2009 Homewood/North Point Breeze and Downtown Pittsburgh

Homewood/North Point Breeze Studio

A group of 25 students from the School of Architecture and the Heinz College are being taught by professors John Folan and Jonathan Kline. Homewood and North Point Breeze are two historic communities served and divided by a rapid transit bus corridor running through the east end of Pittsburgh. The studio will explore how sustainable catalytic urban design interventions can help revitalize and transform this section of the city. Our student’s work will build on the design ideas presented by this past summer's UDream studio taught by Jonathan Kline and Christine Brill. The studio is also designed to inform an upcoming professional community planning effort being funded by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh.

Over the course of the fall our students will generate analysis and models of the neighborhoods, work with residents and leaders to identify community goals and objectives, and generate a series of design scenarios for the neighborhood as a whole as well as specific targeted interventions. Working with community members  we will hold three community workshops over the course of the fall. The development of work through this participatory process is intended to culminate in the construction of a catalytic project for the neighborhood. Students working under the supervision of John Folan will continue  development of work in the spring to facilitate completed construction by August of 2010.

Downtown Pittsburgh

Led by Professors Kelly Hutzell, Rami el Samahy, the Downtown Pittsburgh studio looks at an emerging neighborhood along the Allegheny River. The studio is augmented by the participation of students in a lighting design studio from the School of Drama.