DA Journal 2009
Volume XIX
$400
.-
Desl abama
THE PUBLIC FORUM FOR DESIGN IN ALABAMA
Board of Directors
Elizabeth Ann Brown, Chair
Alabama Historical Commission
Montgomery
Nancy Mims Hartsfield, Vice Chair
Auburn University, Professor Ernerita
Montgomery
Scott Finn, Secretary
Auburn University
Auburn
David Fleming, Treasurer
Main Street Birmingham Inc.
Birmingham
Arnelle Adcock
Montgomery
HD Brantley
Bramley Visioneering
Birmingham
Chip DeShields
Sherlock, Smitii & Adams
fvlonigomery
Janet Driscoll
Drfscof! Design
Montgomery
Cathryn Campbell Gerachis
Good'll'jn, Mifls & Cawood Inc.
iVlontgomery
80 Grisham
Brookmant Realty
Birmingham
Bob Howard
Alabama Power Co.
Birmingham
Michelle G. Jordan
City of Huntsvifle
Huntsville
Darrell Meyer
KPS Group
Birmingham
Cheryl Morgan
Auburn Universiry
Birmingham
Debbie Quinn
Fairhope City Council
Fairhope
linda Swann
Alabama Development Office
iVlontgomery
Gina Glaze Clifford, Executive Director
Philip A. Morris, Director Emeritus
Volume XIX
Cover: Continuous rows of oaks planted aiong Colonnao'e Parkway
some 20 years ago provided a visual link behveen various components
of the mixed-use development in suburban Birmingham. Today, the
maturing tree trunks are a living colonnade. Photo by Vies Frazer
This publication is made possible through funding by the following contributors:
A AioNmil
StJt~ ~Cound
'-IKAoP,lhe
~.Arts
STUDiO
ARCH:TECTURE STUDIO
BRASFIELD
lfijGORRlE
St"!:TH AND
?AHTN:;:RS
Brown Chambiess Arc.hitects
Brookmant Realty Group LLC
Nimrod Long and Associates
----------------------------------------------------------------
Williams Blackstock Architects
Editor: Gina Glaze Clinard
Managing Editor: Tomie Dugas
Art Director: Nancy Hartsfield
Associate Art Director. Wei Wang
Assistant Art Directors: June Corley
Bruce Dupree
Samantha Lawrie
Contributing Writers: Jessica Armsirong
Susan Braden
Gina Glaze Clifford
Samantha Lawrie
Philip Morris
Giia M. Smith
DesignAlabama encourages submissions from
its readers. Articles about work from all design
disciplines are requested, as viell as copy related
to historic preservation. Please submit copy along
with visuals (photos. slides. drawings, etc.) to
DesignAlabama Inc .. PO. Box 241263. Monigomery.
AL 36124.
Items for DA online newsletter or our annual
journal 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 and fax
number of the client and an individuai whom we may
contact for further information. Direct inquiries to
(334) 549·4672 or mail io:
designalabama 1@bellsouih.net
Vi'N'IV. desig nalabama, org
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DesignAlabama at the above numbers for
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A special thanks to Philip Morris for his ongoing
assistance and aoVice wit!) this publication.
© 2009 DesignAlabama inc.
ISSN# 1090·0918
This issue of DesignAlabama was designed and
produced on ivlacintosh Computers utilizing iflDesignCS2.
Proofs were primed on a HP 4000N and rinal output
Oil a Compugraphic 9400.
Appreciating a landscape vision
20 years into maturity.
p.6
DesignAlabama is a publication of DesignAlabama inc,
Reader comments and submission of articles and ideas for
future issues are encouraged.
Desi nAlabama
Leading by example in green building
& sustainable design.
p.14
ARTICLES
Transforming a downtrodden alley into
an entertainment venue.
p.18
A COLONNADE GROWS TOWARD MAJESTY
A Landscape Plan 20 Years Later
DESIGNING LOGOS
Making Marks
STEWART PERRY HEADQUARTERS
Brownfield Into LEED Silver
THE ALLEY
Right Up Montgomery's Alley
THE G BRAND
Beyond Logos
DEPARTMENTS
Designer~Profi les
Cooper, Kelton & Blasingame, Sollie
Design.Makes A Difference
ProAssurance
Community.Profile
Guin
DesignAlabamatUpdate
Making a Difference
6
11
14
18
23
26
29
31
35
Converting a dark, heavy entrance
into light, welcoming space.
p.29
DesignAlabama 4
DeSignAlabama
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OHINE NEWSLETTER
like the civic L:mdxnark fire
station they d.:-signeci for ),1i::
Lo.urel, the ne~\' Hoover Flre
Station #2 by Dungan &
Neque1:te }L!'d,itects of
Birnlingham has become a
gatew~y feature on the way to
The Preserve, <:!. neo-traditloD.::U
neighborhood -in ti,e '.',estern part ofHoovel'.
llA Campus Graphics
Gro"~·ing out of a ne"8 rnaster
plan developed by KPS Group for
"L~e "Cniversity of iJ21.brm1.8.'s main
campus in Tuscaloosa, a cmnpus
\\'ayfinding Gr::rphics ~.fa:ster
l'L!!.n was designed by
nouston¥D2seci'rh_e Douglas
Gmup. The university has been
implementing the plan ma.!dng it easiBI' for both students and
visitors to use the cr!.rnpus.
412 Dauphin St., Mobile
SPONSORS
!JLllilliU',""~ ",'",,'="': L_' ','0,~~;:;:~
J'::~.c, .. :'~:" ,.~.o:;
£L )',id;""",·""",,,,,,,,,,,,,""':::~ :~ '.V "'0
C;n;s:".'j't,_j"~;.;L'£~ F,(::~:(' ".'
'The building at -412 Dauphin Stin
t...~e heart of do,vuto'Nn Mobile
',,'<].$ built in 1907 and housed a
furniture store at strec-t 1>.: .. '21. On
two floors abOVe mattre.sses were
ma!!.ufacttn-eG.. Now 'the milttress
fuctory', as it 'daB popularly
kno'?'TI, has become part of the
city's 11e .... '1 living core.
Click to !on,'ard :his email to3.fr~end
ThufSdi!y, July:.!3 2009
FEATURE
ill Hoover Fire Station JF:L
!l!I tiA Cam-ous Graphics
1m 41':> DauDb.in St. Mobile
Project .. News
USA Mitchell Cancer Institute
Las! fall. ti',e Mitchel! C2f)CDr fnz",ulC at
tho Univorslty of South Aiabarna ir:
M::'c;ie opened a modoi. iac;i{t~/ 1hat
provic,.;-s cEnicn.! care and car,cD!
rosesrch undor ()n{i- (CDf. The design by
imcrnatiOfiaJ firm 0.[...':3\,1 \vith '::>_':"
'<'j ',>:=C':./; of GirrninghGm iOS1-ors
irl10racticn txltw00n re-searche!'s,
physici;1r1S, pa~iM!S ar.(! famiEes ,0
speed the adVs.[";cDf(!00.t of medical
discoveries [rom "'lOOf8Ior!.:::.:> 10 cEnicn!
trials. 1n ,he 1ob'a)!, glass ali<NJS p<lt;cms
to observe the reSDDJcho(s while
,e$82rCfter8 can 800 the pa.ti8fll':; their
,",forts heip,
yfcKenzie Court
The $20 milEon Hope VI project 10
revitalizD McKDnzio CO'Jf1 has brought
n-ow !ife to tho Tuscaloosa housir.'9
project. Old uniLS wore replaced will', 255
apartments, a 'j O.OOO-sqliaro·rcot
community center, 2·acrc gr00n space
with pla)'gro,md and pavilion, renovritc<d
gym ana relocated branch library to be
completed i0. 2010. The comrrn.Jfliw
CDf'lwr wi1h zinc tiles and strmific--D bric-,,!
