Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds, recently completed The Stockyard at Railroad Park as an office space for Shannon Waltchak and Scout Branding. Located in Birmingham’s emerging Parkside District, the project included the resuse of multiple components and materials to complete an unique space. Materials used included shipping containers, discarded barn siding and reclaimed Birmingham street trees, which were milled and kiln dried on site. The outside wood and rusting siding help to remind passerbys of the industrial roots of the building. Additional interior graphics and a vine-covered steel trellis are the finishing touches for this inimitable office space.
Author: Gina Clifford
American Society of Landscape Architects: 2015 Award Winners
The American Society of Landscape Architects recently selected its 2015 award winner. Selected from 459 entries, this year’s 34 awards honor top public, commercial, residential, institutional, planning, communications and research projects in the U.S. and around the world. To see the winners, visit here: American Society of Landscape Architects
Taking the Long View: Mayor Joe Riley and Charleston’s Revitalization
Mayor Joseph P. Riley of Charleston, South Carolina, and the National Endowment for the Arts have had a long and fruitful history. Mayor since 1975, Riley’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in Charleston’s remarkable revitalization: Riley developed attractive and practical affordable housing; he led the charge to rebuild Charleston’s waterfront and recreate it as a park—just one of the many parks built under his watch; he took a dying downtown district and restored it to a vibrant, bustling, and architecturally significant center; and he was instrumental in bringing Spoleto Festival USA to Charleston. Significantly, the National Endowment for the Arts provided necessary funding and vital support for the majority of these projects, including—or perhaps especially—the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD). Founded by Riley—who is still an ardent and active supporter—MICD is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the American Architectural Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. After 40 years, Riley leaves office in December, and he took this opportunity to reflect upon the pivotal role the National Endowment for the Arts played in the transformation of Charleston during his tenure. The National Endowment for the Arts recently spent some time with Mayor Riley as he reflected on his time in his, to read more, visit NEA Arts Magazine.
– Above is an excerpt from a story written by Josephne Reed for the NEA Arts Magazine
Auburn’s Urban Armature Workshop
Montgomery’s Cypress Nature Park is truly a treasure hidden in plain sight.
Very few people are even aware that just 1 mile northeast of the Alabama State
Capitol Building lies 260 acres of ‘urban wild.’ This rich patch of ecological
diversity includes ancient river bluffs, natural seeps and valuable swamplands. To date
more than 100 species of birds and 60 species of trees have been identified within the
park confines.
In early March 2015 Auburn University’s Master of Landscape Architecture program held
an intense, week-long workshop to explore the potentials of this often-overlooked resource.
Julie Bargmann, founder of D.I.R.T. studio and associate professor at the University of
Virginia, was invited to lead the motley crew. The workshop, affectionately christened the
Urban Armature Workshop, focused attention on design potentials embedded within the
post-industrial landscape between Cypress Nature Park and the Montgomery Riverwalk.
This rich terrain is braided with channelized segments of Cypress Creek, abandoned rail
lines, patches of industry and fragments of neighborhoods. The 12 teams were charged
with first unearthing the rich histories of the site, then exploring strategies that connect the
nature park to the riverwalk, continually weaving their designs into the city along the way.
At the workshop’s end students presented their work to an audience of Auburn faculty,
community stakeholders, site developers and City of Montgomery staff. Participants
walked away with a new appreciation for the role these post-industrial sites can play in the
regeneration of our city. The workshop revealed the potential these sites hold, the potential
to strengthen the ecological, social and cultural health of the city of Montgomery
Cahaba River Walk
The newly opened Cahaba River Walk, designed by Nimrod Long and Associates of Birmingham, connects the surrounding neighborhoods of Mountain Brook and the larger city together with the ephemeral landscapes of the Cahaba River. The design gives fresh form to what always has been an important informal spot on the river; embracing the beach stone, mixed hardwood forest, the history of the fishing ledge to create great new public access. Insights gleaned through community meetings inform the ½ mile bike and pedestrian loop, nature trail system and picnic pavilion. This site intentionally connects to the larger Cahaba Blueway network of public river access and wild urban experience.
Joel Eliason, lead landscape architect, entices, “the park has a lot of great trees; diverse riverbank species such as sycamore, maple and a favorite, the big leaf magnolia. There are also some amazing ephemerals: native wildflowers, herbaceous perennials and grasses, especially in the spring…found only in undisturbed woodlands and floodplains.”
