11-29-11
CUDC Receives 2011 Ohio Landscape Architecture Organization Award
photo credit: Dan Mosora | Great Lakes Publishing
We’re very grateful to the Ohio Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (OCASLA) for recently presenting the CUDC with the 2011 Organization Award. The CUDC’s Director, Terry Schwarz, was in attendance at the award ceremony in Columbus to accept the honor.
A very colorful and well-illustrated program from the event can be viewed on-line, which contains descriptions and images of this year’s award winners.
The award ceremony program described the CUDC’s work surrounding design advocacy, vacant land strategies, applied research and temporary use initiatives. The OCASLA’s kind words can be read below:
“The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) is a vital, innovative and unifying force in the continued re-imagining of Greater Cleveland and beyond. An influential organization for many years under distinguished leadership such as Ruth Durack, the CUDC has established and even stronger position of advocacy for planning policy and quality design under the guidance of Terry Schwarz.
The CUDC has an impressive portfolio of planning and design projects throughout the state and a reputation for promoting collaboration. Clients and collaborators include cities, regional agencies, higher learning institutions, private businesses, research institutions and arts organizations. Work ranging from neighborhood master plans to campus design studies and public space analyses has established the organization’s credentials throughout the region. Even more compelling are the new undertakings underway.
Through the Shrinking Cities Institute, Terry and the CUDC have taken a direct, research-based, no-nonsense approach to the problem of urban population loss. Instead of political grandstanding or mere civic cheerleading, the approaches devised to deal with the resulting vacant land in urban neighborhoods seek to establish hope through implementation of real solutions.
In addition, the CUDC has long been a leader in advocating sustainable approaches to design and redevelopment. In addition to incorporating sustainable practices on a site-by-site or neighborhood planning approach, the UDC plays an active role in the regional stormwater planning efforts currently underway.
Combining innovation and urban passion, Pop Up City is an investigation of the impacts of temporary cultural and arts uses on the city. Moreover, the effort seeks ways to facilitate larger neighborhood chance through the coordination of these “magical, ephemeral experiences.” By embracing the possibility of “what can be,” Pop Up City teaches us all about the potential of cities and reminds us, in a tangible way, of what our dreams for community can become.
Through a combination of design expertise and an applied research approach, the CUDC is having an immediate and ongoing impact on Greater Cleveland, on the entire region, and on understanding approaches to urban challenges throughout the country.”
11-17-11
Lecture: ‘Big Box Reuse’ Author Julia Christensen
Bring your lunch and join us at the CUDC Friday, November 18th from noon - 1 pm for a conversation with Julia Christensen, author of Big Box Reuse, published by MIT Press in 2008.
Julia Christensen is an artist who works in video, photography, networked media, writing, sound arts, sculpture, installation, and performance. Her work has exhibited at galleries and museums internationally, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Carnegie Museum of Fine Arts in Pittsburgh, Spaces Gallery in Cleveland, and The Lincoln Center in NYC. Recent solo exhibitions include: Your Town Inc., (which originated at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University and was curated by Astria Suparak), and Surplus Rising (which originated at the Banvard Gallery, Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University).
Julia is the author of Big Box Reuse, published by the MIT Press in 2008. This book is a product of her ongoing investigation into how communities are renovating and reusing abandoned big box buildings in the United States. Her project “Surplus Rising” will be published as a part of the 3rd Coast Atlas, forthcoming. Christensen’s writing has been published in magazines such as Orion, Print, and Slate. Her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bookforum, The New York Review of Books, Bomb, Afterall, and Dwell Magazine.
Ms. Christensen is currently the Henry Luce Visiting Professor of Emerging Arts at Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she produces the Margin Release New Media Lecture Series. Christensen has a joint appointment between the departments of Studio Art, TIMARA (Technology in Music and Related Arts), and Environmental Studies. Before coming to Oberlin, she taught at Stanford University, Pratt Institute, California College of the Arts, and other colleges. She has been an invited speaker and critic at dozens of colleges and universities, including the San Francisco Art Institute, Cornell University, Yale University, and New York University.
In the fall of 2011, Christensen will take on the position of Assistant Professor of Integrated Media in the Studio Arts Department at Oberlin.
11-01-11
Public Intro Session for 2012 ULI Competition
2012 ULI competition poster
Do you want to design safer, healthier, sustainable and beautiful communities?
