Design Alabama: The Public Forum for Design in Alabama, Volume 6, Issue 2, 1996

              Spring/Summer 1996
Volume VI, Issue II
$4.00
THE PUBLIC FORUM FOR DESIGN IN ALABAMA
S T R E E T S
ORePEOPL
DesignAlabama Inc.
Board of Directors:
Rip Weaver, Chairman
Sherlock Smith Adams
Birmingham
Lloyd Philpo't, Treasurer
Ph/lpo 't Des/gn
Decatur
Faye DeMassimo
Federal Highway Administration
Montgomery
Nancy Mims Hartsfield
Auburn University
Graphic Design
Auburn
Henry Hughes
Shades Valley Forestry
Birmingham
Sam W. Kates
W/regrass Museum of Art
Dolhan
Mark C. McDonald
Mobile Historic Development Commission
Mobile
Kenneth M. Penuel
Southern Company Services
Birmingham
Charles W. Raine
Des/gn-Build Services
University of Alabama al Birmingham
Birmingham
Sheri Schumacher
Auburn University
Interior Design
Aubum
Franklin Setzer, Executive Director
Laura Quenelle, Administrative Director
Philip A. Morris, Director Emeritus
Southern Progress Corp.
Birmingham
This issue of DesignAlabama was designed and produced
on Macintosh Computers utilizing QuarkXPress 3.3. Proofs
were printed on a LaserWriter Select 360 and final output on
an Agfa SeiectSet 7000.
Desi nAlabama
Volume VI, Issue II
Cover: People and cars co-exist peacefully along University
Boulevard on the UAB campus. Photograph by Philip Morris.
From the Director:
I realized, while attending a conference in Providence
this past November, that DesignAlabama is held in
extraordinarily high regard nationally, Our publications,
such as this issue of the journal, are touted as excellent
examples of effective public communication by the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National
Assembly of State Arts Agencies, among others; and the
Alabama Community Design Program (ACDP) is viewed
by the American Institute of Architects (AM) and the NEA
as an exemplary model for the productive "grassroots"
involvement of design professionals in environmental
design issues and concerns of communities.
DesignAlabama does what it does very well. Everyone
including the board, staff, members and others who
participate in our programs-both past and present­should
be proud.
The board and staff are anxious to continue the quality
and to make improvements so that the organization's
efforts will be even more effective. We are in the process of
reviewing current programs and examining potential new
initiatives that will broaden DesignAlabama's role as
advocate for quality design in the state.
The tasks of maintaining and enhanCing quality on
one hand, while creating productive new initiatives on the
other, seem daunting at times-especially in light of the
changing fiscal environment that we face; but
DesignAlabama will continue its success-with your
continued support,
1- ~CI
I~' -:x~.
Franklin Setzer
Managing Editor: Tomie D. Dugas
Art Director: Nancy Hartsfield
Associate Art Director: Ross Heck
Electronic Illustrations: John Morgan
Contributing Writers: Thomas Deloach, Kathy Hamrick,
Philip Morris, laura Quenelle, Franklin SeiZer.
This publication is made possible through funding by
the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
A special thanks to Philip Morris, editor-In-chief of
Southern Progress Corp.~ tor his on-going assistance
and advice with this publication.
Submission Information
DesignAlabama encourages submissions from
its readers. Articles about work from all design
disciplines are requested. as well as copy related to
historic preservation. Please submil copy along with
visuals (photos, slides, drawings, etc). to:
DesignAlabama Inc.
204 North 20th St, Ste. 201
Birmingham, Al 35203
Items for Project News and Details of
Interest should include a paragraph summary
detailing the nature of the project, the design firm,
principals and associates involved and any other
details that may be of interest such as unusual or
special design features, completion date,
approximate cost, square footage, etc. Also include
the name, address and phone number of the client
and an individual wilh Ihe firm that we may contact
lor further information. The deadline for the
fall/winter issue is August 1. Direct inquiries to
laura Quenelle at (800) 849-9543 or
(205) 254-8545 or by fax: (205) 323-8385.
Back issues are available for $6.00 including
postage and handling. Contact laura Quenelle at the
above numbers to order.
Collinsville land use map marks areas slated
for revitalization. p.19
DesignAlabama is a publication of DesignAlabama Inc.
Reader comments and submission of articles and ideas for
future issues are encouraged.
CONTENTS
Irondale community embraces its
whistle-stop makeover. p. 16
The extension of Birmingham Green South Chattahoochee Trace Heritage Education
along 20th Street beckons with character. p. 13 Workshop utilizes a visual survey form. p. 25
FEATURES
"STREETS FOR PEOPLE"
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM:
A 25-YEAR CAMPAIGN TO MAKE STREETS BETTER FOR PEOPLE. 12
------~---~~- -------.. -----.--------~--.-.--.-~-
ANDALUSIA, IRONDALE, MOUNDVILLE
AND MOUNTAIN BROOK:
SMALL COMMUNITIES TAKING BIG STEPS TO CREATE
PEOPLE-FRIENDLY DOWNTOWNS. 15 - .. --- .. -----------.. -- .. ---.----------.-....... ~--------
"IN THE WORKS"
A SURVEY OF UP-AND-COMING
PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY PROJECTS ACROSS THE STATE. 19
ARTICLES
MAKING BIG PLANS FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES
SEVENTH AVENUE SOUTH DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
INCORPORATES NON-AUTOMOBILE TRANSPORTATION. 20
SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SYMPOSIUM ON THE CITY. 22
DEPARTMENTS
Project.A.News
Work of statewide significance. 4 . .•..•. ----~---... --.-----~-~.----
ACDP.Update
Proposed changes in the program.
---~--.. --~
Historical'iPerspectives
Chattahoochee In-di_an .H_er itage Center. .. _----_._--
Designer@?Profile
Interior Designer Rebecca Hatcher.
Design.Makes A Difference
ResCore project.
--~
Details+Of Interest
Noteworthy observations.
7
8
10
24
25
Project .. News
DesignAlabama 4
Project News
is a regular
feature of
DesignAlabama and
provides
an opportunity
to keep
up-to-date on
design projects
that have an impact on
our communities.
Southeast Cardiac Building, Montgomery
Darden Oaks Communiiy Housing, Opelika
Phelan Park, Birmingham
The Mobile County School
Board recently selected The
Architects Group Inc. for the design
of a new $12 million high school in the
Grand Bay/Alba area. Engineering ser­vices
and environmental compliance
support for the project will be provided by BCM/Smith
Environmental. This award is one of several new school
projects included in a new $60 million bond issue recently
announced for Mobile County.
Southeast Cardiac Building Partners in
Montgomery has selected Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood
Inc., also of Montgomery, for the design of their new
72,OOO-square-foot, $9.5 miliion cardiac cath lab/medical
office building. In association with McCauley & Associates
of Birmingham, medical consultants for the project, the
architects have selected a four-coior granite skin system to
complement the exterior design. The facility, which also wil!
include diagnostics, examining rooms and a state-of-the-art
medical record retrieval system, should be ready for occu­pancy
by mid-1997.
The Alabama Council of Human Relations
recently approached Auburn's College of Architecture,
Design and Construction to assist in the design of a
unique affordable housing complex for the city of Opelika.
The $2.5 million project is being constructed on a site for­merly
used as a high school football field in Opelika's
Darden Oaks neighborhood.
Chris Caloti, a visiting associate professor in
Auburn's School of Architecture, was the principle designer
of the project Borden, McKean & Payne, Architects
of Montgomery is the architect of record, providing the con­struction
documents and overseeing construction of the pro­ject.
CaloU's design utilizes 10 two-story rowhouse-type
units per building instead of the typical eight-plex plan (four
units upstairs and four downstairs).
Because of time constraints and federal guidelines for
this type project, students did not participate in the design
process, however, a second project is in the works in which
students will have the opportunity to partiCipate.
Located at the center of a
revitalization and historic district in
Birmingham's Southside, Phelan Park
was once a center for drug dealers and
prostitutes. Now, as part of a combined
effort by the City of Birmingham's
Department of Planning and Engineering, the Five
Points Neighborhood Association and local business­es,
Phelan Park and the surrounding neighborhood have
been given a new life. The project, an example of how pub­lic/
private partnerships can improve whole neighborhoods,
was designed by Lois Harrison of Grover & Harrison
PC with extensive community input, managed by Russell
Program Management Inc. and built by A. G. Gaston
Contractors.
The new park's open, organic design centers on a
stone-capped circular siUing-wall surrounding heavy-duty
round picnic tables. A walkway leads from the crown of the
circle to a playground with state-of-the-art equipment donat­ed
by a neighborhood business, HealthSouth Inc. A stone
wall marking the former park boundaries was removed and
pedestrian ways introduced to clearly define the park as a
focal point and gathering place.
The project included significant
improvements to the neighborhood's
sidewalks, landscaping and lighting.
These incorporate, among other
upgrades, almost 13,000 square feet
of new sidewalks, 4,350 square feet of
concrete pavers, 49 new wheelchair ramps, 595 linear feet
of new curbs and gutters, 54 stone-composite light poles,
almost 1,000 new trees and shrubs and 45,875 square feet
of new sod. These improvements, combined with
Dreamland Restaurant's crucial decision to renovate adja­cent
commercial space have brought the community back to
its focal pOint: Phelan Park.
As part of Atlanta's preparation for the 1995 Summer
Olympics, the Corporation for Olympic Development
in Atlanta commissioned Birmingham landscape architec­ture
firm Nimrod Long & Associates Inc. for the reno��vation
of Hardy Ivy Park in downtown Atlanta. The current
plan for the park's renovation and the rerouting of surround­ing
streets has been reworked from the firm's winning
design for the 1991 Peachtree Street Competition.
The triangular park will be anchored on the northern
tip by the 1910 statue of Stanley Spencer, Southern
Railroad's first president, by Lincoln Memorial sculptor
Daniel French. Portions of the 33-foot tall facade of Atlanta's
Carnegie Library, which had been stored in a pasture at
Atlanta's Prison Farm since the building was demolished in
1977, will be reassembled to create a pavilion at the south­ern
end of the park. The park will be regraded so that the
central plaza, containing seating and a food kiosk, is elevat­ed
and visible from the street in an effort to make users feel
safer. The project, which will cost approximately $1 million,
should be finished in time for the Summer Olympics.
Another sign of the preparation for the upcoming
Olympic games is the renovation of Lenox Square Mall in
Atlanta. Birmingham-based landscape architecture firm
Grover & Harrison PC recently completed the interior and
exterior landscaping for the $50 million expansion and ren­ovation
of the mall. The expansion adds a 170,000 square­foot
second level and 50-60 new stores. Grover & Harrison
redesigned the front entrance of the mall, adding a series of
flags commemorating the countries that have hosted past
Summer Olympic Games.
The interior landscaping's most outstanding features
are the large-scale, European-style topiaries in the shapes of
birds, globes and umbrellas. Topiary is the art of shaping
plants to create living sculpture and dates back to the early
Roman Empire. The topiaries, created by the same artist
who makes the animal topiaries at Disneyland in California,
were intended to complement the European theme in the
design for the renovation of the mall. The interior landscap­ing
also incorporates black olive trees, weeping ficus trees,
California kentia palms and decorative urns filled with large
flowering plants to create the feeling of an outdoor plaza.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Southern Progress Corp. has
contracted with KPS Group Inc. of
Birmingham, to provide interior design
for a new office building to house its
h h : < h support company Media Services.
• h • h • h • h Based in Birmingham, Southern
Progress is the largest regional publishing company in the
nation, known for such magazines as Southern Living,
Cooking Light, Southern Accents and Progressive Farmer
Hardy Ivy Park, Atlanta
Lenox Square Mall, Atlanta
Southern Progress Media Services, Birmingham
and for its book publishing company, Oxmoor House. Media
Services processes all magazine and book subscriptions
and sales and provides computer and training support, cus­tomer
service and record processing.
The building is intended to be highly functional and
flexible. However, it was important to Southern Progress
management that the new offices echo the look and charac­ter
of their award-winning headquarters, but with more
attention to maintenance, use and cost issues.
The tone of the interior of the building is transitional
and corporate with great emphasis on expressing the prima­ry
exterior architectural features within. The best example is
the main conference room found on the second floor. Its 24-
foot barrel-vaulted ceiling and square window pattern direct­ly
reflect the design of the building's entry, the exterior's
most outstanding feature. The interior arrangement is flexi­ble
for multiple uses with modular tables.
Included is a "natural light" photo studio, which incor­porates
two working kitchens to provide a unique setting in
which to photograph the magazines' cooking sections.
The facility, which encompasses approximately 52,000
square feet, is being constructed in the Oxmoor Valley area of
Birmingham and should be complete in September 1995.
Architectural services also were provided by KPS Group Inc.
URBAN DESIGN"
Fourteen students and two faculty
members in Tuskegee University's
Department of Architecture recently
completed a Proposed Revitalization
Plan for the City of Thomasville. The
Thomasville Chamber of Commerce
requested the study in response to rapid development of the
city's perimeter area and intense citizen interest in restoring
downtown businesses. In the absence of any plans of the
study area, extensive measurements and photographs were
taken to document existing buildings and facilities. Additional
site visits and interviews with downtown business owners and
civic leaders also provided valuable information for concept
development.
The study resulted in a proposal that identifies various
options for physical reVitalization, as well as recommenda­tions
for revised vehicular and pedestrian circulation, mar­keting
strategies for locai businesses, more effective sig­nage,
landscaping, storm water control, lighting and handi­capped
accessibility. The proposals were developed as a
general guide for the preservation and revitalization, as well
as for the future growth of Thomasville's downtown area.
Wetumpka has the distinction of holding the first
future land-use charrette in Alabama. No other Alabama
community has brought its townspeople together to prepare,
in one day, a map showing how and where they want their
community to improve and develop over the coming years.
The citizens of Wetumpka, working with the Central
Alabama Regional Planning and Development
Commission (CARPDC), had not been able to agree on a
future land use plan using conventional methods. Tracy
Pippin, senior planner with the CARPDC, suggested the
idea of a charrette similar to the charrettes organized by
DesignAlabama's Alabama Community Design Program
Darrell Meyer
(ACDP). All parties involved
agreed and asked Darrell
Meyer, AICP, Alumni
Professor of Architecture and
chair of Auburn's graduate
program in community plan­ning,
to facilitate the
Wetumpka
5 Volume VI, No. II
Future Land Use Map of Wetumpka.
charrette. Meyer played a key role in the development of the
ACDP's charrette program and has been an active participant
in past charrettes.
Charles Muncaster
Assisting Meyer on
the project were Charles
Muncaster, an architect
and planner from Mobile;
Scott Finn, chair of
Auburn's architecture pro­gram;
and Patrick Sipple,
graduate student in planning
at Auburn. They asked ques­tions
and compiled and
interpreted information from
mission statements submit­ted
by some 75 people who
attended the day-long event
held at the Fain Center in
Wetumpka on January 13,
J 1996.
j The result was a
Scod Finn computer-generated future
land use map that can help
guide growth and development in Wetumpka.
Phenix City is another city gearing up for the 1996
Olympic Games. The women's fast-pitch softball events will
be held just across the Chattahoochee River in Columbus,
Ga., and Phenix City hopes to capitalize on the $25.7 mil­lion
a day expected to flow through the area during the
games. In addition to city-wide beautification projects,
Phenix City has begun construction of a 1,500-seat
amphitheater and four miles of walking and bicycling
trails to be located along the river. The river-front project is
intended to complement similar projects planned for the
other side of the river in Columbus. The project is funded in
part by a $2.9 million grant from the Alabama Department of
Transportation and $850,000 in private donations.
Architects for the project are Hecht. Burdeshaw,
Johnson, Kidd & Clark of Columbus, Ga.; landscape archi­tects
are Gullatte & Associates of Phenix City; and engi­neers
are Allen-Simpson Inc. also of Phenix City.
The positive effects of this project are already being
felt in Phenix City, increasing the momentum of a local
industrial recruitment program. According to Mayor Sonny
Coulter, the river walk project was one reason that Mead
Coated Board recently decided to move its headquarters to
Phenix City from Atlanta. In fact. Mead's new $6 million
office building will be located adjacent to the amphitheater
and river walk. Several other businesses have also
expressed interest in locating along the river front. Phenix
City residents and public officials hope that the benefits of
the project will be felt long after the Olympics.
DesignAlabama 6
Polaroid Graphics
Coming Home Aubuml
Coming Home Auburn!
Phenix City Amphitheater
.' 1:. ~•.""-'~ ' 0 ....
-~ ...
"~).
Polaroid Graphics Imaging
has awarded a design and production
contract to SCI Systems Inc. headquar­tered
in Huntsville, for a high resolution
color printer used in proofing printed
• material on conventional printing stock.
The high resolution printer uses up to eight colors and multi­density
inks to accurately evaluate subtle color graduations
before going to press. Introduced at Europe's DRUPA95, the
printer/stand enclosure design is by industrial designer
Thomas Deloach, IDSA, of Meridianville, Ala. Mechanical
design and production of the printer is by SCI Mechanical
Products Division, Laceys Spring, Ala.
GRAPHIC DESIGN,
Graphic designer and University
of Alabama graduate, Bruce Dupree
has recently published two children's
books that document the fun and
excitement of a young fan's first col­lege
football game, "Coming Home
Auburn!" and "Coming Home Alabama!."
In the spring of 1994, Dupree began writing, researching
and collecting "scrap" for the two books. "I probably looked
pretty strange showing up to ballgames with a sketchbook
and a camera," he says, "and after the game was over with,
picking up used cups, press passes, tickets, leaves, pro­grams,
anything that would authenticate the story."
Dupree then decided to publish the books himself and
founded his own publishing company, Red Rover Books. In
designing the books, he organized the text and the more
than 80 drawings on computer. In the summer of 1995, the
books were sent to Commercial Printing in Birmingham for
publication. Distributed by Seacoast Publishing, the books
are available at major bookstore chains, sporting goods
stores and other retail shops. The process of writing, illus­trating,
designing, publishing and promoting two children's
books has certainly been a learning experience for Dupree.
He says, "the entire process has been like a terrific continu­ous
journey with one adventure after another."
FASHION DESIGN
The Textile and Apparel Regional
Electronic Sourcing System (TARESS),
featured in our Spring/Summer 1995
issue, now is available on the Internet.
The database, which links textile and
apparel manufacturers with buyers, was created under the
research umbrella afforded by the National Textile Center­a
consortium composed of Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech,
and North Carolina State universities. lenda Jo Anderson,
an associate professor in Auburn's Department of Consumer
Affairs, was instrumental in organizing the project. TARESS,
now known as the National Sourcing Database, is part
of the Demand Activated Manufacturing project and is admin­istered
by the Clothing and Textile Technology Corp in
Raleigh, N. C. It can be accessed through the Internet address:
http://avalon.epm.ornl.gov:80/Dama2/.
• • • e lSI In
The Alabama Community Design Program
(ACDP) is one of DesignAlabama's most highly regarded pro­grams.
It has been recognized for its effectiveness by the
American Institute of Architects, the National Endowment for
the Arts, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the
Corporate Design Foundation, among others; and it has been
the subject of articles in several publications, including one in
an upcoming issue of the Design Management Journal.
But, as with anything good, it can be improved. The
DesignAlabama board and staff are currently assessing the
program in order to understand how it can be made more
efficient and effective.
The ACDP program is premised on the principle of
broad-based citizen involvement in decision-making about
community appearance and the design factors which affect it.
Each locally initiated ACDP effort allows citizens to understand
the physical character of their community and the trends which
affect it both positively and negatively. This raised collective
consciousness forms the basis for defining specific policy,
planning and design initiatives to improve the community.
The current program first involves a series of activities
to lay the necessary groundwork in each community; the
ACDP then provides a charrette site team composed of volun­teer
professionals from a variety of design disciplines. The
ACDP site team participates with community leaders and resi­dents
to understand the physical attributes of their community,
define problems and opportunities, and develop appropriate
policy, planning and design recommendations.
Since 1989, the ACDP has conducted intensive one- to
five-day design charrettes in five Alabama communities­Clanton
(1989), Florence (1991), Andalusia (1992), Hartselle
(1995) and Scottsboro (1995). The ACDP charrette has been
the forerunner of specific design and public improvement ini­tiatives
in these communities-Florence has instituted a suc­cessful
Main Street program and done extensive streetscape
improvements in the downtown; landscape improvements
by Franklin Setzer
ACDP program has served fewer communities than we would
like. Many municipalities have expressed interest, but the
program can serve only one community per year on average
with currently available resources. Further, the intensive, but
one-time-only, nature of past design charrettes is not as
effective as desired. More front-end work prior to the char­rette
team visits and more post-charrette follow-up activities
such as technical advice, grant-writing assistance and advo��cacy
with potential funding sources will increase the likeli­hood
that specific improvement projects will be implemented.
In response to these issues, the ACDP is in the process
of being reinvented in a form that will maintain its strong points
while improving what needs to be improved. Four types of
changes currently are being formulated:
PARTNERSHIPS AND PARTICIPATION:
Increased ACDP effectiveness will require partnerships
with other organizations which share our commitment to
responsive, community-based design. The partnership with the
Auburn Center will provide greater access to both talent and
technical resources. A cooperative agreement involving each of
the 12 regional planning commissions in the state also has
been put in place. Further, we intend to negotiate mutually ben­eficial
agreements with organizations such as the Alabama
Planning Institute, as well as state agencies, to accomplish
mutual goals in community design and improvement.
The ACDP also will drop its requirement that design
professionals participating in site teams not seek work in the
community for one year following the charrette to broaden the
base of professional talent available to the program.
REVISED OPERATING FORMAT:
Revisions to the ACDP operating format will include
three major components. First, a Three- Year ACDP Operations
Plan will be developed, including yearly goals and objectives,
as well as funding needs and strategies to provide a sound
basis for planning and coordinating activities.
Second, a shift will occur from the single charrette team
have been made to the interstate highway interchanges from 1- site visit to a series of two, three or four visits that take place
65 that serve Clanton; Andalusia is currently implementing an
improvement plan for its courthouse square; and Hartselle
recently received a state grant to fund design services for a
over time in each ACDP community. In this new concept, each
visit will be shorter and more focused on specifically defined
issues than is possible with the single team visit. ACDP activi-downtown
improvement plan. All are either directly or indirect- ties will start with a citizen education program focused on the
Iya result of ACDP involvement. importance of design to the local community; then move to a
With these successes come some concerns as well. The description and assessment of the community's physical envi-ronment
as a basis for establishing community consensus
regarding problems and opportunities. Policies, as well as
strategies for planning and implementation, then will be
addressed. Finally, the details of implementing design propos­als
will be fleshed out, and the ACDP will provide staff follow­up
to assist in securing additional design services, funding
and other technical advice.
Third, an initiative to integrate available technologies
into the program-with emphasis on computer-based imag­ing
and data management-should improve work quality,
efficiency and make the monitoring of implementation efforts
more manageable.
FINANCIAL PLANNING:
In the current environment of reduced public funding,
the ACDP (like all DesignAlabama programs) is being
examined from a fiscal standpOint. The revised operating for­mat
will certainly have cost implications which must be iden­tified
and addressed. The funding needs currently anticipated
will require the creation of a predictable funding base.
Corporate sponsorships will likely be one component of a
comprehensive funding strategy
PUBUC EDUCATION ABOUT THE ISSUES:
Finally, DesignAlabama intends to place even more
emphasis on public education about community design with
the publication of a Community Design Handbook. The book
will serve as a citizen's primer about community design and its
importance to economic development and quality-of-life
issues in the local community and will provide information
about the program, including the steps required to become an
ACDP community.
• • •
The AGDP program assessment is still ongoing. We Vlelcome any sug-gestions
you might have on ways the AGDP can beffer serve Alabama com-munities.
Please contact DesignAlabama with your ideas by fax at (205) 323-
8385 or mail at 204 North 20th St., Ste. 201, Birmingham, AL 35203.
•••
Franklin Seizer is an associate professor of architecture and director of
the Center for Architecture and Urban Studies for Auburn University. He is
also the new executive director for DesignAlabarna.
7 Volume VI, No. II
Historical~Perspectives
ee
~'Re· · e Fire"
DesignAlabama 8
by Kathy Hamrick
~ family of people flomished
here,inour hbmeland long before
imdl()nger thanou.r nation has
be,en. Highly.~ivilized and gifted,
the Creek Indian culture lost its
identity and heritage under the
advancing AmeriCan dream. The
"flame" of Indian life was Virtually
snuffed out.
The Chattahoochee Indian
Heritage Center at Fort Mitchell is a
gesture to rekindle the fire of the
Creek Indian culture, whose people
were harshly treated and long
ignored in history. A collaboration
of architectme, landscape deSign,
fine art and graphiC design, the
Center is designed to celebrate the
cultme and accomplishments of the
Creek Indians who indwelt the
Chattahoochee River Valley until
their removal.
By incorporating native
American symbolism and contempo­rary
deSign, the Center will be a tan­gible
representation of reconciliation
with people who once believed
themselves bitter enemies but are
now people of "kindred fire."
The Indian Heritage Center, to
be constructed within Ft. Mitchell
County Park, will tell the story of
the early inhabitants of the Valley
through its 26-acre environmental
setting incorporating words and
symbols, a monument, plaza,
amphitheater, trails and ball field.
This "museum without walls" seeks
to remove participants from the
contemporary American landscape
and envelop them in the realm of
Creek Indian cultme and the time
before. Guests not only see but
also feel, experience and, hopeful­ly,
identify with the Creek Indian
in his world. The Center functions
to educate intellectually, aestheti­cally
and spiritually.
Visitors will enter a Pilthway
that winds 250 feet through a
wooded section reminiscent of the
woodland origins of the Creeks.
Participants are introduced to the
cultme and contributions of the
Indians by a series of bronze
plaques describing their lifestyle as
hunters, gatherers, craftsmen and
as people of dignity and sensitivity.
Participants will emerge at the
summit of an earthen platform
onto a plaza patterned after the
square ground, a meeting place
where all-important events of his­tory
and faith were consummated.
The plaza is to be iniaid with con­crete
pavers of black, red and buff
in the design pattern of the Stomp
Dance, critical toc the annual Green
Com Ceremony. These colors reflect
the Creek culture and are found
consistently on Creek artifacts.
Four curved concrete "arbors"
seating 30 people each, will deck
the plaza at the cardinal directions
after the architectural arrangement
of the Creek village in a square.
Disks of white, blue, black and red,
positioned on the backs of the
arbors, symbolize birth, youth,
death and warriors, respectively.
The sacred fire sculpture
emanates from the plaza center.
Stainless steel and bronze construc­tions
intertwine at the base in a spi­ral,
open skyward and taper to a
20-foot flame weighing 10,000
pounds. The two flames symbolize
the Indian village distinctions of red
(war and politics) and white (peace
and religion) that, united, formed
the Creek Nation.
The sacred fire was the center
of all life among the Creeks. The sun
was the face of their supreme god
and fIre was a small bit of that deity
on earth. The sun and the fIre pro-
)
- j s ;
Left: Brick pattern for the plaza is laid in the
design 01 the Stomp Dance.
Right: Four concrete arbors lace the sacred lire
sculpture that blazes in the center 01 the plaza.
Inset: The site plan shows the picnic and parking
areas to the left, the plaza in the center and the
450·foot·long ball field on the right.
vided light, warmth, sustenance .. .life.
The flame represented purification
and new life, as all flres were rekin­dled
from the sacred fire. The sacred
fire sculpture has historical authentici­ty
while expressing aesthetic values
from the past for today's and tomor­row's
generations, uniting all as
American people "of the same fire."
Four horizontal pillars of
Dakota mahogany granite, placed
around the sacred fire and pointing
to the cardinal directions, represent
the four logs of the sacred fire.
Upon each inner end of the granite
logs rest four pillars of yellow
Brazilian granite, forming a square
around the flre. These represent the
ears of corn placed upon the logs.
A 25-foot pole standing west of
the plaza exemplilles the effigy pole
of the Creek ball field, the Creek ide­ology
concerning the movement of
life toward the setting sun, and ulti­mately
their removal to the West.
Large bronze plaques will be
set in the ground around the plaza.
These will list 3,500 names of the
Indian household heads of families
living in the Chattahoochee Valley
before removal in 1833.
11lis plaza "square" will serve as
an educational site for symposiums,
plays, cultural reenacttnents, dances
and other programs provided through
the Indian Studies Consortium.
Sixty feet further to the south,
visitors stand on the brink of the
amphitheater which steps down 35
feet vertically and 200 feet horizon­tally
to a great ball playing field,
where spectacular Indian ball
games will be held. An unbroken
vista over boundless greenlands,
the love and lifeblood of the Creek
Indian, unfolds to the horizon.
An interpretative nature trail
enwraps the entire Center with plant����ings
of herbs and vegetation used by
the Creeks for food, medicine and
ceremony. Another trail will lead
three-quarters of a mile to the Chatta­hoochee
River. Extensive tree, shrub
and vegetation plantings will restore
the site to period forest conditions.
The Center's parking area,
plaza and sculpture will be lighted
for night use, and power will be
available for special events. A pic­nic
area will be located below the
parking lot. The site will be handi­capped
accessible.
The Fort Mitchell location in
Russell County is steeped in Indian
frontier history. The largest concen­trations
of Creeks were here in the
lower Chattahoochee River Valley,
and the fort was an origin for the
Creek Indian Trail of Tears.
The Chattahoochee Indian
Heritage Center, proposed by the
Chattahoochee Indian Heritage
Association and the Historic
Chattahoochee Commission, was
implemented as a design competi­tion.
The Jaxon Co. Inc. with a
design team consisting of Jay Jaxon,
account executive, Kathy Hamrick,
art director, and Mike Hamrick,
architect, were selected for their
design package. Barrett and
McPherson provided civil engineer­ing
services, and Larry Godwin pro­vided
technical assistance and
sculpture fabrication services.
The first phase of ball field
construction, amphitheater construc­tion,
culverts and site grading has
been completed with the assistance
of the US. Army engineers from Ft.
Benning. The bid for the second
phase of plaza construction, parking
lot and roadway construction, elec­trical
service and lighting, water ser­vice,
stonework and walkways was
awarded to Cline Construction Co.
of Columbus and will be completed
in July of 1996, in time for the
Summer Olympics. Assistance is
being provided at the second phase
by the Russell County Commission.
Fundraising for future phases of
construction to include the sacred
fire sculpture, interpretive trails,
additional signage and improve­ments
is ongoing. Tax-deductible
contributions may be mailed to: The
Chattahoochee Indian Heritage
----
Center, P.O. Box 33, Eufaula, AL
36072-0033. For more information
contact Doug Purcell, executive
director of the Historic
Chattahoochee Commission,
(334) 687-9755. ~
Kathy Hamrick, in with'conjunction:
with her husband, Mike, an architect, and
jay jaxon, president of jaxon Co .• has pro-duced
sculpture for a number of jimts and
organizations from throughout the SoUtheast
including BellSouth, ColeriianCo.'(AsSOCiated
Press, Rock Tenn, Montgotniny Bilst1iess
Council for the Arts and Charbroil. She is a
freelance art director and nwther of six.
9 Volume VI, No. II
Designer~Profi Ie
DeslgnAlabama is proud to announce
the addition of a new department
to our journal. The Designer Profile
is our way of introducing our readers
to innovative and noteworthy designers
across the state .
•
Rebecca Hatcher
'1 reached a )JI)int ldwre
I needed i(; gicl! f)(!d~
to the C(mnnuJlfzv
much to /lie."
The owners 01 the new Hot & Hot Fish Club,
located on Birmingham's Southside,
asked Hatcher to help create a unique,
hand·crafted look lor the interior olthe
restaurantto complement their unique
and creative approach to lood. The use 01
custom·designed chairs, tables, bars
and chandeliers crafted by local artisans
gives this restaurant its
one·ol·a·kind look.
Laura Quenelle serves as the adminis·
trative director of DesignAlabama.
She holtis a B.F A. in Historic
Presemation from the Savannah
College of Art & Design.
DesignAlabama 10
Interior Designer
by Laura Queneile
Interior designer Rebecca
Hatcher has demonstrated both exem·
plary talent in the field of interior
design and a substantial commitment
to the community. She is an outstand·
ing designer and an outstanding citi·
zen as welL
Hatcher founded the interior
design firm, Hatcher Design Associates
as a one·person firm in 1979. The
business now employs nine full·time
designers, assisted by a three-person
support staff.
The firm's success is well docu­mented.
Hatcher Design specializes in
interior design for medical facilities.
Hatcher prefers these projects because
of the creative challenges posed by
heavy use of the facilities and the limi­tations
imposed by standardized mate­rials
such projects require. The firm
also has worked with many local com­mercial
clients, but roughly 50 percent
of its clientele are associated with hos­pitals
or other medical facilities.
Hatcher's list of professional affil­iations
is long and varied. She was
past secretary of the American Society
of Interior DeSigners and past treasurer
of the Institute of Business DeSigners.
She serves on the Vestavia Hills
Landscape and Architecture Review
Committee board and is a member of
the state Chapter of the Newcomen
Society, a national organization that
honors outstanding entrepreneurs.
Hatcher also is velY involved
with her alma mater, Auburn
University. She currently serves as the
chair of the adviSOry board for
Auburn's Interior Design Program and
as a member of the campus-wide
Research Advisory Council, which
reviews and approves the university's
research projects.
Hatcher'S involvement with civic
and charitable organizations is equally
as extensive. However, she insists that
she has not always been so involved,
noting, "I reached a point where I
needed to give back to the community
that had given so much to me." That
realization has led her to involvement
in a wide variety of activities.
Since 1993, Hatcher has been a
member of Leadership Birmingham,
an organization that proffers educa­tional
programs on a variety of issues
for a membership comprised of busi­ness,
community and religiOUS leaders
in the Birmingham area. Leadership
Birmingham provides its members a
chance to learn from and interact
with leaders from all walks of society,
and Hatcher feels that she has bene­fited
greatly from her involvement in
the group.
Hatcher also is active with Girls
Inc. of Central Alabama, a non-profit
group which seeks to build girls'
capacity for responsible and confident
adulthood, economic independence
and personal fultlllment through edu­cational
and training programs at three
centers in the Birmingham area and an
outreach program. Hatcher not only
selves on the group's board of direc­tors
and donates her time to the
group's programs, but also has COn­tributed
in-kind design services to the
organization, as well as to other
groups like the Ronald McDonald
House and A Baby's Place, a home for
babies born with the AIDS virus.
Hatcher served on the 1994-95
board of directors for the Kiwanis Club
of Birmingham and currently serves on
the YMCA Metropolitan board of direc­tors.
She also works with the United
Way of Central Alabama, helping them
to determine the eligibility of organiza­tions
they SUPPOlt.
Involved with several local
women's groups, Hatcher participates
in The Women's Network, The
Women's Forum and The Breakfast
Club, all groups that provide forums
Dne 01 Hatcher's most recent clients,
Biohorizons is a young biomedical engineering
lirm based in Birmingham. The interior 01 their
oftice building needed to convey the relaxed,
Iriendly personalily 01 the company and still
speak to the highly technical aspect olthe
products they create. Hatcher's use 01 bright
finishes, natural woods and comlortable lur·
nishings serves to create an atmosphere that
is warm, casual and professional.
for discussion and interaction among
professional women in the
Birmingham area.
Hatcher and her husband, archl­tect
Everett Hatcher, moved to the
Binningham area in the mid-70s. They
currendy reside in the Vesta,ia Hills
community with their three children,
ages six, 12 and 15.
Hatcher identifies herself as a big
basketball fan. She played on her high
school team and played forward for the
Auburn Lady Tigers basketball team in
college. Today she enjoys coaching and
helping wid1 her children's teams.
Born in a small town in south
Georgia, Hatcher depiCts her family life
as very strong and credits her parents
for instilling her with a strong work
ethic. Her father was a doctor, and her
mother, an early x-ray technician, was
highly active in their community.
Hatcher acknowledges that these early
influences also might have inspired her
own efforts to"help improve the lives
of individuals and the community as a
whole and to make Birmingham a bet­ter
place to live."
Whatever the motivation, Rebecca
Hatcher srunes as a deSigner who real­izes
the importance of suppotting the
community. May her example inspire
others in the design fields to excel as
designers and as active and productive
members of society. '"
A 25-Year Campaign To Make Streets Better for People
As part of an urban design initiative to create a
new mixed-use neighborhood in Midtown between
downtown and the UAR campns, the City of
Birmingham is installing phased streets cape
improvements like these bordering Southside
Station apartments and a new city parking deck
The aggregate concrete light post matches those
installed on the UAR campus_ Landscape arcbi­tects:
Grover & Harrison
DesignAlabama 12
.~
~
E
Birmingham Green, completed in 1973, was the
city's first effort (within memory) to introduce
pedestrian amenities along a public street.
Extendingfrom the railroad overpass north seven
blocks to what was then called Woodrow Wilson
(now Linn) Park, the brick sidewalks, benches,
lighting, trees and ornamental plantings were an
immediate success. Though it did not save down­town
retail as hoped, the project turned the street
into a place, created a climate for investment in
major new office buildings and set the city on a
course it continues to this day.
Birmingham Green was a public/private
joint venture with property owners paying
a portion of the cost, but the City of
Binningham went on to establish public
streetscape improvements as an essential function
of civic government. In 1989, when the
Birmingham Historical Society published
"Designs on Birmingham," a sUlVey of landscape
history, it noted that the City of Birmingham had
completed 46 such projects from Birmingham
Green to the present at a total investment of
$28.6 million. Since then, the work has continued
with such major projects as the Cultural District
landscaping along Eighth Avenue North and 1-
20/59, the Civil Rights District, Five Points West
and the extension of Birmingham Green south to
Five Points South. Funding has come from vari­ous
sources including city bond issues, federal
revenue sharing and street warrant funds (the
pOltion of state fuel taxes returned to the city
and earmarked for street improvements).
If this sounds like a lot of money, keep
in mind the years over which the work has been
programmed. Assume the total today reaches
parts add up to something greater. Consider a
north-to-south tour starting at Birmingham­Jefferson
Civic Center, along the Commemorative
Garden Waik, through Linn Park, down
Birmingham Green (updated in the early '90s),
then along Birmingham Green recently extended
south through Midtown, past DAB to Five Points
South, then along Highland Avenue. Every step
of the way (or block driven) has been trans­formed
by public streetscape.
Vutually all projects have been designed
under contract to Birmingham landscape archi­tecture
firms, with selected others executed by
archltects. At the same time, the city's aggressive
urban design initiative has assured a certain level
of compatibility and fit with larger plans. (Note:
the unfortunate suburban-style design for 19th
Street and adjoining avenues deSigned by archi­tect
Pedro Costa preceeded the establishment of
the Urban Design Department).
il: $50 million. Averaged over 25 years that amounts
Affected citizens' participation in project
designs also has been assured through the use of
the city's active neighborhood organizations,
Commercial Revitalization District representatives
and various committees of Operation New
Birmingham (ONE) involved in city center issues.
>-
~ to $2 million per year, a reasonable amount in a
o
If city this size. What has made public streetscape
so transforming of Birmingham's urban core and
many neighborhoods is that Birmingham did not
stop with a few token projects, but developed it,
step-by-step, into a comprehensive program
linked to commercial and neighborhood revital­ization
efforts.
These projects enhance the urban experi­ence
for both people on foot and in cars.
Though implemented in dozens of phases, the
The first head of urban design, Michael
Dobbins, FAlA, did discover that even land­scape
architects, whom he expected to be sen­sitive
to the larger urban environment, often
had to be coaxed to see beyond the limits of a
specific project. "We have had to remain
proactive in making sure that continuity is
there," says his successor, MIT-educated archi­tect
William Gilchrist, director of planning and
engineering for the City of Birmingham.
The extension of Birmingham Green South along 20th installed street light standards based on the classical col-
Street creates a continuous pedestrianj'riendly spiue umn produce a strong civic character. Gresham, Smith &
from Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center to Five Points Partuers were landscape architects on the lO-block-long
South. Along with patterued sidewalks, street trees, project and Nimrod Long & Associates for this segment
benches, bus shelters and trash receptacles, the uewly- adjoining the Kirklin Clinic.
