UrbanArts Institute

Placemaking Seminars

In 2007, Christina Lanzl of UrbanArts launched the Placemaking network at the Boston Society of Architects/AIA. This taskforce investigates ways to enrich the public realm through dialogue among the design professions, including urban planning, landscape design, architecture, public art, engineering, etc. Relevant topics and issues are presented and discussed at a monthly luncheon seminar series, usually held on the 4th Monday of the month at noon.

Free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to the BSA at 617-951-1433 x221 / bsa@architects.org by 9:30 am on the day of the meeting. With questions, suggestions or comments, call/write chair Christina Lanzl at 617-879-7973 / christina.lanzl@massart.edu

Location: Boston Society of Architects, 52 Broad Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA

Monday, April 28, 2008 (12 noon): Celebrations of Place

Speaker: Justin Crane of Cambridge Seven Associates

Justin Crane, co-chair of Common Boston – http://www.commonboston.org, will introduce the group and its upcoming Community & Architecture Festival. Featured as public programming for the AIA National Convention in May, the festival celebrates Boston’s neighborhoods through tours, exhibitions, discussions, and charrettes. Justin will discuss the communities featured in the event, as well as other popular celebrations of place, from Open House New York and Illuminale Frankfurt to WaterFire and the Detroit Electronic Music Festival.

Monday, May 5, 2008 (12 noon): The Intersection of Art and Landscape Design

Speakers: Cynthia Smith, Halvorson Design Partnership and David Phillips, Sculptor

By telling the story of several park projects, including Quincy Square Park near Harvard Square and City Square in Charlestown, the nature of artist/landscape architect collaboration involving interdisciplinary design teams will be explored. In each project, the client asked for a design that was authentic, related to its site and reflective of its context. Together with seminar attendees the presenters will discuss different models of artist/designer collaboration and community engagement.

May 14, 2008, 1-5 PM at Artists for Humanity AIA National Convention 2008 in Boston

UrbanArts partner Ann Sussman, RA, LEED AP, of Community Visioning will be presenter at the AIA workshop Engaging Youth to Design the Future, which will explore successful strategies for involving youth in design and planning. Community Visioning creates curriculum and planning events that engage youth in visioning new possibilities for their built environment and their future. They provide a forum for youth creativity, showcase civic pride and increase understanding, in both 2D and 3D, of real-world possibilities for our built environment.

Download: Download Community Visioning Projects [258k pdf]

More info at www.aiaconvention.com

Thursday, May 22, 2008 (7pm): Light Wind Park at Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Free and open to the public. For more information please contact Christina Lanzl at 617-879-7973 / christina.lanzl@massart.edu

Location: MassArt | Kennedy Building, 621 Huntington Ave. 4th Floor | Room 406, at the corner of Huntington and Longwood Avenues.

Thomas Whittlesey and his design team will present Light Wind Park, the final proposal for a sustainable design sculpture at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The design of this new, highly visible public sculpture along Huntington Avenue was developed in tandem with the students of the Sustainable Sculpture seminar taught by Prof. Patricia Seitz of the MassArt Architecture Department in spring 2008. The goal of this art installation is to inspire viewers on the principles and practice of sustainable design. The sculpture will consist of an installation that will generate energy and allow people to envision a more sustainable way of living on the planet. Project planning is funded by the Fund for the Arts, a restricted fund of the New England Foundation for the Arts. The UrbanArts Institute at MassArt is facilitating the planning process.

March 28-30, 2008: Down to Earth | D2E Conference and Symposium at the Hynes Convention Center

Sustainable Design: At the Crossroads of Art, Policy and Science on Saturday, March 29, 1–5pm. This Symposium will bring together important voices in arts, product design and science who advocate sustainability in their work. They will explore sustainable design in the context of art, science and policy and showcase methods and materials for the design and creation of environmentally responsible products and places. Key speakers are artist Michael Singer, internationally known for his commitment to sustainable practices, and Ursula Tischner, founder of econcept in Cologne, Germany, which supports companies, consumers and other organizations on their path to a more sustainable, future-oriented way of producing, consuming and thinking. Organized by the UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, in partnership with D2E and the Goethe-Institut Boston. The event is free and open to the public. D2E Expo admission $10 in advance/$12 at the door.

Download: Sustainable Design Press Release [148k pdf]

More info at www.d2eboston.com

March 28, 2008: Cityscapes Conference | Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH

Christina Lanzl of the UrbanArts Institute will present her paper "Reinventing Public Space: Contemporary Placemaking Practices in Berlin, Germany". Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, the City of Berlin, Germany, has seen immense public and private investment. The City’s reunification and the reinstatement of Berlin as the main seat of government triggered an unprecedented wave of building activity, rivaled only by the rebuilding after WWII and carried out on a scale unprecedented in Europe. What are the impacts of the rapid transformation from a neglected, ailing metropolis to a new cosmopolitan and globalized cityscape in the context of placemaking? How have planning agencies in Berlin approached incorporation of amenities, art features, and programming within the overall design of public spaces? What are the relationships between neighborhood revitalization, activation of public spaces, private and public investment and development? Lanzl’s investigation stretches from the grand public spaces at Potsdamer Platz to smaller-scale sites in Berlin Mitte and Kreuzberg, among others.

See more info about Cityscapes Conference »

Art in the Park - Juried Sculpture Exhibition - Elm Park, Worcester, MA

Call for Entries

Download Worcester Call for Entries (pdf/312k) »

Deadline: Monday, May 5, 2008

Eligibility: Open to New England artists.

Project Summary:
The Worcester Cultural Commission invites artists to forward a selection of up to three existing sculptures or installations for a juried outdoor exhibition in Elm Park, Worcester from July 1 - October 5, 2008. Artists are encouraged to enter particularly large-scale work for installation on the grounds of the park along perimeter path. In addition, floating works may be installed in its three shallow ponds. Suspended works will also be considered.

Jurors are Pieranna Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and Susan Cross, Curator of Mass MOCA in North Adams, MA. The UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design is facilitating the project in close collaboration with the Worcester Cultural Commission, ArtsWorcester, and the City of Worcester and its Department of Parks and Public Works. Funding has been provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Download: Download Worcester Call for Entries (pdf/312k) »

Contact Info:
Christina Lanzl
Project Manager
UrbanArts Institute
Tel. 617.879.7973
christina.lanzl@massart.edu

SEND ENTRIES TO:
ATTN: Art in the Park
UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
621 Huntington Avenue
Tower 538
Boston, MA 02115-5801