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Architects are reevaluating the way they create modern learning spaces, putting the student experience at the forefront of design. So much so that the AIA has a committee — the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education – devoted to this important sector of architecture.

This commitment to excellence in school design is evident at Creative Montessori School in Homewood. ArchitectureWorks in Birmingham has created a master plan for this innovative school that maximizes the learning experience based on its educational goals and plans for expansion.

Phase One is complete, which includes preschool classrooms, community and lunch rooms, administration offices, media center and site development. In addition, the firm designed and built a donor wall and furniture for the school.

“Creative Montessori is a close-knit community and the building reinforces this through its variety of scaled gathering spaces,” explains partner-in-charge Jay Pigford. “A large scale community room for school-wide meetings, shared outdoor spaces where students from adjacent classrooms come together, and paired entries to the classrooms where parent drop-off encourages informal catch-up moments.”

Wood harvested onsite from oak trees was used throughout the project as the ceiling finish. Flooding the spaces with natural light reduced artificial lighting needs while also connecting the spaces to the changing seasons and outdoor activity.

Direct access to the exterior from the classrooms weaves the building into the landscape and creates more opportunities for Montessori’s experience-based learning. Landscaping for the project was provided by Macknally Land Design and Johnson-Kreis Construction was the contractor. Both are based in Birmingham.

Image 1: The building contains several scaled gathering spaces. A large-scale community room for school-wide meetings, shared outdoor spaces where students from adjacent classrooms come together, and paired entries to the classrooms where parent drop off students encourages informal catch-up moments.

Image 2: Phase One of the master plan for Create Montessori School in Homewood is complete. In addition to site development, the first phase includes preschool classrooms, community and lunch rooms, administration offices and a media center.

Image 3: Wood harvested onsite from oak trees was used throughout the project as the ceiling finish. Flooding the spaces with natural light reduced artificial lighting needs while also connecting the spaces to the changing seasons and outdoor activity.

Image 4: Direct access to the exterior from classrooms weaves the building into the landscape and creates more opportunities for Montessori’s experience-based learning. ArchitectureWorks also designed and built a donor wall and the furniture for the school.

* Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of ArchitectureWorks

KPS Group’s Principal and Huntsville Studio Director Kristine Harding, who has worked tirelessly to advance architectural licensure, can now add FAIA after her name. A member of the AIA North Alabama chapter, Harding is one of 154 new members of the College of Fellows for 2018.

The College of Fellows is the highest rank in the AIA awarded to those who have been a member for at least 10 years and made significant contributions to architecture and society. Harding notes that out of 113,000 licensees in the United States and U.S. territories, only 50,000 are AIA members, and just three percent of its membership is elevated to fellowship.

In the fellowship submission, applicants must provide a summary statement that focuses on their service. Harding’s statement observes that her “focus on one strategic goal – facilitate licensure – has redefined the profession’s approach to ensuring the resiliency of practice in the 21st century and advances strong, active alliances between NCARB and AIA.”

Harding has made advancing architectural licensure a priority for the past 13 years. Her National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) leadership, which includes serving as its 2016-2017 president, has improved licensure criteria, helping to ensure the highest standards for architectural practice nationwide.

Additionally, Harding worked to strengthen the partnership between the NCARB and its peer organizations, which include the AIA. A collaborative approach also extends to Harding’s project work and she is active in AIA at the national, regional and state level, where she received its highest honor – the AIA Alabama Council’s Accolade Award.

Encouraging more women and minorities to pursue architecture and achieve licensure is a goal in the profession, and Harding says: “It is our moral imperative as architects to work in K-12 programs to introduce architecture to our future generations, to mentor students in the universities and to hire emerging professionals and supervise them through the NCARB AXP (Architectural Experience Program) to grow our talent. This is not only important for attracting women, but also underrepresented ethnic, minority and socio economic populations.”