There have been many interesting paver band wbicb is usually repeated for corner
lessons learned and standards set over the years. bulb-outs or special empbasis zones. Ibis
Some examples; approacb assures a degree of continuity Fom
• A dominant canopy tree is repeated tbe place to place but allows for distinctive variation.
lengtb of a street and spaced closely enougb (usu- -Selection of ligbt standards can bave a
ally 25-35feet on center) to produce tbe desired powelful impact on tbe arcbitecture of tbe street.
unifying arcbitectural effect. In some instances, A traditional metal standard based on tbe classi-smaller
trees or treejorm bollies are used for por­tions
of a street witb wires ouerbead. To avoid pos­sible
loss of all tree cover to a bligbt, tbe dominant
tree will be varied by street. Ibis also brings dis­tinction
to a street, like Second Avenue NOl1b lined
tuitb ginko trees. It lDa'! iVimrod Long's J1u')ter
street tree planfor downtown (implementation
begun in 1984) tbat set tbis pattern.
cal column but witb an arched pendant arm
used along Birmingham streets tbrougb the
1950s bas been designated for use along
Bim/ingbam Green Soutb, Cicic Center
Boulevard tbrougb tbe expanded Birmingbam­Jefferson
Cicic Center (B.!CC) and otber city cen­ter
streets. Repeated at closer distance than usual
today, tbese bl£lckjinisbed columns bridge
between pedestrian and automobile scale and
establisb ciuic presence. Similar!)', tbe smaller
globe-toppedflXture used in Linn Park was car­ried
under tbe elevated 1-20/59 expressway along
21st Street Nortb as pal1 of a streetscape project to
.~ link the BJCC to tbe expanded Birmingbam
g" Museum ofA lt and destinations beyond. The fix;-
:c
~ tures boost ligbt lece1s but, just as i1l1p01tant!y,
~ bring buman scale to an otbem,i,e bostile setting.
~
0. oMore recent r"lfinements initiated by tbe
·Sidewalk improvements may vmyfrom
street-to-street or by district, but standardfeatures
baue been incOlporated ouer tbe yea/so
Birmigba/11 Green sidewalks were brickedfrom
curb to building line witb plamers buffering trat-
Though design Of specifiC sidewalk segmenIs
may be tailored to setting, the City of
mayor's office and tbe planning department
include two kinds of grapbics.· wayfinding and
fie. Tock!.y, most new sidewalk, consist Cif a contin- Birmingham's urban design staff over the years
uous paced surface (usually scored concrete) beld estabUshed two basic treatments for urban side­about
24 incbes off tbe curb. I1?e space between walks. Where there is curbside parking (left), the
walk and curb gets concrete pacers on compacted strip between the concrete sidewalk and curb is
gravel 01; if tbere is no curbSide parking, grass. In fitted with removable pavers aUowing flexibility
this strip go street trees, signs, parking meters and in placement of trees, parking meters and signs.
other objects. Cbanges here are faCilitated, and Where there is 1W parking, a grass strip fills the
tbe sidewalk gains color and/or texture from tbe edge. Trees here are zelkovas.
place-marking. First pbases of tbe wayfinding sys­tem
include strategically-placed kiosks witb maps
indicating major destinations and signs to public
parking facilities. The district, or place-marking,
grapbics attacbed to existing poles at intersections
now include tbe FOUl1b Avenue N011b District,
tbe Cultural DL,trict and tbe Loft District.
13 Volume VI, No. II
Light standards are often fitted with graphics To create human scale on 21st Street North Streetscape was coupled with an urban design
demarcating various districts or, as here in extending under the elevated 1-20/59, the plan for the Birmingham Civil Rights District.
the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center area, pedestrian-scale light fixtures and railings Grover & Harrison picked up brick colors
prOViding way;/inding information. were included in a streetscape renovation from the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist
designed by KPS Group. Increased light level Church (background) and new Civil Rights
greatly enhances the passage, but the fixtures Institute for paving patterns.
themselves are the key factor.
The City of Birmingham's experience says Virginia Williams, chief assistant to Mayor
with making streets inviting to people has proved Richard Arrington Jr. "The FOUlth Avenue NOlth
satisfying both to those adminstering the program group has put their logo on everything they do."
and those benefiting. "It is interesting to me how Looking back over the program as part of a larg-really
proud people are of their district signs," er urban design initiative, she adds, "We have
UAB Gets With It
One of the dynamic aspects of Birmingham's city center is the University of Alabama at
Birmingham (UAB) campus, happily not located out on the urban fringe like so-called urban
campuses at University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Auburn University at Montgomery
Since the early 1980s, UAB has made the most of this with a sophisticated campus planning
process. Attention to the character of streets, sidewalks and open spaces has come only in the
past five years, but changes for the better have been dramatic.
Sidewalks in the UAB Medical Center blocks, the tenniS courts. Landscaped gateways also have been placed
most densely developed part of the campus, were the first to at key approaches to the campus. And, in a dramatic trans-be
upgraded with brick headers, edging and corner landings. formation, the parking lot that once demeaned historic
Benches, pedestrian-scaled light fixtures and excellent direc- Hillman Hospital on 20ih Street, where the medical center
tional graphics have humanized this zone. University
Boulevard, a four-lane divided arterial extending east-west
through the gO-plus-block campus, has been comprehen­Sively
treated with sidewalks, trees, light fixtures, parking lot
screening and median planting. At University and 18th
Street, a small but urbane park occupies a site that once held
a.slgnAlabama 14
began, is now a beautiful green square.
The City of Birmingham has contributed finan­Cially
to certain of these projects. Between them, UAB and
the city have forged a palpable bond with attractive side­walks
and public spaces. At.
conSistently tried to tie things together, and the
streetscape, lighting and graphics have been
effeaive tools. It's when you look at blocks we
haven't gotten to yet that you realize the transfor­mation.
In 20 years it's just a different place." At.
Within the past six years, UAB has devoted great attention
to streetscape and landscape improvements. Here the
gateway to the medical center on 19th Street has been
defined with gateway treatment that includes benches
much used by visitors and staff during lunch breaks.
A formerly undistinguished University Boulevard through
" the UAB campus has been transformed with a compre­"
E
ji hensive streets cape landscape plan prepared by
g & Gresham, Smith & Partners. In addition to new sidewalks,
£; trees and pedestrian-scale light standards, parking lots t*f. have been effectively screened and softened.
The city of Andalusia, founded in 1843 as the new county seat for Covington County, was once a thriv­ing
commercial center. In the ear61 twentieth century the community boomed as two major railroads
extended lines to the city to service the county's thriving lumber industry
Like thousands of other cities in America,
Andalusia began to decline after World War II.
Officials responded to this decline in a number
of ways. In 1946, a new street was cut through
the heart of its old courthouse square and new
parking installed on both sides. This action,
though well-intentioned, greatly diminished the
character of the downtown area. Changes in
retail practices and the development of outlying
strip shopping centers further eroded the down­town
retail core. Since the 1960s, several attempts
have been made to revitalize the dovmtown.
Most projects, however, were never funded or
involved only the renovation of a few histoIic
buildings.
In 1992, Andalusia was the subject of a
design chalTette organized by DesignAlabama's
Alabama Conm1unity Design Program (ACDP).
The team worked with tl1e city's public officials
and citizens to generate design proposals tl1at
addressed specific design problems faCing the
community.
Proposals generated by the team's widely
publicized visit served as an in1portant catalyst
for city action. In 1994, the City retained the
Binningham landscape architecture and planning
firm, Cecil Jones & Associates Inc., and the local
engineering finn, Carter, Darnell & Grubbs Inc.,
to prepare the Downtown Andalusia
Revitalization Pian. This study, together with an
area-wide transportation study prepared by Post,
Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan Inc., examined exist­ing
conditions, presented conceptual proposals
and recommendations for future development
and outlined an implementation strategy for
ad1ieving the proposed revitalization.
The study reiterated the ACDP's recom­mendation
that restoration of Andalusia's court­house
square would anchor the revitalization of
downtown and create an attractive focal point for
the city. The plan also offered strategies for pre­serving
historic resources; providing additional
John Tisdale, chairman of Andalusia's Downtown
Redevelopment Authority (left) with Dale Fritz, landscape
architect with Cecil Jones & Associates of Birmingham·
An overhead view before work began.
parking, in1proving pedestrian and vehicular cir­culation
and upgrading public infrastructure in a
105-acre area of the city center.
After review by the Downtown
Redevelopment Authority, city officials and citi­zens,
Andalusia was ready to move forward with
the first phase of the project-the counhouse
square. 111e City retained Caner, Darnell and
Grubbs Inc. to prepare the final plan with the
assistance of Cecil Jones & Associates Inc., led by
landscape architect Dale FIitz.
The plan for the square consists of a
nine-square gIid surrounded on all four sides by
public parking. The three sections on each side
of the grid are separated by sidewalks. The cor­ner
sections are anchored by raised planting
areas landscaped with overcup oaks. 111ese areas
are contained by brick seating walls, eliminating
the need for benches. 111e central sections of the
square spanning east to west contain open lawn
areas. This maintains the visual axis across the
square as it is approached on the main thorough­fare
which runs east to ,vest through the dmvn­town
area. Sidewalks and streets hordering the
square and those in the first block of sun'ounding
streets were replaced. Additional parking was
added, and wheelchair ramps and decorative
light fixtures installed.
The majority of funding for the 51.8 mil­lion
project was provided by the City of
Andalusia, with additional support from a variety
John Harris, of Masonry Specialty Co in Montgomery,
lays embossed bricks sold by the Downtown
Redevelopment Authority to raise money for the project.
A view of the square during construction.
of sources. The City received a S600,000 Federal
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG),
as well as a $20,000 Alabama Department of
Economic and Community Affairs planning grant
to fund the creation of the Downtown Andalusia
Revitalization Pian.
111e Downtown Redevelopment
AUu'1ority, incorporated at the reconm1endation
of the ACDP, provided 580,000 toward the cost
of brick pavers and seating walls in the square.
Chaired by John Tisdale, the Redevelopment
Authority played a key role in generating public
support and funding for the project It provided
a portion of the matching funds for the planning
grant and helped secure the CDBG, as well as a
$100,000 grant from the Alabama Department of
Transportation under the Intennodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) to fund
street and sidewalk improvemenls directiy south
of courthouse square along South Cotton Street.
According to the plan, full implementa­tion
will cost approximately 57 million. At pre­sent.
the City is in the process of securing fund­ing
for the remaining phases of tl1e plan.
At the time of printing, the courthouse
square was nearing completion. According to
Mayor Paul Armstrong, the benefits of the pro­ject
are already being felt with property values
and private investment in ti1e area on the rise.
"It's been tough," the mayor says, "but we can
see the light at the end of the tcmnel." ~
The final plan for the square shows the courthouse
directly to the north of the square At the center is the
nine-square grid with corner plantings.
15 Volume VI, No. II
The historic commercial district of Irondale, located only a few miles east of downtown Birmingham, was
once considered a "slum and blight area" by the Irondale City Council based on the poor condition of its
public improvements. It now has been given new life thanks to the interest generated by a successful
novel and movie and the efforts of the City of Irondale and the Jefferson County Office of Planning and
Community Development.
Fannie Flagg's book "Flied Green
Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" was set in
Irondale's old commercial district. The district lan­guished
until it became the subject of renewed
interest and tourist activity because of Flagg's
book and the subsequent, successful movie,
In 1993, under the leadership of Mayor
David Krider, the City of Irondale initiated the
Whistle Stop Revitalization Project in an effort to
clean up and beautify the downtown district. The
City enlisted the help of the Jefferson County
Planning Depanment in prepaling the Urban
Renewal and Redeue/opment Plan jar tbe Wbistle
Stop Study Area, which represents the first project
of this kind to be undertaken by the planning
department and can serve as a model for fi.lture
commercial revitalization activities of similar type.
Conditions in the area posed several chal­lenges.
Over the years) industrial activities had
sprung up which conflicted with the one-block
con1l11ercial district, depleting the area's aesthetic
quality. The pleasant, uniform architectural char­acrer
of the district had been lost as buildings
were "modernized." And, as in many small
towns, the focus of commercial activity had shift­ed
to "stlip development" along a large highway
nearby. The railroad that nms directly adjacent to
the historic district also posed a problem by mak­ing
access to the district difficult. Other specific
problems present in the area included a lack of
sufficient parking; cracked, uneven or nonexistent
sidewalks; poor lighting; an inadequate ston11
water drainage system; streets in need of resur­facing;
and the presence of two unsightly auto
repair and junkyard operations directly adjacent
to the commercial district.
Construction began in February 1995 and
was completed in June 1995. Improvements
include a new stom1 drainage systen1, resurfaced
roads, nevv sidewalks and crosswalks, decorative
street lighting, directional signage) street furniture,
Mayor David Krider on the donated caboose that houses
the Irondale Chamber of Commerce.
DesignAlabama 16
"Before" view of downtown Irondale.
landscaping and the constluction of a viewing
stand adjacent to the railroad track, modeled after
a typical train boarding platfonn. The City also
was able to acquire the two auto repair shops and
convert the sites to public parking lots.
As centerpiece of the project, the viewing
platform is located partially within the railroad
right-of-way, less than 15 feet from the tracks. It
allows visitors a close-up look at trains entering
and leaving Norfolk-Southern Railroad's Nonis
Train Yard nearby and serves as a safety buffer
keeping people away from the tracks. The tracks
are a major character-defining element in the
area. Rather than trying to hide the rails (an
impossible task), the approach was to embrace
them \vith a vie\,ving platfon11. According to
Mayor Klider, "the railroad tracks, and the fact
that Irondale was [clrmed as a 'whistle stop' com­munity,
were always a focal point of the idea."