Xt."oing WOi"! <l .2C>.\9 /;)A .'":<.,.. ··,,·;'.:l'C' for
Birl"nif'4ham's C,~· :D': C,::J ,"<-; "0
n')ync<ds archiw-cts wi!?) MaCK.".aI!y Ross
LaM Design as consuttanL
Tannehill Preserve
This -''';'O(~,!c/' H.y:<(;:'O devD!.oomem near
,'-A~Ca!!a W<JS bllHi around a Ior!n0f golf
cours81Umed preserve, ne'.', prolOcted
by the Smokey ~..-10unlru!i National Land
Trust T::,:',' ci':!; Fr,::'S''''''j0 's four
ncighxrhoods iliO linkod by paved ,rails
windir..g through lhc 82,acre- pane
Inspired by NYC's Central Park, ,hepreservo's
reiling hills 810 laced Wilh
seven la<os and a crook. :,;:~;~'-o'j :._')l .,~ ,;
('S,,'X:2>SS of Birmingham Vias 8.
consultam en tho ):xojCC!.
Fort Toulouse/Jackson 1vIaster
Plan
U~",j . both of Birmingham, arc
wOrking !hs Alaba'Yla HistoriC<li
Commission on a SilO analysis and
comprehensive mas18r pian for Fort
Toulouse/Fen Jac'-\son National Historic
Park. Tho 17(J·acre park near V/etDmp,i(a
m !he convergence of lhc Tal!apoosa a'ld
Coosa dyers is rich in 8.rcl".8ol09iC<1J and
histonc8.\ s;gnificar.{;0_ II was the siw- of a
Cwck scttiom00nt, as 'Neli as Fronch a'1o
English forts, and a stop on n81uralist
WgEam Bartram's <ravels.
To subscribe to DesignAlabama's digital newsletter, OA Online, please visit our Web site at
www.designalabama.organdsign up under "Subscribe to Journal." It's easy to sign upandit's free!
Welcome to our 2009
ANNUAL
With the advent of deliveling timely short features and
project news via e-mail, we have upgraded our journal format to
focus on more and greater in-depth articles. This change also offers
us the opportunity to take a longer view over time
while still showcasing recent ones. In this inaugural annual issue, we
take a look at the power of in its grand mature state.
We celebrate with a brownfield project turned LEED
Silver. In our Community Profile, we cover a making the
most of its ideal location. In here, too, we examine the transformation
of a block of old buildings into one of Montgomery's most exciting
entertainment venues. Join us to learn more about. and
discover create their innovative designs and
find out how turn a 'brute' of a building into a beauty.
5 Volume XIX
DesignA!abama 6
The architecture that fulfills the name
Colonnade, a I80-acre, mixed-use development
at 1-459 and U.S. 280 in Birmingham, is found not in the
buildings but across the landscape.
Originally cleared as a potentia! site for a regional shopping rna!!. C%nial Town Park Colonnade became a mixed-use development settled within a man-made landscape setting designed by Nimrod Long & Associates. TIlls view from u.s. 280 shows the
landscaped right-ot-way in the foreground. the retail cluster and office buildings \Iisibfe beyond.
Planted about 1990, the trunks of the double-rowed willow oaks that line
Colonnade Parkway have now grown so their strong trunks become a natural
colonnade that extends a full mile: a testimony to the power of landscape
architecture to shape a sense of place.
7 Voiume XIX
DesignAlabama 8
[left} A sweeping entry drive introduces Colonnade
Parkway, which runs for a tittle over 1 mite through
the development. Open lawn and trees predominate
with seasonal planiing beds adding color
[beJow] This laie 1980s view shows the parkway
and major oiffce buildings emerging from the
previously cleared sUe.
T.iJis before/after pai! shows the parkways double rows of willow oaks just planted in 1988 and
/!DW they appear today. With its strong. continuous edges, the parkway ties ali elements of [ile
development togel.iJer. It also links with local streets providing an aNemalive to Us. 280 access.
Landscape architects have to imagine a design growing into The parkway also provides visual continuity. "The allee of
itself. It took particular imagination for Nimrod Long & Associates to trees, two rows of willow oaks on each side, were a decent size even
discover the potential grace and beauty of a site that had been rough- when first planted and served as a powerful uni~ing element," says
graded ,md cle-ared of all trees. "As 1-459 was built, that site was in Long. The before/after photos shO\m here make clear how tim impact
the running for a new regional shopping mall, which went to The has grown with the trees. Colonnade Parkway has become a local land-
Galleria," says Long. "The owner had scraped it clean, 1 guess, to mark for the thousands who travel it daily, and it creates an exceptional
show that it was ready for a mall. He lost, and Carter & Associates of setting for a variety of buildings along its length.
Atlanta bought the propertv and proceeded with predominately office
buildings plus the modest-size retail center and several hotel sites."
With Cooper Cary of Atlanta the architects on the major
buildings, Nimrod Long & Associates designed the road system, open
spaces, hardscape and landscape features. "Colonnade Parkwav
became the key element tying everything together, and it also provides
good connectivity," says Long. "The main entrance is off U.S.
280, but you can also access local thoroughfares and 1-459 at the
opposite end. For many, it's great that you can come and go without
getting on congested 280."
Along the parkway, the landscape architects situated four
major open spaces to punctuate the drive:
*An expanse of lawn and broad sweeps of trees and shl1lbs,
including those insl'llled on the u.s. 280 right-of-way at the developer's
expense, sets the tone for what follows.
"The monumental elevated water wall cascading into a semicircular
pool comes into view across a vast bowl of pelfectly kept lawn,
creating the foreground for a major grouping of office buildings.
LEGEND:
Tile original fate 1980s Nimrod Long & Associales masterp!an (or The Colomade shows the parkway sweeping through flle site past t/ie retai! cluster and major office bufldings constructed in the iniliafphase. Three of the iourpaired office buildings
fronting If Ie green have been buit! Wit/I a fourU? in development. Additional office buildings and severai hotels lJave since been built on sites not included in IMs plan
The most dramatic and urbane of the open spaces punctuating the drive along the parkway is the water waf!' pool and foun~
tain that anchors the parkway side of the green fined with office bufldings. A bowl of lawn sets the scene.
"'A steeply sloping lmm on the side of the parkway opposite
the water wall leads up to the major pair of office buildings. The
lawn, together with the buildings and their distinctive red metal roofs,
anchor the development.
"Further along the parkwav on the right, a large pond comes
into view. In actuality a retention pond for the whole development, it
was turned into an amenity and wrapped with sidewalks and benches.
The colonnade of oaks here is set off by the steeply sloping lawn that fronts the major pair of office buifdings set at the high
point of the development.
The Nimrod Long & Associates master plan also targeted a
group of speculative office buildings to be built. Rather than dropping
them separately along a road, the landscape architects decided
to create a 'campus' with its own sense of identity within the development.
"We decided on a formal green with buildings framing the
space," says Long. "Overall they share about 5 acres of open space
with access to the founl1in, water wall and pool at one end. The
buildings face directly on the green with the parking areas on the
other side of the road that links them together. They are each six
stories \Vith 120,000 or more square feet of space, so there is density
balanced against the green they share."
9 Volume XIX
Nimrod Long & Associates' master plan created a "Campus green' for a grouping of office buildings. giving their cumulative open space greater impact and creating a sense of place within the farger development. The loop road access and parking is located
on ihe perimeter.
The requirement for retention ponds for storm fun off was turned info a major
amenity: a lagoon that creales another visual punctuation along the parkway and a
recreational feature.
Three of the buildings have been constructed over the vears
with space for another six-story building and a major headquarterstype
building at the end. When these are built, the green should
seem even larger because it will be fully defined. Irs paradoxical, but
because they are concentrated, the sense of space is greater than if
thev were each set within their own smaller space. This also means
the I26,000-square-foot retail center with its concentration of restaurants
is within reasonable walking distance (though not as close as in
most mixed-use centers now being built).