Gender and racial disparities are on the decline, according to the NCARB report, “NCARB by the Numbers.” According to the report, in 2016 women accounted for 36 percent of newly licensed architects and 42 percent of new Architect Registration Examination candidates. Racial and ethnic diversity is also improving, although at a slower pace. For comparison, 15 percent of new architects and 30 percent of new exam candidates identified as non-white.

Says Cheryl Morgan, a member of the Birmingham Chapter of the AIA who was elevated to FAIA in 2014 for her work in education: “FAIA is divided into several categories – some, like design, are much more competitive than others. I feel I was competitive because my work at Auburn’s Urban Studio was not only about providing Auburn’s fifth year architecture students with a robust learning environment, but because our Small Town Design Initiative gave me an opportunity to ‘teach’ across the whole state.”

Today, there are as many women as men in architecture programs yet women are still under-represented in the ranks of the licensed, Morgan says.

“You can only call yourself an architect if you are licensed. You can only be a full member of the AIA if you are a licensed architect and can only be nominated for FAIA if you have been AIA for at least 10 years. Many people have tried to explain why so many women choose never to become licensed. It’s unfortunate to me because the title does acknowledge the years of hard study, internship and work… There are increasing numbers of women being elevated, but our ranks are still not equal in the pool of licensed architects so the number of FAIA, at best, can only reflect our percentages in the profession.”

Women bring sensitivities, insight and perspective to the design problems that architects are asked to resolve, Morgan points out, and says that as a teacher, she was privileged to see women thrive and excel meeting the challenges and demands as ably as their male colleagues.

“Until we have more and better choices for child care, family leave and flex time I fear we will have little potential for retaining some of our best and most talented designers and future architects: women. As more women are achieving leadership positions in firms and opening their own firms, I am hopeful that these needs will be recognized and there will be better and more equitable paths for women to become licensed and contribute their amazing skills and abilities in shaping our built environment.”

Image 1 – Kristine Harding, KPS Group’s Principal and Huntsville Studio Director, was elevated to the AIA’s College of Fellows in 2018, primarily for her work in advancing architectural licensure.

Image 2 -Clearview Cancer Institute in Huntsville is among Harding’s wide range of projects. Harding designed the 114,000-square-foot center as a calming and welcoming environment for patients and their families.

Image 3- Harding designed the National Children’s Advocacy Center headquarters in Huntsville, which revolutionized response to child sexual abuse in the United States. Since its creation in 1985, the Huntsville center has served as a model for children’s advocacy centers in the United States and worldwide.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of KPS, Inc.

Located three miles north of downtown Mobile, Africatown has always held historical significance since it was formed by a group of 32 West Africans, who in 1860 were included in the last known illegal shipment of slaves to the United States.

A number of improvements are being made to revitalize Africatown and the surrounding area. Among the latest is the Africatown Connection Blueway Kayak Trail Plan, which includes a kayak launch, fishing pier and public parks to be built under the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge as part of the Africatown Connection Blueway.

A partnership between the National Park Service and local community groups in Africatown, the Blueway project will connect Africatown with Africatown State Park in Prichard. The trail includes parts of Chickasaw Creek, the Mobile River and Three Mile Creek, and is designed to increase public access to the water.

Creeks and bayous located in Africatown and nearby Prichard connect to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, but more launches are needed to make these waterways more easily reached. The mission is to preserve the natural spaces, habitat and waterways of historic Africatown and Africatown State Park in Prichard, as well as the 10 miles of Chickasaw Creek that connect the two.

The Africatown Connection Blueway Kayak Trail Plan was a spring 2018 project for Mississippi State University Department of Landscape Architecture design students in a class taught by Extension Professor Bob Brzuszek and his colleague Chuo Li.

“Our students were able to visit the area and were thoroughly impressed by the history and spirit of the Africatown community and its leaders,” Brzuszek says.

“The primary objective of this project was to provide conceptual design ideas for the residents to consider for important historical areas in the community and explore how they could be better accessed through existing waterways or pedestrian trails.”

Students assessed how the areas were currently being used and then conceived how they could be designed to improve community use and potential tourist visitation, Brzuszek adds.

“Through this project, students learned the compelling story of the Africatown settlers, and the strong sense of legacy and pride amongst its current community leaders.”

Joe Womack, president of the Africatown-C.H.E.S.S community group, grew up in Africatown and remembers when people in the community were often fishing, swimming, and taking pleasure from the water. He also recalls how Africatown and the surrounding area developed into an industrial zone that caused water access to become limited.

“It’s like the windows of heaven are finally opening up over Africatown and pouring out so many blessings at once,” says Womack. “We can’t help but believe that these breakthroughs will help us preserve what’s left of our beloved community. It’s like being rewarded for decades of hard work that so many of people put into bringing Africatown back to wholeness and prosperity. If all our individual plans succeed collectively, then Africatown might be even better than it was when I grew up here.”

Image 1- The Mississippi State University School of Landscape Architecture undergraduate design students gather at the bridge landing.

Image 2- A proposed park underneath the Cochrane Africatown USA Bridge features a dock, lawn space, pavilion, gardens, and walking trails. Dock graphic by Sara Peppers.

Image 3 – A redesign of the grounds of the Plateau Community Center would provide open space for events athletic fields an amphitheater and concessions Graphic by Mackenzie Nelson.

Image 4- Small structures to serve as vendor spaces for farmers markets or festivals are featured in the proposed bridge park design. Graphic by Luke Hanna.

Image 5 -The wetland trail at the Place of Baptisms includes replicas of African totems to remind visitors to the community of connections to its past. Graphic by Simon Powney.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong/Image Credits Given Above

The Interpretive Center at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores is now open, along with a second pedestrian bridge. The two bridges are at either end of the park’s two-mile beachfront. The center’s interactive exhibits about the natural history of coastal Alabama and its ecology will be completed this summer.

The new center and bridge are part of the Gulf State Park Enhancement Project, which provides ecologically sensitive enhancement to the 6,150-acre park – a stretch of coastline that runs from Gulf Shores to Orange Beach operated by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Partner in Charge Jay Pigford of ArchitectureWorks, the Birmingham firm that designed the Interpretive Center, says the center serves as a launching point for visitors to the park, and as such is designed as a way-point along a 28-mile trail system and not a final destination.

“We designed the project as two wood structures connected by expansive, terraced decks that rest lightly on the land with deep overhangs, encouraging visitors to experience the interactive exhibits through the buildings,” Pigford explains.

“A wood-screened exhibit porch offers long views of the dune restoration project ongoing along the two miles of park beach-frontage. Orientation of the building and its simplicity of roof form are integral pieces toward its net-zero impact through solar and water collection, aiming to achieve Living Building certification – one of 16 structures in the world.”

Living Building Challenge certification has been the most challenging part of the project as it restricts certain material use based on composition and manufacturing processes, Pigford adds.

“LEED has brought the construction industry a long way, but Living Building design considers the ingredients of the building as well as how it performs after it is built,” he continues. “It is not only an educational tool for the park but also for building resiliently along the Gulf Coast. The building is sited to encourage dune regeneration as well as encourage visitors to explore the entire 6,000 acres of the park across a pedestrian bridge designed as part of the project.”

Matt Leavell, a member of the Gulf State Project Development Team at the University of Alabama, calls the Living Building certification “the most rigorous environmental certification in the world right now.”

When the Interpretive Center becomes a Living Building, Leavell says, it will be the first in the Southeast region of the United States.

 

Image 1: The Gulf State Park Interpretive Center is a launching point for visitors to the park and was designed as a way-point along a 28-mile trail system. A wood-screened exhibit porch offers long views of the dune restoration project along the two miles of Park beach-frontage.