Norfolk-Southern played a key role in
making the project a reality by allowing access to
the railroad right-of-way and by donating a train
caboose and flatcar to tl1e City. The caboose has
been refurbished to house the Irondale Chamber
of Commerce and the Whistle Stop Headquarters,
a promotion and tourist center. The flatcar is being
restored for use as a stage for future public events
like tl1e Annual \'V'histle Stop Festival held every
May and a recently initiated series of street dances
and social events to be held in the historic distlict.
Visitors view an oncoming train from the safety of the
viewing platform.
'After" view with platform on the right.
According to Philip Richardson, land­scape
architect With the Jefferson County
Planning Department, the redevelopment plan
"respects the commercial district for what it is
and does not attempt to remake it into some­thing
that has no historic precedent and would
not have the support of the city leaders and mer­chants
in the area."
General contracting services for the pro­ject
were provided by Milton Construction Co.
Inc. Paragon Engineering Inc. served as civil
engineers \'vith stnlCtural engineering sef"v'ices
provided by Christy-Cobb Engineering Inc.
Funding and in-kind services totaling lTIOre that
S225,000 were provided by the City of Irondale
for implementation of the project, in addition to
more than $400,000 in Federal Community
Development Block Grant fi.lnds administered by
the Community Development Department of the
Jefferson County Office of Planning and
Community Development.
The Planning Department also worked
vvith the City to develop a set of design gUide­lines
and sign regulations for the district \vhich
since have been adopted. Currently, the City is
working with building owners and merchants in
the area to implement a building facade
improvement program to complement the recent
streetscape project. According to Krider, "we're
on the right track in Irondale, and the beautifully
Detail of viewing platform from
the city side.
unique appearance
of our downtown
district demonstrates
that direction." •
Completed in fall 1988, the streetscape projects implemented in the city of Moundville serve
as an excellent example of a small town's successful effort to create "streets for people. JJ
Moundville, located about 15 miles south
of Tuscaloosa, is a rural farming community with
a population of less than 1,500. Its downtown had
fallen into decline over the years. Some older
'Before" view of downtown Moundville.
buildings had deteriorated and vacancy rates were
high. In 1986, the City of Moundville initiated the
Downtown Revitalization Pian in an effort to pre­vent
further decline and to create a downtown of
which its citizens could be proud.
After City Council approval of the revi­talization
plan, the City set out to secure a
$300,000 Community Development Block
Grant to fund streetscape projects in the
downtown area and along a residential street
that leads into downtown and created the
Downtown Revitalization Committee to over­see
implementation of the projects. The com­mittee
commissioned Harrison Engineering
Inc. of Tuscaloosa to prepare the final plan
and to conduct a survey to help city officials
better understand the needs and concerns of
the area's merchants and residents. The survey
revealed that its citizens overwhelmingly want­ed
to maintain Moundville's small-town char­acter
and identity. They liked the convenience
of their traditional downtown and wanted to
preserve and revitalize this area as the focal
point of the community.
Downtown Moundville consists of a
large three-way intersection surrounded by
commercial and office buildings. Traffic prob­lems
in the area had been identified by the
survey as a major concern. A one-way street
running through the heart of downtown had
Robert Lake, past mayor of Moundville, and Larry Taylor,
chairman of the Downtown Revitalization Committee.
the right-of way through the intersection mak­ing
pedestrian movement through the area
dangerous and confusing. The plan called for
two-way traffic to return to this street and new
"After" view with new landscaping.
stop signs at each corner to slow traffic
through the intersection. It addressed the lack
of parking in downtown, another concern
identified by the survey, by reorganizing avail­able
spaces and adding several new ones on
land donated by local businesses.
All sidewalks in the area were torn out
and replaced with consistent concrete pavers
scored to look like brick. The sidewalks were
separated from the street by a two-foot strip
landscaped with trees and other vegetation.
UnSightly power poles were replaced with
fewer, more attractive concrete poles and
moved back from the streets. thanks in pan to
assistance from Alabama Power Co.
The most significant aspect of the pro­ject
was the installation of a landscaped, open
space adjacent to the main intersection. This
public space acts as an attractive focal point
for the downtown and helped improve pedes­trian
movement through the area by forcing
neighboring streets to be narrowed, making
them easier and safer to cross.
Lighting in the area was another major
concern. New lampposts, manufactured at the
local Moundville Foundry, were installed to
provide consistent, attractive lighting, enhanc­ing
the feeling of safety in the area. The alu­minum
lampposts were less expensive than
the traditional cast iron.
Improvements along residential Market Street motivated
homeowners to landscape their own property
Moundville's improvements were not
limited to the downtown area. Market Street, a
wide residential street lined with attractive,
historic homes, runs from a major highway
into the downtown area and effectively acts
as a gateway into town. Improvements made
to this street included the addition of new
sidewalks, lamp posts, power poles and land­scaping,
creating a consistent, attractive char­acter.
Robelt Lake, now executive director of
I the West Alabama Planning and Development
o
5 Council, was mayor of Moundville when the
5
~ streetscape projects were planned and imple­:
g
~ mented. Despite obstacles inherent in such an
extensive project, Lake feels that the benefits
to the town far outweigh any problems that
arose during the process. Even those residents
originally opposed to the project now can see
benefits. "People resist change when they
can't see what it's going to look like" Lake
says, "but once it was completed, everyone
was pleased."
According to Lany Taylor, chairman of
the Downtown Revitalization Committee, the
positive effects of the project have been wide­spread.
The streetscape project in downtown
has spurred renovation of many of the area's
commercial buildings, and vacancy rates in
the downtown have dropped drastically.
Improvements in the Market Street neighbor­hood
have inspired area residents to spruce
up their own propeIty with new landscaping
and other renovations.
Most importantly, Moundville citizens
have a new attitude toward their town. "As
important as the physical changes are," Taylor
says, "the most significant change is the resi­dents'
renewed sense of civic pride and com­munity
spirit." ..
Plaza and improved storefronts in downtown showcase
the locally manufactured lampposts.
17 Volume Vi. No. II
In 1926, Robert Jemison Jr, already renowned as a residential developer in Birmingham, set out to cre­ate
the area's largest and most generously developed subdivision, Mountain Brook Estates.
The site chosen for the development, just
over Red Mountain trom downtO\vn
Birmingham, was an idyllic natural expanse of
400 acres. It was described in the 1925 Olmsted
Report to the Birmingham Park Board as "wild
and picturesque." Jemison's goal was to create a
conununity with the "chann of the Old English
countryside" while maintaining the natural beau­ty
of the indigenous landscape.
In Mountain Brook, Jemison succeeded
in creating a unique addition to the Bilmingham
landscape. With its winding roads, scenic vistas,
natural wooded areas and collection of fine
homes, Mountain Brook remains one of the most
desirable communities anywhere.
The development was one of the frrst in
America to include a commercial shopping vil­lage.
Mountain Brook Village and the later devel­opments
of English Village and Crestline Village
have evolved over the years with their own
unique character derived from distinctive archi­tecture,
scale and amenities. Although each
exempliHes the principles of quality design and
respect for the natural environment found in the
original plan, the pedestrian qualities have been
lost over the years in the mounting need to
accommodate automobile traffic.
In 1995, the City of Mountain Brook
retained the Birmingham landscape architecture
and planning frlm of Nimrod Long and
Associates, led by Project Manager Joel Eliason,
to design streetscape improvements for its three
historic commercial villages. The goal of the pro­ject
is to enhance the existing qualities of each
village with specific improvements such as
pedestrian -walks" attractive lighting fixtures) reor­ganized
parking and proposals for appropriate
infill developments which will strengthen the vil­lages'
character and commercial appeal.
Steering committees complised of village
merchants and city residents were organized in
each of the three villages to work with deSigners
in creating the final plan. These committees pro­vided
valuable feedback, ensuring that the plan
would meet the needs of the
city's merchants and residents.
The streetscape improve­ments
are designed to (Teate a
sense of continuity throughout
each village by bUilding on the
existing architecture and scale and
will, in the words of City Manager
Sam Gaston, 'enhance our already
attractive conllTIercial villages."
Quality sidewalks of blick and
concrete will replace dangerous
or inconsistent pavement, and new pedestrian
OesignAlabama 18
"Before" view of English Village
"Before" view ot Crestline.
lights will provide better illumination in each
conununity. Unsafe vehicular intersections will be
reworked, and traffIc Signals upgraded. Parking,
at a premium in these small villages, will be reor­ganized
for better effiCiency and to increase the
number of spaces.
Specific improvements in Mountain
Brook Village include the addition of a public
plaza to be located within the area's main inter­section,
which is large and circular in shape.
Improvements in English Village include widen­ing
sidewalks along the main thoroughfare. In
the process, streets will be nan-owed, making
crosswalks safer and easier to navigate. There are
plans also to install a piece of artwork in a cen��trally-
located public space. Crestline Village's
sidewalks and crosswalks also will be reorga­nized
to better accommodate pedestrian move­ment.
The village's busiest intersection will be
reworked and updated with a traffic signal to
ease congestion. The addition of a public plaza
with a 40-foot clock tower adjacent to this inter­section
will give the village a strong focal point.
'After" version of English Village with wider sidewalks.
':4l1er" rendering of Crestline with new clock tower
The City of Mountain Brook chose a
unique method of funding the 53.5 million pro­ject.
The City Council agreed to raise the city's
sales tax by one percent until funcls for the pro­ject
are raised. City Manager Gaston estimates
that it will take approximately five years to raise
the necessary funds. After that point, the sales tax
will return to its original level. With commercial
development in the villages already on the lise,
Gaston describes the project as a "win-win situa­tion
for the community." Contracting services for
the project, which should be completed by fall
1996, will be provided by Stone Building Co. Inc.
In addition to streetscape projects in the
three villages, Mountain Brook also commis­sioned
Nimrod Long and Associates, led by
Project Manager John Courtney, to design a vil­lage
trail system creating 5.4 nmes of new walk­ways
to connect with 8.4 miles of existing walk­ways
and trails, much of which was part of the
city's original plan. The completed system, while
enhanCing pedestrian safety, will link all three vil­lages,
as well as recreational, cultural and educa-tional
facilities in the area. The
MOUNTAIN BROOK
VILLAGE project was funded by the
Alabama Department of
Transportation under the
Intermodal SUlface Transportation
EffiCiency Act (ISTEA) grant pro­gram.
Scheduled for completion
in August 1996 the total cost is
estimated at $700,000. Milton
Constmction Co. Inc. is the gener­al
contractor with the participation
of the Jefferson County Roads and
Proposed plan tor Mountain Brook Village. Transportation Department, Bridge Division .•
Communities large and small throughout Alabama are initiating programs to
create pedestrian-friendly streets and public spaces. Here are just a few
"Streets for People" projects currently in the works around the state.
Auburn
County: Lee
Population 33,830
Project Name: Auburn Central Area Revitalization Plan
Project Scope: Downtown, nearby residential neighborhoods and
business districts to the north and east
Estimated Cost: Not determined
Project Stage: Presented to City Council; No formal action
Completion Date: Not determined
Contact: Planning Director, City of Auburn
(334) 887-4970
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The plan proposed by KPS Group of Birmingham
for the central core includes improvements for traffic circulation and bicycle
routes, upgrades of pedestrian connections and provisions for off-street park­ing.
Improving streetscaping in the city right-of-way, establishing a major
focal point in the city center and instituting architectural covenants will
enhance the village concept.
Collinsville
County: DeKalb
Population 1,429
Project Name: Architectural and Revitalization
Plan for Collinsville
Project Scope: Downtown commercial district
Estimated Cost: $250,000
Project Stage: Planning stage
Completion Date: Not determined
Contact Mohamed Sieiman
Top of Alabama Regional
Council of Governments
(205) 533-3330
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A wide range of issues facing the downtown are
addressed in this plan. Details include widening of sidewalks and the reorga­nization
of utility equiprnent, parking facilities and crosswalks. It provides
recommendations for improved street furniture, light fixtures, signage and
landscaping, as well as recommendations for the renovation of many historic
buildings in the area.
County
Population:
Project Name:
Project Scope:
Florence
Lauderdale
36,426
Downtown Area Plan
9 blocks
Estimated Cost Not determined
Project Stage: 3rd phase
Completion Date: Not determined
Contact: Jane Dembner
LOR International Inc.
(410) 792-4360 or
Barry Broach
City of Florence
Planning Department
(205) 760-6340
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The plan entails recommendations for new land­scaping,
street furnitures, light fixture and trash bins.
Sidewalks and crosswalks will be reorganized to increase
pedestrian safety. Florence's Downtown Area Plan is one of
five area plans included in the city's Comprehensive Plan,
which was awarded the 1996 Outstanding Planning Effort
Award by the Alabama Chapter of the American
Planning Association.
Toomers Corner, Auburn
Collinsville Land Use Map
Streetscapes Program, Mobile
Downtown Florence
Courthouse Square, Opelika
-.".
Northport Master Plan
Mobile
County: Mobile
Population: 196,278
Project Name: Downtown Mobile
Streetscapes Program
Project Scope: 34 blocks
Estimated Cost: $2.3 million
Project Stage: Phase 1 completed
Completion Date Not determined
Contact: Elizabeth Sanders
Main Street Mobile
(334) 434-7540
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The program includes provisions for new side­walks,
period light fixtures and trash bins and landscaping to be installed in
the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District of Mobile. It also calls for the
replacement of much of the area's aging and deteriorated infrastructure, as
well as the repaving of the downtown's major thoroughfares.
Northport
County: Tuscaloosa
Population: 17,366
Project Name: Northport Renaissance Plan
Project Scope: Entire city
Estimated Cost Not determined
Project Stage Planning stage
Completion Date Not determined
Contact: Waring Blackburn
City Planner, City of Northport
(205) 339-7000
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The key element of this far-reaching plan is the
creation of a two-mile-Iong flood control levee and river walk along the banks
of the Black Warrior River, which runs through the heart of Northport. The
plan also will include a number of provisions intended to revitalize the city's
historic downtown including, but not limited to, the installation of new land­scaping
and other pedestrian improvements.
County:
Population:
o elika
Lee
22,122
Project Name: Opelika Courthouse Square Project
Project Scope 2.3 Acres
Estimated Cost: $550,000
Project Stage: 20% complete
Completion Date: July 1996
Contact: Waller C. Dorsey Jr.
City of Opelika
Engineering Department
(334) 705-5450
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project involves the conversion of an
existing public parking lot directly in front of the Lee County Courthouse
into a public square. The square will feature an open plaza with a fountain,
pavilion, landscaped lawn area and reorganized parking. Period light fixtures
will be installed throughout the square.
19 Volume VI, No. II
I
How do you design or retrofit a city street to make It more
attractive and safer for pedestrians and bicycle riders? by Philip Morris
Seventh Ave. South was selected as a demonstra­tion
project for bicycle/pedestrian retrofit improve­ments
because it carries less automobile traffic
than nearby thoroughfares and has inherent pedes­trian
scale. It connects the UAB campus to nearby
services and the emerging Lakeview District. The
City of Birmingham will resurface and remark the
street to accomodate two lanes of traffic, a turn
lane, curbside parking and bicycle lanes.
Philip Morris is editor-at-large for Southern Living and
Southern Accents. He is Han. AlA. Han. ASL4 and a
member of the board of regents of the American
Architecture Foundation.
DesignAlabama 20
As part of the Birmingham Area Bicycle, Pedestrian and Greenway Plan for
Jefferson and Shelby counties, Greenways Inc. and its team of consultants
produced a report on three demonstration projects: a new greenway for
Shelby County, a rail-trail conversion through parts of Birmingham, ! Fairfield and Midfield and an on-road upgrade for Seventh Avenue South
~ from VAB through the Lakeview District.
~
[ All three have good potential to link neighbor-hoods
and destinations (the greenway plan parallel to
Highway 119 has drawn enthusiastic response from
Shelby County reSidents). But the Seventh Avenue South
project has compelling simplicity, as the Greenways report
notes:
"The on-road demonstration project was chosen
specifically to demonstrate how an existing street corridor
can be "retrofitted" to better accomodate people on foot
and on bicycle. The bicycle improvements recommended
for this project, for example, are designed to fit within the
existing street cross section. This eliminates the need for a
costly road-widening project."
Total length covered is 12 blocks, or 1.2 miles. A
latent demand analysis shows that many people who live
or work in this area take trips under three miles in length,
and many of these could be done on a bicycle in less than
15 minutes. With UAB a major generator at one end, the
large Compass Bank service center and Forest Park at the
other, plus many restaurants and other attractions
between, the.route has potential for increased foot and
bicycle travel.
The present character of Seventh Avenue South
also lends itself to such activity. It carries much less auto­mobile
traffic (approximately 6,700 vehicles per day) than
nearby University Boulevard (Eighth Avenue South) or
Fifth Avenue South. There are existing sidewalks on both
sides, And many older buildings, now often used for
antique stores, shops or restaurants are close to the side­walk
giving the street edge definition and human scale,
Because Seventh Avenue South connects to 20th
Street and the recent extension of Birmingham Green at
one end and the also recent Lakeview District streetscape
improvments along 29th Street at the other, it becomes
part of a larger system.
+- UAB1 MILE
The demonstration project report breaks design
recommendations into two parts.
For pedestrians, the recommendations include:
-Improved pedestrian crossings at inter­sections,
either painted or slightly elevated cross­walks
(called "speed tables', to slow vehicles.
-Curb extensions, or "bulb-outs" at
intersections, similar to those used in other
Birmingham streetscape projects, which shorten
the street crOSSing for people on foot and
improve their visibility.
-More continuous street tree planting
(currently sporadic) along the route.
-Improvements to unoccupied or unim­proved
storefronts.
Though not directly on the route, the report also
recommends pedestrian improvements at intesections along
University Boulevard one block to the south to make it easier
for pedestrians to cross this busy, high-speed route and
reach the safer, more amenable Seventh Avenue South.
For bicyclists, recommendations include:
-Convert Seventh Avenue South from tour
10-foot wide travel lanes to two 10-foot-wide
travel lanes and a central turd lane, freeing
space for bicycle lanes to either side.
-Resurface the street and then restripe
it to include five-foot-wide bicycle lanes
between the travel lanes and curbside parking
(see section drawings).
-Mark bicycle lanes with decals to clari­fy
use and avoid confusion with right-turn lanes.
-Install bike route signs that denote
mileage to destinations.
The report stresses that grinding out existing lane
striping and re-striping is not recommended. Indentations left
by the machines that do the grinding create a hazard for bicy­clists
and old markings visible on rainy nights can create con­fusion.
The City of Birmingham has responded favorably to
advancing the project as described.
Pedestrians and Bicycles
Wl.Etm + CHURCH
RCONNE;CTION TO OTHER
PROPOSED SIKEI?EOESTRIAN
FACIUTE$
S.;v UNIVERSITY
Birmingham AreaBicycle,Pedestrian and Greenway Plan
A study to becompletedthls summer will
become a model inAlabamaforhow the needsofpedple
on foot andbicyclecanbegiven\~%irdue in atransporta,
tion plan. The Birmingham Area BicycleiPedeslrian and
GreenwayPlanprovidesa cOmprehensive inventory of .
exisliggconejitions for Jefferson and/Shelbycounties,
. selected routes and standards for planning or retrofitting
properaccomodation for non-auto needs.
Developed under the auspices of Birmingham
Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), the yearclong;
$250,000 study addresses the need for oHoad bicycle
and pedestrian travelways, such as sidewalks and bicycle
tributionsfrom the City of Birmingham,Jefferson County,
Shelby County and BRPC have made the study possible.
The nationally-known.Greenways Inc.based in
Raleigh, N C, has developed .theslud/alongwith con­sultationlromBirminghalTJ~
based Cecil Jones and
Associates, the Bicycle Federation of America, the Rails­to-
Trails Conservancy from Washington,D.C.,and Grover
& Harrison, Birmingham landscape architects.
Coordinating the project for BRPC is transportation plan­ner
Bill Foisy.
Withinputfrom an advisory committee and
interested citizens, the team developed maps and other
lanes, as well as off-road corridors, such as greenways documentation rating various routes for current and
and raiHrails (abandoned railroad rights-of-way trans- potential use. A rating system was used to establish the
formed into trails). Federal air quality funds and local con- most promising routes along existing roads or elsewhere,
Before 7th Avenue-Typical Section Drawing
ON-ROAO FACILITY DEMONSTRATION PROJEC,
7TK AVE. SOUTH
£X/$,7N$ COII'OITtONS
~ Birmi':;~':;:; Rogional 'f-,-,-~
Planning Commission
and these were voted on both by committee members and
by the public at workshops.
Out of these, three demonstration projects were
selected. Upon completion, the comprehensive study is
expected to stimulate development of both local and
regional routes for pedestrians and cyclists. These routes
are identified as having transportation potential related to
work, shopping or other types of trips and, as such, will be
included in the area's long-range transportation plan for
potential funding. Also, as existing major highways are
expanded or resurfaced and new routes built, pedestrian
and bicycle ways can be incorporated .•
I .... ~ ...... ~ .......... ~.~ .......... ~ ....... ~ .. I
lb 8' parking 10' Iravel 10' Iravel 10' Iravel 10' Iravel 8' parking dJ
lane lane lane lane lane lane
After
(~l ~ ~ .,.~ I ... .. . ......
{ii .. :,!,:,)
lb dJ ' , Ii
8' parking .5' bike 10' Iravel 10' cenler 10' Iravel 5' bike 8' parking
lane lane lane Iravell.ne lane lane lane
21 Volume VI, No. II
Dean David Mohney works on the fairground charrette with Eduardo Maiz
from Florida A&M and Kendra Halliwell of the U. of Arkansas.
Corridor charrette students:Jesse Fraiser, U. of Tennessee, Kristi Lemmon,
u. of Kentucky; and Andy Rutledge, Auburn University.
Symposium Overview:
()({Core/Fringe/Hinterland· Relationships and
Responses to Growth and Change in the
l?VIf.f1 etropo ll't an Reg'lo n )) by Frmlklin Setzer
Event highlights includ-ed
the keynote address
try Professor Peter G.
Rowe, dean of Harvard
University s Graduate
School of Design, and a
day-long design char-rette
involvingfaculty
and students from six
schools of architecture
in the southern region.
OesignAlabama 22
F ebruary 22-24, 1996, marked an
important three days for commu-nity
leaders, planning and design pro-fessionals,
students and others interest­ed
in the past, present and future of
our cities, as Auburn University's
School of Architecture hosted the sec-ond
annual winter Symposium on the
City in Birmingham. The event, entitled
"Core/Fringe/Hinterland: Relationships
and Responses to Grovvth and Change
in the Metropolitan Region,1t \-vas spon-sored
by the Alabama Gas Corp. and
Southern Natural Gas.
The symposium offered a
full plate of events including design
charrettes, lectures and case study
presentations by nationally noted
educators and practitioners and lively
discussion for the nearly 200 people
who participated. Event highlights
included the keynote address by
Professor Peter G. Rmve, dean of
Harvard Universit~/s Graduate School
of DeSign, and a day-long deSign
charrette involving faculty' and stu­dents
from six schools of architecture
in the southern region.
The first day was devoted to
the 12-hour design charrette which set
the tone for the remaining symposium
activities. Participating schools included
Auburn, Tuskegee University, the
University of Arkansas, the University of
Kentucky. Florida A & M university and
tile University of Tennessee's Urban
Design Center in Chananooga.
The 44 student and faculty
panicipants were organized into four
teams, v,lith representatives from every
school included on each team. Two
charrette teams focused on issues of a
ne\vly-urbanizing hinterland and pre­pared
development concepts for a 14-
square-mile area of rural Jones Valley
in Jefferson County known as the
Eastern Valley Road corridor located
bet\'veen Bessemer and Vance, home
of the new Mercedes-Benz plant. The
schemes embodied both innovative
and prdgmatic design responses to
accommodate ne\v residential, Corn-mercial
and industrial gro\vth within a
concept to preserve and enhance
much of the natural character and
amenity of the valley landscape. The
other ttvo charrette teams examined
questions of inner city revitalization
and prepared schemes for the redevelop-ment
of the 120-acre State Fair Grounds
in Bilmingham's \Vest End. Both fair­ground
schemes addressed oppOltunities
to capture the historical and cultural sig­ni£
kance of the site while providing for
the specific needs of sun'ounding neigh­borhoods
including service facilities and
recreational amenities.
The four conceptual proposals
from the charrette were presented on
Friday morning at the Birmingham
Museum of Art (BMA) auditorium. The
presentations were followed by a lively
discussion of the many issues involved
in such projects.
Friday afternoon was devoted
to the educator's roundtable, a series of
presentations and discussions dealing
with the education of designers about
the city. Case studies of student work
at Auburn (by Professor Paul Zorr) and
Arkansas (by Professor John Forney
and Professor Scott Wing) were pre­sented.
The discussion which followed,
led by Dean Roy Knight (F.;\MU) and
Philip Morris discusses the media
and design.
Professor Stroud Watson
CUT/Chattanooga Urban Design
Center), focused on two points about
design education, First, the body of
knowledge about urbanism that is
important and relevant includes histor­ical,
economic and cultural aspects
that are often peripheral to many
other types of design problems but
are central to design at the urban
scale. Second, the critical role that val­ues
play in successful design at this
scale includes an attitude of steward­ship
regarding the larger natural land­scape
and a hUmility that respects the
larger urban process rather than a
preoccupation with the design object.
Peter Rowels keynote
address, given in the main sanctuary
of the Episcopal Cathedral Church of
the Advent, provided a wide-ranging
exposition on contemporary American
urban form. Following a brief histoty
of our urban evolution, Rowe focused
on the changes in urban settlement
patterns wrought by the automobile,
the interstate highway system and the
Federal Housing Administration,
which encouraged home ownership in
the post-World War II period. He illus­trated
the difference between the ideal­ized
pattern of regional subcenters that
was sought versus the real patterns
that have actually emerged. Rowe took
the design professions to task for our
tendency to merely react to present­day
dilemmas rather than to address
the underlying causes. He stated that
while the contemporary American city
seemingly embodies principles of
mobility and access, the reality is much
different. Today, American urbanism­core,
fringe and hinterland taken
together-really represents the lack of
these essential qualities, and the result
is the absence of equity for alL
Saturday started with a pre­sentation
by Carroll William Westfall,
professor of architectural history at the
University of Virginia. Westfall's talk,
entitled IIRenewing the American City,1I
was both a lucid indictment of con­temporary
American urbanism and an
optimistic view of what the future
might hold. Westfall described
Colonial Williamsburg as an example
of a uniquely American urban pattern
involving three balanced components:
land, town and city. Westfall then con­trasted
contemporary urban patterns
to Williamsburg. Today, land is valued
only for its ability to generate wealth
for the few. "Civicll values of equality
and justice-represented in the core
of the city-are devalued and often
abandoned in favor of the pursuit of
wealth through the mindless develop­ment
of the fringe and hinterland.
