• Scale It Up! Exploring Resilience with Rebuild by Design
• Members Party: Architect Byron Bell's One-of-a-Kind Chelsea Townhouse
• A New Season with Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape
• Internships at Van Alen Institute
• Van Alen Welcomes Kikoski and Richardson to the Board of Trustees
• Board Spotlight: Stephen Cassell
• Van Alen Members Visit the Valentine "Match-Maker"
• In the Field: Opportunities for Architects and Designers

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As part of Rebuild by Design, the competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and led by Van Alen Institute and its partners, we are pleased to introduce Scale It Up, a series of five public programs running through April 26 to promote resilience in Sandy-affected communities throughout the Tri-State region. Beginning in March, programs are rolling out in Bridgeport, CT; Far Rockaway, the Lower East Side, and Staten Island in New York City; and Asbury Park, NJ.

What does resilience mean? The ten teams participating in Rebuild by Design are re-imagining infrastructure, proposing new types of streets and barriers, dunes and boardwalks, that can protect from future storms while also providing open space, habitat, and more.

To the many people throughout the region who lived through Hurricane Sandy—and who are now working with the teams to shape their proposals—resilience has other meanings as well. The upcoming Scale It Up programs will highlight the best ideas coming out of Rebuild by Design, while also supporting and amplifying ongoing efforts by local stakeholders to strengthen their communities.

Scale it Up got off to a great start last weekend with bike tours and hands-on workshops about urban planning, water, and designing and fixing bicycles in Bridgeport, CT.; and a thank you party for the residents of the Lower East Side for Post-Sandy rebuilding and planning work. Join us for upcoming Scale It Up programs:

Rebuild One City: Parade and Party
Saturday, March 22,12:00-4:00 p.m.
Asbury Park, NJ

I <3 My Shoreline
Sunday, March 23, 12:00-3:00 p.m.
Staten Island, NY

Scale It Up in the Rockaways
Saturday, April 26, all day
Far Rockaway, NY

And on Thursday, April 3, join us for the unveiling of the final work from Rebuild by Design, innovative proposals to rebuild communities across the Hurricane Sandy affected region generated through months of research and design.

RSVP for the New York Event→
RSVP for the New Jersey Event→

Come and see the work and meet the Rebuild by Design teams. The winners will be announced by Secretary Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development later this spring.

Rebuild by Design is an initiative of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and HUD, in collaboration with the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, Municipal Art Society of New York, Regional Plan Association, and Van Alen Institute.

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On Thursday, March 20, Van Alen members are invited to escape to the spectacular 1876 townhouse of architect and Van Alen Institute Trustee Emeritus, Byron Bell, for an evening of exploring, storytelling, and conversation. The multi-level 1,500 square foot Chelsea abode is saturated with all kinds of utilitarian crafts, which Byron and his wife Susan have collected over more than 40 years of world travel. A room of brooms, another of baskets—it's unlike anything we've seen! Read more about their incredible collection and home.

The night begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be a chance for Van Alen members, trustees, and staff to get to know each other over drinks in a one-of-a-kind architectural setting. Space is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible at rsvp@vanalen.org.

Not yet a member? Join Van Alen→.

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Spring is just around the corner, and we're looking forward to our next season of public events as part of the Institute's multi-year initiative Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape. 

Last fall we launched Elsewhere with a line-up of programs exploring the many meanings of escape in the city. We'll have another series coming up in May, so stay tuned for details!

To get a taste of last season, visit the Elsewhere website for photos, videos, and conversations with participants from the fall season. We recently spoke with Linnaea Tillett, lighting designer and participant in last fall's Let There Be Night program, to continue the conversation on how lighting design affects human perception and natural ecosystems:

In November, you talked about the challenge of designing with both human and animal habitats in mind. What strategies in lighting design can be used to create environments that enhance well-being at an ecological level?

It’s important for a landscape lighting designer to look at the habitat provided by a particular site—to consider the creatures in the sky, on the land, and in the water—and to come to the client with an understanding of that ecosystem. It allows you to create an environment in which everyone is concerned about habitat. From there, you can shape your design intervention to minimize impact and even enhance the environment. The reality is that it’s rare to have a client that comes to the table and says, “This is a habitat issue.” We do have them, however: for the park we are doing in Calgary, the client included a successful bird habitat as one of the measurements of project success.

How do you think lighting design in public spaces can engage with feelings of overstimulation, fear, or anxiety?

There’s a classic distinction between fear and anxiety, two very different emotions. Fear we feel in the presence of danger—of tripping or of being mugged, for example—and in those cases, lighting can be used to mitigate any real and present dangers. Anxiety is much more diffuse: a feeling of unease, of dread, or the feeling that a place isn’t welcoming. And one way to address that is to create an environment where people see other people having a nice time. That’s not necessarily about adding a lot of light, but rather about using light to bring people to the site, and to engage them with the site. In Syracuse, for example, there was a park that had recently been redone, but was empty throughout the winter. So we put hundreds of mechanical fireflies that twinkled throughout the season. This kind of thing attracts people, and not through a lot of light, but through a little bit of play and enchantment...

