David van der Leer at the CUDC

David van der Leer, Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute, will give two lectures at Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative

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Thursday, October 25 | Reception at 5:30pm featuring Kent State Ashtabula wines from Laurello Vineyards | Lecture at 6pmDavid will talk about the work of the Van Alen Institute. Free and open to the public, but space is limited for this event. Please RSVP by October 11. RSVP LINKFriday, October 26 | Lecture from noon-1pm | Brown bag lunch lecture -- snacks will be providedDavid will discuss how the Van Alen Institute selects and evaluates urban design projects. Free and open to the public, no RSVP is needed.Both events will take place at the CUDC, 1309 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200. Please ring the intercom at the front entrance to be buzzed in.

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Kent State University's College of Architecture and Environmental Design and the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative are pleased to welcome David van der Leer for a two day visit, October 25 & 26, 2018. As Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute, David develops projects that explore the nuanced relationship between the built environment and the human being. Under his leadership, Van Alen focuses on the ways our minds and bodies are impacted by the cities we live in, and how we in turn impact the environment.A highlight is Ecologies of Addiction, a multi-year investigation into the ways digital technologies can shed light on the complex relationship between the city and addictive behaviors; it is currently in its first phase in London.Since arriving at the Institute in 2013, David has created a period of strategic growth with a new programming hub in the Flatiron district, and new models for connections between the Institute’s interdisciplinary design competitions, research, and public programs. In close collaboration with a vibrant new team and board, David is working to bring Van Alen’s work to places around the U.S. and beyond. 

Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition

Katherine Darnstadt | Tactical Leverage | May 11

Please join us at the CUDC on May 11, 2018 at 6:00 PM for Katherine Darnstadt's talk, "Tactical Leverage".Katherine Darnstadt is the founder of Latent Design, a progressive architecture and urbanism firm leveraging civic innovation and social impact to design more equitable spaces and systems. Since founding her practice in 2010, Katherine and her firm have prototyped new urban design systems to advance urban agriculture, support small business, created spaces for youth makers, advanced building innovation, and created public space frameworks. She and the firm have been published, exhibited and featured widely, most notably at the International Venice Architecture Biennial, Architizer A+ Awards, Chicago Ideas Week, NPR, American Institute of Architects Young Architects Honor Award winner and Crain’s Chicago 40 Under 40. She currently teaches at Northwestern University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.AIA CES credits have been applied for, based in the following learning objectives:

• How to regarding innovative small scale development, design and construction
• Real estate risk management and funding
• Community engagement and public policy
• Design detailing
• Practical resiliency strategies
• Urban design systems thinking / Human centered design
• Community engagement and public policy

 Come early at 5:30 PM for a reception with light refreshments featuring the work from the graduate students in Kent State University's Architecture, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture Programs exhibited in the CUDC gallery. This lecture is co-sponsored with AIA Cleveland. Please RSVP HERE. Katherine Darnstadt"Tactical Leverage"5:30 PM- Reception in the gallery6:00 PM- LectureCleveland Urban Design Collaborative1309 Euclid Ave., Suite 200Cleveland, OH 44115 

Call for Papers | Alternatives to the Present | June 5

The CUDC and CAED are excited to host an interdisciplinary conference on the future of urban agendas. The “Alternatives to the Present” conference will take place November 1-2, 2018 in Cleveland. This call for papers seeks a wide array of projects, propositions, and disciplinary critique from the fields of architecture, planning, sociology, urban geography, and allied disciplines. The conference is in collaboration with The Architecture, Media, Politics, Society (AMPS) platform, which is an international nonprofit research organization.Abstracts are due June 5, 2018 and registration opens July 1, 2018. Any questions should be directed to CUDC Senior Urban Designer Jeff Kruth: jkruth@kent.edu 

Fireside Chat at the Edgewater Beach House | Mar 1

Winter can be no joke in Cleveland with the cold weather keeping you indoors, but for the hearty, wintertime is the perfect time to get outside! Join the American Planning Association’s Cleveland Chapter and Cleveland Metroparks for a unique outdoor panel discussion on winter activities next to the fireplace at the Edgewater Beach House!The fireside chat will feature Associate Director of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, David Jurca and artist/educator Donald Black.Thursday, March 1, 20185:30 PMLakefront Reservation7600 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway$10/person (includes chili & hot chocolate)cash bar

Happy 100th Birthday, Detroit-Superior Bridge!