Do you have the planning, design or the economic acumen to create a comprehensively sustainable development?
Do you like working in multi-disciplinary settings and learning from your colleagues?
If so, then please consider joining us this Friday for an information session on the Urban Land Institute’s recently announced 2012 Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. Compete to design an innovative built environment as a multi-disciplinary team and try your luck at winning the $50,000 prize!
All students currently enrolled in their last year of undergraduate studies or a graduate program in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, real estate, business or urban planning at any university are invited to attend the introduction session at the CUDC on Friday Nov 4th and meet other interested students to form your winning team!
ULI Competition Intro Session
Friday, November 4
12 - 1 PM
CUDC Conference Room
1309 Euclid Ave., Suite 200
Cleveland (Playhouse Square)
More information on the ULI competition can be found at http://www.udcompetition.org/
Please contact the CUDC for more information on the Intro Session at (216) 357-3434 or cudc@kent.edu
11-01-11
Open Urban Designer Position at CUDC
PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline has passed - we are no longer accepting resumes.
The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) is currently seeking applicants for an Urban Designer position. The Urban Designer will be an emerging design practitioner with a deep commitment to working with community groups and public involvement in the design process. He or she will be involved in all aspects of the CUDC’s operations, working closely with CUDC staff on community design projects, research efforts, and technical service contracts. The successful candidate will hold an advanced degree in landscape architecture, architecture or planning, and have 2-3 years of professional experience in urban design or a closely related field. Strong graphic presentation skills, including hand drawing and digital methods, are essential. Knowledge of advanced computer applications and an interest in urban design teaching at graduate or undergraduate level are preferred, as well as a record of project work and/or research publication.
The Urban Designer will be a full-time employee of Kent State University, with a full benefit package. This is an administrative position, which does not include the possibility of tenure. Salary is dependent upon qualifications.
To apply for the position, please visit Kent State University’s Employment site here and search for position number 990632.
The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) is a community design and research division of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) at Kent State University. Based in a new facility in downtown Cleveland, the CUDC provides technical design assistance to communities throughout the northeast Ohio region, conducts research into urgent and emerging areas of design practice, and offers a variety of public education and design advocacy programs. CUDC staff participate in the graduate level architecture and urban design curriculum for the CAED, including studios and seminar courses that convene at the CUDC’s Cleveland facility.
For additional information, please contact the CUDC at 216.357.3434 or cudc@kent.edu.
10-28-11
EcoVillage Charrette Recap
Thanks to all those that participated in this year’s community design charrette, which took place in Cleveland’s EcoVillage neighborhood this past week (Oct 22-26, 2011). The CUDC staff and students worked closely with neighborhood residents and stakeholders, including Councilman Matt Zone and staff from Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, to assess community priorities, then develop design proposals that range from long-term visions to immediately implementable actions (see the presentation from the second Public Meeting below).
We were also fortunate to have eight students from Ball State University’s Master of Urban Design program work along side us for the busy weekend, led by their instructor Bruce Race. The Ball State students brought diverse backgrounds in landscape architecture, planning, as well as architecture, to the charrette, which served the collaborative process very well. Our Kent State students enjoyed the interaction with fellow urban design majors, so we hope to return the favor with a visit to Indianapolis sometime in the near future. The interdisciplinary approach to a community charrette is an area of interest we’re keen on exploring further.
Incorporating feedback from the second public meeting, the CUDC will create a charrette report, documenting the design process and clearly communicating the proposals developed over the intense three day work session. We’ll make the final report available to the public and neighborhood residents once it’s complete. Based on what we heard from community members and local leaders, there’s a strong sense of optimism around the feasibility of the recommendations and an excitement to get started. Check out a recap of the charrette from the perspective of an EcoVillage resident on The Thrifty Bon Vivant blog.
EcoVillage Charrette - Fall 2011
10-27-11
OSU’s Karen Lewis Lecture @ CUDC
Join us Friday, October 28th at 12 noon as we welcome Ohio State University Assistant Professor Karen Lewis for a talk on her winning entries for the Van Alen Institute’s Life at the Speed of Rail design competition.
