Despite high-rise condo projects featuring name-brand architects sprouting up all over Philadelphia, an innovative design for low-income housing steals the top prize from the city's AIA.
"Judges for the American Institute of Architects looked past the preening high-rise peacocks and last month awarded Philadelphia's top design prize to a modest cluster of townhouses for low-income families in North Philadelphia."
"Like the best of Philadelphia's new infill housing, the proposal offers a fresh take on the traditional rowhouse. Instead of rectangular boxes marching in single file, [Interface Studio] designer Brian Phillips laid out the 13 homes on Sheridan Street, between Berks and Montgomery, as an interlocking puzzle of L-shaped twins."
"The unconventional site plan is just a starting point, however. In a city where it is still considered innovative to dress up public housing with peaked gables and bay windows, Interface's design looks as if it were spawned in the hipster enclave of Northern Liberties. Windows blip asymmetrically across the screen of its facades like the random lights of a video game. There isn't a red brick in sight."
FULL STORY: A public housing design outshines upscale rivals
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.
Local Governments Sue HUD Over Funding Cuts
A new lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration’s revised guidelines for housing and homelessness assistance funds will decimate key programs.
California Is Retooling its AV Guidelines
The California DMV is proposing a new framework for light- and heavy-duty self-driving trucks that would enhance reporting requirements and pave the way for autonomous commercial fleets.
Proposed Boulder Ballot Measures Call for Impact Fees, Affordable Duplexes
Boulder residents are working to put two housing-related proposals on the November ballot.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions