Institute for Urban Design » sustainability

Quoth the Fellows: Cathcart & Nyman

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:02:33 +0000

Speaking at the Center for Architecture’s Buildings = Energy symposium last month, Colin Cathcart noted that, while New Yorkers’ per capita carbon footprint was quite large when viewed at the metropolitan level, the central city’s high density provided a model for the future–both here and around the world–asserting that “Our first, last, best hope to turn this planet around is right here in New York City.” Speaking in support of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s new report on the need for an infrastructure bank, Jack Nyman noted the need for public education and outreach: “We must help every sector of the economy genuinely understand its own stake in infrastructure issues, and we must engage all sectors fully in building support for new financial models over the long term.”

IfUD On Screen: Hutton, Portman, Sorkin, & Stern

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:44:41 +0000

Director Ben Loeterman’s feature-length film about the life and work of John Portman, A Life of Building, will have its film festival premiere at the Architecture Film Festival in Rotterdam next week before making its way to New York for the Architecture and Design Film Festival later this month. PBS will broadcast Chicago affiliate WTTW’s documentary on Robert AM Stern (pictured at left) nationally on October 9th and 10th. Online, you can catch Board President Michael Sorkin discussing the World Trade Center rebuilding process in a Telegraph video feature, and a TalkingScience clip featuring Ernie Hutton on sustainability in New York City.

Fellows in the News: Alschuler, Enquist, Gans, Greenberg, Holl, Libeskind, Norten, Nyman, Rogers, Safdie, Sassen, Sennett, Stastny, & Wilks

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:09:49 +0000

Over at Fast Co.Design, Karen Alschuler wrote an article comparing buildings to sandwiches, asking: “What makes them tasty?”; Design Intelligence featured the full text of Phil Enquist’s PennDesign commencement address; Deborah Gans reports on her work in New Orleans’ Plum Orchard neighborhood in Places: Design Observer; Ken Greenberg (whom Dow Marmur recently called a Canadian national treasure) is leading the planning process for the redevelopment of Boston’s waterfront; Patron Steven Holl’s Vanke Center in Shenzhen received high praise from Nicolai Ouroussoff, who calls the building “a triumph of sustainable design” in a new piece out this week; Daniel Libeskind released renderings of the design for a new synagogue in Munich; Villahermosa, Mexico, recently celebrated the opening of a new public building by Board Member Enrique Norten set in a new public park by Barbara Wilks; Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute Director Jack S. Nyman commented on his organization’s collaboration with CUNY’s Building Performance Lab in creating the just-launched Building Performance Toolkit; the National Capital Planning Commission released design renderings for DC’s Ellipse by the five firms competing for the job, including Rob Rogers’ firm Rogers Marvel (whose SandRidge Energy complex in Oklahoma City was also recently approved by the city); the New Yorker wrote about Moshe Safdie’s soon-to-open Crystal Bridges museum in Arkansas; Rowan Moore reviewed Living in the Endless City, a new book featuring essays by Richard Sennett and Board Member Saskia Sassen; and Don Stastny is leading the visioning process for the redevelopment of Saint Louis’ historic Grand Center entertainment district (pictured at left).

Quoth the Fellows: Brown, Dixon, & Safdie

admin — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:41:59 +0000

In a post on bird-safe windows, Inhabitat dug up a great quote from Hillary Brown in a 2008 issue of Audubon magazine. Said Brown: “That’s really what good, sustainable, integrated design is–solving multiple problems with a single solution.” Contrasting showpiece City Beautiful-era public spaces like Indianapolis’ Monument Circle (pictured at left) with more dynamic contemporary spaces, David Dixon argued that “Public spaces have a new purpose, to bring a sense of shared community and destiny. The space needs to engage people rather than just offering somewhere to go.” And Moshe Safdie, speaking about his involvement in an ongoing design competition for a new terminal in Incheon, South Korean, said of airport design: “There is something beyond functionality and convenience. [An airport terminal] needs to give a sense that you are entering the great gate of the country.”