In looking at how the development, purchased by
Birmingham-based Colonial Properties in 2007 and now named
Colonial Town Center Colonnade, has grown and been maintained
over the years, Long gives it generally high marks. "Our intent was
that a shade-tolerant grass would replace the original zoysia along
the parkway as the oaks grew, and that hasn't happened yet," he says.
"We've also found that the maples we planted for fall color have been
Another before/after pair illustrates the difference
in the parkway from 1992 (above) to today as the
formal rows of willow oaks have grown.
hit by some SOlt of blight affecting maples in this part of the stue, and
we have plans to replace those around the green with Chinese pistachios
or Chinese elms when the fonrth building is built."
In the larger urban context, Long feels the development, one
of several his firm designed up and down u.s. 280 through the I980s
and '90s, has gained stature ... It's actually a better location than when
it was first built. The nearby Summit shopping center is a great convenience,
and this is now the center of a very large and high-income
population," he says. "As congestion has grown, the connectivity to
local roads becomes even morc a plus. for all the growth in traffic
on 1-459, Colonnade Parkway is very easy to get to."
And when you do get on that parkway, it's worth the drive as
those oaks grow more and more stately. III
!'hllip \-lorris h;L~ more tlUUl 30 years experience in lll;Jgazine work including tenures ;L~ exennin: edilOr and cditOl~at-Jarge at.'J!!I!tbfrll IJl"lilg. Cous!al Ul'jJ/,~ and SOI/1lJi:1'll .-len:il!'\". Although he
retired in 1000. \lorris remains actire ,L'" a freelance writer and respected leclUrer on design. as well as;1 major t::Ontributor to DesZ~1I. :ltdJdlill!.
OesignA!abama 1 0
by Samantha Lawrie mark a <ers
When my daughter was not quite two years old, she could read. Riding through town,
any town, or flipping through a magazine, she would suddenly exclaim "coffee place,"
"diaper store," or "fun depot!" Her delight with encountering that mysterious mermaid or those
concentric circles or the bright orange lettering was palpable. Although she was only just
beginning to recognize her ABC's, she was reading these well-known symbols. For my
young daughter, these logos were full of meaning and significance.
What is a logo?
A "Iogo" is probably the most recognized product of the
graphic design process. On the surface. its form and
function seem straightforward. A logo is a visual symbol
composed of shape. line. color. type and image It should
be immediately recognizable and memorable. A logo is
designed to communicate a company's attitude. personality
or character. It should be both timely and timeless.
Beneath the surface. a logo's function is more visceral.
A logo should inspire feelings of satisfaction. loyalty and
trust. The depth of its meaning and significance rests in its
ability to evoke an intuitive connection with the viewer. If
successful. this connection establishes a relationship with
the viewer that invites participation.
You get what you pay for.
As a thought experiment. I imagined I was a business
person in need of a logo. I suspected that I might need
help with this pursuit. so to gather information I performed
an Internet search for "logo." As a business person. I found
the results confusing As a designer. I found the results
shocking: logo contests. DIY logo software. custom logos
in 24 hours. logos for $99. $79. $5. free. A survey of
marks from these various sites confirmed the old adageyou
get what you pay for. At best. the offerings were clean
and generic. They functioned as logos only in the most
superficial sense: visible but meaningless.
Define. Design. Refine.
The creation of a successful logo - a mark that is visually
distinct. that opens itself to multiple. reinforcing interpretations
and that evokes the desired response from the viewer
- is a complex process that requires the expertise of a
professional graphic designer. A designer will interview
the client to get a sense of the client's self-image. market
positioning and goals. A designer will research the client's
industry. audience and competition. as well as existing
logo designs and current trends. Using this information. a
professional designer will develop a variety of conceptual
and visual approaches to the client's identity Working with
the client. the graphic designer will define and refine the
visual identity over a period of time. A successful logo design
develops from a client-designer relationship based on
mutual understanding and trust. An excellent designer can
help a business discover who it is and who it wants to be.
The logos featured here. all by Alabama graphic designers.
exemplify excellence. III
T A I G A N
A logo may consist of an image mark. a typographic mark or logotype or
both. In the Taigan logo above, developed by Slaughter Group of Birmingham,
image and type work together harmoniously: the fine quality and proportions
of the image relate to those of the fetter forms. The client provides online ac·
cess to art, design and luxury goods that are exclusive and elusive. A sense
of mystery is conveyed through the exotic sound of the name and the alert.
statuesque pose of the taigan hound, a rare breed of hunting dog found in the
Kyrgystan steppes.
The image mark for Roaring Tiger Films works independently of type treatment.
The play of positive (black) and negative (white) forms combined with
repetitive curvilinear fines creates a witty and energetic symbol. Roaring
Tiger Films describes itself as a unique service company that fiffs a gap
between the advertising agency and traditional commercial production companies.
The mark, designed by DogStar Design of Birmingham, captures and
convey's the client's "sense of humor and grace under pressure."
11 Volume XIX
DesignAlabama 12
CONSTRUCTION
Some graphic designers develop a distinctive approach to logo design. This
series of marks by Rodney Davidson of DogStar Design exhibits his recognizable
aesthetic: criSp, bold shapes with exciting figure-ground relationships.
In the logo for the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust (above), the leaf
and the fish are figures whose relationship forms a river from the background.
The high level of perceptual and conceptual engagement with the
viewer makes a memorable logo.
The image mark for the Jimmie Hale Mission (top right) also uses figureground
relationship to form a bed. This client provides food, shelter and
comfort to those in need.
A dinner plate emerges from the cyclone in the mark for the Typhoon restaurant
(second logo from the top).
Birmingham Greenways is an initiative that seeks to establish a park system
consistent with those proposed in the Olmsted Brothers' 1925 plan. Its image
mark (third from the top) integrates similar forms, a leaf and a foot, to
instantly communicate the essence of a greenway.
The symbol for Kirk Alford (below), a registered piano technician, is also a
surprising combination of related forms.
Taking his cue from the client who suggested the plumb line as part of the
Humber Construction logo, designer Frank Burder of D2L Graphics in Birmingham
sought a classical aesthetic to differentiate the mark from competing
firms. The bottom series of marks shows the development of ideas through
sketches. His final solution is refreshingly refined for a construction company.
The plumb line suggests integrity and craftsmanship; the robust, serifed typeface
and careful leiter spacing impart a sense of history and precision.
FitzMartin Inc. of Birmingham designed this logo for the Ida V. Moffett
School of Nursing, Samford University. The angel is representative of the
sculpture in front of the nursing school. The lower hand is a symbol of
compassion and caring; the higher hand is a symbol of strength.
~J I~
VALENT~INJE
COFFEE COMPANY
u.s. LUMBER
The identity work of the Slaughter Group in Birmingham is as diverse as
the clients with whom they work. The HC Valentine Coffee Co. is a fair-trade
certified business. Its logo references heraldry, an ancient form of visual
identity. The crown and lions symbolize authority, courage and valor; their
crest-like presentation suggests tradition, history and a distinguished
family name.
U.S. Lumber distributes high quality building materials throughout the
Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The image mark graphically reinforces
the verbal typographic message and invokes the positive qualities
the viewer may associate with the nation's flag. This logo, like most, uses
color, but it also communicates effectively in black-and-white reproduction.
Logos for businesses within the same industry make an interesting comparison.
Friend and Regions are both Alabama banks. The logo for each
contains visual cues that suggest "bank"; a combination of geometric image
mark and serifed logotype and a direct, straight-forward presentation. Each
logo also provides cues specific to its company. Friend is a new name for
one of Alabama's oldest family-owned community banks. The combination
of upper-and-Iower case letters makes Friend look friendly; the circular image
mark reads as two people working together. From its inception in 19n,
Regions has grown to be one of the top bank holding companies in the
United States. The use of all capital letters lends a sense of authority to the
logo. The pyramidal image mark suggests stabifity, history and references
imagery from U.S. currency.
