Please join us for Design Conversation 21: FESTIVALS at Artscape!

Saturday July 17th 2010
Charles Street Garage (across from the Charles Theatre) – 1714 N Charles Street
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Design Conversation 21 will feature Karin Bacon. Karin Bacon began her career as Festival Director for the City of New York, where she originated citywide celebrations such as the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Central Park, and July 4th in Lower Manhattan. She went on to produce celebrations, parties, and promotions for audiences as diverse as the thousands of kids at the Bronx Zoo and the chosen few who could get in the door at Studio 54. Since forming her own company in 1981, Bacon has created a broad range of events for clients from the worlds of fashion, architecture, finance, media, retail, entertainment, and real estate, known for their theatricality, imagination, and high production values.

Design Conversations are open to the public and are loosely curated by volunteers around a series of topics related to design, art, architecture, cities, and anything else that is on your mind. They are made possible by the generous support of Baltimore Community Foundation and D:center Baltimore.

Questions? ben.stone(at)gmail.com | www.dcenterbaltimore.com

Come to the Windup Space, at 12 W. North Ave., Wednesday, May 5th at 6:30 pm for Design Conversation #19: Streets/Art (part 1)

This is part one of a two part Design Conversation on public art. This first one, curated by Fred Scharmen, will look at aspects of public art that occur outside and between the institutions that have traditionally supported art in communities.

____________________________________________

Panelists for Design Convo 19 include:

Sculptor and Performance Artist Jonathan Taube

Activist, Artist and Facilitator Paulo Harris

Street Artist, Sculptor and Painter Andrew Pisacane

… and more TBA

Check for part 2, curated by Ben Stone, on the first wednesday in June.

D:center Baltimore joined MICA’s Center for Design Thinking and Urbanite magazine in co-sponsoring a panel discussion on humanitarian design on March 11. The event, which I moderated, brought together some of the top designers working in the field today including Emily Pilloton of Project H. I recapped the evening in my monthly column online at Metropolis magazine. Check it out…

Nothing—not even well-intentioned design—is above reproach. The confluence of organizations and individuals working to bring design practice to those who might not normally get it seems to have hit a critical mass, and with it comes the inevitable backlash. In an entry written last fall on his Design Altruism Project Web site, David Stairs lit a firestorm of debate when he argued that “social networking has struck the design world with the force of the Indonesian tsunami bringing changes of sorts, but no guarantees of lasting change.” READ MORE HERE.

I am pleased to inform you that The Yes Men Fix the World will be screening this Friday, March 19th at the Senator Theatre at 7pm!

For trailer and film info/screening info, check out: http://www.theyesmenfixtheworld.com/

if you are not familiar with the Yes Men you should be.
Check out their past projects here.

A few words from Mike of the Yes Men:

Hello All- THANKS for your support! We finally got a booking in Baltimore, at the
beautiful Senator Theater this Friday March 19th! I hope that I can meet
you there for a 7:00 screening. I’ll be doing the question and answers with
a special guests: Margaret Flowers from Physicians for a National Health
Program, for whom we will be trying to raise a bit of cash in their
last-ditch efforts to get some action on public health care. I think it
will be a very special evening. This is our last theatrical booking, last
chance to see the 35mm print of the film with an audience… and the film
is most fun with an audience. I will bring some special prizes that will be
awarded by lottery. Vivoleum candle anyone?  Please help us get some people
through the door- we have no advertising budget. Facebook it or email or
whatever! By the way, the film plays throughout the week. Best, Mike Bonanno
The Yes Men
senator website: http://www.senator.com>

This is just a quick note to send you all to check out our flickr page, where we’re starting to add some pics from last thursday’s panel discussion at MICA. Many thanks to our moderator, panelists, co-sponsors, and audience! Stay tuned for a proper writeup later this week, but for now, see this recap at the Design Revolution Roadshow blog: link.

