, eventually even making it swimmable. The city’s relationship to the River has been evolving, as the many recent developments along it attest. But the river still serves as the Chicago’s sewage pipe, so clean-up will be an lengthy and expensive project, as this report from the Chicago Tribune details. AN recently looked at soft infrastructure strategies, including some in Chicago, that aim to mitigate storm water run-off, one of the major reasons for sewage overflow into the River. Promoting green roofs, building permeable alleys, planting trees–all of which the Daley administration has advanced–can all reduce run-off, but hard expensive infrastructure upgrades, such as the Deep Tunnel, will likely be needed to keep sewage out of the Chicago River.
Straphangers with Fins
For years, the MTA has been dumping decommissioned subway cars into the ocean to create artificial reefs for marine life. If you’ve ever wondered if it works, YouTube appears to have the answer. This video shows fish and a giant turtle swimming amid old red bird subway cars. The juxtaposition of the natural and manmade in such an unlikely location is a delight to watch. Next stop, the ocean floor! (via Huffington Post).
Mies, Ahoy!
(Courtesy Chicago Architecture Foundation)
The Chicago Architecture Foundation’s boat tours begin tomorrow, and they’ve added two evening “date night” cruises on Thursday and Friday evenings, beginning at 5:30. The hour and a half long tours highlights 53 architecturally significant sites. All Chicago Architecture Foundation cruises depart from the lower level and southeast corner of the Michigan Avenue Bridge at Wacker Drive. The 2010 Tour Schedule runs through November 21. Tickets are $32 and are available at www.architecture.org or
1-800-982-2787.
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