The logos for Greenvine and Blue Nest also share similar visual forms
while presenting distinctive visual personalities. Greenvine Properties
LLC creates sustainable mufti-family housing. Blue Nest is an apartment
leasing company.
Friend
REGIONS
greenvme
£ '"
Samantha Lawrie is an associate professor of
graphic design at Auburn University.
D2L Graphics wwwd2lgraphics.com
DogStar Design: www.dogstardesign.com
FitzMartin: www.fitzmartin.com
Slaughter Group wwwslaughtergroup.com
13 Volume XIX
This is how tile site looked before work began with a silted-up lake
concealing coal tailings from the early 20th century.
(Below) Looking like a brownfield no longer, the new headquarters campus
for Stewart Perry Co. Inc. surrounds a reclaimed lake that reflects the low-key
design of the main buildings. Run off is collected and filtered by plants on-site
before it enters the lake. HKW Associates of Birmingham prepared the master
plan and designed the buildings with Stewart Perry, the general contractor
For Stewart Perry, a company that has specialized in constructing facilities
for large retailers like Target across the Southeast, a new headquarters offered
an opportunity to set an example in environmental and green-building practices.
Transformation of a brownfield site into a serene campus around a lake accom-plishes
that while making an appealing place to work.
Stewart Perry Co, logo
OesignAlabama 14
A construction photo shows concrete piers
rising from the drained and cleaned lake bed.
Completed in 2008, the 16-acre corporate campus is located on
Overton Road not far from Birmingham's Liberty Park mixed-use develop��ment.
At first look, the site (see before photo) looked anything but promising:
a polluted, silted-up lake once used to hold tailings from coal mines. But a
negative was flipped to positive with the single-story campus buildings
arranged around the renovated 3-acre lake and, on one edge, extending out
over the water.
"This was a true partnership between our firm and Merrill Stewart
and his company," says Fred Keith of HKW, the firm that prepared the
master plan and designed the building and interiors. "Every aspect of the
project represents our commitment to sustainable building and design."
Merrill Stewart (center) holds the LEED Silver certification award presented on site flanked by
Stewart Perry and HKW staff members.
A closer view of the principal office building shows how it extends over
the lake on concrete piers. Most of the wood visible was recycled from
submerged cypress logs found at a stewart Perry commercial building site.
The 12,900-square-foot, $4.5 million project received a 2009 Award of Merit
from the Birmingham Chapter AlA in 2009 and achieved LEED Silver status
last May. After 12 months of occupancy, there was a 21 percent energy
savings and a 24 percent water savings compared to comparable facilities.
The main buildings are sheltered beneath pitched metal roofs with
deep overhangs that, without gutters, let runoff percolate into the ground.
Though supported by a concrete foundation and concrete piers set within the
lake, the most visible part of the main structure overlooking the water has
recycled timber columns and an open wood-frame railing along the perimeter
deck so it visually floats. The principal building has an office for each project
manager with views of the lake and operable windows. These surround a
large, central layout space. An open accounting studio is filled with daylight
and looks out into a small courtyard.
15 Volume XIX
The break room in an adjoining building has overhead garage doors that can be opened onto the lake. The native sandstone terrace allows water to percolate back into the soil.
Floor Plan.
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Run off from the crushed limestone parking areas flow into a water garden that filters the
water before it enters the lake.
DesignAlabama 16
The break room in the adjoining building features a community dining
table and overhead garage doors that can open to the lake. Submerged
cypress logs recovered from one of Stewart Perry's construction projects
were recycled for use throughout the building for ceilings, doors, deck railings
and furniture. A total of 10 percent of materials used on the project are
recycled A 14,OOO·square·foot barn built since the move·in houses a car·
pentry and millwork shop, where reclaimed wood will be turned into furniture.
The upstairs has apartments for visitors or interns .
Cleanup of the lake involved removal of the coal tailings, which were
incorporated into the repaving of a neighboring church parking lot. The lake
captures runoff from a 120·acre watershed and is also fed by springs. A
man·made waterfall and three underwater fountains keep it aerated. Stocked
with fish, it and the surrounding walking paths are open to the neighborhood.
The parking lot is paved with light asphalt topped with crushed limestone to
reflect heat. Storm run off flows into a water garden planted with cattails and
iris, plants that filter suspended solids before the water flows into the lake.
Merrill Stewart, whose firm now offers commercial contracting, as
well as civil management services, takes pride in both the appearance and
performance of the new headquarters "We all make daily choices about how
we will or will not be good stewards of our environment," he says. "I believe
what Stewart Perry has done here with our building shows others what can
be achieved with a common·sense approach." III
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Merrill Stewal1 says. I believe what Stewal1 Perry
has done here with our building shows others what
can be achieved with a common-sense approach."
Furniture in the conference room was handmade for the space including the large, square table made of recycled lumber.
'LEEO- and related fogo is " trademark ovmed by lfie u.s. Green Buiidfng Council alicf is IJsee} by permission.
17 Voiume XIX
by Susan Braden
Mixed-Use Project Enlivens Emerging Downtown Entertainment District
DesignAlabama 18
The Alley
The Alley, a stylish and innovative urban design development created from renovated historic
buildings along a fonner working alleyway, is partly open and already delighting visitors.
tocated south of Tallapoosa Street in downtown MontgomelY, the alleyway has been transformed
from loading docks and parking places into a lively open-air pedestrian space edged
with azaleas and outdoor seating for bar and restaurant patrons. New porches and balconies
attached to rear walls of late 19th- and early 20th-century brick stl11ctures evoke the charming
side streets in New Orleans and Charleston. An events venue specializing in parties and recep��tions,
a barbeque restaurant and a bar are now open. In fall 2009, ,m Italian restaurant will
join the mix, upper floor apm1ments will attract urban reSidents and a second entry to The
Alley - the covered passageway on Commerce Street - will be completed. Soon to follow will
be retail!boutique shops, a children's museum and additional restaurants.
A showcase for the ideals of smart groMh, The Alley welcomes pedestrians and preserves the
historic commercial and warehouse bUildings, as well as the character of its downtown site.
The project represents what can go right with public-private partnerships when there is a good
downtown development plan, expert and earnest support from the city and unflagging entllUsiasm
from local owner-developers.
The Alley looking toward the water tower on Ta/!apoosa Street with Dreamland 8arbeque on the left. and loft apartment balconies visible above the restaurants outdoor dining area.
Montgomery's Downtown Plan and Smill1Code
Because The AI1ev is located in Montgomery's downtO\V1J core, the project complies with the city's
new development plan for that area, the Montgomery Downtown Plan and SmartCode, Prepared by
the Miami-based New Urbanist planning firm Dover Kohl & Partners, the downtown plan emphasizes
smart grO\vth principles and was strongly supported by Kenneth J. Groves, the city's director
of planning and development. (See "Planning With Vision: Montgomery," Fall/Winter 2007)
Commenting on The AUey, Groves cited the influence of the plan's form-based SmartCode and use
of transect" Developed by noted New Urbanists Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the
SmartCode and transect zones promote planning that aUows mixed use, adaptive reuse and design
forms suitable for different types of neighborhoods or transect zones, TIle Dover Kohl plan for
downtown Montgomery coordinates these smatt grO\vth ideas with local community input to provide
the city with a plan that retains local and regional charactelistics, The resulting form-based
design and planning approach - flexible regarding use atld specific about forms - helped make
The AUev possible,
The covered pedestrian passageway at the south end of The Alley
provides access to Commerce Street and haters and the downtown
convention center Pi;a:o by Naf'CY N?flsfre,'{j
The view from the south end of The A//ey shows restaurant spaces
on the back of the Schloss Kahn buiiding. The covereo" second
floor balcony part of 129 Coosa is a popular spot for receptions
and meetings.
