Urban Agriculture + Landscape Symposium and Exhibit

Silver bullet plan failures in New Orleans…Sounds like Detroit

 Looking for Barbie Architect and finding Andres Duany

click to see Movie

Urban Centers Symposium and Exhibit

Objectives and Questions for the Urban Centers Symposium

Group 1: Definition and relevance of Urban Center

What makes anUrbanCenter?

What is the definition of an Urban Center?

Are Urban Centers relevant in the age of megacities?

Group 2: Types of Urban Center

What are the regional Urban Centers and how do they relate to Detroit?

IsDetroitthe Urban Center for Southeast Michigan?

What are the existing Urban Centers in Detroit? How do we support, improve and build upon them?

AreDetroit’s more successful /viable neighborhoods existing Urban Centers?  If so, what do they have that less populated parts of the city do not?

Group 3: Connection

What is the relationship between the neighborhoods and existing or new Urban Centers in Detroit?

What is the connection between transportation and Urban Centers?  Are Detroit’s major arterial roads or major institutions factors in the location of Urban Centers?

What connects Urban Centers within the city and the region?  Are Urban Centers islands or part of a more complex network or local identity?

Group 4: Best Practice Examples and Principles

Are there examples of other post-industrial cities that have bolstered existing Urban Centers or created new ones in response to similar problems?  If so, what did they do?  What was successful, what was not?

What are the ideals should new or newly developed urban centers be designed around? (Sustainability?  Mass transit?  Adaptive reuse/innovative design solutions rather than historicism?)

Should the focus be on attracting and aiding developers for larger developments or strengthen and growth of existing stable neighborhood commercial / residential?

Group 5: Application to Detroit

What resources doesDetroithave that could be used to plan a successful new urban center around?  Are there areas with sufficient density and other amenities that could become a center of activity, new districts? (betweenCheyneParkto Joseph Campau & Franklin to the River?  Russell Industrial area?).

What are the symbolic/iconic images ofDetroitthat could be capitalized when developing urban centers?  (Abundance of factory buildings?  Riverfront?  Industry?  Labor? Design?)

How should the City ofDetroitmarket and attract developers for the following “prime parcels”?:

East Riverfront District, Uniroyal Site, Old Tiger Stadium Site, State Fair Grounds.

What role do grass roots projects in Detroit like the Heidelberg Project, The Alley Project, Power House Project, or Georgia Street Community Garden  shave in rebuilding Detroit and creating Urban Centers?  Are these bottom up projects Urban Centers?

Urban Centers Press Release

Urban Centers to be Focus of Next AIA Detroit

Urban Priorities Committee “Detroit By Design” Series

Detroit Public Library is the Site of Symposiums and Exhibits

 DETROIT – (May 5, 2011) – The American Institute of Architects Detroit’s Urban Priorities Committee (AIA-UPC) continues its “Detroit By Design” series at the Detroit Public Library, May 17-24.  Focusing on urban centers, exhibits for this month’s series open on May 17 and conclude with the symposia featuring industry experts on May 24.

From 1 p.m.-7:30 p.m. on May 24, the symposia will discuss such topics as:

• How do we support and build existing Urban Centers inDetroit?
• What is the relationship between the neighborhoods and Urban Centers inDetroit?
• What impact do neighboring Urban Centers in the suburbs have on the city ofDetroit?
• What connects Urban Centers within the city and the region?
• What is the connection between transportation and Urban Centers?

Called “Detroit By Design” and sponsored by the AIA National office in Washington, D.C., this three-month series seeks to assist the city with its efforts to reorganize by helping with the Detroit Works Project (DWP) while bringing together architects, community and business leaders, public officials, allied professionals and other key stakeholders in the region.

The subject of urban centers is the second of three topics covered by “Detroit By Design.”  Last month, the series discussed transportation.  In June, urban agriculture will be the focus of discussion.

In each symposia, participants discuss the specific theme as it relates to theDetroit’s current status, its historic efforts, and the Detroit Works Project.  Through this collaborative public event, the UPC, a group of volunteer architects, seeks to bring design awareness to the communities and promote sustainable communities in the city and region through collaboration.

All exhibits and symposiums are free and open to public (except architects’ seeking continuing education credits).  For more information, please contact the AIA UPC at UPC@aiadetroit.com or go to www.aiadetroit.com.  You also can catch up with the latest activities at https://aiadetroitbydesign.wordpress.com (UPC blog) or on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/AIA-Detroit-Urban-Priorities-Committee/165747876782194

URBAN CENTERS—May 17 (Exhibits) and May 24 (Discussions)

How do we support and build existing Urban Centers inDetroit? What is the relationship between the neighborhoods and Urban Centers inDetroit? What impact do neighboring Urban Centers in the suburbs have on the city ofDetroit? What connects Urban Centers within the city and the region? What is the connection between transportation and Urban Centers? These are just some of the questions that will be asked when Detroit By Design focuses on Urban Centers in May.

Exhibit Opening Tues., May 17 from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., at the Detroit Public Library exhibit hall (Adam Strohm Hall), the public is invited to view the exhibits focusing on this theme.  Projects displayed were selected projects from almost 90 submissions by teams and individual designers from several countries andU.S. cities.  They will be on display through June.