Image 2: The second pedestrian bridge is now open. Two pedestrian bridges are at either end of the park’s two-mile beachfront.

Image 3: The new center is not only an educational tool for the park, but also for building resiliently along the Gulf Coast. The building is sited to encourage dune regeneration as well as encourage visitors to explore the entire 6,000 acres of the park across a pedestrian bridge designed as part of the project.

Image 4: Orientation of the building and its simplicity of roof form are a significant part of its net-zero impact through solar and water collection, with the goal of achieving Living Building certification, of which only 16 structures in the world have received.

 

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of Art Husbant

The Kittrell-Milling Motor Company building that is part of Mobile’s Automobile Alley Historic District has been readapted as the new home of Precision Engineering Company. The 1926 building was transformed by architect Henry Norris of Henry Norris & Associates, Inc. in Pensacola, who calls it “a perfect candidate for adaptive reuse.”

Norris says his objective was to preserve the original integrity of the design, emphasizing the structural design elements within the interior of the building, which lent itself for new use. The main structure and exterior façade were intact and in relatively good condition.

Among the building’s most notable characteristics, he says, are the large “picture” windows facing St. Louis Street, the glazed tile inset designs on the exterior brick façade, along with the existing wood columns supporting the massive steel beams and roof system.

The Kittrell-Milling Motor Company Building was designed by Mobile architect C. L. Hutchisson, Sr. and constructed as the dealership for Dodge Brothers Automobiles and Graham Brothers Trucks in 1926. The building served as the Dodge dealership until 1951.

It stands as an exemplary example of a commercial building specifically designed with the automotive industry in mind. The design is a significant local example of a prevailing architectural style that reflects commerce of the period and contributes to the greater history and significance of Mobile’s “Automobile Alley,” notes Stephen McNair of McNair Historic Preservation in Mobile.

The building was eligible for federal and state historic tax credits because it was listed as a “contributing” building as part of the Automobile Alley National Register Historic District. It was also eligible because McNair was able to work with the architect and contractor to create a design that met the Department of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

The Automobile Alley Historic District consists of 11 city blocks in downtown Mobile. The 37 built resources located in the Automobile Alley Historic District were constructed from the 1860s to the present. The district consists mostly of one to two story commercial buildings, sometimes executed in classical but most often in modernistic styles.

Using the services of McNair Historic Preservation, the developer was able to secure both Alabama and federal historic tax credits for the project. The federal incentive provides a 20 percent return on rehabilitation expenditures for a federal income tax credit and the Alabama program provides a 25 percent return on rehabilitation expenditures for a state income tax credit, McNair explains.

Historic tax credits allowed the developer to carefully restore the building while also maintaining a reasonable budget. McNair says historic tax credit incentives often make the difference in a large rehabilitation project and lead to the rehabilitation of blighted buildings while also creating jobs and economic growth.

“We worked in conjunction with the architect and contractor to ensure the proposed design, alterations, upgrades, and modifications to the historic structure were compliant with the Department of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation,” he explains.

“Careful attention was paid to preserving and incorporating existing historic fabric into the design while also meeting a variety of code compliance issues. The adaptive reuse process when using historic tax credits is complicated and time consuming, but we were able to work with the team and secure every available historic incentive while transforming a 1926 automobile dealership into modern offices for an engineering firm.”

Image 1: The Kittrell-Milling Motor Company building has been readapted as the new home of Precision Engineering Company. The 1926 building was transformed by architect Henry Norris of Henry Norris & Associates, Inc. in Pensacola.

Image 2: The building was eligible for federal and state historic tax credits because it was listed as a contributing building as part of the Automobile Alley National Register Historic District. It was also eligible because its design met the Department of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

Image 3: The original construction of the building as it looked when photographed in the 1920s. Note the old style auto to the right of the building.

