Center for Urban and Community Design

Exhibition and Symposium: “Under the Sun: Sustainable Innovations + Traditions”

“Under the Sun: Sustainable Innovations + Traditions” [2007] A symposium to promote, educate and discuss innovative green building techniques and practices, relating the topic to the traditions of vernacular architecture and sustainable urbanism. The event was held in collaboration with the University of Miami Law School’s Center for Ethics & Public Service and the U.S Green Building Council- South Florida Chapter. Participants included academics, professionals, government leaders and students from various areas of Florida in addition to speakers from around the region and nation, including Dean Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Professor Jaime Correa, founding members of the New Urbanism; Peter Brown, partner of Perkins & Wills; Carolyn Mitchell, president of the USGBC, local chapter; Michael Myers, consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy and mid-century modern-regionalist architects: Alfred Browning Parker, George Reed and Peter Jefferson. The symposium served as a forum for all parties interested in enhancing their knowledge of sustainable architecture and urbanism.

International Outreach: Santa Rosa de Jaregui Mexico Charrette

Santa Rosa de Jaregui Mexico Charrette [2006-present] UM/SOA Faculty and CUCD director, Sonia Chao and research affiliate, Gustavo Sanchez-Hugalde were invited by the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterey in Queretaro, Mexico to lead in a week-long charrette, which had a two-fold purpose: firstly, to assist the impoverished community of Santa Rosa de Jaregui to plan for the re-vitalization of its historic urban center and secondly, to permit students in the newly founded Master’s Program in New Urbanism at the Tecnologico to participate and comprehend first-hand the organization and potential of the charrette process. The charrette recommendations were submitted to the local government, residents and stakeholders for implementation.

Local Initiatives: Neighborhood Vision Plan- Grand Avenue, Coconut Grove

Grand Avenue Vision Plan & Master Plan [2002-present] The project, which was spearheaded by the University’s Luce Professor Samina Quraeshi with the participation of several University departments, promotes the social, economic and physical renaissance of the West Grove neighborhood. UM students, majoring in a variety of academic disciplines including architecture, history and communications, captured the history and the spirit of the community by creating oral histories, photographs, cultural maps and architectural drawings of the people and places of West Grove. Their initial work was showcased in an original video documentary that was shown at a community block party in May of 2002.

One of the goals of the project is to continue assisting the community, increasing the supply of affordable houses compatible with the history of the neighborhood. In addition to the University of Miami faculty, many individuals representing public and private organizations have provided assistance to local residents in their incremental development of the neighborhood. The Master plan proposal was adopted by the City of Miami and built accordingly- completed in 2007. The study of the neighborhood led to the declaration of a neighborhood historic overlay district, protecting the original wood frame constructions built by the early Bahamian settlers.

Local Initiatives: Neighborhood Planning Study- Biscayne Park

City of Biscayne Park Community Design Workshop [2005-2006] A charrette was held and subsequently a ‘neighborhood visioning report’ was generated; documenting the results of the charrette findings. The report addressed the concerns of local residents and business owners and focused on a number of municipal improvements such as use of public space, expansion of town facilities, signage and traffic calming improvements. The report was submitted to local government and community development association.

Local Outreach: San Sebastian- An Academic Village

San Sebastian- An Academic Village [2005] UM/SOA Faculty and CUCD directors Richard Shepard and Sonia Cháo were invited by the University of Miami’s asset management consultants to analyze the feasibility of developing a parcel of land in South Dade as a ‘sustainable academic village’. The ensuing project integrated the ideals of traditional town planning, the typologies of Florida’s vernacular architecture that previously characterized the region, while preserving the valuable natural preserve that surrounded the site. The project also incorporated the innovations of green design and technology. The team met with adjoining stakeholders, representatives from the public school system, the National Park Service and neighbors. Assuming the university would maintain control over the equivalent of 45 acres of land in the Village of San Sebastian, the Financial Benefits Analysis of Green Building that accompanied the urban design plans suggested an estimated savings of $98,010,000 over a 20 year period over typical suburban building designs and developments. The sustainable design recommendations produced by the team were later incorporated as a part of the Request for Proposals (RFP) issued for the site’s design development.

International Outreach: Santa Barbara, Dominican Republic

Santa Barbara, Dominican Republic [2005] CUCD faculty collaborated with their peers from the Universidad Jose Antonio Echevarria in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to lead a design studio with students in both countries, simultaneously focused on the historic neighborhood of Santa Barbara, located on the northern border of the city’s historic colonial center. This neighborhood housed the first African slaves brought to the island and the New World and to this day, it maintains its cultural identity. The studio proposed sustainable infill projects meant to build on the rich architectural traditions of the place and their adaptation to the tropical climate. Each site focused on a different problem or opportunity afforded by the site and together they were conceived as a network intent on collectively catalyzing economic revitalization, by celebrating and preserving the cultural heritage of the site & it’s residents. This international studio allowed students at both universities to collaborate with and learn from each other as well as directly interact with local residents. The final projects were submitted to local non-profit agencies for their use and reference.