Karen Lewis Talk
Friday, October 28, 2011
12 - 1 PM
CUDC Conference Room
1309 Euclid Ave., Suite 200
Cleveland, PlayhouseSquare
Along with two student team members, Karen was selected as a competition winner for their entry Switch Space, which questioned the logic of linear corridors within the geography and development patterns of the Midwestern expanse. Her winning entry can be viewed on the Van Alen’s website here. Karen’s submission Health Corridor was also selected as an Honorable Mention. This Ohio centered proposal aligns a statewide high-speed rail corridor not with city centers, but rather along prominent health institutions.
Karen Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at The Ohio State University whose design research examines the intersection of graphic and infrastructural systems. Recent projects include Stock Exchange, an analysis, exhibition and proposal for the Bluegrass Stockyard, the largest stockyard East of the Mississippi River; Yellowtown, an examination of the relationship between signage, urban development and race; and Start / Gap, which visualizes human trafficking patterns and proposes ways to interrupt this exchange. Most recently, Professor Lewis was awarded the ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award, a prestigious award given to new faculty during their formative academic years who demonstrate excellence in teaching.
10-27-11
Hipp Deck featured on Next American City
We’re very excited that Next American City, a non-profit dedicated to promoting socially and environmentally sustainable economic growth in America’s cities, recently featured the CUDC’s Hipp Deck project on their Americancity.org website. In addition to the popular website, Next American City also publishes a quarterly magazine focused on emerging practices dealing with urban change and innovation.
The Hipp Deck was a temporary use intervention that transformed the upper level of the 740 Euclid Ave. parking garage in downtown Cleveland into an outdoor live performance venue and active rooftop public space. The event was a celebration for the release of Cleveland Stories: True Until Proven Otherwise, the fourth volume in the CUDC’s Urban Infill journal series. The parking garage is located on the site formerly home to the Hippdrome Theater, a nationally renowned 4,000 seat performance venue. The “Hipp”, as it was commonly known, was demolished in 1981, so the Hipp Deck told the story of the site’s illustrious past by bringing back live music performance for one spectacular night.
We’re encouraged to think the Hipp Deck’s intent of spurring dialogue and action around the temporary activation of parking infrastructure in Cleveland will spread to other cities and enable others to reactivate their favorite underused spaces.
You can see photographs of the Hipp Deck event, taken by local Clevelander Matthew Fehrmann, on our Flickr site. Check ‘em out and stay tuned for more info on upcoming Pop Up City projects!
For more information on the Hipp Deck or Cleveland Stories project, please visit the CUDC’s website. The event was supported by the George Gund Foundation and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, in partnership with Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation, SPIRE Institute, Filtrexx, Opera Cleveland, Ohio City Bike Co-op, Cleveland Bikes and Ampco System Parking.
10-18-11
Cleveland EcoVillage Design Charrette
Members of the public are invited to attend a design charrette, a.k.a. community workshop, to envision the Cleveland EcoVillage’s future development and urban design plans. Several projects have been recently completed or are currently underway in this vibrant community, so the charrette comes at a good time to envision linkages between these investments and plan for new opportunities.
The charrette will take place over the course of several days, beginning with a public meeting on Saturday, October 22nd at 10am and culminating in a public presentation on Wednesday night, October 26th at 7pm. The design charrette will be conducted by the CUDC staff and KSU graduate students, in partnership with Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization and Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone.
Public Meeting 1
Saturday, October 22
10am - noon
Metro Catholic School
1910 W. 54th St.
Public Meeting 2
Wednesday, October 26
7pm - 8:30pm
Metro Catholic School
1910 W. 54th St.
The Cleveland EcoVillage is located in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood and is defined by W. 52nd St. on the east, W. 65th St. on the west, I-90 on the south and Franklin Blvd. on the north. The boundaries of the EcoVillage are based on a 15 minute walking radius around the W. 65th St. RTA rapid station.
Please consider attending both public meetings to provide your input and review the proposals that will be developed quickly between Saturday and Wednesday by the design team. The community charrette is an important opportunity for design professional, students and local residents to create a shared neighborhood vision for the future.
Click here for the Facebook event page.
Download the charrette flyer here.
