The Collaborative worked with Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to put together a tour featuring innovative neighborhood projects for Cities Alive, an international conference for green roof and wall professionals hosted here in Philly last week.

Conference goers were treated to an off-the-beaten-path look at green spaces and buildings in the APM, Northern Liberties, Kensington, and Fishtown neighborhoods. Stops at infill housing, green spaces, and a green high school (the recipient of the US Green Building Council’s top honors today) gave them a good feel for the green and gritty fabric of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. And since many of the stops included trips to the roof—they caught some excellent city views too.

Scenes from the City of Neighborhoods tour:

Many thanks to Julie Snell, Chair of the Local Tours Committee, and the tour presenters!

Daryn Edwards, AIA, Interface Studio Architects
The Modules at Temple Town

David Elliott, RLA, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Liberty Lands Park and the Big Green Block

Bill Foley, GRP, Tremco, Inc.
The Ice House

Jane Rath, AIA, SMP Architects
Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School

Photos courtesy of Bill Foley.

The Collaborative’s recent design charrette, Planning for the Next Century of Service, brought over 50 people together to brainstorm about ideas for the Camden campus of The Neighborhood Center. The Collaborative hosted the charrette as part of AIA Philadelphia’s Design on the Delaware conference on November 9.

Teddy Cruz speaking to hundreds of architects and designers at the Friends Center on October 10.

Hundreds of architects and designers came together at the Friends Center in October to hear Teddy Cruz speak on Creative Acts of Citizenship. If you missed this public symposium or want a reprise, check out our video clips.

Friends Center was busy that night as Occupy Philadelphia activists used the meeting house as home base, parents picked kids up from day care, and teens attended a nutrition class… an apropos setting for an architect who honed his design philosophy at the crossroads of the San Diego-Tijuana border.

Cruz picked up on the Occupy Philly vibe, tying his passionate design practice to its themes of equity. Here’s what he had to say:

A New Kind of Architect

Citizenship is the Creative Act

Rethinking the American Dream

Room to Grow: The Neighborhood Center wants to expand its South Camden campus onto vacant buildings and land nearby.

Join the Collaborative on Wednesday, November 9 for the URBAN ENERGY II Design Charrette: Planning for the Next Century of Service.  

The Neighborhood Center, an urban outreach mission of the Greater New Jersey Conference United Methodist Churches, has been serving the needs of low-income children, families, and seniors for nearly 100 years from its small campus in South Camden. The Center has room to grow—but needs a strategy for retooling its existing five-building campus and  bringing nearby vacant buildings and land into play.

To celebrate its centennial year, the Center recently convened a community visioning workshop to consider the changing needs of Camden residents and kick off an era of new leadership. The design charrette will translate ideas from the Center’s visioning workshop into conceptual master plans for an expanded campus.

Contribute your design concepts for new spaces and landscapes that support the next generation of social services, create a strong neighborhood anchor, and act as a catalyst for community revitalization. All design disciplines are invited to participate!

Planning for the Next Century of Service is being offered as part of AIA Philadelphia’s Design on the Delaware 2011 conference and provides 8 continuing education credits to members of AIA. Cost:  $50/$25 for AIA Members/$15 for AIA Associates. Register.

Pick up a copy of Leverage: Strengthening Neighborhoods through Design this Monday evening at the Friends Center, 15th and Cherry Streets, when the book is launched as part of Creative Acts of Citizenship, a public symposium featuring architect Teddy Cruz.

Presenting 20 projects chosen from the 600 we’ve done with communities over the past two decades, the book tells the story of “how collaboration in design is changing the face of our neighborhoods in an overwhelmingly positive way,” says Hidden City Philadelphia. Read the full review.

Leverage is also available at the AIA Bookstore & Design Center, 1216 Arch Street and for purchase online.

Design in Action 2011—a conference for designers, activists, and educators focused on design and public engagement—is coming to Philadelphia October 9 through 11. This national conference offers a great chance to meet up with a dynamic group of design advocates from around the country in your own backyard.

The conference will be held at the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel, 220 South 17th Street and offers an amazing line-up of public-interest architecture speakers. It’s not a question of whether to go, but whether to sign up for one day or two… Register for the full conference (0) or a single-day pass (5) for Monday, October 10 or Tuesday, October 11. Or RSVP for a public symposium with Teddy Cruz on Monday evening. Here are some conference highlights to help you decide which day to attend! Read Full Story