REST IN PEACE LEON KRIER

LEGENDAY 

Leon Krier -- world renowned architectural theorist and innovator in traditional architecture and urbanism – died at age 79 earlier this month.

I have had the privilege of lecturing on Universal Design at the University of Miami School of Architecture building that he designed.

I spoke to Krier about my vison for Universal Design.

I later created/taught a full Universal Design course in a traditional building footsteps away from his U-SoA Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center.

Krier was a prominent critic of modernist architecture and an advocate of New Urbanism.

HUMBLED TO WORK WITH PBS DIRECTOR

ON DISABILITY VISIBILITY STORYTELLING

Humbled to work with PBS director + film crew on documentary about the late disability inclusion leader Mark Bookman.

I was interviewed for an hour today about Universal Design and my thoughts on the Americans with Disabilities Act that turns 33 this year.

It was gratifying to work with Emmy winning Director Ron Small.

He produced and directed I Danced for the Angel of Death - The Dr. Edith Eva Eger Story.

My work with him is airing this year.

I discussed the groundbreaking Universal Design course I created for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Miami School of Architecture during my PBS hour plus interview.

The CDC has documented that one in four adults has some kind of disability.

Design for all is mainstream.

Miami takes a page from Dutch urban design with slow roads

NL TIMES GIVES PLUS URBIA DESIGN'S WYNWOOD WORK A HUGE THUMBS UP

by Janene Van Jaarsveldt

A neighborhood in the American city Miami has plans to follow the Dutch lead in creating a “woonwerf” or slow road – a pedestrian-friendly, low speed street that can be closed down to traffic – in three locations in the neighborhood, the Miami New Times reported.


The neighborhood in question – Wynwood – used to be an industrial garment district, but has since evolved into more of an art-heavy cultural district, packed with restaurants and bars and famous for graffiti and murals.

But the streets of the neighborhood have not been adapted to suit its new needs. According to the newspaper, local business owners are calling on authorities to make the neighborhood more livable and walkable, with more open, green spaces where the young people and families that frequent the neighborhood can spend their time.

And that is where the idea of Dutch “woonwerfs” – pronounced “woenurf” in English – come in. The newspaper describe these slow roads as “typically curbless streets paved in a way that slows down traffic and opens the road to pedestrians and cyclists. They can even be shut down on the weekends to hold local events, like farmers markets.”

The plans for the woonwerf were drawn up by PlusUrbia, a Miami based urban design and architectural firm. “Wynwood can evolve into what it wants to become: an arts and cultural district but with residential units and offices. All while still retaining the culture and character that it has today”, Juan Mullerat, the director of PlusUrbia said to Miami New Times.


http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/07/22/miami-takes-a-page-from-dutch-urban-design-with-slow-roads/

KNIGHT FOUNDATION PRAISES PLUS URBIA DESIGN'S WYNWOOD VISION PLAN

Wynwood BID steers community to more balanced future with revitalization plan

Posted by Alec Schwartzman

This post has been updated to reflect that the Wynwood Business Improvement District already has off-duty officers patroling the area and ambassadors who work to keep streets and sidewalks free of trash.

Thursday may bring fresh changes to the Wynwood community. The Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD) Plan, approved unanimously by the City of Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board recently, will go before the City Commission for final authorization.

“For Wynwood, this will be the first time in its modern history where the community has come together to express a common vision for the future,” said Albert Garcia, vice chair of the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID). “It is setting the framework for responsible residential and commercial development that balances the history and character of the arts district we have all grown to love today.”

Established in 2013 with Knight Foundation support, the Wynwood BID is a collection of local property and business owners with the mission to make Wynwood an internationally recognized epicenter for art, culture and business. Keeping the original visions of developers David Lombardi and Tony Goldman in mind, the leaders of the BID created this proposal with the intention of preserving the industrial and artistic nature of the neighborhood while creating a community where people can both live and work.

“It’s a continuation of the renaissance they were the catalyst of,” Garcia said. “When they came to Wynwood, it was largely abandoned by the garment industry that had left. In its place, they brought back people, businesses and creatives at a much-needed time when there were no cultural arts communities. Miami is now going through an immense cultural renaissance with institutions like [Perez Art Museum Miami], which have put us at a world-class level.”

The BID established the Wynwood Design Review Committee as part of the revitalization plan. The committee is another measure intended to protect the community’s artistic integrity.

“The Wynwood Design Review Committee is an entity … where creatives, design professionals and leaders in the community will review large-scale development projects to make sure they hold true to the historical arts character of our district today,” Garcia said.

One of the main challenges in making Wynwood truly residential friendly is the

lack of green space. To combat this shortcoming, the Neighborhood Revitalization District plan introduces the concept of shared streets, inspired by Dutch woonerfs. The plan would convert Northwest Third Avenue, Northwest First Avenue and Northwest First Place into public “living streets” at certain times by bringing in street furniture and landscaping, and improving sidewalk conditions.

“Because there is no public park or spaces within the BID’s boundaries, we looked across the pond to Europe for ideas,” Garcia said. “This concept of taking back our streets and retrofitting them to hybrid parks, and obviously a means for vehicular transit, emerged. Over time we are confident they will bring much-needed shade, and will actually create further dynamic places that are unique to Wynwood, contrasting it even more from places around the world.”

The BID will also continue to emphasize safety and cleanliness, continuing initiatives where off-duty officers patrol daily and “Clean Team” ambassadors help keep streets and sidewalks free of trash.

One key aspect of the initiative is creating space for individuals and families to live in Wynwood, which is primarily known for creative enterprises, co-working spaces and startups. 

The plan provides incentives to real estate developers to make smaller-sized units during construction of new loft spaces. The units would provide cost-effective housing options to local artists and entrepreneurs. BID officials said changes would help maintain Wynwood’s tourism status, and also create a livable neighborhood for the district’s workers.


http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2015/7/20/wynwood-bid-steers-community-more-balanced-future-revitalization-plan/

 

Miami commission approves plan for ‘Wynwood 2.0’

MIAMI CITY COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES FIRST HEARING OF PLUS URBIA DESIGN'S CELEBRATED WYNWOOD NRD PLAN

By Andres Viglucci

The Miami Commission on Thursday endorsed an unconventional zoning plan drawn up by Wynwood property owners to guide the fast-changing former industrial zone’s transformation into an urban mixed-use neighborhood.

By a 3-0 vote, the commission approved a series of resolutions and zoning and land-use changes to create the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District, a new planning tool that city planning director Francisco Garcia said can be replicated in other areas of Miami seeking to shape their own redevelopment.

The Wynwood plan, if approved by the commission on second reading, will, among other features, increase housing density with some strict height caps to bring residents to the sparsely populated district while maintaining its modest scale; discourage warehouse teardown by allowing owners to sell unused development rights to other Wynwood property owners; and create a local design-review committee to help ensure new development is compatible with the neighborhood’s funky aesthetics.

It also allows developers to reduce the amount of required parking in a project by paying into a fund that would finance construction of centralized parking. Backers say the density increase and parking reductions will foster development of small live-work apartments suitable for the millennials now flocking to Wynwood.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article28472290.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article28472290.html#storylink=cpy

PLUS URBIA DESIGN'S WYNWOOD WORK -- THE REAL DEAL

REZONING OF 205 ACRES IN WYNWOOD GETS FIRST OK

By Francisco Alvarado

A plan that proponents claim will make it easier for property owners and developers to build mixed-use, residential projects in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood while preserving its eclectic character cleared its first hurdle.

At its regular meeting last night, the city of Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board unanimously approved a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations that would eliminate most industrial uses and allow denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood. The recommendations still need to be finalized by the city commission.

Currently, property owners and developers are required to file individual applications to change industrial designations for Wynwood parcels. About 104 acres would go from industrial to general commercial use, while the remaining acreage (which is already zoned commercial) will be permitted more intense residential uses.

The board also recommended approving Wynwood as the city’s first Neighborhood Revitalization District, which will encourage builders to create wider sidewalks, pedestrian walkways within large projects, provide financial incentives to developers who preserve warehouses, and make it easier to construct affordable housing.

Joseph Furst, Wynwood director for Goldman Properties, one of the largest landowners in the neighborhood, hailed the plan as a solution to the piecemeal rezoning requests that have taken place in the last two years.

“This is the most exciting thing to happen to the neighborhood that all of us poured our hearts into,” Furst said. “We have created incredible momentum. Now it’s time to create a place we can call home.”