Extending the larger network of vital public spaces, river access and infrastructure is important to the city, as is connecting its past with its future. “We love to encourage young designers, builders and citizens who give back to the community through public work,” says Eliason. At the river walk, two Eagle Scouts have pitched in, one with a split-rail fence and another with a gravel path that engages the bioswale with native plants. Stay tuned for the next phases of the park and the Cahaba River Walk!
DesignAlabama receives $50,000 Grant from National Endowment for the Arts
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The Gulf, Orange Beach
The Gulf, a new restaurant/bar overlooking the Perdido Bay inlet at Orange Beach, has a decidedly kicked-back look. Incorporated into its design are four steel shipping containers – used to make the whole place easy to move“Shipping containers have been trendy in the design community for about 10 years,” says architect Courtney Brett of Casburn Brett Architecture in Daphne. “But portability was the key factor here. This site has a master plan for a larger public/private boardwalk and permanent restaurant that hinges on a future renovated seawall, so this might or might not stay. But people like the improvised look. We call it a food truck on steroids,” she adds.
Contrary to expectations, there was no cost advantage to using containers. “If you modified them in a shop, there might be. But working on site took extraordinary craftsmanship by the welders having to make straight cuts while blocking the wind,”Brett says. One container holds the kitchen, a second was cut open for an open-air vestibule, a third for a combined walk-in cooler and open bar and a fourth for enclosed seating on a second level.
Brett points out two key aspects of working with containers: One, they can be hot – especially at the beach – so air-flow and reflective exterior finishes are essential. Two, you can’t treat them like a block of wood – the structure at the corners andedges must be maintained for strength.
Twickenham Square, Huntsville
Three development teams have begun joint work on a $100 million mixed-use development just south of downtown Huntsville. Located on the former Councill Courts public housing site, Twickenham Square will include 246 loft-style apartments, a Publix supermarket, a hotel and a five-story office building all designed as a pedestrian-friendly urban ensemble.
Bristol Development Group, based in the Nashville area, will develop the apartments, Publix, retail shops and a parking deck in a joint venture with PGM Properties, also of Nashville. The master plan and architectural design for the apartments and one retail building are by Smith Gee Studio of Nashville, while the Publix and two retail buildings are by Max Design Group of Atlanta. Lead contractor is Brasfield & Gorrie with Hudson Construction Co. of Atlanta building the Publix and two retail buildings.
PHD Hotels of Opelika is developing the 101-room Hilton Garden Inn, while Triad Properties of Huntsville will be developing the office building in conjunction with the adjacent Huntsville Hospital. The City of Huntsville also is building a parking deck designed by Chapman Sisson Architects of Huntsville to serve the development.
Natalie Chanin Opens Up About What It’s Really like to Run an Eco Fashion Brand
Eco awareness isn’t just a passing trend in the fashion industry — it’s a full-blown movement. Nobody would know that better than Natalie Chanin, the mastermind who started the eco lifestyle label Alabama Chanin 15 years ago. Find out what it’s really like to run a successful sustainable business when you visit http://www.thefashionspot.com/runway-news/634033-alabama-chanin/
Brick & Tin
It took creative problem solving and imaginative design to convert a dermatology
practice into Brick & Tin, a popular neighborhood restaurant, bar and bakery in
Mountain Brook Village. Owners Mauricio and Susan Papapietro enlisted the design/
build collaborative of Birmingham-based Appleseed Workshop and KDag Designs to
renovate the former medical office that’s now Brick & Tin’s second location. Appleseed’s
director of architecture, Kyle D’Agostino, transformed the 2,650-square-foot space into
an inviting eatery that won a 2014 AIA Birmingham Commercial Design Award.
Not only was the building itself repurposed but also materials including the reclaimed oak bar and pressed tin tiles removed from a building near the original Brick & Tin in downtown Birmingham. Mauricio notes that the tiles are a visual reminder of the name and complement the wooden-beamed ceiling and reclaimed-wood farm tables.Discovering a load-bearing brick wall was an unwelcomed surprise. However, Kyle’s wife, interior designer Kathy D’Agostino of KDag Designs, thought of using the wall to enclose the bakery and make it a retail/pickup area. An archway cut out of the white-painted brick creates a passage from the bakery to the main dining room and bar.
The overall result is a destination where patrons enjoy seasonal, often locally sourced food
and drink in extraordinary surroundings, a place Kyle calls “a perfect melding of design,
gastronomy and the owners’ spirit.”