CATALYZING CREATIVE PLACEMAKING

What is creative placemaking? And what role can design play in the “radical collaboration” that drives real change in communities? On June 12, Van Alen hosted this year’s annual meeting of the Fine Arts Federation of New York, which represents sculptors and preservationists, architects and abstract artists, planners and landscape architects—all invested in the future of New York’s built environment. This diverse group proved an apt audience for the evening’s featured speaker: ArtPlace director Carol Coletta, who showed how creative placemaking brings together precisely the constellation of artists, designers, and stakeholders that makes urban change happen.

Having launched its first round of grants nine months ago, last week ArtPlace released a fresh, $15.4 million infusion to 47 creative placemaking projects around the nation. As with previous recipients—funded in partnership with America’s top foundations, federal agencies, and banks—these projects all reflect the ArtPlace belief that investing in art and culture can transform communities. At the same time, the new grantees—streetscape design guidelines for Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row; arts-focused development models that combat urban vacancy in Cleveland; Thom Mayne’s Broadway Arts Center in Los Angeles—show how art-driven placemaking depends on a deep engagement with the design disciplines to shape a robust public realm.

In her remarks, followed by a lively conversation moderated by FAFNY board members Olympia Kazi and High Line vice-president for planning and design Peter Mullan, Coletta agreed that placemaking gets more interesting—and creates more value—when bundled with integrated design, planning, and economic strategies that only emerge through intense collaboration. “We don’t know all the ways you can do creative placemaking,” Coletta said. “That’s what artists and arts organizations are for. Nobody knew you could do a High Line until you did a High Line.”

And leveraging the catalytic capacity of design to spark collaboration—in alliance with arts, culture, and policy partners—is an idea Van Alen has long championed. Whether through our 1999 partnership with New York’s Theatre Development Fund to transform Times Square’s TKTS booth, or our more recent Gateway book—which explored the intimate links between infrastructure and culture in urban national parks—Van Alen has proven design’s power to create inclusive, inspiring visions for vibrant public places.

We’ve posted a video clip of the ArtPlace presentation on our Vimeo page. Have a look, post a comment—and please join us in continuing the conversation. And thanks to all who participated!

PARKS FOR THE PEOPLE: SUBMISSIONS ARE IN!

Early this month, we received final submissions from the Parks for the People design studios. We want to congratulate all the teams on their incredible effort throughout the semester! As the competition’s design advisory committee reviews the nine student and faculty submissions, we’re looking ahead to an awards ceremony this fall that will honor the winners and their work to advance the best design ideas for the U.S. National Park Service.

To continue the competition’s rich dialogue this summer, we’re thrilled to have placed students from participating studios in summer internships at national park sites around the country. We’ll soon be launching a blog to chronicle their experiences as they delve further into the national parks’ design principles, and refine their studio visions to reimagine America’s greatest public spaces. Stay tuned!

LAUNCH EVENTS AT VAN ALEN BOOKS

Join us this Thursday, June 21 at 7:00 p.m. to celebrate the launch of Insuring the City: The Prudential Center and the Postwar Urban Landscape. Elihu Rubin, architectural historian and visiting assistant professor at the Yale School of Architecture, explores the complex backstory behind Boston’s Prudential Center. Variously described as “an ugly alien” and “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Boston,” this landmark of midcentury urban development had far-reaching impacts across the city’s political, economic, and urban landscapes. Join Rubin and journalist Matt Dellinger for a conversation about the book and its implications for urban design today.

And mark your calendar for Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m., when we host the East Coast launch party for Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration. Authored by Scott Doorley, Scott Witthoft and the Stanford University Institute of Design, Make Space abounds with tools for transforming spaces that bolster communication and innovation. Join Doorley and Witthoft to celebrate with the whole cast, including designer Scott Stowell of Open, and producer Grace Hawthorne of ReadyMade and Paper Punk.

Missed last month’s busy series of book launches and events? Catch up on video clips of recent conversations with David Bergman, Mitchell Joachim, Victoria Milne, Susan Szenasy, Michael Maltzan, Geoff Manaugh, Eran Ben-Joseph, Daniel D’Oca, June Williamson, and more on Van Alen’s Vimeo page.

Be sure to check our calendar at Van Alen Books for more events in store next month. And thanks to our sponsor Brooklyn Brewery for generously providing our summer series refreshments!

AWARDS AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGNERS

The Architecture Foundation and UP Projects are calling on design teams to propose playfully innovative visions for a Floating Cinema 2013, to be commissioned for East London’s waterways. Register by June 26.

The Center for Urban Pedagogy has launched a call for design collaborators to work on CUP’s Public Access Design series (due June 29) and Making Policy Public poster series (due July 6).

This year’s World Architecture Festival, to be held October 3-5 in Singapore, is seeking submissions in more than two dozen categories, including Culture, Infrastructure, and Urban Landscapes. Enter by June 30.

The 2012 WAN Awards for Civic Buildings is accepting entries for both completed and unbuilt projects that present innovative approaches to public and civic works. Submit by June 30.

Building Trust International seeks submissions for HOME, a competition for single-occupancy houses for the elderly or homeless that can be built for $30,000. Register by June 30.

START SUPPORTING PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE

Our work for a robust public realm won’t happen without your support. Join us today, and you’ll be part of our diverse network of designers, planners, policy-makers, and urban thinkers—anyone with a passion for the public realm—bringing the best design ideas to civic life through innovative programs, inclusive dialogue, and visionary public architecture. Our current members are already enjoying benefits including 10% off purchases at Van Alen Books. Find out more about our membership opportunities and how you can join us here.