The BSA is moving to the Fort Point Channel, aka ”the Station North of Boston,” where they will create a new “design and architecture center complete with a museum and lecture hall to serve the public.”

http://news.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view/20100222architect_group_plans_new_digs_eyes_move_to_atlantic_wharf/srvc=home&position=also

This year’s fundraiser will be at The Maryland Club, continuing our tradition of featuring an architecturally significant space that few have the opportunity to see. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to spend the evening in one of Baltimore’s historic private clubs while enjoying the best Groundhog Day party in the city! The Club building, designed by the prominent Baltimore firm of Baldwin and Pennington in the Romanesque Revival style in 1891,  features Beaver Dam marble on the exterior while the interiors are a rich interplay of oak, marble, ornate plaster, and faux finishes characteristic of high Victorian tastes of the time. The building today, after the 1995 fire, has been restored to original grandeur and is an architectural time capsule of 19th century Baltimore. Come to enjoy the traditional oyster bar and food catered by the Maryland Club. Quench your thirst with a signature groundhog pale ale crafted by Brewer’s Art for the event. Stay for the slient auction, the groundhog games, and live music by the Swinging Swamis with dancing! The theme is light and shadow.

View more information or purchase tickets at www.baltimorearchitecture.org or call 410.539.7772.

http://justmetropolis.doodlekit.com/home/call_for_papers_and_presentations

Call for Proposals – Deadline March 1, 2010
Presentations, Posters and Workshops
As cities and towns around the world grapple with the impacts of multiple and concurrent crises, progressive planners, urbanists, activists, and citizens face the challenge of transforming crises into opportunities to advance profound changes in the way we plan, build, design, live in, and govern our cities.

We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following questions: How are today’s crises impacting cities and transforming contemporary debates about justice? What possible futures emerge as cities and local communities respond to rapid economic, political, demographic, and environmental change? What is a just distribution of local, national, and global responsibilities? What possibilities and/or responsibilities will move us toward a more just metropolis? How do we collaborate to achieve change towards social justice, equity, better living conditions, and the right to the metropolis? What innovative ideas can crises prompt in the quest for a just and inclusive metropolis? And how do we get there?

Submission could be in the form of workshops, panel discussions, paper/project presentations, and posters. We encourage the grouping of papers in pre-organized sessions but reserve the right to realign papers once proposals have been accepted. The conference will feature a special reception for posters, during which authors will display and discuss their work one-on-one. We encourage collaboration across disciplines and communities.

DEADLINE: All submissions are due by March 1, 2010

Applicants will be notified within a month of submission. Our review committee will begin work as soon as proposals are submitted, so interested participants are encouraged to submit proposals before the deadline. All participants in sessions – including local panelists – are required to register for the conference.

SESSION TYPES: We have identified four types of sessions, which are described below. If you have an idea for a different format, i.e. a film or art session, you will have the option to choose “other” on the abstract submission form.

Paper/Project Presentations – These sessions are designed for people to present their research, projects, ideas, accomplishments and failures. Individual presentations should be limited to 15 minutes. Qualifying presentations will be grouped together based on subject, geography or other thematic considerations. Paper/project sessions will be between 1 and 1.5 hours, and all authors should be present for the full duration of their session, to allow for audience Q&A.

Panels – Panels may be a collection of individual papers and projects or a panel facilitated by a moderator. Priority will be given to panels that reflect diversity of opinions, backgrounds and geography. Panels must have a minimum of three and a maximum of five panelists. The panel organizer must submit ONE abstract on behalf of the entire panel. The abstract should include the title, purpose, and the names of the panelists and the moderator. Qualifying panel discussions will be between 1 and 1.5 hours and should leave room for Q&A. If you would like us to help identify an outside moderator/discussant, please indicate so in your submission.

Participatory Workshops – The goal of a participatory workshop is the involvement of ALL workshop participants in a discussion or other exercise designed to learn, communicate, debate, etc. Workshops can be led by a single person, although workshops led by a diverse range of people will receive priority. “Presenting” by the workshop leader/s should be limited. Workshop proposals should include the title and purpose of the workshop, the names of all presenters/leaders, and should indicate how leaders intend to involve others in the workshop. Workshops will be between 1 and 1.5 hours and will take place in classroom-sized rooms, unless special arrangements are made. Please indicate if the workshop will require any special arrangements for space, scheduling, etc.

Posters – Posters emphasize the visual communication of ideas and are an excellent way to present one’s research, designs or project outside of a formal session. The conference will feature a special reception for posters, during which authors will present and discuss their work one-on-one, and the posters will be on display in the main conference site during the classroom sessions on Friday June 18th and Saturday June 19th. Poster abstracts should include the title, purpose, names of all authors/presenters and preliminary description or design of the poster.

Other – We enthusiastically invite the submission of proposals for other presentation formats, such as film, installations, project exhibitions, student work, etc. Abstracts in this category must include the title, purpose, names of presenters/authors, description of the work to be presented, and any required special arrangements (space, scheduling, etc.).