Image 4: Among the building’s most notable characteristics are the large picture windows facing St. Louis Street, its glazed tile inset designs on the exterior brick façade, as well as the existing wood columns supporting the massive steel beams and roof system.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of McNair Historic Preservation and Precision Engineering Company

 

Tucked in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Sylacauga is Pursell Farms, a sprawling 3,200-acre resort that offers sweeping views of several counties. In March, Pursell Farms opened the doors to the Inn, the latest in the resort’s numerous amenities.

Birmingham-based ArchitectureWorks designed the 40-room, three-story Inn, and Macknally Land Design helped with landscape architecture. Though the Inn is all new construction, it connects to an existing building that houses a lobby, bar, restaurant, commercial kitchen, meeting space and a fitness center. This building that was renovated had been an office building for Pursell Technologies.

The renovated office building contains Arrington, a restaurant that offers locally sourced farm and garden cuisine, and Old Tom’s Pub, a Scottish golf pub and sports bar with view of the 18th fairway with a Scottish and American menu. The renovation of this building also included adding a 4,000 square-foot commercial kitchen and a large meeting space.

“The design of the Inn at Pursell Farms is drawn largely from the existing context around the farm with an emphasis on taking advantage of views of the beautiful landscape,” explains project architect Ryan Coleman.

“In some ways the buildings at Pursell Farms are accessory to the experience of the landscape. The buildings around the farm have an established, sophisticated but relaxed aesthetic, directed by Pursell Farms owner Ellen Pursell. Our goal for the Inn was to stay within that context while finding opportunities to highlight views of the landscape.”

Coleman says the challenges faced were similar to most projects, and centered mostly on the schedule.

“The advantage this project had was that everyone involved worked as a team with a common goal to make this project the best it could be, regardless of the circumstances,” he adds.

“ArchitectureWorks, along with JohnsonKreis, the contractor, and Pursell Farms, tried to make decisions swiftly in order have the least amount of impact on the schedule as possible. We could not have been happier about being a part of this team. We also completed a new wedding venue for the resort just prior to opening of the Inn called Hamilton Place.”

Image 1- Pursell Farms in Sylacauga is a 3,200-acre resort that offers panoramic views of several counties. The design goal for the Inn was to find opportunities to highlight the idyllic views of the landscape.

Image 2 -The buildings on the farm have an established, sophisticated but relaxed aesthetic. The 40-room, three-story Inn is all new construction and connects to an existing building that houses a lobby, bar, restaurant, commercial kitchen, meeting space and a fitness center.

Image 3 -The project also included renovating an office building that is now home to two restaurants. The renovation of this building also includes a 4,000 square-foot commercial kitchen and a large meeting space.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of Pursell Farms and Macknally Land Design

Long celebrated as a historic railroad town, the city of Opelika has a new logo and brand identity that continues to honor this tradition. Rail lines made mid-19th century Opelika an economic hub and a center for shipping cotton to the North.

The concept for the logo was recently developed as a result of a “brand-storming” session with Opelika city officials and staff, says Angela Stiff, who designed the logo. Stiff is principal and creative director of Montgomery-based Copperwing, a creative consultancy that provides design, interactive services, integrated branding and advertising.

“Also, we met with members of the community during DesignAlabama’s DesignPlace charette,” says Stiff. “Listening to stories from citizens and touring the city, it became clear that Opelika’s history, growth and future opportunities rippled outward from the presence of the railroad there.”

Stiff says hearing a comment made by a local woman: “Hearing the train whistle meant you were home,” struck a chord and helped inspire the logo.

“We began by writing a brand story, and the ‘O’ mark featuring the train tracks grew from that core inspiration,” Stiff explains. “Opelika’s railroad history is part of what makes the people of Opelika genuine and down to earth. It is unique to who they are as a community. The logo signifies respect for the past, but also forward-looking momentum.”

Opelika recently participated in DesignPlace, a program offered by DesignAlabama in which professionals associated with DesignAlabama visit selected communities to provide them with design, planning and community identity assistance.

“Angela Stiff worked on the logo after our DesignPlace meetings and presented a design,” explains Opelika community relations officer Leigh G. Krehling, who designed the typography that accompanies the logo. “And after some tweaking, we ended up with our final design.”

The new logo will be seen on social media, signage, graphics and buildings. The traditional city seal will continue to be used for official business. The new modern logo – with its bold yet simple graphics – also appears on the city of Opelika’s newly designed website.

Image 1 -Copperwing’s inspiration board used to create design concepts for Opelika’s new logo and brand identity. These ideas came out of DesignPlace, a DesignAlabama program the city of Opelika recently participated in.

Image 2 – A coffee mug with the full identity printed on it. This new identity will also be seen on social media, signage, graphics and buildings.

Image 3- Opelika’s new “O” logo expresses the city’s railroad history in a fresh and modern way. The typography that accompanies the logo was created by Leigh Krehling with the city of Opelika.

Image 4- The “O” signifies unity and progress. It also reflects Opelika’s past, present and future woven together, with the train tracks representing Opelika’s history and movement onward.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of Copperwing Design and the City of Opelika

 

Alabama’s only public liberal arts college – the University of Montevallo – is getting a new arts center which the dean of the College of Fine Arts Steven Peters says “has the potential to be the creative engine for the entire university — a creative engine for discovery and innovation.”

Davis Architects in Birmingham designed the new 36,000-square-foot center which will provide comprehensive teaching and learning space, as well as give fine arts programs a place to collaborate across disciplines.

Andrew Taylor of Davis Architects is part of the design team that worked closely with university faculty and staff to create a performance venue and educational facility to bring together students and faculty from all departments within the College of Fine Arts. Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Theatre Consultants Collaborative also worked on the project.

“Dr. Steven Peters charged us with creating a ‘collaboratory,’ Taylor notes, “a place that would allow people to interact and collaborate in new ways, across disciplines, fostering more conversations and creativity.”

The center will include a 350-seat theater with the latest in acoustics and technology and a 100-seat black box theater, an indoor performance space with black walls and a level floor designed to provide flexibility in the configuration of the stage and the audience seating.

In addition, the center will contain an art gallery, theater department offices, multipurpose classrooms and studio, a multiuse digital fabrication lab, along with scene design and wardrobe shops.

Taylor says the challenge was designing a space capable of serving the diverse needs of the program, and at the same time upholding the integrity of the two performance spaces, both acoustically and functionally.

The center will also have a spacious front entry plaza which will form a “front porch” to the building with sweeping views of the center of campus. Taylor says this “front porch” will act not just as a transition space from the street to the main lobby, but also as a pleasant outdoor gathering space for receptions, performances and other events.

Image 1 – A rendering of the main façade of the new University of Montevallo Center for the Arts by Davis Architects in Birmingham. The 36,000-square-foot center offers full-spectrum teaching and learning space, and gives the university’s fine arts programs a place to collaborate across disciplines.

*Article Written by Jessica Armstrong and Image Courtesy of Davis Architects

Visitors will soon have an additional place to learn more about an important event in Alabama’s history. The Montgomery Interpretive Center – which commemorates the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March – is set to open in early 2019.

Located next to the Alabama State University football stadium, the center is the third of three interpretive centers that connect Selma to Montgomery. Construction finished in April 2017 and the interior exhibit space is being overseen by the National Park Service.

Project manager Mike Shows of Chambless King Architects in Montgomery says it was challenging to come up with a design to reflect such a significant period in Alabama’s history, but one the firm was excited to solve. The project won the 2018 Excellence in Design Honor Award from AIA Alabama.

“Symbolism played a huge role and we were fortunate enough to work with a local fabricator on prototypes of the etching for the stone façade, as we knew it was the cornerstone on which the rest of the project rested,” Shows explains.

Site and material selection also played a major role in the design of the project.