Local Outreach- Design Build Studios: West Coconut Grove

Design Build Studios: West Coconut Grove [2002-2005] The success of the CUCD work on the Grand Avenue Plan helped convinced the City of Miami to offer vacant lots for the development of affordable housing. In 2002, a group of architecture students were assigned to produce three new designs for affordable homes on these target lots. In an introductory exercise, the students studied and documented traditional southern U.S. homes. They were then assigned to reinterpret these precedents to accommodate a three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,300 square-foot program for two infill sites. The students arrived at three model house types, updated forms of which might provide the basis for new residences in the area: the bungalow, the dogtrot, and the conch house. These were further intended to reflect historical building types in the neighborhood. Students completed their experience by collaborating in the construction of the homes under the supervision of local developer, Wind & Rain. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development [H.U.D.] funded the construction of the affordable homes.

Local Initiatives: Neighborhood Planning Studies — Buena Vista

Buena Vista East Historic District & Buena Vista Heights [2003- 2004] The intent of the first study was to improve the infrastructure, character, and livability of the Buena Vista Historic District and neighborhood and to suggest methods for the preservation of its historic and cultural assets. The City of Miami Planning and Zoning Department was asked by the City Commission to conduct a charrette to address these issues and the CUCD was commissioned to lead the process and produce a report. Subsequently, the adjacent Buena Vista Heights neighborhood approached the CUCD and requested a study. Following a second charrette, a separate report, with complementary recommendations that incorporated the differing needs of the neighborhood, was submitted to the residents and local government for their implementation.

Local Initiatives: Neighborhood Planning Studies- Coconut Grove

[2002] The City of Miami commissioned the Center for Urban & Community Design to document the historic neighborhoods of Coconut Grove, first settled by ‘northeasterners’ and by Bahamians in 1873. A series of drawings were created to illustrate the most salient aspects of the built and natural inheritance of the neighborhoods as well as the characteristics of its original residents. Additional drawings were made to evidence its architectural heritage, the transformation of the neighborhood and its potential for sustainable growth and the preservation of its historic fabric.

Local Initiatives: Regional Planning Studies- New South Dade Planning Charrette

The New South Dade Planning Charrette, [1992]. The charrette was sponsored by “We Will Rebuild” and led by local universities, government agencies, non-profits organizations and professional associations. Three hundred residents convened, over a three week period, just two months following the devastation brought to South Florida by Hurricane Andrew, to plan a sustainable rebuilding strategy for the communities of South Dade. The resulting 16 projects focused on a wide range of issues from the macro to the micro scales. Multi-disciplinary teams in collaboration with local residents and business owners addressed regional issues such as urban planning, transportation, historic preservation and natural resources and yet other teams elaborated on site-specific neighborhood revitalization plans. Many of these plans served as the basis for the redevelopment of neighborhoods and future regional scale recommendations related to water management, transportation-oriented-development along the US-1 corridor and the preservation of buildings and open space in Redlands. From this initial charrette effort, the Center for Urban & Community Design was conceived. It was founded by the core members of the charrette steering committee and local leaders, including Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Andres Duany, Samuel Poole and Sonia Chao. The Center’s initial goal was to bridge the gap between government and residents and support public/private partnerships that would catalyze the re-building efforts in the wake of the storm.

Since that time, the CUCD has continuously served South Florida communities in their varied efforts to build a sustainable and livable region, aware of social, economic and environmental pressures which define sustainable development. The Center has more recently established new partnerships with universities and non-profits located in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Center for Urban and Community Design Publications:

Reimagining West Coconut Grove

Reimagining West Coconut Grove [edited by Luce Professor Samina Quraeshi, 2005] This collection of essays recounts recent efforts by the Center for Urban & Community Design, university and local partners to devise an interdisciplinary approach to strengthening community in a distressed inner-city neighborhood. It is a hard look at the problems of community building, the potential of interdisciplinary and place-based curricula and the intricacies of University-Community partnerships. What emerged was a holistic perspective on how important it is to envision a neighborhood from many disciplines.

The Living Traditions of Coconut Grove

The Living Traditions of Coconut Grove [published by Initiative for the Urban and Social Ecology (INUSE), 2004] The Center for Urban & Community Design envisions building our society, family by family, block by block, through design. As a first step, faculty, students and community partners jointly identified the neighborhood of West Coconut Grove to work in and began to explore the social built and ecological issues that would be the focus of research, study and practice. This book analyzes the process and illustrates the multi-disciplinary approach.

The South-Dade Watershed Project

The South-Dade Watershed Project [1995] The report was a product of the South Dade Watershed Project, commissioned by the South Florida Water Management District. It was executed in collaboration with then CUCD Director Dan Williams. The research and resulting recommendations were a collaborative effort between the Center for Urban and Community Design and the agency. The report analyzed the relationship between land and water in south Miami-Dade County. The destruction of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused questions about the many basic assumptions made regarding resource management and the report outlined a strategy for a sustainable water management plan.