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Presenters/authors must first submit an abstract-length proposal of approximately 250-400 words. Proposals must also include:

•Title
•Purpose
•Key words (minimum of 1, maximum of 5)
•Abstract (250-400 words)
•Name(s) of all authors, presenters, panelists, workshop leaders, etc.
•Name(s) of suggested discussant(s), for pre-organized sessions and panels only
•Special arrangements (space requirements, scheduling, etc.)
To submit an abstract, clink on the link below, which will take you to an offsite abstract submission system which we are using to manage submissions.

Abstract Submission Page
Please direct any questions about proposal submissions to Kate Ervin (HunterMUP at gmail.com). We look forward to having you participate in the Just Metropolis!

Here’s the official press release from the BCF

As Part of Baltimore Architecture Week, the AIA’s Urban Design Committee Hosted a forum on the role of design centers in urban regeneration. This event generated some interesting energy and discussion. The  following are the notes of Urban Design Committee co-chair Klaus Phillipsen:

Panel Moderator Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson of the D.center. Click here to see the complete set of photos from the discussion.

BALTIMORE ARCHITECTURE WEEK: BALTIMORE AIA URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE SPONSORED EVENT

A Forum: The Role of Design Centers in Urban Regeneration –

A Comprehensive Center for Design in Baltimore

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Location: RTKL, 901 S. Bond St., Baltimore, MD, 21231, Fells Point
Sponsors: PNC Bank, Dana Risk Insurance

Event Topic

A successful design center, as shown in other cities, has the possibility to elevate the status of design and bring talent and ideas to a city. A design center is a common ground for several individuals and institutions and industry leaders to bring together and share ideas. It is a chance for an open and public forum of ideas where the design community can share and express progressive ideas for how to improve the city from physical, policy, and social points of view. Maurice Cox from the National Endowment for the Arts will address these aspects from a national perspective.

Presenters

Gary Gaston

Gary Gaston is the Design Studio Director of the Nashville Civic Design Center. He has lead planning efforts for the East Bank, Edgehill, Lafayette and Wedgewood Houston Neighborhoods. He was a principal contributor to the Center’s book The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City, published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2005. Gary co-chaired the Live It Up Downtown Home Tour for four years, and currently serves as co-chair for Education & Outreach on Mayor Dean’s Green Ribbon Committee. Gary holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and serves on the Board of Directors of Nashville CARES and Artrageous.

Maurice Cox

Maurice Cox was appointed Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts in October 2007. Cox supervises the NEA grantmaking process in design, oversees the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, Governors’ Institute on Community Design, and Your Town: The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, and provides professional leadership in architecture and design to the nation.

On leave from the University of Virginia, School of Architecture where he is an Associate Professor of Architecture, Cox most recently led graduate students in the development of award-winning proposals for the rebuilding of affordable housing in New Orleans following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

Cox served as Mayor of Charlottesville from 2002-2004. As mayor, architect, and urbanist he was widely recognized as the principal urban designer of his city.

He was a founding partner of RBGC Architecture, Research and Urbanism from 1996-2006 in Charlottesville, Virginia. RBGC’s groundbreaking use of design as a catalyst for social change in the rural town of Bayview, Virginia has received national acclaim and has been featured on 60 Minutes and in Architecture magazine.

Maurice Cox is currently on leave as a partner with Ken Schwartz in Community Planning + Design WORKSHOP (CP+D Workshop). A recipient of the 2004-05 Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the 2006 John Hejduk Award for Architecture, Cox has lectured widely on the topics of democratic design, civic engagement, and the designer’s role as leader. He received his architectural education from the Cooper Union School of Architecture.

Notes from the event:

Gary Gaston showed how the Nashville Design Center has become known for public participation and big picture planning in Nashville. http://www.civicdesigncenter.org/

• He explained the four tenets of the Civic Design Center embodied in the logo squares: “Think, Design, Create, Sustain”.
• The Center initially trained over 300 citizens in a 101 of planning course.
• They also produced 15 minute TV shows about urban design in Nashville.
• They worked with 9 inner ring neighborhoods on neighborhood plans.
• They established 10 principles and prepared the Nashville Vision Plan
• They have annual “Living the Plan” fundraising events in which they raise $80-90k each year
• They worked with the Army Corps of Engineers on a Riverfront Masterplan
• They developed a set of site alternatives for the Nashville Convention Center and create baseline specs for it
• They work in a partnership with University of Tennessee students