« September 9, 2007 - September 15, 2007 | Main | September 23, 2007 - September 29, 2007 »

September 21, 2007

A third place to spark community a small town

A few years ago 32-year old Melanie DiPasquale felt there was something missing in her small town of Brunswick, Maryland, pop. 5000, something very familiar to the typical creative... a third place where people in the community could get together spontaneously.

At that same time she spotted a for sale sign on a church built in 1910 that had been abandoned for ten years. Obviously, the church carried with it a lot of stories for many of the locals, so it seemed natural to restore it into a destination where they could share them, which Melanie proceeded to do with her family's help. Beans in the Belfry opened in October, 2004 and has become a regional institution ever since.

As you can see, it's unlike any coffeehouse or cafe you've ever seen. The front of the church is very unassuming, with a modest sign - I actually passed by it even when I was looking for it. However, upon walking through the big front doors (as you'd expect for a church) you'd swear you were thrust into a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Hobbit with Harry Potter in Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

You'll see a kids' corner with dress-up clothes, big wooden dominoes, huge lollipops, books, and games amid a hodgepodge of what seems like living room sets. You'll experience myriad events, live radio broadcasts on Friday mornings, open mic night on Friday nights, jazz during Sunday brunch, tea time on Sunday afternoons, and live music three nights a week. There's free wifi, of course, and even rentable computers in the choir balcony. Then there's the food - the paninis, milkshakes, and fairtrade coffees and teas are highly acclaimed and more than affordable, while the pie is definitely worth returning for.

If you're looking for a defining example of place dripping with authenticity, this is it.

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September 20, 2007

Stockholm, Sweden's eco-city

There's endless talk about building eco cities that don't seem to meet reality, so it's nice to see one that's actually built. Developed on a 500-acre former industrial and harbor brownfield site, Hammarby Sjostad is a contemporary green, carbon-neutral-oriented neighborhood. Hammarby provides homes almost 10,000 residents with an additional 9000 homes and 10,000 jobs coming by 2015.

One key characteristic that is all too often ignored amid talk about eco cities (which are ironically planned in greenfields) is the the development extends and mirrors the urban fabric of Stockholm's vibrant inner city with consistent city street dimensions, block lengths, building heights, density and mix of uses. This is a largely overlooked, but primary reason why it has received acclaim for its quality of life.

The sustainability goal is that the environmental impact from emissions will be a whopping 50% lower than other new developments. This is achieved through its custom ecological ecosystem known as the Hammarby Model, utilizing green roofs; solar panels; eco-friendly construction products; fully integrated underground waste collection system piping waste to the local district heating plant, and its own wastewater plant. Want to learn more about the model? Other than via their website, the development even has its own onsite environmental information center, known as Glashusett, designed to educate residents, visitors and practitioners via study trips, exhibitions and demonstrations of new environmental technologies.

Thanks to Braulio Agnese of Architect Magazine for the reference.

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September 19, 2007

The first beta community meeting in Syracuse

What kind of space do artists and musicians want in the city of Syracuse? The simplest way to find out is to ask them, which is what developer Rick Destito formally began doing Tuesday night last week on the first floor of his 5-story, 65,000 s.f. warehouse (pictured), which Rick (brown shirt, hand in motion) is committed to transforming into an artist/musician live-work community (see rendering here).

Here are a few key discussion points from the beta community meeting:

The status of the building: There are 17 artist studios, 3 of which are available (175, 130, and 250 s.f. at $1/sf/mo. that take up a fraction of the of the building, the rest of which is raw unused space, as you can see.

Naming the building: Based on discussion at the project's beta community site, Rick announced it would be called The Gear Factory, with website to come at www.gearfactorysyr.com, being designed by building member, Michael Heagerty.

Compensation for participation: The group began exploring the idea of profit-sharing based on individual sweat equity, initiated by Rick.

Building program: The group discussed what amenities the building would offer in order to ensure their involvement as either tenants, buyers or patrons. Community rooms, classrooms, musician practice rooms and studios, rooftop garden, rooftop cafe, first floor restaurant/brewery, Big Wheel space (left image), studio-fronting residences, and retail-fronting studios were brought up.

The vision: The members discussed on what the building will be known for - a reputed art center, collaboration, community. They also brainstormed on a slogan for the building, which is continuing online.

Manifesto/charter/declaration: The group began defining the principles the building will stand for via a document that Rick will use to maintain the building community's integrity.

Keep track of all beta communities by signing up here.

Image by Colleen Woolpert, a photographer tenant at The Gear Factory.

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September 18, 2007

A vision becomes reality in Pasadena

Way back in November 2005 we published the projected vision of the new Del Mar Station Transit Village in Pasadena. Well, it's time to show you the built result, and it's inspiring to see it not only match the rendering, but look even better.

The 4.2 acre development hosts 346 apartments (though only 21 are affordable), 20,000 s.f. of retail, and 1200 underground parking spaces (ironically, more than three times the number of living units). 600 of those spaces are for the residents at 1.75 spaces/unit (this is California, remember), and the other 600 for commuters.

The civic plaza (top image) is the centerpiece, fronting a restored Spanish Revival-style train station now serving as a retail destination. The city's historic downtown is a 5-minute walk, and across the street lies a park designed by Frederick Olmstead, a legendary landscape architect from the early 20th century.

Notice (or not notice, actually) the creative massing of the 100 unit/acre development, which hides the seven-story apartment buildings by setting them back behind four-story buildings and placing the plaza in front of the one-story historic train station to allow for a much more human-scale at the street level. The architecture also reflects the distinct historic styles: industrial loft, modern commercial, Mediterranean revival, craftsman, and moderne residential.

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September 17, 2007

Crowd-sourcing temporary third places on Park(ing) Day

What's out: Protests demonstrating what you don't want.
What's in: Crowdsourcing what you do want.

One perfect example of that is Park(ing) Day, when people who are fed up too many parking spaces and too few third places simply build their own third place on one day each year - on a parking space.

It was started two years ago by Rebar, a collaborative group of creatives (surprised?) in San Francisco. It is now sponsored nationally by the Trust for Public Land (TPL). Participating cities include:

Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Bend, OR; Boston, MA; Charleston, SC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Kenosha, WI; Los Angeles; Louisville, KY; Miami; Minneapolis, MN; Missoula, MT; New Brunswick, NJ; New York City; Pomona, CA; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Raleigh, NC; Sacramento, CA; St. Louis, MO; St. Paul, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Sanford, FL; Seattle, WA; Syracuse, NY; Tampa, FL; Vancouver, WA; Washington, D.C.; Waukegan, IL; West Palm Beach, FL... Internationally, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Valencia, Munich, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Melbourne, Vilnius (Lithuania)... Participation details for each city are listed here. Is your city cool enough to be on the list? If not, it's simply up to you!

Check out the Park(ing) Day video here.

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