19 Volume XIX
Azaleas and an 8~fooi steel 'wave" bench enliven Ihe alleyway with green near The AIJey far;ade of 129 Coosa.
Tilis view of ihe south end of The Aiiey shows 1',0e Commerce Street passageway and balconies of lofT apartments at Affey Station.
OesignA!abama 20
A birds-eye view of some of Montgomerys finest historic buildings
along Commerce Street shows the iight-colored. low-arched entry
to the pedestrian passageway leading to The Atley. Tile Alabama
riverfront area is indicated by the trees at rhe feli.
This map of downtown MOn/gomery SilQ'I6 rhe location of T/)e Affey in [he block bounded by Commerce,
Tallapoosa. Coosa and Bibb streets. District A is designated !fIe Dowrliowf) Core and houses tile emerging
Entertainmenf Distria From '.'!d D"w::!: 'I;",' iA()f!I~'(!li.'<,ry Pi;j!.' Uj Q:;,'('f i(;)f1.i11i!J! !ne Alliiy ilj,),'!fii!r.;J[,Dri "Jdt}-.;
Public -private PMtnership
According to Mike Watson, a Montgomery architect and one of the owners of
The Alley, the basic ideas behind the project go back to the 19805 when several
Montgomery businessmen ,md local leaders envisioned improving and revitalizing
Montgomery's downtown, By 2006, the option of using the SmartCode (made m,mdatory
in 2007) made it easier and more predictable for developers to go through
the city's approval process, Jeff Downes, cUl1'ently the deputy mayor, stated that the
SmaltCode represents "a measnre of protecting onr city and private sector investors"
at the same time it promises an "assured style of development that will be complementarv
to what we have historically in downtown,"
Assured by the fleXibility and the specifics of the plan and SmaltCode, the alley
property owners and the city formed a public-private partnership, Representing the
city was Downes, then executive assistant to Mayor Bobby Bright; Groves alld Christy
Anderson, lalld usc historic preservation coordinator for the city's planning and
development department, Watson, whose architectural firm occupies 166 Commerce
St" acted as coordinating architect between the city and the six or seven owners of
buildings on the alleyway,
An important early step in the project occurred when the owners received illustrated
renovation gUidelines prepared by Anderson, As part of their agreement with the
city, the bnilding owners deeded their portions of the alleyway to the city, The city
removed an old railroad spur from the alleyway and paid for improving the common
area that is the pedestrian healt of The Allev, According to Downes, the city spent
$1,6 million on infrastructure, and the owners invested $15 million with more to
come, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) allowed prOperly l>Lxes in The Alley to be stabilized
and the city to use future gains in t<Lxes to finance the cost of the infr<L,tructure.
Another significant step was the decision to open up the block by creating a second
entlY to The Alley, An agreement between the city and the owner of the two-storY
1940s building at 130 Commerce St. allowed the city to cut through the building's
core to provide space for a covered walkway, The addition of this Commerce Street
passageway gave The Alley an L-shaped footprint. When completed, the low-arched
passageway will give pedestrians from the hotel and convention area e'L>I access to
The Alley, l<ivemalk Stldium and the warehouse area to the east. In retnl'll for gutting
130 Commerce St., the city paid for alterations and additions, including the new
stucco front, which distinguishes it from the darker brick buildings to the north, As
pat1 of the agreement with the building's owner, the city received a 3D-year lease on
the new walkway,
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COMMERCE STREET
ThiS ground floor plan created by 2WR / Ho!mesWilkins Arc.hitects S!70'IlS the buifd/ngs and businesses atong The
Aftey. TIle shaded area starting at the left top of the plan where the water tank marks the Taffapoosa Street entrance
to The Affey iflustrafes how the open-air corridor. which a/so functions as an outdoor public space. intersects with
the shorter covered pedestrian walkway that feads to Commerce Street. Pi?,i) CD:.'r.'f;SY a.r C~,'is!V A"Je'SG"
On The Alley
The first business to open on The Alley - 129 Coosa - was joined in the spling
and summer of 2009 by Dreamland Barbeque and AllevBAR. Although not all
buildings are completed, The Alley already displays a shared aesthetic that is
pm1 industrial, part French Quarter. Rich and varying shades of red, orange and
brown bricks distinguish the exterior walls of what now are rear fa<;ades facing
The Alley. Blind doorways and shutters recall the working aspect of alley backdoors
and loading docks. Design elements on the exterior include window balconies,
and three of the buildings have porches andlor covered balconies with
slender columns that recall the ironwork characteristic of New Orleans. A few
of the tall rectangular windows facing the former alleyway have subtly decorative
lintels and detailing, although their street fa,ades on Commerce and Tallapoosa
are more elaborate.
Two local Commerce Street architectural firms - 2WR I HolmesWilkins
Architects (Wal,on's firm) and Brown Chambless Architect, (BCA) - are responsible
for most of the renovation and architectural design. Watson coordinated
the project with the owners and the city, and he and his firm created a noO!' plan
for The Alley and also designed AlleyBAR BCA completed architectural work 'Uld
built the shells for 129 Coosa and Dreamland Barbeque and is doing the same
for other owners in The Alley. Most of the inteliors feature unpainted brick walls,
exposed wooden beams, high ceilings and non-carpeted floors.
The main entry to 111e Alley is on Tallapoosa Street, where an eye-catching water
tower sl1nds on the sidewalk at the north end of The Alley. Salvaged from the
roofs of hvo of The Alley buildings, the water tank caused a controversv because
of its non-historic, out-of-place sidewalk setting. But the tOlVer is popular and
is fast becoming a landmark in the district On the east (Coosa Street) side of
the waleI' towel; the first building on The Alley is the Summit Building, an office
bUilding. Although it doesn't open onto The Alley; the owner of the building has
complied with the renovation guidelines and turns a neighborly; trim brick wall
toward The Alley. Along the eastern side of The Alley there will be restaurant>.
On the western (Commerce Street) side will be shops, restaurants, a museum, a
bar and music hall and loft apartments.
Dreamland Barbeques 'warehouse chic" interior has exposed brick walls with colorfu! rIeon signs. wooden ceiling beams
and fanfights over the front doorways.
129 Coosa (in the Schloss & Kahn Building) 129 Coosa is an eyent, yenue
with a banquet/reception area on the second floor of the 1895 Schloss &
Kahn Building. Elegant furnishings and dramatic lighting create an appealing
space in rooms with exposed brick walls and high ceilings. Coyered balconies
provide indoOl'outdoor space with yiews of The Alley: Plans call for a restaurant
on the first floor. There also is space for hvo restaurant, adjoining 129
Coosa to the south.
Substation and Passageway and Shops (formerly 130 Commerce)
At the south end of The Alley near the Commerce Street passageway, the city
plans to put in a police substation. Along the passageway are spaces for three
boutique retail shops and above on the second floor will be a banquet facility
with a roof garden.
Sa Za and 16 Lofts at Alley Station (138 Commerce) Opposite the
shops, Sa Za Selious Italian Food pizza restaurant is scheduled to open in
early fall 2009. Behind Sa Za, is space for another restaurant facing the openair
part of The ABeI'. Sixteen loft apartments, deSignated Alley Station, will
occupy the three stOlies above the restaurant,.
Children's Museum of Alabama n50 Commerce) The Children's
Museum of Alabama, a signature project of the Junior League of Montgomery,
will occupy the five-storv building at 150 Commerce St. with its entrance on
Commerce Street and back to The AlIel:
AIleyBAR n66 Commerce on The Alley) AllevBAR occupies the rear of the
Commerce Street building that houses Watson's architectural firm. Outdoor
seating areas, an interior with tables and cushioned conYersation areas give
the bar a lively, elegant atmosphere. Behind the bar is the architectural firm's
garage, which at times becomes a temporary music hall for local bands.