Jonathon Yormak, a principal with Madison Avenue-based real estate investment firm East End Capital, told board members the zoning changes would allow his company to quickly move forward with two development sites he and his partners have planned in Wynwood. East End, along with Yellow Side Ventures, owns seven acres in the neighborhood and already broke ground on a 23,500-square-foot retail and restaurant project located on Northwest 23rd Street, just west of North Miami Avenue. East End and Yellow Side paid $5.3 million for the site last year.

“We believe Wynwood is destined to be a place where millennials will relocate and where knowledge based users want to be,” Yormak said. “We want to build affordable housing, but the existing zoning doesn’t allow you to do that.”

For the past 18 months, property owners and other neighborhood stakeholders provided input to members of the Wynwood Business Improvement, its consulting firm PlusUrbia, and the city’s planning and zoning staff on how to create the Neighborhood Revitalization District, said Steven Wernick, a Miami-based land use lawyer at Akerman LLP who assisted in the plan’s development.

During the development of the plan, they evaluated neighborhoods around the country and Canada that transformed from industrial uses to commercial and residential uses such as Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the Pearl District in Portland, and Yaletown in Vancouver, Wernick said.

“The goal is to allow for mixed use developments that will really help bring Wynwood to the next level,” he said. ‘These changes will allow for multifamily uses, offices, and a host of other commercial uses that will turn the neighborhood into a place you can live, work and play in.”

At the same time, Wynwood would retain its edgy aesthetic by giving developers incentives to preserve the existing inventory of properties. “It still encourages the arts and hosting events, keeping with Wynwood’s character,” he said. “This has been a model initiative in that the development community, the people in the neighborhood and city have come together to collaborate and compromise.”

- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2015/06/18/rezoning-of-205-acres-in-wynwood-gets-first-ok/#sthash.ooEDw1rl.dpuf

 

A plan that proponents claim will make it easier for property owners and developers to build mixed-use, residential projects in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood while preserving its eclectic character cleared its first hurdle.
At its regular meeting last night, the city of Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board unanimously approved a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations that would eliminate most industrial uses and allow denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood. The recommendations still need to be finalized by the city commission.
Currently, property owners and developers are required to file individual applications to change industrial designations for Wynwood parcels. About 104 acres would go from industrial to general commercial use, while the remaining acreage (which is already zoned commercial) will be permitted more intense residential uses.
The board also recommended approving Wynwood as the city’s first Neighborhood Revitalization District, which will encourage builders to create wider sidewalks, pedestrian walkways within large projects, provide financial incentives to developers who preserve warehouses, and make it easier to construct affordable housing.
- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2015/06/18/rezoning-of-205-acres-in-wynwood-gets-first-ok/#sthash.ooEDw1rl.dpuf

A plan that proponents claim will make it easier for property owners and developers to build mixed-use, residential projects in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood while preserving its eclectic character cleared its first hurdle.
At its regular meeting last night, the city of Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board unanimously approved a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations that would eliminate most industrial uses and allow denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood. The recommendations still need to be finalized by the city commission.
Currently, property owners and developers are required to file individual applications to change industrial designations for Wynwood parcels. About 104 acres would go from industrial to general commercial use, while the remaining acreage (which is already zoned commercial) will be permitted more intense residential uses.
The board also recommended approving Wynwood as the city’s first Neighborhood Revitalization District, which will encourage builders to create wider sidewalks, pedestrian walkways within large projects, provide financial incentives to developers who preserve warehouses, and make it easier to construct affordable housing.
- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2015/06/18/rezoning-of-205-acres-in-wynwood-gets-first-ok/#sthash.ooEDw1rl.dpuf

A plan that proponents claim will make it easier for property owners and developers to build mixed-use, residential projects in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood while preserving its eclectic character cleared its first hurdle.
At its regular meeting last night, the city of Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board unanimously approved a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations that would eliminate most industrial uses and allow denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood. The recommendations still need to be finalized by the city commission.
Currently, property owners and developers are required to file individual applications to change industrial designations for Wynwood parcels. About 104 acres would go from industrial to general commercial use, while the remaining acreage (which is already zoned commercial) will be permitted more intense residential uses.
The board also recommended approving Wynwood as the city’s first Neighborhood Revitalization District, which will encourage builders to create wider sidewalks, pedestrian walkways within large projects, provide financial incentives to developers who preserve warehouses, and make it easier to construct affordable housing.
- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2015/06/18/rezoning-of-205-acres-in-wynwood-gets-first-ok/#sthash.ooEDw1rl.dpuf