“We were presented with a sloping site pinned between a major roadway and an existing football stadium,” he continues. “Light and form play large roles in every project we design, but the entry sequence and staging of a museum increased the complexity substantially. “

A large covered porch creates exterior gathering space and an entry. The site’s steep topography was navigated by setting the larger exhibit volume into the ground and terracing the ground plane along the main façade to the entry.

The primary facade captures the spirit of the march with an 18-foot-tall limestone façade featuring a sandblasted relief pattern that replicates the march. The cedar wood soffit and louvered wall express the subtle voids, or subtractive space, and entry sequence of the building. Dark zinc provides contrast to the wood and stone and emphasizes the line of the roof.

Micro-perforated zinc panels paired with wood louvers at the main entry porch create a sense of enclosure while appearing transparent. The exposed structure, angular white walls and linear lighting express an understated interior that can be adapted for the exhibition design.

Image 1-  Micro-perforated zinc panels paired with wood louvers at the main entry porch create a sense of enclosure while appearing transparent.

Image 2-  The Montgomery Interpretive Center – which commemorates the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March – will open early 2019. Site and material selection played a significant role in the design.

Image 3- The primary facade captures the spirit of the event with an 18- foot-tall limestone façade featuring a sandblasted relief pattern that replicates the famous march from Montgomery to Selma. The project won the 2018 Excellence in Design Honor Award from AIA Alabama.

Image 4-  The cedar wood soffit and louvered wall express the subtle voids, or subtractive space, and entry sequence of the building. Located near the Alabama State University football stadium, the center is the third of three interpretive centers that extend from Selma to Montgomery.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of Chambless King Architects

 

Like most communities, Huntsville has many streets that were designed solely for automobiles. So, with the help of a Smart Growth America grant the Huntsville Planning Commission recently adopted the Complete Streets policy to makes its streets usable for all modes of transportation.

Complete Streets is designed to balance safety and convenience for everyone using the road – providing access for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transit riders. Making it easier to cross the street, walk to stores and bicycle to work. And allow buses to run on time and make it safe for people to walk to and from train stations.

Adopting Complete Streets means transportation agencies must change their approach to community roads. There is no singular design prescription and each community tailors it to its particular needs. Complete Street improvements may include: sidewalks, bike lanes (or wide paved shoulders), bus lanes, public transportation stops, frequent and safe crossing opportunities, median islands, pedestrian signals, curb extensions, narrower travel lanes and roundabouts.

Huntsville’s first Complete Streets project was Spragins Street in the downtown area that links Big Spring Park and the Huntsville Depot and Museum, Alabama’s oldest surviving railroad depot. Improvements to Spragins Street included adding a protected bicycle track to make the street more bicycle friendly.

“Spragins is a B street, so it was ideal for the initial project to test Complete Streets,” explained Dennis Madsen, manager of urban and long-range planning for Huntsville. “It also links these two popular destinations, Big Spring Park and the Huntsville Depot.”

Madsen said a number of other roadways in Huntsville have been identified, not only in the city’s commercial core but the outlaying areas as well. The next project is Holmes Avenue, a larger thoroughfare that links downtown to Clearview Cancer Institute and other major destinations that Madsen said is fairly underutilized right now.

“Complete Streets is a process and a way to rethink how we design streets and look at their future use, making sure there are greenways and multi-use paths,” said Madsen. He points out that streets are expensive to build and maintain, so municipalities must maximize the use of their roads and use the money budgeted for roads wisely.

Image 1 (Spragin Street Before)- With the help of a Smart Growth America grant, Huntsville recently adopted the Complete Streets policy to makes its streets usable for all modes of transportation. Huntsville’s first Complete Streets project was Spragin Street in the downtown area.

Image 2 (Spragin Street After)- Two-way bicycle lanes were added to Spragin Street as part of the Complete Streets project. This was the pilot project. A number of Huntsville’s roadways in the downtown area and beyond are slated to be improved following the Complete Streets policy.

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of the City of Huntsville