Forget the dog days of summer with a celebration of edible education, architects in conversation, a sustainability tour, and a one-day community workshop exploring the creative opportunities of urban revitalization.

The Into the Open exhibition highlights architects who are working collaboratively to invigorate community activism and environmental policy. The National Constitution Center, in partnership with Slought Foundation, invites you to take part in a series of public programs during August. These engaging, thought-provoking activities will take place at the National Constitution Center and non-traditional urban settings, with public programming partner the Community Design Collaborative

The Center for Architecture announces the third edition of Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City, the most comprehensive book on the architectural treasures of Philadelphia. Authored by John Andrew Gallery, the guide provides descriptions and photographs of over four hundred of Philadelphia’s important buildings, seven walking tours, historical timelines, and short biographies of Philadelphia architects like Frank Furness and Louis Kahn.

Available at www.aiabookstore.com or the AIA Bookstore and Design Center, 1218 Arch Street.

Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative is gaining national prominence for funding fresh food retail projects in under-served communities and raising the vitality of the both communities and their residents in the process. Top Obama officials visited the bustling new ShopRite in West Parkside yesterday to see the impact of FFFI firsthand.

ShopRite’s attention to the nuances of customer service and preferences shows that supermarkets are not all the same. Revisit Infill Philadelphia: Food Access for even more ideas on how to break the mold and bring fresh food back to urban communities.

Eric Heidel is only a bowler once a year, but he made a fantastic co-chair for our Bowling Ball Committee, along with Greg Hart. A registered architect, Eric graduated from Drexel University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Architecture, Cum Laude. Now, he spends most of his spare time with his band Bleed Radio Bleed (he’s the guitarist), recording their first album. Eric first got to know the Collaborative by participating in the Bowling Ball and went on to volunteer on the redesign of two college access centers run by the Philadelphia Education Fund. For him, the value of community design is in the fact that connecting neglected communities with design can help people “appreciate neighborhood features and provide an incentive to fix up neighborhood treasures.”

Eric was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and he recently started work at the firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

Congratulations to Eric and Greg for pulling off another successful Bowling Ball!

From July 15 to September 7, 2009, the National Constitution Center and the Slought Foundation will host Into the Open. The exhibition, which debuted at the Venice Biennale in 2008, features the work of 16 architectural groups and explores the ways that architects are collaborating to foster civic engagement and build better communities.

Join the Community Design Collaborative for a Preview Panel and Opening Reception at the Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut Street on Friday, July 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. Co-curators Aaron Levy, Executive Director of the Philadelphia-based Slought Foundation and William Menking, Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper will provide insight into the exhibition that made a splash at the 2008 Venice Biennale. Exhibition designers Prem Krishnamurthy of Project Projects and Ken Saylor of Saylor + Sirola will also be on hand to talk about how an idea to highlight a new generation of architects was transformed into an exhibition for the world stage. RSVP: email hidden; JavaScript is required.

The Community Design Collaborative is the public programming partner for Into the Open. Be on the lookout for updates on a summer-in-the-city series of programs created to complement Into the Open and celebrate community activism.

The June 2009 issue of grid features Jerome Shabazz

Check out the latest issue of grid magazine for a feature story on the Overbrook Environmental Education Center, a 2005 Community Design Collaborative project. The  Collaborative’s early design assistance helped founder Jerome Shabazz plan and fund eco-friendly improvements to turn this former granite quarry into an urban environmental learning center.

Also, Collaborative volunteer Allison Kelsey shares her recipe for Smashed Potatoes and Broccoli in the In Season section.

grid can be found in the AIA Bookstore.