REBUILD BY DESIGN ROLLS OUT ACROSS THE REGION

The 10 world-class teams selected to participate in Rebuild by Design have now embarked on Stage Two of the competition, a collaborative analysis of the Sandy-affected region with a wide variety of stakeholders. The design teams recently kicked off a three-month process of investigating the region’s vulnerabilities and interdependencies, including the first of a series of site visits to learn first-hand from communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

On Saturday, August 10, team members discussed vulnerabilities in public housing at Rutgers Houses, a NYCHA community on Manhattan's Lower East Side, followed by a visit across the Hudson to Hoboken and Jersey City, where teams met with Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken and Deputy Mayor Vivian Brady-Phillips of Jersey City, along with other city staff and representatives to consider case studies in urban New Jersey. 

Rebuild by Design is an initiative of President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, in collaboration with NYU's Institute for Public Knowledge, Municipal Art Society, Regional Plan Association, and Van Alen Institute. Lead support is provided by The Rockefeller Foundation, with additional support from Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, The JPB Foundation, and The New Jersey Recovery Fund.

Over the coming months, teams will continue to engage with stakeholders and community members as they explore the region's large-scale infrastructural, political, and ecological challenges. Find out more about the process on the Rebuild by Design website.

Clockwise from top: At Rutgers Houses on the Lower East Side; Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer speaks to the group; Along the Hoboken waterfront; Jersey City representatives discuss Sandy's impact. Photos: Cameron Blaylock

And on Monday, President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Task Force released a comprehensive Rebuilding Strategy report that presents extensive recommendations to Sandy-affected communities and offers interdisciplinary and long-term strategies for a stronger region. The Rebuilding Strategy establishes the guidelines that have driven spending to date and that will affect the investment of tens of billions of future funding, with the intention to align funding with local visions, cut red tape, coordinate efforts across all levels of government, and ensure that rebuilding helps communities address threats of future storms and other risks posed by a changing climate.

Find out more in the fact sheet and full Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy from HUD.

THANK YOU FOR SOUL SEARCHING WITH VAN ALEN

Thanks again to all who joined us at last month’s Soul Searching Summer Party, and who participated in our Summer Survey as part of our season of thinking critically about the future of Van Alen. We're thrilled to have received over 200 thoughtful responses, and deeply value your insights and involvement.

And as promised—to show our appreciation, ten lucky, randomly selected respondents will receive $50 gift certificates to Van Alen Books! Congratulations to:

Bill Ryall, Sam Hall Kaplan, Mariana Mogilevich, Christina Fleuron, Gil Lopez, Jennifer Leung, Gavin Browning, Al Doyle, Jules Gianakos, Caroline Ellis

We look forward to sharing the insights gained through the survey, and to continuing the conversation about Van Alen's ambitions for the coming years.

UP NEXT AT VAN ALEN BOOKS: CONSTITUTIONAL MODERNISM

How does architecture make its appearance in civil society? How did architectural modernism function as a political and social instrument? On Thursday, September 5, author Timothy Hyde joins us at the bookstore to discuss his book Constitutional Modernism, an exploration of architecture, planning, and law as cultural forces in mid-century Cuba. Hyde’s analysis of the complex entanglements between these disciplines reconstructs how architects joined with other professionals and intellectuals in efforts to establish a stable civil society, from the promulgation of a new Cuban Constitution in 1940 up until the Cuban Revolution. Hyde will be joined in conversation with architect and theorist Jorge Otero-Pailos.

Stay tuned for more Van Alen Books events coming up in October!

GROUND/WORK TEAMS DIG INTO DESIGNS

The three finalist teams selected to develop designs for Van Alen Institute’s new street-level space—Collective–LOK, EFGH, and Of Possible Architectures—are now hard at work on their proposals for a reimagined home for VAI, and we can’t wait to present their visions to the public in early September. Last month, we convened the teams in the ground-floor space to commence the design phase and consider the details of the full design brief. Van Alen also met with each team individually to discuss their ideas, and in less than two weeks, teams will submit their final design proposals to the Ground/Work jury. A winner will be selected in late September, with construction expected to begin in winter 2013.

Read more on the Ground/Work website, and stay tuned for the public reveal of three exciting proposals early next month!
 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS

The ACE Mentor Program is a free after-school program that engages high school students in projects on architecture, construction, and engineering. This year, to more deeply include landscape architecture, ACE is seeking landscape architecture firms and individuals to participate as volunteer mentors. Contact New York Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects Executive Director Kathy Shea (director@nyasla.org) for more information.

The Fitch Charitable Foundation is offering its annual Fitch Mid-Career Grant to professionals in the fields of historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, architectural history, and the decorative arts, as well as the Richard L. Blinder Award for proposals exploring architectural preservation. Appy by September 15.

The Graham Foundation offers grants to individuals for projects that explore architecture and the designed environment. Grants support investigations in architecture; architectural history, theory, and criticism; design; engineering; landscape architecture; urban planning; urban studies; visual arts; and related fields. Applications are due September 15.

The MacDowell Colony provides space and creative community to selected artists working in architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts, and includes studio space, accommodations, and meals for up to eight weeks. Apply for the Winter/Spring 2014 residency by September 15.

LMCC’s Manhattan Community Arts Fund provides seed grants to artists and organizations to support arts projects that enable Manhattan communities to experience and engage with the performing, literary, media, and visual arts. Applications are due September 17.

MAKE THE MOST OF MEMBERSHIP AT VAN ALEN

Now is a great time to show your support for Van Alen Institute, as we head into a new season public programs and design competitions investigating the role of architecture and design in civic life. Our ongoing work is possible in large part due to the active participation of Van Alen members in all our programs and events, and we thank you for your generous contributions. Find out more about membership opportunities at Van Alen.