Dreamland! 10 Loft Apartments nO! Tallapoosa) Dreamland
Bm'beque faces Tallapoosa Street and has patio seating out,ide in The Alley.
Ten loft apartments will occupy the three floors above the restaurant.
21\folume XIX
Rear far;ades of buildings tflat front on Commerce Sireet now provide patrons 0/ The Aiiey wjjh graceful
outdoor spaces. AI/eyBAR is on the rigN. Pr!D:iJ b/ Na:'C) n:msiie/(.i
AlleyBARs interior features a variety of imaginativefy recycled materials. including sma!! manganese
plates on the wa!!s and galvanized steel conduit pipes on the bar counter. Over the bars counter are
"Larry" fights, so-named because they took like Larry Kings microphone.
Once a grocer's affey fined with modest back doors and toading docks, The Alley no'll plays an important part in linking Montgomery's entertainment
and riverfront areas.
Benefits for All
Groves appropriately describes The Alley as "livening up the city's downtown."
And there are other benefits. The project's development process reveals the
advantages of a well-organized public-private partnership working within
the fnunework of smart growth ideals and a flexible downtown plan. \'0 less
important, its design and adaptive reuse of older buildings preserves the fabric
of the city's historic center. Dowutown streets and historic structures rem,un in
If place even as new uses are introduced. Because of The Alley, an urban block
.$
..• , ... &"~"."'~ received revi~ilization, the public gained entry and insight into historic struc-
DesignA.!abama 22
tures, ,md, as Kyle Kyser expressed it. "You can work, live, enterblin and have
fun in that one block of downtown Montgomery. It's exciting to see your own
downtown come back to life." III
Susan Braden is it recently retired :\lIhurn Cnirer:>ity art history assistant professor.
EDENTON VILLAGE BRANDING
WEBSITE, PRINT, SIGNAGE AND MARKETING
IRON BRACKETS
GRAPHICS & PHOTOS COrRTESY OF THE G BRi\\1J
If the prin.t ads for Silverock Cove, a developing residential area. on Smith Lake, have a strong architectural
character. it is no accident Thev are designed by The G Brand, an in-house graphics department created by
Dungan & Nequette Architects. Thev did the master plan, created the name and logo, designed the houses,
gatewavs, signs and other site amenities. G Brand has even created a blog for the developer, Carter Hughes, that
allows residents of Silverock Cove to be a part of the community, even when they are not there.
The same complete design package was done for Edenton \·illage. a development off L.S. 280 in Shelbv County,
and for The Cottages, a series of student residential developments that began in Auburn. "The firm found that
there was a gap between the kinds of places being designed and built and the images that were being created to
market them," says Chad ,Iartin, a graphiC design graduate of Auburn Universitv \iontgomery who heads the twoman
G Brand operation. "We are able to carry through a total branding."
Dungan & Nequette has graduallv expanded its reach in development. For example, thev have designed most of
the houses constructed by Signature Homes at Ross Bridge in Hoover, as well as the commercial and multi-familv
structures that give the development its distinctive Arts & Crafts character.
"We are currently working on an interesting project with Cathy Crenshaw, the developer of Pepper Place and the
person behind the Pepper Place Farmers \larket:' says -'laftin. ''For the new general store there. we are working
with individuals to help them create nice branded products to sell that will look good at the store, but they will
also be able to lise the same packaging for the broader marketplace."
Shown here are three proiects that Dungan & \equette and its G Brand hav'e created frolll concept to final details.
Edenton Village Branding -
Birmingbam! Ala.
Edenton garners its name from another famous garden,
the Garden of Eden. This development's branding
began with a very distinct idea booklet that may have
saved the proiect altogether. Just as the developer was
about to walk away. the vision was realized through
the right imagery. Dungan & \equette and The G
Brand presented a booklet that spelled out everv'lhing
from architectural stvle to standing curb and gutters,
period sign age, doors and a 300-year-olcl spire from a
church in Europe among other authentic relics from
old European Villages. The story was set and proved
to be very effective, as Edenton pre-sold 38 homes in
the first month and has continued to average sales
of six per month since then. The branding was carried
through the logo, Web site, experience booklets.
signage and sales packets. The memorable experience
\\'as qUickly painted and imagery frol11 that initial
booklet became real.
- Chad Martin
23 Voiume XIX
OesignAlabama 24
PORCH
The Cottages - Various Locations
The Cottages are college student communities that emphasize just that, a sense of community, with every amenity one could ever want as
a student. The branding began in Auburn with a very experienced client. The G Brand started once again from inception with naming the
community, brochures, ads, \Veb site, signage and a custom front entry gateway. As you can imagine, a college demographic required we
market to the student and also gain the trust of the parents. Our approach was to stay very close to the architecture designed bv Dungan
& Nequette through mimicking colors in our brochure deSigns and \Veb site, as well as using the same materials in aUf signage. G stayed
simple in our selection with wood and metal and with a few laser-cut designs. This model became a package that has been repeated
multiple times all over the entire countl'l', building upon the brand's reach and integrity each time. - Chad "larlin
Our Community IS
Growino- b
Silverock Cove Branding - Lewis Smith Lake, Ala.
This project began with a magical site offering riews of the water from all points and a relT astute client. Silrerock Core began in
2007 when many other lake projects were failing. so the branding campaign had to represent the project well. The G Brand began
from scratch. naming the derelopment. then logo design, next experience booklets, followed by Web site design, acb, sales erents
and designing an oll-site walking trail experience with signage that took prospectiyc clients around the whole property. Every
piece had to be represented in a way that made people feel like it already existed. - Chad )lartinlll
25 VOlume XIX
Designer~Profiles
Where Objets d'Art Meet Nuts
Meet the directors from three creative
industrial design firms that call Alabama
home: Push Products, Inergi and the eclectic
group. They are, as their various names
suggest, pushing design boundaries with
energy, and they are an eclectic group. Their
visions are expressed in such diverse products
as an iPhone application, a helicopter training
module and a football museum. Find out why
they chose to work in Alabama.
Greg Sollie
President and CEO
Inergi Design Services Inc.
Huntsville, Ala,
Q: What is the scope of your firm's services?
Greg Sollie: We are diversified with two divisions and
multiple storefronts per division. One division is technical
and the other is artistic, but they overlap with one another.
On the artistic side, we have a museum group, a trade show
unit, a retail team that does specialized graphics, and in
between, we have a marketing communications group that
does branding.
Our technical division includes a mechanical engineering
and industrial design group, a prototype group fabricates
in plastic and metal, and one does flight simulators. We
also provide packaging services. :\lany clients use us for
support across many storefronts to take advantage of the
discipline synergy.
Part of our sto,,' is the building we occupy, a turn-of-thecenturv
factory bUilding of 242,000 square feet That amount
of space makes it possible to tackle some velY large projects for
museums and exhibits - \ve fabricate everything from complex,
rapid protot~ves to large-scale, museum-type installations.
Q: How did you get slarted in Alabama,
and what are the advantages of being in
business here?
Sollie: I was at \ubul'l1 in 1980, with a degree in industrial
design, and I was fortunate enough to join ~;l&S Computing,
the companv that eventually became Intergraph. I was their
first industrial deSigner to get hired fulltime straight out of
schoo!' I stayed there for 20 veal'S and started the combined
design program at Intergraph '5 Huntsville headquarters,
managing not only product design but also the trade show
group and marketing communications. From 1980 to 2000,
we grew to a group that was 85 people strong. Those were
exciting davs. Intergraph went public in 1981 and mushroomed
but then got into a lawsuit with INTEL Corp. in
the late ·90s. Around that time, 13 of us did a spin-off from
Intergraph. We formed Inergi while at Intergraph and did a
buyout of that business nine years ago.