Read more→

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Van Alen is grateful to have the support of an amazing group of interns this season! Currently with us at the Institute are Zoe Yates, Competition Intern; Ellen Xie, Communications, Development & Operations Intern; Sophie Elias, Research Intern; and Natalee Newcombe, Programs Intern.

Interested in contributing to the Institute's current projects? Join us this summer for an opportunity to get involved in a diverse range of project activities. Positions are part-time and based in the Institute’s office in Manhattan’s Flatiron neighborhood.

We offer four seasonal internships in the following areas: Competitions; Public Programs; Research; and Communications, Development & Operations.

Internships require a commitment of at least three days per week in the Van Alen office for a minimum of four months, with the opportunity to work flexibly and independently as needed. Apply by Tuesday, April 15 to join us as a spring/summer 2014 intern.

Download more information on VAI internships→

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Earlier this year, we announced three new members of the Institute’s Board of Trustees, and we are happy to follow with another exciting update: Van Alen is pleased to introduce new Trustees Andre Kikoski and Robert Richardson.

Andre Kikoski is the founder of Andre Kikoski Architect, a Manhattan-based multi-disciplinary design firm that is committed to artistic innovation regardless of budget, genre, or client. Prior to founding the firm, Andre worked for I.M. Pei, Richard Meier, and Peter Eisenman, among others. He is a frequent speaker, and juror for organizations including the American Institute of Architects, the Architectural League of New York, Architectural Record, the Center for Architecture, New York School of Interior Design and New York University, Parsons the New School for Design, and Pratt Institute.

Robert Richardson is the Senior Director of Strategy at Control Group, an innovation and technology firm in New York City. Prior to joining Control Group, he worked for the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications as the Director of Strategic Technology Development in the NYC Office of the Mayor. In addition to his work for Control Group, he is also a Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Pratt Institute in New York City.

Read the press release→

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This month, we speak with Stephen Cassell, Chair of the Institute's Board of Trustees and Principal of Architecture Research Office:

Your firm’s recent projects—from the restoration of Donald Judd’s Soho home and studio to Knoll’s flagship store—have drawn the public into institutions with long legacies in art, architecture, and design. Do you see Van Alen’s new ground floor space playing a similar role?

For almost 20 years now the focus of the Institute has been on the public realm, and part of the move to the new space is rethinking how we’re engaging at multiple levels. These types of transitions are really good instigators for rethinking how we work—both in relation to our past, and in relation to the city. So I see the role of the new ground floor space as parallel to the process of rethinking our projects, reframing how we engage with the city and how we directly affect it through our work.

How do you think designers can make the most impact in improving urban well-being?

Design and well-being is a rich topic, and I think we’re still defining what well-being means. If you look at design 100 years ago, building codes were concerned with well-being in the most basic sense: light, air, disease transmission, and so forth. I think we’re moving to a much more sophisticated role of design within the city, going from the basics that make life work to things that are supportive in a more sophisticated way: how the design of cities influence and reinforce cultural aspects of neighborhoods, how it can shape interaction and exchange between people and information, and how the design of spaces can encourage learning of various types. There are incredible opportunities here that are still being defined.

What do you most look forward to in the coming year at Van Alen?

Van Alen is working on a number of very exciting projects, such as Changing Course, Rebuild by Design and our work with the National Park Service, and our ongoing explorations within Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape. I look forward to people learning about—and learning from—all of the current work that we have on our plate. More importantly, I am the most excited about what David is going to do next! I can’t wait.

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In the week following the unveiling of “Match-Maker”, the 2014 winner of the Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition, Van Alen members joined us for a “close-up” tour led by Bryan Young of Young Architects, Times Square Alliance president Tim Tompkins, and Van Alen director David van der Leer. Attendees had the opportunity to hear more about the sculpture’s design, from its fabrication with Brooklyn-based Kammetal to the complex calculations that went into its astrological form, led by designer Noah Marciniak.

As Sherry Dobbin, Director of Public Art for Times Square Arts, said, Young Projects’ design stands in contrast to the commercial, digital, technological character of Times Square with a distinctly analog approach. This year, the sculpture prompts visitors with the ostentatious idea of finding love the old fashioned way—by chance encounter.

Become a member to join us for future events→

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A program of The Architectural League of New York, The Deborah J. Norden Fund offers up to $5,000 in travel and study grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies. Apply by April 17.

Open to all RIBA/CAA validated schools around the world, the RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship funds one student for international research on a topic related to the survival of towns or cities. Apply by April 25.

The Land Art Generator Initiative 2014 ideas competition, held this year in Copenhagen, seeks submissions from anyone—whether artist, student, scientist, or engineer—who believes that the world can be powered beautifully and sustainably. The competition calls for public art proposals that provide utility-scale clean energy to the grid. Submit by May 18.

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Since its founding in 1894, Van Alen Institute has promoted innovative thinking about the role of architecture and design in civic life. Today the Institute’s competitions, research, and public programs shape the public conversation and bring design excellence to the built environment of cities and sites around the world. Learn more at www.vanalen.org.

Our ongoing programs are made possible through the generous assistance of our individual contributors and partners, and are supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Van Alen Institute | 30 W. 22nd St., 4th Floor | New York, NY 10010 | 212–924–7000 | www.vanalen.org