EDUCATION | 2009 Speakers Announced for Design Excellence Series
Two more speakers – joining Fred Dust of IDEO who will kick-off the inaugural season of the CDCP’s Design Excellence Lecture Series on Monday, October 27th – are confirmed for next spring. Author and Harvard University Graduate School of Design professor Margaret Crawford is the featured speaker for Monday, February 16th. Walter Hood, landscape architect, architect and Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning and Urban Design at the University of California at Berkeley is scheduled for Monday, April 20th. Both presenters will address the Design Excellence Lecture Series recurring themes of city-building, visionary planning, sustainability, community engagement, and civic awareness. A subscription to all three lectures, which includes panel discussions and receptions following the featured speakers, is $45. The cost for individual events is $20. Visit the CDCP website to purchase tickets.
HOMECOMING | President/CEO Returns to Pittsburgh and CDCP
As a recipient of a McCune Foundation Management Revitalization Initiative grant, Anne-Marie Lubenau, AIA, spent the summer months on sabbatical, touring a half-dozen benchmark cities to investigate successful civic design initiatives. Her travels took her to Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. Over the next few months Anne-Marie will be sharing her insights on how those places have created a civic culture that embraces good planning and design, and what application that could have for Pittsburgh.
UPDATE | CNNC Leverages Design Fund Grant for $100,000
In February 2008, the Central Northside Neighborhood Council (CNNC) was awarded a $16,000 Design Fund grant to develop an urban design plan for its community. With the Design Fund’s typical “first money in,” CNNC was able to secure $50,000 from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and $50,000 from Senator Jim Ferlo’s office. CNNC has hired a consultant team led by architecture firm Pfaffmann + Associates, and includes Jackson Clark Partners (market analysis), Sheila Washington (facilitation) and Studio for Spatial Practice (community charettes and urban design).
CELEBRATE | Dress with Design at the Palladian Ball Revival
The elegant crowds at past Palladian Balls set the standard for this year’s one-time encore celebrating the CDCP’s 40th anniversary. Palladian Ball Revival Host Committee Chair Paul Tellers remembers imaginative costumes with custom-made masks and other architectural-themed accessories. The Airport Authority’s Hugh Hachmeister—a former CDCP board member—crafted a costume to make himself into an airplane. “I wore a tux so I didn’t have to make a costume,” admits Tellers, although black tie is not required this year. Start planning your “dress with design” outfit now for the November 8th event celebrating 40 years of good design. For more information on the Palladian Ball Revival, call 412.391.4144.
ADVOCACY | Public Hearing on Grant Street Electronic Billboard
Neighborhood residents, project principals, billboard company officials, media, and other interested community members attended the September 4th Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) hearing on the controversial Grant Street Transportation Center Billboard. The CDCP’s Anne-Marie Lubenau, AIA, presented testimony before the ZBA and expressed gratitude that the project was now moving through the appropriate review process, and urged the board to hear and consider the community’s comments. Read the Post-Gazette and Tribune Review accounts of the hearing.
COMMUNITY | 5000 Penn Under Construction
A $5,000 Design Fund grant to Friendship Development Associates and Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation supported the preliminary design for three townhouses on a small corner lot in the Penn Avenue Corridor. These for-sale loft-style townhomes, designed by Hammermann Designwerks, are under construction and feature integral garages, open floor plans, and second floor outdoor patios.
NETWORK l RenPlan® Program On the Road
CDCP staff attended the Troy Hill Citizen’s Council Meeting on September 11th, where RenPlan® Program Manager Kate McGlynn presented the "Add Value to Your Home - By Design" PowerPoint. On September 13th, the RenPlan® Program team participated in the Lawrenceville Resource Fair and Community Celebration held at St. Matthew’s Parish. Watch for the RenPlan® Program presentation at the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative’s annual Building Ownership Workshop on September 18th! To schedule a RenPlan® Program visit to your business, community group, or event please contact Kate McGlynn at kmcglynn@cdcp.org.
CDCP Celebrates 40 Years of Promoting Good Design in Pittsburgh's Neighborhoods
mission The Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (CDCP) is a non-profit organization that improves the quality of life by encouraging good design of the built environment. By 2015, our goal is to establish Pittsburgh as a recognized place where good design of the built environment is a defining feature.