The Huntsville area is a hot bed of technologv and entreprenelli'S,
and a lot of large businesses are founded here, so we
stav here because it has the blessing of being a good place
economicallv. Huntsville has been called the "Silicon \'alle),
of the South."
DesignAiabama 26
Q: How do you approach each exhibit or
product design?
Sollie: lVe try to establish a vision of a perfect blend of art
and engineering, Our designs are influenced from the engineering
and technical side, doing things the wav they should
be done, and from the art side to find the ideal design to
address human and aesthetic factors. We are firm believers
in the idea that you embrace and experience the problem, so
you can solve it.
A recent project, as an example, was for a government
technology firm that decided to commercialize a piece of
technology. Thev hired us to help them take a black box idea
and turn it into a marketplace idea. We named the product,
researched the branding and did the industrial and mechani��cal
design of the product. Police officers use this product in
their work, so we engaged with local police and acted out
scenarios. It is a methamphetamine detector that can identifv
sub-trace amounts of the drug in a locker or car. The final
product had to be rugged, ergonomically correct and manufacturable.
The company introduced it at a law enforcement
trade show, fm which we created a large exhibit and multimedia
displavs of the product in use, and the results far
exceeded their expectations.
/nergi Design Services provides flight-ready
machanical engineering and fabrication for the
simulation market.
(Left) SAle sefected inergi for its complete fine
of support to design and launch this product
for the taw enforcement community.
Q: What is your favorite product design that
did not get produced?
That would date back to the Intergraph davs. The project was
a complex ad campaign where we created a 3-D model of a
world to show what lntergraph did, and it took a large team
six months to create visuals with 3-D prototypes and elaborate
computer models of towns and ports and bridges. It was a
really, reallv nice body of work, but it was deemed, at the end,
as too futuristic.
Q: What is your most complicated!
challenging project?
Sollie: We just produced and shipped to Saudi Arabia a
full-scale flight motion simulator, which houses a search and
rescue helicopter cockpit where pilots would train. It has a
fult-surround sight and sound projection system, and it gives
the effect of flying through space on a huge platform that tilts
and sways. This package was the size of a hOllse. One major
challenge lVas the fact that this thing, once completed, then
had to be disassembled, packaged for shipment overseas and
reassembled to exact specifications, again, on the other side.
Q: When you feel yourself becoming creatively
"stuck, "what do you do to get "unstuck?"
Sollie: Generally, I consult the creative staff and other partners
to get different viewpoints on the problem and to get
things flowing again. That is the beautv of having a lot of
creative people around.
lloyd Cooper
Principal
Push Product Design
Birmingham, Ala,
Q: What is the scope of your firm's services?
Lloyd Cooper: We are a full service industrial design firm,
We become extensively imolved in product creation from
concept througb market research to building prototypes to
full production, We do all this within the client's clearly
defined performance and price criteria. We create medical.
consumer and transportation products. As an example of the
latteL one of our ongoing clients is Tiffin xlotorhomes in Red
Bav, They make large, class-A motor homes, We helped them
design the d?cshboard and exterior of The Phaeton - one of
the top-selling recreational vehicles in its class in the countl}
Aesthetics and ergonomics played a large role in our design
concerns there. but we are also heavily into the mechanical
engineering aspect.
Q: How did you get started in Alabama,
and what are the advantages of being in
business here?
Cooper: I am from Birmingham originaHy. and all of our
designers came out of the lD school at Auburn, I\Iv father
was a Navy architect. and he had an engineering company
here, so I grew up in that background, Alabama is ideallv
located in the Southeast, within reach of clients in Atlanta,
Chattanooga, "ashville and Mississippi, A lot of our longterm
clients are Southern businesses that previously had
not dealt with industrial design firms but which are very
receptive to our services. One of our core services is medical
product design: this is a great location for the medical field
with clients like the University of Alabama in Birmingham, II
recent proiect we did with the Alabama Disabilities Council
spun out of iPhone applications for handicapped children,
We have worked with researchers at Children's Hospital in the
trauma area, where they deal with children with speech challenges,
We created a custom software application that alioll's
these children to speak using the iPhone,
Q: How do you approach each exhibit or
product design?
Cooper: We create 99 percent of our designs under contract
so we don't begin until a proiect is initiated by' clients, A
unique thing we do is balance extreme creativity with super
pragmatism. We might push blue sky idea.s early on, but then
we transition to being extremely prudent. \\"e come up with
our own ideas all the time but rareil' have time to pursue
them. Recently, we came Lip with a gaming industry acces-
50['\' - a plastiC part that snaps onto the controller that gives
the gamer more mechanical advantage - and we spun off a
company to create the product named "Kontrolfreek,"
Q: What is your favorite product design that
did not get produced?
Cooper: A sports car interior for a companv in Atlanta called
Panoz that makes band-buill, custom sports cars, Tbey have
clone very wel! in racing with the Esperante - a very smart
deSign, They buv a lot of parts from Ford, but the car must
not look like a Ford or any other brand, We did an interior
design for them that has not gone into production yet. It was
a classic industrial design challenge - to create a complete,
unique identity witb excellent ergonomics.
Q: What has been your most complicated!
challenging project?
Cooper: The most visible one would be the exterior of
tbe ~lc\Vane Science Center because we worked with whole
teams of architects, contractors and structural engineers in a
compressed time frame. (See "Building Street Smart," Fall!
IYinter 2008)
But a less visible proiect that was very challenging was to
create a surgery table for Children's Hospital in Birmingham,
The table is used for kids with scoliosis, and it allows surgeons
)GO-degree access to the spine. It is called a casting
Ergonomics played an equal role witl) drama
when Push Products created the Phaeion;s
dastlboard and instrument panels. Pusil
Products designed the sleek look of the
Phaeton luxury recreational vehicle. a [apse/
fer nationwide for Alabama's Tiffin Co.
ThiS Mehta casting table allows
the surgeon fuf! access to the
patients spine. After Iwistfng
the spine to the desired configuration.
the surgeon molds
a cas! to hold the desired
posture with the aid of a mirror
undemeath
table, and the proiect grew out of some prior work we had
clone on spinal implants and medical producls, The casting
process, as opposed to open spine surgery, involres
the surgeons stretching and twisting the spine, and then
placing the child in a cast that balds the spine in the new,
corrected postlll'e, We designed the entire table with some
features tbat the surgeons asked for, then we fabricated it
out of stainless steel and delivered it, turnkey, to the client
The proiect is a good example of the wonderful medical
development) going on in Birmingham.
Q: When you feel yourself becoming
creatively "stUCk," what do you do to get
"unstuck?"
Cooper: Sometimes it is as simple as going for a run to
clear my mind, I also benefit from studying other creative
people, other designers and engineers, One of those was
Kelly Johnson at Lockheed, who designed the earlv iet fighters
and [-2 spy plane, Johnson did remarkable things - he
created planes at the height of the cold war - on tight
deadlines and under budget
27 Volume XIX
Kelton Blasingame
John Kelton and
Clint Blasingame
Partners
eclectic group
Huntsville, Ala,
Q: What is the scope of your firm's work?
Clint Blasingame: We named the firm "eclectic group"
because, initially, we were into all types of design. We narrowed
our scope of service to target a major geographic market:
\Ve design spaces from trade show exhibits to museums
to retail experiences and communications. \,\,"e refer to ourselves
as "a creative capital partner" We design experiences
that connect people and ideas, John [Kelton] and I count on
each other's strengths. I am like the big picture guy, always
trying to connect, while John is the guy who llsually starts
the designing and gets the product rolling.
Q: How did you get started in Alabama,
and what are the advantages of being in
business here?