For more information, please contact the CUDC at 216.357.3434 or cudc@kent.edu
10-13-11
Cover the City with Lines & ride the dambl II
Saturday, October 15, 2011
12 - 3 PM, rain or shine
Click here for Facebook event page
Join artist Paul Druecke in honoring the legacy of counter-culture icon d. a. levy. Ride the dambl (d. a. levy memorial bike lane) and/or come to the levy Midpoint Memorial where we will create an ephemeral shrine to d. a. levy. Take part in a story that links the culture wars of the 1960’s to current battles for progressive infrastructure spending and bike-friendly cities.
d. a. levy (1942 - 1968)
There are two starting locations for those that want to ride the dambl: West End of Abbey Avenue Bridge (West side Cleveland) and South End of Wade Lagoon @ University Circle (East side Cleveland). Riders will depart from the starting locations at 12 PM and converge at the Midpoint Memorial around 1 PM, stop for refreshments, and can either continue on to the second half of the dambl or join us onsite for the duration of the festivities. Ride coordinators will be located at both starting points: Emilio DeSabato (West side) and Kevin Cronin (East side).
12 PM | Midpoint Memorial
If you prefer not to ride, you can go directly to the Midpoint Memorial location at noon, where the dambl riders will join at 1 PM. The Midpoint Memorial location is 1933 Euclid Avenue, between E. 18th and E. 21st, north side of the street. We will occupy a small park on the grounds of CSU in honor of d. a. levy. We will play recordings of levy, and friends, reading his work. There will be levy artifacts and perhaps an impromptu presentation while covering the sidewalk with lines from levy’s poems. Ingrid Swanberg and Tom Kryss created a contemporary reading of Cleveland Undercovers for this event! Swanberg and Kryss were levy’s friends and have been key proponents of his legacy.
7:30 - 9:30 PM | Post Ride @ Becky’s
1762 East 18th Street, Cleveland, OH 44114
Join us for a drink in honor of levy and the dambl.
See map below for event locations:
View Cover the City with Lines and dambl ride in a larger map
Overview:
Paul Druecke’s project, Cover the City With Lines, was developed in conjunction with the CUDC’s Cleveland Stories: True Until Proven Otherwise. The project’s title comes from the levy poem, Cleveland Undercovers. d. a. levy (1942-1968) was a poet, visual artist, and publisher at the frontline of the 1960’s struggle for freedom of expression. He was twice arrested by local authorities while exercising rights we now take for granted. Since his tragic, premature death in 1968, supporters have called for Cleveland to honor/memorialize him. Cover the City with Lines picks up the story by proposing an extensive urban bike lane named for levy, the d. a. levy Memorial Bike Lane a.k.a. the dambl. The dambl connects Cleveland’s east and west sides while linking 60’s era culture wars to today’s battle for alternative transportation and bike-friendly cities.
Participants from first dambl ride at CIA gallery exhibit.
Download pdf description of Cover the City with Lines project
For more information, contact the CUDC at (216) 357-3434 or cudc@kent.edu
10-03-11
Rumi Shammin Presents The Oberlin Project
Rumi Shammin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, will discuss The Oberlin Project, a planned green redesign of the Oberlin community at the CUDC on Friday, October 7th from 12pm - 1pm. The Oberlin Project is a collaborative effort between the college and the City of Oberlin to create “full-spectrum sustainability” in which the parts are integrated to reinforce the resilience and durability of the whole community.
Rumi Shammin Lecture
Friday, October 7, 2011
12pm - 1pm
1309 Euclid Ave., Suite 200 (map)
Cleveland (Playhouse Square)
Free and open to the public
The vision of the project joins the many strands of sustainability - urban revitalization, green development, advanced energy technology, sustainable agriculture, green jobs, and education - into an integrated response to the burgeoning crisis of climate destabilization, environmental deterioration, and economic turmoil.
At the heart of the Oberlin Project is the revitalization of a 13-acre block near the city center that will include the development or renovation of a dozen buildings during the next five to seven years. The investment in construction, renovation, and energy technology is intended to stimulate the expansion of existing businesses and create new enterprises.
The Oberlin Project will also join the Climate Positive Development Program, a joint initiative of the Clinton Climate Initiative, a program of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and the U.S. Green Building Council. Launched in May 2009 by President Clinton, the Climate Positive Development Program supports the development of large-scale urban projects that demonstrate that cities can grow in ways that are climate positive—able to reduce the amount of on-site CO2 emissions to below zero.