The discussion sessions will take place in the conference room (Explorer’s Room) and auditorium on Tues., May 24 and feature a distinguished group of panelists, UPC members, local residents, community leaders, public officials, local architects, allied professionals, and area school faculty and students, who will conduct a community workshop.

1 p.m.-4 p.m.: Marja Winters, deputy director for the City ofDetroit and co-project director for the Detroit Works Project, and UPC members will co-moderate the opening discussions on the exhibit projects and how they pertain to Urban Centers in the city ofDetroit. The roundtable discussion will also explore how the projects can influence  the  Detroit Works Project, and have an open dialog with the local architecture community and other attendees.

Other panelists include: David Dixon, FAIA of Goody Clancy – the architect of New Orleans post Katrina plan; SOM Partner in Charge of Urban Design and Planning Philip Enquist, FAIA; SOM Director of Urban Design Doug Voigt, AIA; Detroit Works Project Team Member and Hamilton Anderson Associates Studio Leader Dan Kinkead, AIA; Cranbrook Academy of Art Director Reed Kroloff; McKenna Associates President Philip McKenna, PCP, AICP; Design 99 and Power House Productions Co-Director Gina Reichert; and Artist and Detroit SOUP Founder Kate Daughdrill.

5 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.:  David Dixon, FAIA, of Goody Clancy, headlines this discussion on his post Katrina 2030 master plan for New Orleans, and other US cities and what can be learned to benefit the city of Detroit. For more than five decades, the firm’s work has been characterized by an unwavering dedication to social responsibility and design excellence.

Combining humanitarian purpose with visual distinction, the Goody Clancy planned and designed buildings, neighborhoods and open spaces, which combine the firm’s strong skills in new building design, preservation and research. This experience is coupled with the firm’s interest in energizing the public and encouraging them to stake a claim in their future. The resulting practice is inclusive, collaborative and participatory.

The varied nature of the firm’s work recomposes and revitalizes existing campuses and communities for the people who live and work in them. Goody Clancy is a firm of 100 architects, preservationists, planners and urban designers based inBostonand working nationally. From the firm’s inception to present day, it has integrated energy and resource conservation into its work. The firm’s work has been published extensively and has won numerous accolades for design excellence

6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.:  Moderated by Marja Winters, the last discussion of the evening focusing on the outcomes of the community workshop and the keynote presentations.  The discussion will explore how the city and the Detroit Works Project can benefit from the ideas and proposals generated from the afternoon sessions, make recommendations for urban centers in Detroit, and wrap up the Urban Centers symposium.  Panelists include Kate Daughdrill, David Dixon, FAIA, Philip Enquist, FAIA, Dan Kinkead, AIA, Reed Kroloff, Phillip McKenna, PCP, AICP, Gina Reichert, and Doug Voigt, AIA.

The goal of the American Institute of Architects Detroit’s Urban Priorities Committee (AIA-UPC) is to bring awareness to the design community, and encourage involvement in the planning and design of the city and region toward a sustainable future. Through such activities as interaction with local community stakeholders and city officials, and creation of seminars and other educational events, the AIA-UPC is available to assist the city of Detroit in the historic process of planning and altering the city to achieve a sustainable community design.  For more information or to join the UPC committee and volunteer for events, visit www.aiadetroit.com.

Transportation Symposium

Transportation Symposium Objectives

What precedents are appropriate models for a local and regional public transportation system in Detroit and the surrounding cities?

What public transportation infrastructure does Detroit currently have?  What works about it?  What does not work?

What public transportation systems are currently being planned for the city and the region?  How will what is being planned affect the city and region?

What modes of public transportation would be appropriate for Detroit?

In order to have a truly effective system, how far would the system reach and what form should the transit system take in connecting suburban communities to the city center?

What obstacles would need to be addressed in order to make the system popular with users that do not currently consider using public transportation in Detroit?

How would a public transportation system designed to encourage development in the city be designed?  What are the critical factors that need to be considered to promote growth?

According to the American Public Transportation Association, over the last five years, “public transportation use has risen 21 percent-faster than vehicle miles traveled on our roadways and airline passenger miles logged over the same period.”  How does Detroit compete with cities that currently have established public transportation systems or cities that are rehabilitating and expanding underutilized transit systems?

How would a comprehensive regional public transportation system affect the city of Detroit?

What role would architects and designers play in the development of a public transportation system in Detroit?

What are the minimum levels of public transportation infrastructure required in order to affect a real change in the city/region?

First up: Transportation

2011 Key Dates

Transportation • Exhibit opening: Tue., April 5th, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (Mon., Mar. 21st: proposal deadline) • Symposium*: Wed., April 13th ******************************************************

Urban Centers • Exhibit opening: Tue., May 17th, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (Mon., April 25th: proposal deadline) • Symposium*: Tues., May 24th ******************************************************

Urban Agriculture • Exhibit opening: Tue., June 14th, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (Mon., May 30th: proposal deadline) • Symposium*: Wed., June 22nd ******************************************************

Closing event: Wed., June 29th, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM ******************************************************

*Symposium Day Event:

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Community Workshop

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Keynote address

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Panel Discussion

All events will take place at the Detroit Public Library

For more information, please visit our website at www.aiadetroit.com or send email to UPC@aiadetroit.com

Also, Save the date for our partner organizations and panelists April event: