The Atlantic Cities Website

Anthony Flint, “The Tricky Second Wave of Urban Highway Removals.”  Posted January 9, 2011. [McGrath Highway De-elevation Study]

From the jury comments:

The design is a wonderful example of how a simple issue—in this case, providing shelter and dispersing rainwater—can lead to a poetic solution. The two roof forms, basically flat, are subtly curved and molded to divert rainwater to a tidal pool. The result is a functional and beautifully sculptural form.

Stay tuned to our website in the coming weeks for new photos.

Amy and her youngest daughter enjoy playing pool, weekend brunch, and retail therapy. Her oldest daughter lives in Los Angeles where Amy visits as much as possible to go on hikes and search out the best street tacos.

Fast progress is being made at the First+First Townhomes project in South Boston: 10 of the units are fully framed, and foundations are now started on all the remaining units. Windows started going in yesterday, and rough-ins, roofing, and insulation will all be progressing in the next couple of weeks. We’re also looking forward to our first round of LEED inspections, taking place soon. The block is really taking shape as the newly-defined edge of the townhouses rises – and there are some great views of the city, South Boston, and the industrial waterfront from the fourth floor decks of the houses! Stay tuned for more updates…

For the first phase of the study, Utile conducted an exhaustive exercise in mapping the Mill River district’s physical, economic, social and ecological context. The scale of the exercise ranges from mapping regional water infrastructure to plotting truck entry and egress of individual businesses. This rigorously analytical and nuanced approach yielded fresh insights into development opportunities and constraints in the Mill River district. One significant discovery for instance was the presence of significant storm surge zones and its implication for building development financing.

Utile also conducted extensive field surveys and stakeholder meetings, through which it identified a number of opportunity parcels as key sites for intervention. Several potential future scenarios were then developed to test the development feasibility of certain prioritized industrial building prototypes on these parcels.

The broad district-wide economic development strategies that emerged out of this first phase is currently being presented to and finalized in consultation with Mill River district stakeholders and the New Haven EDC. Ideas include a “home improvement marketplace,” an “industrial village” model for small-scale manufacturing and some retail, and cultivation of a mercantile food hub incorporating existing food industries and adding new concepts like urban greenhouses. The vision includes consideration of pedestrians, cyclists and green space. Central to the plan is business retention, expansion and job growth. These ideas will provide a framework for redevelopment scenarios and streetscape improvements, and inform recommendations for land use changes, infrastructure improvements, and district-specific building prototypes.