Review of Congress for New Urbanism in Yale Constructs
Tim Love’s review of the 16th Congress for the New Urbanism is published in the Fall 2008 issue of Constructs, a publication of the Yale School of Architecture. Titled Ideology vs. Pragmatism in New Urbanism, Love describes his experience at the conference and argues that CNU’s pragmatic approach is more relevant than its ideological underpinnings:
“The culture (of CNU) is deeply pragmatic in its approach and almost evangelical in its convictions. What’s remarkable is that a potent intellectual agenda has emerged precisely at the moment that CNU morphed from a polemical think tank into an industry tradeshow… CNU has been able to develop a planning methodology and a market simultaneously.”
Click here to download a PDF of the article.
Love will be coordinating and teaching the urbanism studio at Yale in Spring 2009.
Utile selected to design Harbor Park Pavilion
Boston Harbor Island Alliance and the National Park Service recently announced that Utile, a Boston-based architecture and urban design firm, has been awarded the contract to design a visitor pavilion on Parcel 14 of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Utile was selected after an open call for proposals from design firms; twenty-nine firms submitted proposals. The pavilion is an information center for the Boston Harbor Islands and has been conceived as the first step in the journey to the islands via nearby ferries.
The client team was previously pursuing a fully conditioned building for the site but made the decision to meet the program requirements with an open-air pavilion and a series of kiosks and exhibits. “With a change in emphasis in the project scope, the pavilion can be perceived as an important element in a larger landscape strategy that will make Parcel 14 an open space destination, as well as a key gateway to the harbor islands,” said Tom Powers, President of the Island Alliance, the non-profit partner of the National Park Service.
To meet the full promise of the project ambitions, Utile will be collaborating with Reed Hilderbrand, an award-winning landscape architecture firm. In addition, IDEO, a nationally-recognized design consultancy, will provide input on how human factors should impact the design of the landscape and pavilion. Utile and IDEO will also work together to conceive the exhibits and information graphics that complement the direct interaction of the pavilion staff.
Utile sees an enormous opportunity to complement and build on the early successes of the Greenway parks. As Tim Love, Utile principal, remarked, “Our team has the advantage of starting the design process the same month that the Greenway had its official opening. Rather than imagine the context of the site through renderings and models, we can observe for ourselves where the parks have engaged the public and where the intentions of the parks have not yet reached their full potential to generate public life.”
Morrissey Site Study
Utile is working with Synergy, a Boston development firm, to create a new-mixed use, transit-oriented neighborhood along Morrissey Boulevard near the JFK/UMASS MBTA station. The proposal is being coordinated with the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s ongoing Columbia Point Master Plan. Current plans for the site include an active community ‘main-street’ running parallel to Morrissey Boulevard that will serve the greater Columbia Point and Dorchester neighborhoods. This street will connect directly to the adjacent T station and a planned mixed-use development on the MBTA parcel. The development includes a mix of retail, residential and office space, combined with a network of open spaces and an active public realm. The project provides a full range of economic development, housing, and recreational opportunities for the neighborhood.
Downtown Crossing Signage Guidelines
Utile Inc. is collaborating with the BRA on a new set of guidelines for commercial signs in Boston’s Downtown Crossing District. Utile helped frame the content of the regulations, an update of Boston’s Sign Code first enacted in the 1970s. In addition, Utile is creating a richly illustrated manual that better communicates both the regulations and the rationale of the guidelines within a broader urban design agenda.
A first public meeting of the regulations was held on Thursday, October 23 to inform the final manifestation of the guidelines and regulations.