Westfall observed that the current pat­tern
is institutionalized by laws which
mandate the construction of " ... things
which we do not like and forbids the
construction of what we do like. It is in
this last observation that he fmds hope,
however. More and more, he observed,
we are beginning to understand
America!s urban heritage and its unique
attributes. He is optimistic that we will
continue to rediscover the civic values
of equity and justice for all citizens.
The remainder of Saturday
moming was devoted to a panel discus­sion
led by Philip MOrriS, executive edi­tor
of Southern Living magazine, and
Vernon Mays of Alexandria, Va., who is
an author, design critic and the editor of
Inform magazine. The discussion dealt
with the media and public education
about urban issues. Key points included
the fact that the rules under which both
the electronic and daily print media
operate seldom allow the in-<iepth
analysis of complex issues-urban or
othetwise-and that those knowledge­able
about urban issues must actively
seek to be heard in available forums
such as newspaper op-ed pages.
The early afternoon session
was highlighted by presentations
made by David Mohney, dean of the
University of Kentucky School of
Architecture, and Alan Mallach, direc­tor
of Planning and Community
Development for Trenton, N. J.
Mohney discussed a new downtown
revitalization initiative involving the
city of Lexington and his program and
showed a 20-minute computer-animat­ed
video documenting the results of
an intensive, two-week effort involv­ing
faculty, students and city leaders.
Mallach used current revital­ization
activities in historic but badly
deteriorated parts of Trenton to illus��trate
key points about the importance
of non-deSign factors such as commu­nity
panicipation and the pragmatics of
implementation. Such factors must, in
his view, inform the design work that
is necessary for successful revitalization
efforts in the older parts of cities. He
encouraged designers to respond to
the larger socia-cultural and economic
purposes that such efforts must serve
rather than to focus merely on the nar­row
self-interests often associated with
the creation of design objects.
The roundtable discussion
that concluded the symposium includ­ed
both a wide-ranging review of the
issues raised during the three days
and a spirited call from Rowe, Westfall
and Mallach to make concerns of
social and economic eqUity-the larger
purposes which design must serve��central
to the consideration of
American urbanism. 0
The second annual winter sym­posium
was a success from several stand­points,
but two are of particular note.
First, Alabama Gas Cop. and Southern
Natural Gas received a national achieve­ment
award from the American Gas
Association for their ongOing sponsorship
of the Auburn School of Architecture
Lecture Series, qf which the winter sym­posium
was a part. Auburn is most
grateful for their support and pkased
about the national recogniJion. Second,
the design chaITette was so well-received
by students and faculty that the six par­ticipating
schools have decided to do iJ
again (at kast once) next year Plans
call for a fall chaITette at either the
Chattanooga Urban Design Center; the
Universi1y of ArPansas or the University
of Kentucky.
o
In addition to the overall spon­sorship
by Alabama Gas Cop. and
Southern Natural Gas, the Auburn
School qf Architecture would like to
thank the Birmingham Department of
Planning and Engineering and the
Jefferson County Offu:;e qf Planning and
Community Development for providing
information for the chan-ette and the
Sloss Development Group, SouthPace
Properties and Forstall Art Supplies for
donations to defray chan-ette costs.
o
23 Volume VI, No. II
Design.Makes A Difference
J.&.. C-M;7'....<J:> .. '-'"'-""'-"
~ R.,-'''), .... c.. ....".,<"<'» i><£
J"'~""""""<'\l
Student design team explains
design concepts to Robert Wendt
01 Oak Ridge.
DesignAlabama 24
Design concept sketch by student Will Creech.
, .
MIU WF>U.. ~"""0S 1'>u­"""'
7d'..f~/4 a,~<."1.<',U>,'­~'
. c,...,.....,..,.<><- ... ...-../t'"
~ .....'. " 0""';;' Tv
A<-<-<>t.0 J!.<.."-I:u-'<., '...,>S'<t<ro><::..
1':> :'>"1>,...,~ .. ,,~ a 1'\",,,,,, 4 Tb ""''''"''~) ;:::;<''1 ~ ~''''''7~ ((
~~c,.o.
ourth-year Auburn University industrial design
students, supported by a team of graduate student
researchers, are developing a multi-functional ener­gy-
efficient utilities core for residential construction.
The research grant, funded by the U.s. Department
of Energy, is administered by Robert Wendt of the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The goal of the project, now known as ResCore
(Residential Core), is to design a system to be mass produced
by industry which will incorporate cost-saving manufacturing
with energy efficiencies to reduce construction costs for low,
moderate and middle income housing. An additional goal is to
use industrial design principles to make the utilities' interface
with housing more efficient and more livable for a greater num­ber
of people.
While attending a review meeting at Auburn, Wendt
explained the reason for the project. "What we're looking at
specifically is the high value-added portions of the home, such
as the appliances, heating and cooling systems, plumbing and
electrical systems. Traditional construction methods require
these items to be installed individually in a home. Because this
involves many different craftsmen and much coordination, it is
very ineffiCient. We're trying industrialize this part of house
construction, to make it more efficient by doing it in a con­trolled
environment"
Wendt commented that modular home construction was
not a new idea, having been initiated in the 1950s, but has never
flourished. "Our challenge is to try to learn why and to overcome
the prOblems," he said, noting that if the concept can be adopted
successfully for residential construction, the techniques also
may prove feasible for other types of building construction.
Auburn industrial design administrators Clark lundell
and Thomas Deloach are directing the project, with professor
Tin Man lau serving as instructional leader. Student design
team members are fourth-year students Will Creech, Daily Gist,
David Hall, Tim Lindsay and Eric Schafer.
•
by Thomas Deloach
The entire project requires three academic quarters to
complete. The first quarter's effort was concerned with research
and development of design concepts. Extensive literature
research coupled with on-site visits to industrialized housing
manufacturers provided a foundation for analysis and conceptu­alization.
The following quarters focused on developing and
building a full-size prototype. A functioning prototype will be
installed in a Habitat for Humanity residence to be built in central
Alabama in the near future. Research, analysis and documenta­tion
of resulting cost savings in construction and operation will
follow to gauge the sucess of the effort.
An advisory team of outside collaborators was formed to
provide input by representatives of potential homeowners.
Current industrialized housing manufacturers on the advisory
team include Chandeleur Homes Inc. of Boaz, Crimson
Industries Inc. of Haleyville, South Ridge Homes Inc. of
Hamilton and All Temperature Control Inc. of Florence. Utilities
are represented by Alabama Power Co. and home builders are
represented by Habitat for Humanity officers in Auburn and
Montgomery. Other advisory team members represent the
Auburn chapter of AlA, faculty of the Department of Building
Science and practicing industrial designers.
Auburn's industrial design program was the choice for this
project, according to Wendt, due to its problem-solving design
methodologies for production along with its history of collabora­tion
with industry and the support resources available from the
School of Architecture and Department of Building Science. _
Thomas DeLoach, IDSA, is currently serving as interim head of the
Department of Industrial Design in Auburn's College of ArChitecture,
Design and Construction. A graduate of the IND program he has a
consulting JiJdustnal design office located in MenriJanville, Ala.,
specializing in product design and development,
electronic products and corporate identity
TRO HONORED
FOR HEALTH CARE FACILITY
The Cullman Regional Medical Cenler Replacement
Hospital, designed by Birmingham architectural firm The Ritchie
Organization (TRO) and featured in our Spring/Summer 1995
issue of the joumal, was one of five winners in the New England
Healthcare Facilities Design Awards Competition, co­sponsored
by the Boston Society of Architects/AlA and the
New England Healthcare Assembly.
Eligible entries included hospitals, ambulatory-care faCili­ties,
medical office buildings, long-term care facilities and bio­medical
and specialty facilities. The TAO design was cited for
value per construction dollar, efficiency, innovation and function.
The awards were presented at the New England Heaithcare
Assembly Awards Banquet on March 19.
"DRAW YOUR DREAM HOIJSE"
Competition
As part of "Accent on Architecture Week," the AlA
Birmingham awarded three grand prize winners of the "Draw Your
Dream House" contest at the annual design award banquet.
Winners were Annie Lai of Rocky Ridge Elementary School in
Hoover, 1 st place; Graham Overton of Shades Cahaba
Elementary School in Homewood, 2nd place for his "A Whale of a
House" project; and Rachel Ellis of Rocky Ridge Elementary.
3rd place. There were 282 projects submitted for consideration trom
12 area schools. The judges were Terri Troncale of the
Birmingham News, Patrick Davis of The Ritchie Organization,
Carl Exford of Gresham, Smith and Partners and Neil Davis
and John Holmes of Davis Architects.
CHATTAHOOCHEE TRACE
HERITAGE EDUCATION WORKSHOP
School systems throughout the Challahoochee Valley of
Alabama and Georgia were represented at the Chattahoochee
Trace Heritage Education Workshop held February 20, at
the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Ga.
More than 50 teachers, principals, historic preservationists
and interested individuals participated in the Chattahoochee Trace
Heritage Education Program prepared for the Historic
Chattahoochee Commission by Maurie Van Buren, president
of Historic Preservation Consulting in Atlanta. Van Buren is a
nationally recognized expert in architectural heritage education,
the author of the reference book "House Styles at a Glance" and a
columnist for Home magazine.
At the workshop, teachers learned various ways to motivate
students to identity and interpret the social history of loca! homes.
The unit is limited to reSidences as the form of architecture with
which all students have direct experience. Historic homes are a
good teaching tool because they are a physical expression of past
lifestyles. Houses express the age in which they were built; reflect­ing
technology, fashion, materials and climate.
The unit is composed of four slide lessons entitled
Pioneer Homes, White Columns, The Victorian Era and Twentieth
Century Homes. It incorporates social studies concepts and has
been designed to supplement state and national history textbooks.
Students in grades 4-12 interpret local buildings in terms of
social history, architectural style, construction techniques, archi­tectural
history and landscaping.
At present" more than 25 Chattahoochee Valley schools are
using the Chattahoochee Trace Heritage Education Unit. The
Historic Chattahoochee Commission plans to introduce this unit
into every school system within the is-county region it serves in
Alabama and Georgia.
For more information, contact the Historic Chattahoochee
Commission at (334) 687-9755.
A w A
Cullman Region tv'iedicai Center
Annielai with winning design
,,
A
N
R
0
0
F
W.
" D
0
"S
,, ,,
~ . ,,
VISUAL SUlWEY FOP-I"\
if
L.J
"""_"",,,~,,,,,, __ ,,,_,,,,,,,_. _.=fo'~",_",""""",,"
«.}, ......" ". . ""'".""'" ~;_. . ,.,...,."."""=~oJ'-"" <S'. U<.=. ...~ , "'" "'''''''' o:t.=,
SKETCH TME BVU ... PING:
One at the visuai survey forms on wrdch studerts circle features that most
closeiy resemble those on the building io be identified
s
Student workshop drawing.
Details+of Interest
Details of Interest
is a regular
feature of
iJesignAlabama
and highlights
a wide variety
of events and
resources.
In this issue,
a retrospective
of 1995 and
early 1996
is presented.
•
~ .. ,.~~.,,,,,.,
"""~l "''''.-..:
~Q"'.' ,,,.,;
?,e","" "'"~~
~~ -:..,< ~.1
25 Volume VI, No. II
WORKSHOP SERIES
The Alabama Planning Institute, an organization that
provides training and professional development programs in the
broad area of local planning and development, has announced a
series of workshops covering three different topics related to com­munity
planning issues. They will take place at a variety of loca­tions
around the state. The remaining workshops include:
• Powers, Duties and Responsibilities of Planning
Commissions and Boards of Adjustment
June 13 Jefferson County Satellite Courthouse
August 13 Gulf Shores/Quality Inn Beachside
• Comprehensive Planning: A Guide to Preparing,
Updating and Implementing Your Plan
July 25 Cullman Ramada Inn
August 22 Birmingham Botanical Gardens
For more information on the programs or to register, please
contact the Alabama Planning Institute at (800) 825-5862, ext. 5.
FOR HISTORIC PROPERTIES
Communities seeking to save endangered properties in
their neighborhoods might want to take a look at Mobile. A suc­cessful
technique used there since 1992 is known as the Mobile
Revolving Fund for Historic Properties. The Revolving
Fund's usual strategy is to purchase properties threatened with
demolition and perform exterior restoration to the buildings. The
properties then are sold to individuals or organizations who will
complete the rehabilitation. Upon sale of the building, money is
returned to the fund for use on another project The Revolving
Fund has completed five projects and is currently rehabilitating
two shotgun houses in Mobile's HistoriC Oakleigh Garden District.
For more information about the program, contact Mark McDonald,
director of the Mobile Historic Development Commission,
at (334) 434-7966.
NOMINATIONS SOUGHT
FOR PLACES IN PERIL 1996
To highlight significant threatened landmarks throughout
the state, the Alabama Historical Commission and the
Alabama Preservation Alliance are soliCiting nominations for
Places in Peril 1996, the annual listing of Alabama's most
endangered historic places This listing continues an effort begun
two years ago to create awareness of the plight of many historical
Sites throughout the state. Two olthe Savannah Sf. houses renovated as part oiihe Mobile
Candidates can be any significant historical place actively Revolving fund lor Historic Properties program
threatened by abandonment, proposed development or mitigation
Included are sites in the following categories: agriculture, archae­ology,
architecture, art objects, cemeteries and funerary art, his­toric
districts, landmarks linked to historic persons or events, rnili­tary
sites and structures, landscapes, streetscapes and transporta­tion
and maritime sites. A nomination can be made by contacting
the Alabama Historical Commission at (334) 242-3184.