09-22-11
Jorge Otero-Pailos Workshop
Join us at the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative for a workshop on “Preservation and Creativity” with Jorge Otero-Pailos this coming Wednesday (9/28) at 8:30am. Preservation is often seen as lacking architectural design creativity, or worse, as standing in the way of it. This workshop will explore the ideas about creativity that undergird this prejudice, and invite participants to consider new ways in which creativity might be rethought to formulate a more productive engagement between architecture and preservation.
The workshop will last a little over an hour, and a light breakfast will be served. Please RSVP to srugare@kent.edu so that we have a count and so that we can send you some brief texts that will be discussed.
Jorge Otero-Pailos Workshop
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
8:30-10:00 am
1309 Euclid Ave., Suite 200
Jorge Otero-Pailos (Madrid, 1971) is a New York based architect, artist and theorist specialized in experimental forms of preservation. He is tenured Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture. He is the Founder and Editor of the journal Future Anterior. His artworks have been exhibited in international shows such as the Venice Art Biennial, and are in the collections of major museums and foundations. His works and writings have been published in international publications such as Art in America, Artforum, Architectural Record, Volume, and others. His work rethinks preservation as a powerful countercultural practice that creates alternative futures for our world heritage.
06-13-11
Vote for the Cleveland Bridge Project
We need your help! A community-driven effort is currently underway to re-open the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge for year round use.
Go to bridgevote.com right now to cast your vote.
Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those ‘vote every day’ type contests. You can only vote one time per email address. If you need help, just follow these simple steps:
1. In the blue box, click “Register or Get a Password Reminder”
2. Enter your email address and click “Submit” (zip code is not necessary and your information won’t be shared)
3. Scroll down to “Cleveland Bridge Project” and click on it
4. In the blue box, click “Vote Now!”
With your help, we can win $25,000 to improve the lower level of the bridge. Vote today!
Want to learn more about the project? Check out the Cleveland Bridge Project promo video:
Cleveland Bridge Project from david jurca on Vimeo.
05-06-11
BioCellar Event Videos
If you missed the BioCellar event at the CUDC on April 26th, now you can watch the presentations online:
BioCellar Presentations - 1 of 3 - Intro
BioCellar Presentations - 2 of 3 - Darrell Frey | Bioshelter Market Garden @ Three Sisters Farm
BioCellar Presentations - 3 of 3 - Gauri Torgalkar | BioCellar: Concept to Prototype
05-03-11
RFP for Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone
Re-imagining a [Greater] Cleveland is seeking proposals to develop a plan for the Kingsbury Run Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone.
The Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone is a defined district (in the area of East 79th Street and Kinsman Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio) that will foster entrepreneurial farming activities and related businesses. The plan will provide a comprehensive design approach for a Live | Play | Grow neighborhood that integrates agriculture into the surrounding neighborhood.
04-12-11
Join us for Ride the dambl!
Ride the dambl is part of Paul Druecke’s Cover the City With Lines, a project developed in conjunction with the CUDC’s Cleveland Stories: True Until Proven Otherwise. The group bike ride starts in Tremont and ends at the Cleveland Institute of Art following a route, the dambl, created in honor of Cleveland’s counter-culture icon, d. a. levy. After arriving at the Reinberger Galleries, cyclists and their bikes will enter the space becoming part of the exhibition. Their own Cleveland Story.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
5:30 pm start time
Meet: West End of Abbey Avenue Bridge in Tremont
The first 24 people ready to ride get a free dambl tee shirt!
Ride organized by Michael Hudecek
CONTACT: Paul Druecke — pjdruecke@gmail.com
RSVP for Ride on Facebook
Overview
Cover the City with Lines comes from the d. a. levy poem, Cleveland Undercovers. d. a. levy (1942-1968) was a poet, visual artist, and publisher at the frontline of the 1960’s struggle for freedom of expression. 
He was twice arrested by local authorities while exercising rights we now take for granted. Since his tragic, premature death in 1968, supporters have called for Cleveland to honor/memorialize him. Cover the City with Lines picks up the story by proposing an extensive urban bike lane named for levy, the d. a. levy Memorial Bike Lane a.k.a. the dambl. The dambl connects Cleveland’s east and west sides while linking 60’s era culture wars, which levy fought in, to today’s battle for alternative transportation and bike-friendly cities.