Quoth the Fellows: Fowle, Kerr, & Sheffer

admin — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:57:18 +0000

Said Bruce Fowle, president-elect of the National Academy Museum and School, on the recovery and re-opening of that once-threatened institution: “The doors are reopening on a whole other world there;” in a recent article on the many ways in which New York City is attempting to become a cleaner and greener place, AM New York spoke with Laurie Kerr (pictured at left), who noted that “Buildings have an enormous impact on the environment; building codes should reflect that;” and speaking of her involvement in the aforementioned Riverside Center project in The Villager, Ethel Sheffer noted that it was getting involved with her Community Board that led her to become a professional planner: “You have to become citizen experts.”

Fellows in the News: Bubriski, Flint, Frugiuele, Greenberg, Griffin, Hoal, Holl, Kazi, Kerr, Mayne, Pasquarelli, Rogers, Thompson, Whalley, & Williamson

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:38:48 +0000

Wanda Bubriski jumped into the public debate surrounding Architect Barbie at BWAF’s new blog; a recent CNN feature on urban agriculture included two projects by Colin Cathcart; Anthony Flint (whose Wrestling With Moses has been garnering fresh attention lately) wrote an article for Boston.com on Ben and Jane Thompson’s storied Design Research store in Cambridge, calling Jane’s new book on DR’s history “wonderful”; a developer announced plans for a floating marina complex (pictured at left), designed by Carlo Frugiuele, on the Jersey City waterfront; Ken Greenberg is working on a plan for the pedestrianization of part of Toronto’s famed Yonge Street; Board Member Toni Griffin and Fellow June Williamson both contributed to a Times Room for Debate feature on “the Incredible Shrinking City”; John Hoal is leading a six-team visioning process for St. Louis’ Ackert Walkway; Stephen Holl talked to the Scotland Herald about his Glasgow School of Art project, which was unanimously approved by the city; Olympia Kazi’s Van Alen Institute has been busy, announcing the mid-April opening of its design bookstore in Manhattan and launching the Life at the Speed of Rail design competition, the jury for which will include IfUD Board Member Thom Mayne; Treehugger talked to Laurie Kerr about NYC’s pioneering Local Law 84; the Architect’s Newspaper posted video of Gregg Pasquarelli discussing SHoP’s design for the Botswana Innovation Hub; Rob Rogers’ firm Rogers Marvel will handle restoration work on Manhattan’s Pier A, which will become a retail and event space; and Metropolis visited Andrew Whalley at Grimshaw Industrial Design’s new Chelsea office.

Fellow’s Firm Wins Sustainability Prize

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:58:11 +0000

Engineering firm WSP Flack + Kurtz, led by Fellow David Cooper, was recently received the Best Overall Sustainable Design Award for 2010 Best Practices. Cooper’s firm is being recognized (along with project partners Ratcliff Architects) by the Energy Efficiency Partnership Program for Higher Education Buildings for the design for the California-based De Anza College Mediated Learning Center (pictured at left). Congratulations from the IfUD community to David and everyone at WSP Flack + Kurtz!

Sauerbruch Hutton Snags Sustainable Construction Prize

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:43:02 +0000

Fellow Matthias Sauerbruch’s firm Sauerbruch Hutton has been selected as the winner of the International Honour Award of the Castilla y Leon Sustainable Construction Awards for 2010 for its outstanding work in promoting sustainable construction methods.

Upcoming: Planning For a Sustainable Future

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:58:40 +0000

On March 22nd, APA NY Metro Chapter and AIA NY will host a panel discussion called Planning for a Sustainable Future: Can We Achieve Integration at the Regional Level? The discussion will take place at 6:30pm at the Center for Architecture (536 LaGuardia Place, NYC). RSVP here.

Institute fellow Bissera Antikarov will serve as moderator along with Tom Jost, co-chairs of the APA NY Economic Development Committee.

1.5 AICP CM Credits pending, CES LUs 1.5; HSW 1.5; SD 1.5

The Sustainable Cities Awards 2010

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:41:57 +0000

The Sustainable Cities Awards 2010, organized by the Financial Times and the Urban Land Institute, recognize outstanding and innovative programs that advance the application of sustainability principles to land use, thereby promoting their incorporation in cities and in the general real estate industry.