Clarification: In the fall 1995 Issue of DesignAlabama on
page 7, Steven Lee Johnson was misidentified as a landscape
architeci. While serving as a member of the DesignScottsboro
team, he was a landscape architecture intern with Grover &
Hamson in Birmingham
DesignAlabama 26
Dr. Valerie Steele
HISTORIC PROPERTIES AVAILABLE
FOR PURCHASE
The HistoriC Endangered Landmarks Program
(HELP) of the Alabama Historical Commission will be pro­viding
periodic mailings offering historically significant properties
available for purchase throughout the state. To receive HELP mail­ings,
send your name, address and daytime phone number to the
Alabama Historicai Commission, P.O. Box 300900, Montgomery,
AL 36130-0900; cali (334) 242-3184, or fax the information to
(334) 240-3477.
DESIGNER
PRESENT LECTURES
Two prominent members of the fashion world were in
Alabama recently delivering lectures: Dr. Valerie Steele spoke in
Auburn and Charles Kleibacker in Birmingham.
Steele, one of America's most unique fashion historians pre­sented
the 1996 Grisham-Trentham lecture at Auburn University
on May 15. She spoke on "Fetish or Fashion? Why Has
Fetish Fashion Gone Mainstream?" Educated at Yale
University, the cultural historian is the author of five books on fash­ion
and teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Kleibacker spoke on "Dress: As History, Engineering
and Art" for the annual Robert Hiden Lecture at the
Birmingham Museum of Art on May 23. A veteran in the fash­ion
industry, the Cullman native has worked with some of fash­ion's
biggest names in New York and PariS and is a nationally­recognized
lecturer. His own designs have been worn by such
Charles Kleibacker celebrities as Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller and then-First Lady Pat
Terry Slaughter
Nixon. Kleibacker's presentation showcased his personal collec­tion
of couture designs by such fashion greats as Adrian, Dior,
Valentina and Ben Zuckerman.
AlGA INTERACTIVE LUNCH
SERIES CONTINUES
The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AlGA),
Birmingham Chapter continues its 1996 Interactive Lunch
Series. Held the second Tuesday of every month from 11 :30 a.m.-
1245 p.m. at Rossi's on Hwy. 280 in Birmingham, the series fea­tures
a wide variety of topics and speakers. Upcoming programs
include: "Pre-Press Scanning Techniques" by Bill Trotter from
EBSCO Media, June 13; "Font Managemenr by Micky Henson of
Commercial Printing, July 11; "Direct-to-Press Printing" by Chris
Cochran with Digital Pre-Press Services, August 8; "Photo
CD's ... Is What You See What You Got?" by Ron Bishop of
Pomeroy Computer Resources, September 12; and "Pre-Flighting
Your Mac Documents" by Randy Jammerson with EBSCO Media,
October 10. The Interactive Lunch Series, an ongoing program of
the Birmingham AlGA, is an excellent way for designers, as weli as
interested persons, to learn about new techniques and trends in the
field of graphic design.
Recently the AlGA launched a special summer series
dubbed "Home-boy Heroes" spotlighting the success stories
of some of Birmingham's best home-grown creativity. Terry
Slaughter, co-founder, president and creative director of
SlaughterHanson Advertising inaugurated the series with a
"show and tell" presentation on May 23. Next up on the schedule
is Spencer Till of Lewis AdvertiSing. His presentation will
take place on June 26 at the Pickwick Hotel at 2012 Magnolia Ave.
in Birmingham The evening will begin with cocktails and hors
d'oeuvres at 630 p.m., and the guest speaker will "tell all" at 730
p.rn. The event is free to members, $8 for non-mernbers and $5 for
students at the door.
For more information, contact Barry Graham, chapter presi­dent,
at (205) 324-0307.
POSTERS TO PROMOTE VOTING
Alabarnians soon will be getting an extra reminder to regis­ter
to vote with the help of posters created by Auburn art students.
The posters were designed by junior and senior graphic design
students in conjunction with Auburn's Center for
Governmental Services (CGS), which is working with the
Alabama Secretary of State to prornote voter registration. Ed
Packard, a CGS research associate who is on assignment with the
state Secretary of State's office, said the idea to develop a voter
outreach campaign was an outgrowth of the "Motor Voter" law
passed by Congress in 1993.
The winning designs will be posted in public offices
statewide. Recent graduates Terry Manier and Trey Fortner
created the designs chosen.
ARCHITECTURE ON THE INTERNET
The Internet now provides a wide range of Web sites and
inforrnation resources related to architecture. Here are a few that
we have identified:
• The American Institute of Architects (AlA) Online
Trey Fortner's winning poster.
Provides the interested public with information about arch i- Terry Manier's winning poster
tects, architecture and the AlA and provides architects a coordinat­ed
access point to information resources on the Internet.
Accessed at http://WWW.aia.org/.
• AEC InfoCenter·s Architectural Resource Library
Provides an index of building product manufacturers and
an interactive Question board which allows the user to respond to
Questions and requests for inforrnation received by the
Architecture, Engineering and Construction InfoCenter. Accessed
at http://WWW.aecinfo.com/.
• Architecture and Building: Net Resources
A comprehensive, up-to-date directory of Internet resources
related to architecture maintained by Jean Brown, architecture
studies librarian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Accessed
at http://www.unlv.edu/library/ARCH/index.html.
• Ikon Systems
Provides access to 3-D modeling, photographic rendering
and anirnation software and hardware, as well as technical support
and a gallery space to display your work on the World Wide Web.
Accessed at http://WWW.ikonsys.com.
BIRMINGHAM'S LEGION FIELD:
PREPARING FOR OLYMPIC SOCCER
On February 17, the American Institute of Architects
(AlA), Birmingham Chapter and Allied Partners Soccer
Sitescape Planning Committee hosted a design charrette to
develop site entrances to Birrningharn's Legion Field for the
Olyrnpic soccer events. The sitescape consists of gateways,
monuments and graphic displays to enhance the pageantry of the
Olympic soccer events.
Professor Clark Lunde!! expiains drawing principles.
AU student Stacee Hatcher investigates 3-D drawing with
Paramount High School studenis.
Sketches oj proposed entrances to Birmingham·s Legion Field.
Design participants included AlA mernbers, associate
mernbers, intern architects, students and allied construction pro­fessionals.
The design criteria was to produce a design that would
be econornical, have maximum visual impact and be easy to erect
and recyclable. Jury members included Olympic soccer committee
members, city officials and design professionals. The jury selected
some of the best concepts from the charrette to be developed fur­ther
and later constructed as Olympic soccer gateways. Sorne of
the selected design elements included:
• Soccer ball superirnposed over a global image created by
students frorn Architecture Explorer Post #583
• Design for a bazaar at the public entrance to Legion Field
• Floral and plant design at the VIP entrance
• Large-scale gateway sculptures for three of the four
entrances
Sitescapes will be constructed at each of the four rnajor
entrances to Legion Field prior to the two weeks in July 1996
when an estimated 35,000 to 45,000 people will visit the site to
attend Olympic soccer garnes The project will be funded by spon­sorships
frorn local corporations and donations of tirne and rnate­rials
from Birmingham's building cornrnunity.
AUBURN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN STUDENTS:
NATIONAL RECOGNITION AND RURAL VISION
Auburn's Industrial Design Program recently con­cluded
its second annual VisionQuest Design Project with
Brother International. VisionQuest 1995 challenged the stu­dents
to develop individual design proposals for telecommunica­tions
and rnobile office products for beyond the year 2000. Twelve
seniors under the direction of professors Laura Prange and Tin­Man
Lau, constructed pre-prototypes of their ideas along with
packaging proposals, advertising/marketing plans and user inter­face
details. The students met with representatives of the Research
and Development Departrnent from Brother International through­out
the quarter. A final presentation was conducted at the Brother
International Manufacturing facility in Bartlett, Tenn.
In addition, Brother International selected five of the stu­dents'
proposals to display at the 1996 Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas in January. The company also awarded those
students a trip to Las Vegas to view their products on display. The
students selected for the trip included Cindy Aiken, Brian
Carey, Will Creech, Jason Matheson and Jason Smithey
Also in January, three faculty/staff rnernbers and four grad­uate
students in Auburn's Industrial Design Departrnent participat­ed
in the Rural Design Arts Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Program (RDAICP). The program involved the students of
Paramount High School in Boligee, located in Greene County. It
was organized by Ventures in Education (VIE), a national non­profit
group that seeks to implement proven academic strategies in
school systems currently functioning well below federal and state
standards. At present VIE is working with 84 schools in seven
states, the Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia-represent­ing
approxirnately 87,000 students and 5,600 teachers. The
RDAICP, one ot VIE's many academic programs, operates on the
beiief that a challenging and innovative design arts interdiscipli­nary
curriculum which engages students will result in an increase
in student problem-solving skills, comrnunication skills, academic
scores and knowledge base.
Led by professor Brenda Peters, the Auburn team taught
groups of eleventh graders the basics of orthographiC and per­spective
drawing techniques as part of the RDAICP's efforts to
integrate the design arts with math, science, social studies and
language arts. PartiCipating were professors Peters and Clark
lundell, Tom Deloach, and graduate students lee Comer,
David Hart, Stacee Hatcher and Chris Schwab. +
27 Volume VI, No. II
Vo lume VI, Issue II
PUBLIC DESIGN AWARENESS AND EDUCATION
DESIGN ALABAMA IS WORKING TO CREATE AWARENESS ANO APPRECIATION FOR THE DESIGN DISCIPLINES
THAT INFLUENCE OUR ENVIRONMENT. WE BELIEVE THAT THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OF
THIS STATE CAN BE ENHANCED THROUGH ATTENTION TO AND INVESTMENT IN GOOD DESIGN .
"':~":$I... ..... . / ........ ~~~ ....... >.
'" ..... . .... ..,
.......... ::::::::.:)~:> ..
Architecture
Architects practice the art
and science of creating,
preserving and
remodeling buildings.
Ideally they work to
articulate an image of the
client who owns the
building, what happens
there and what it means to
the community. Once the
aesthetic and functional
aspects of a design are
conceived, engineers and
other professionals are
consulted to make the
building work according
to the laws of physics,
safety and access codes,
and necessities such as
electricity and plumbing.
Architects are required to
have a working knowledge
of all these building
elements.
Landscape
Architecture
Landscape architects
specialize in exterior
environments. Theyapply
creative and technical
skills to overall site plans,
landscape grading and
drainage, irrigation,
planting and construction
details. Their task is to
preserve and enhance the
environment and define
space between and around
buildings, including
entrances and functional
or decorative areas.
Planning streetscapes,
gardens, parks or
gateways are also
examples of jobs for the
landscape architect.
Membership Information
Interior Design Urban Design
Interior designers Urban designers and
organize spaces inside planners are concerned
buildings, making them with the functional and
functional and pleasing visual relationships
to the senses. The between components of
designer's presentation the physical environment
to the client usually in the broadest sense.
includes floor plans, Among other things, their
color charts, photo- work results in unified
graphs of furnishi~gs,
samples of materials for
plans and proposals for
upholstery, draper. 'es industrial parks,
and wall covering and subdivisions, downtown
renewal proj and
of the interior is t1,
concern of the desi ne policies to
from the first presentation t e social, eco
to the installation of the an'd physical needs of
last accessory. cOJlJllJ!J.nities, and the
develop the strategies to
make these plans work.
This involves identitying
urban problems and
opportunities, analyzing
and implementing options
and evaluating results.
Membership in DesignAlabama demonslrales your support for slatewide design awareness in building quality
of life in your community and in Alabama. You will be kept up to date on progressive developments taking place
throughout the state, have opportunities to learn more about the design disciplines and partiCipate in the
exploration of community design issues. All categories include subscription to the journal, annual report on
DesignAlabama activity and invitations to the annual meeting and special events.
PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW AND RETURN IT WITH YOUR CHECK TO:
DesignAlabama, 204 North 20th St., Suite 201, Birmingham, AL 35203
Name
Address
Phone Number
Please indicate the appropriate category:
_ _ Individual ($25/year)
__ Student ($10/year) Please providea copy 01 sludenllO
__ Non-profit Organization (No Charge)
Siale
Fax Number
l ip
For information regarding corporate sponsorship of DesignAlabama, please call (800) 849-9543.
Industrial Design Graphic Design
Industrial designers are Graphic designers create
responsible for function effective visual
and aesthetics in the communications.
manufactured products "GraphiC" refers
people use every day. to the art that
Toothbrushes, toasters, communicates and
cars, computer terminals "design" to the aesthetic
and telephones are arrangement of the
examples of items elements, including type,
industrial designers illustration and/or
make usable and desirable message in relation to a
or human beings. Colors, targeted audience.
tex1r es, smells and Through concept and
sourtds are some of the art direction, designers
ej ts they consider, produce an appropriate
and in addition, any advertisement, TV
anical or electrical commercial, magazine
cemponents of a product format, brochure or any
must work properly, number of other visual
efficiently and safely. communication projects.
ci ...J a: W 11)< 0" 8:f !:::~CNC(
u.(/)-I-~
a0:0a~. :ial:"~
Qz .<ri. Dw:.Sa:: o=> _
z '"
Fashion Design
Fashion designers are
style arbiters of dress who
interpret the mood of a
generation, intuit popular
taste and understand
merchandising and
business principles. They
affempt to resolve the
contradiction between
art and industry in order
to construct a collection
of clothing and
accessories with a unique •
sense of style and taste,
enabling people to create
a personal statement
about themselves in the
way they dress.