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June 1, 2007

Green Exchange, Chicago

Torpedo factory turned artist community

'Make art not war' is the literal theme at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, located in the heart of Alexandria, Virginia's vibrant downtown waterfront.

Originally built in 1918 as a torpedo factory and used as such until the end of World War II, the City of Alexandria bought the buildings from the U.S. government in 1969. Marian Van Landingham, President of the local Art League at the time, proposed renovating the buildings into artist studios. Long story short, the Torpedo Factory Artists Association was born, a beta community if you will, with the Torpedo Factory Art Center itself opening in 1974. Read about its fascinating history in detail here.

The Torpedo Factory is now a civic tourism destination for the city, attracting 700,000 visitors annually, supported by 1000 cooperative gallery members and 2000 art students. The 165 visual artists in painting, ceramics, photography, jewelry, stained glass, fiber, printmaking, and sculpture, welcome visitors to observe their creative processes, and of course, purchase their work. The Center hosts 82 artist studios, six cooperative galleries, two workshops, art classes and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, and is even popular for conferences and wedding receptions.

The best part is that they sell a professional guide if you want to establish your own art center.

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May 31, 2007

Green Exchange, Chicago

The first, and only, green mall

Maybe I should start an entire category of "it was just a matter of time before this happened", because here's yet another one...

The Green Exchange in Chicago will be the first silver LEED-certified green building designated strictly for green tenants. Schedule for a Fall 2007 opening, it should be no surprise the 250,000 s.f. concrete loft building to be renovated is in Chicago, already regarded as the most green-minded major city in the U.S.

Regarded as the first (and so far only) green mall, the tenants include:
- An 'environmental printer'
- A green building consultant
- A green building supplier
- The nation's largest bike retailer
- An energy efficiency consultant and supplier
- An eco-friendly packaging company
- An organic restaurant and caterer

It's green building features include:
- Loft style spaces with tremendous natural light
- State of the art green roof
- High-efficiency HVAC, water and energy systems
- Energy efficient windows and doors
- Building paint and stains all eco-friendly for clean air quality
- Bike room and showers, car-sharing service, and priority hybrid parking

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May 30, 2007

Wuhan, China

China, Great Britan making creative class waves

When looking for creative class benchmarks in culture, placemaking and policy, it's becoming increasingly necessary to look overseas. Two such countries that are on the creative rise are China and Great Britain.

China

The best place to start understanding China's impact is in Fast Company magazine cover story, China's New Creative Class, "You can sense it in the trendy restaurants and slick boutiques popping up in major cities - and in the gritty ex-warehouse and factory districts where imagination-driven companies are joining the cafés and art galleries that first settled in." With 34 million blogs and an average age of its 400 richest people at 46.5 versus 65.7 in the U.S., there's an innovation revolution afoot. Check out the article for endless examples of artful economic phenomena, from animation festivals to prolific filmmaking to designer-paloozas.

The following quote by a renowned designer in Shanghai summarizes China's creative endeavors, which aren't dissimilar from many U.S. cities and neighborhoods striving to establish their own identity, "Street culture is becoming the biggest influence in China. Right now, we're following the Western world, but we don't want to copy. I think we'll have our own street culture soon." The bottom line? Listen to people on the street... crowdsource... utilize beta communities...

Great Britain

On a shorter note, check out Richard Florida's take here on how the British government is talking about the creative economy on a national level that's nowhere on the U.S. government's radar.

Image source: Wuhan, China by stephen in motion.

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May 29, 2007

Besancon, France

How green is your neighborhood?

A few months ago we wrote that neighborhoods can now be green certified, via the US Green Building Council's LEED for Neighborhood Development program.

Now that green building is becoming more of an expectation for emerging populations, here's their criteria for what a green neighborhood should have, with (R) representing requirements and others below it being assigned points for ratings:

Smart Location & Linkage
(R) Smart Location - Walkability, Proximity to Public Transportation Infrastructure
(R) Proximity to Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
(R) No Presence of Imperiled Species and Ecological Communities
(R) Wetland and Water Body Conservation
(R) Agricultural Land Conservation
(R) Floodplain Avoidance
- Preferred Locations - Proximity to Existing Development (2-10)
- Reduced Automobile Dependence (1-8)
- Housing and Jobs Proximity (3), Brownfield Redevelopment (2) and seven others at (1) point.

Neighborhood Pattern & Design
(R) Open Community - Street and Sidewalk Connectivity
(R) Compact Development (1-7)
- Walkable Streets (4-8)
- Diversity of Uses (1-4)
- Diversity of Housing Types (1-3)
- Twelve others at (1-2) points.

Green Construction & Technology
(R) Construction Activity Pollution Prevention
- Stormwater Management (1-5)
- Certified Green Buildings (1-3)
- Energy Efficiency in Buildings (1-3)
- Reduced Water Use (1-3)
- Sixteen others at (1-2) points.

Learn more in this Smart City Radio interview with Jennifer Henry who helped establish the program.

Image: Besancon, France. The LEED ratings are primarily for new neighborhood developments, though one can expect ratings for existing neighborhoods in the future.

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