The Detroit-Superior Bridge turns 100 this year. The structure, also known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge, was the largest two-level steel and concrete reinforced bridge in the world when it was completed in 1918.Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University.Thousands of people drive across the street level of the bridge every day. But just below, the former streetcar level of the bridge remains one of Cleveland’s hidden gems. Streetcar service was discontinued in 1955 and the lower level bridge has been waiting to be discovered ever since. The Cuyahoga County Engineering Department opens the lower level of the bridge for tours periodically, including in September of 2017 for Sparx in the City, which drew record crowds to this beautiful and underutilized space. The Ingenuity Fest has taken place on the lower level of the bridge. And CUDC staff and students have fond memories of our first experiments on the bridge in the Fall of 2009.In 2012, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) awarded a planning grant to explore the possibility of re-opening the lower level of the bridge as a public space and bike/pedestrian connection.The CUDC collaborated with Environmental Design Group, Levin Ventures, and a host of other partners to explore design alternatives that would capitalize on the uniquely beautiful attributes of the streetcar-level space.Credit Jeff Kruth, CUDCIn the same year, the Cleveland Design Competition focused on the streetcar level of the bridge and attracted 200 entries from designers around the world, suggesting visionary ideas for the future reuse of the space.The bridge connects Public Square to Ohio City and could also provide important linkages to Irishtown Bend and Canal Basin Park--two exciting and long-awaited new public spaces along the Cuyahoga River. In celebration of the bridge’s birthday, interest is once again percolating about the streetcar level space. Please watch the Bridge Project Facebook page for updates and announcements of future activities. 

Call for Proposals! 2018 Midwest Urban Design Charrette

This fall, the CUDC and our three academic partners – Lawrence Technological University’s College of Architecture and Design in Detroit, MI; the State University of New York at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY; and Ball State University’s Urban Design Center in Indianapolis, IN – will bring graduate students in urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture to a selected community for a 3-4 day intensive design workshop (or charrette). The Midwest Urban Design Charrette has been conducted for seven consecutive years, most recently traveling to Detroit, MI in 2017 and Akron, OH in 2016.The CUDC is looking for a community partner from a city, suburb, town, or neighborhood in western New York; northwestern Pennsylvania; northern Ohio; northern Indiana; or the lower peninsula of Michigan, facing a unique urban design or planning challenge and in need of fresh ideas and perspectives.This year, the Midwest Urban Design Charrette is specifically seeking communities with issues related to one or more of the following areas of interest:• resilience to the impacts of climate change;• environmental justice;• patterns of migration into or out of a community, either domestically or internationally; and• immigrant communities.If you’d like for your community to be considered for this year’s charrette, please send a brief proposal no later than April 2, 2018 to cudc@kent.edu. Please see our full RFP in .pdf format here for submission details.Thank you for your interest, & we hope to hear from you soon!

Cleveland Housing Issues & Opportunities: A Panel Discussion | Jan 23

The Cleveland Public Library will moderate a panel discussion on Cleveland Housing Issues & Opportunities on Tuesday, January 23rd at 5:00 PM. Community housing leaders from around Cleveland including the CUDC, Thriving Communities, CMHA, Third Federal and Slavic Village Development will discuss local successes in demolishing blighted properties and renovating, reusing, restoring, and rehabilitating older buildings to serve as houses for local residents. The conversation is part of the One Community Reads program focused in 2018 on the book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.CUDC Urban Designer, Kristen Zeiber, will be there to discuss the design/REbuild house and New Life for Old Homes: Design Guide for the Low-Cost Rehab of Vacant & Abandoned Housing. New Life for Old Homes is a  guidebook of low-cost, high impact ideas for the rehabilitation of vacant and abandoned houses that would otherwise be demolished.Cleveland Housing Issues & Opportunities: A Panel DiscussionTuesday, January 23, 20185:00 PMCleveland Public Library - Fleet Branch7224 Broadway Ave, Cleveland, OH 44105