John Kelton: I was born and raised in Birmingham,
then went to Auburn l.'niversitv where I met Clint. In 1992
at Intel'graph in Huntsville, I was assigned to the trade
sholl" exhibit team, I learned computer skiils, then moved
to Indiana to a firm that primarily did trade show exhibit
design and fabrication, followed by four years in Orlando
\yhere I \\'orked for Presentation South designing theme park
e:hibits. Through that job, r was exposed to exhibits that
teach a concept or scientific principle, like how does a tornado
work. It was very gratifying to me to see families go to
Epcott and stand in front of an exhibit I had made and take
the famill photograph,
\lv wife and I moved back to Huntsl'ille 10 I'ears ago to work
for space camp as their exhibit deSigner; Clint and I started
to \rork together in 2001 at the rocket center on speCialized
exhibits. Huntsville is a good place for a design firm because
of space camp and the qualitv of life, ,\bout 70 percent of our
clients are in Alabama.
Blasingame: Alabama, for a long time, was a tough geographic
location for industrial design. When I got out of
school, I designed consumer products, and there is not a lot of
consumer product manufacturing in the state, Also, in 1992,
design in general was not valued among the few Alabama
manufacturers. So during my first eight years practicing true
product design, 90 percent of my clients were out of state, But
the Internet was not even being used, and you were very tied
to your geographiC location, Now, in 2009, you are not at all
tied to anI' one place,
Q: How do you approach each exhibit or
product design?
Kelton: My approach always begins with the scope of 1V0rk
from the client, and that defines the project. But even after
vou have the scope of work, you have to nail dOlVn the story,
You have to write the story first ~ who, what, when, where,
why and how,
Something we learned at Auburn is prototyping: making
models and testing them, \laybe you should have used a
push button and not a lever, or the writing on the exhibit is
at a lOth-grade level and should be at a fifth-grade leveL I
believe firmly in "visitor studies," and I have been taking
classes at JacksonVille State University about new ways of
measuring the public's response to an exhibit.
OesignAlabama 28
if vou have an interactive exhibit vou would want to build
a prototype as dose to full scale as possible to work out visibility
and ergonomic issues, ADA requirements and label
testing. \Vhen we designed exhibits for the Pad \'\:. "Bear"
Bryant .\luseum at the University of Alabama. we observed
visitors and asked what they \vould like to see in a new
museum. The replies were not always what we expected.
People wanted more films of winning moments in Alabama
games; they wanted more crimson. As deSigners, we call this
the remedial phase: You go back to the finished exhibit and
see what needs to change.
Blasingame: We have a six-stage framework, It starts with
research with the client and the clients' dients; we develop
a strategy, then a design, then a prototype, then produce
the design and take it to market. We do our own fabrication
within reason, We enjol' producing the rapid prototl'ping
and computer shifts to guarantee the integrity of the design.
Given the chance, we like to build,
Q: What is your favorite product design that
did not get produced?
Kelton: We created a playbox that used Bluetooth
technology and all kinds of whiz-bang technology,
We wanted to see it go to market, but it didn't happen,
Blasingame: There was a wireless hand-held device for
FEDEX that did not get produced, It enabled couriers to
track packages,
Gila M. Smith is a freelance writer based in Montgomery_
U of A museum: Visitors to the
Paul W ·'Bear" Bryanll'vtuseum
in Tuscaloosa enjoy displays
designed by tile ectectic group
Feedback told the designers to
add more crimson.
Q: What is your most complicated!
challenging project?
Kelton: That would be a 1994 exhibit I designed fOI A11'
at the Disney Epcott Center. 'In was just then introducing
its \Veb connection, Worldnet. and wanted to promote it
to Epcott visitors, We pulled all of XITs usual interactil'e
exhibits from display and replaced them with computer
stations where people could line up and send an e-mail to
somebody, ,1fT's visitor numbers jumped from 1,500 a daY'
to 5,000, Plus, each person took away a free CD to load onto
home computers to begin lVoridnet service, The challenge
was to cOlwince Disney Imagineering - they approved aU
design changes - to tet llS remove eight different types of
exhibit experiences and replace them with ONE choice for
interactivity, It was a hard selL
BlaSingame: Mine would be a hospital bed design for HillRom
(maker of hospital and home medical eqUipment), We
had a lot of mechanical and ergonomic design features to
work out This bed was to be used in nursing homes and
long-term care facilities, but we wanted to change the paradigm
of staff lifting and moving patients in and out of beeL
The idea was to allow the resident to get in and out of bed
without the staff's help, therebv allowing him more freedom
while redUCing the number of back injuries among nurses,
Q: When you find yourself creatively "stuck,"
what do you do to get "unstuck?"
Kelton: I take photos of exhibits wherever I go, and I have
thousands to sort through for inspiration when I am stuck.
The images are never plagiarized because the story vou are
telling is always different
Blasingame: I use diagramming and visual doodling to
get around roadblocks, I call it visual thinking, (jfJl
How do v. ou turn an architecturalliabilitv.
into something positive? It starts with finding
a design team not afraid to make big moves
and a client willing to see them through. This
project shows the way.
Built during the 1970s when enthusiasm for exposed concrete
structures was running high, the building in the Broohvood area
of Homewood certainly lives up to the term "Brutalist" given to the
movement The name comes from French architect Le Corbusier's
phrase. "Beton Brute." One look at the before photos here brings
another description to mind ~ heavy-handed.
Renovations of the entrance and lobby for a plwsicians insul'
"nce companv designed by Williams Blackstock Architecls of
Birmingham deftlv offset the liabilities. ··It was a dark, datedlooking
lobbv, and we replaced corrugated-concrete walls and a
stained sloping glass ceiling with sculpted painted walls, warm
wood paneling and a lighter stone flooring." says project lead
Joel Blackstock. "We also set a new exterior entrance within the
existing structure to complete the transformation."
II bold. flat rectangular limestone-clad frame set within the former
dark void defines the entrance and establishes an air of substance.
Clear glass also now opens light and views into the lobby space.
The bridge is paved with two tones of travertine marble to establish
a lighter, more refined materials palette as does a new bronze
metal railing.
Design.Makes A Difference
This before view shows the corrugated concrete
and dark. sloping glass roof thai existed.
To lighten the lobby Williams Blackstock introduced a bronze-and-glass railing
system along with travertine flooring. lighting and new clear glass. The new
limestone-clad frame at the entrance visually links upper and lower levels.
29 Volume XIX
A before P;70to of the exterior shows an oiiset bridge leading to a dark
hole of an entrance.
Inside, the lighter finishes on the floor, walls and ceiling set
an entirely different tone. Balancing the airiness are \varm
finishes and textures. Honey-hued travertine tioors, v::triegatedmakore
wood panels and the circular wood reception desk
pia, off the overall lightness. The clunky concrete-and-brass
railing \vas replaced with a bronze-and-glass railing system.
While taking on bUildings of this period with heavr, pelc
manent-Iooking concrete seems daunting, it can be done.
\Villiams Blackstock interior designer Ashley Handley points
Ollt that the material was set in panels. "It \vas our biggest
challenge, but the Proilssurance people were great clients
and let us do what needed to be done." III
A new limestone-clad entrance feature boldly defines the entrance with clear glass improving
visibility from outside and natural light within. The new bridge aligns with the entry
This pair of photos shows the lower level as it existed and as it now
appears with the rebuilt bridge integrated inlo the new masonry
entrance frame. A new open raiting visually lighlens the bridge.
DesignAlabama 30
CommunityeProfile
The nature of community design suggests some predetermined
intention rather than haphazard coincidence, It is about
understanding and building on what we know - the good as well
as the bad. It is about creating a better place to live,
In front of a hardware store, a banner cheerfully welcomes locals and visitors to downtown Guin.
Local merchants purchase the banners, which change throughout the year depending on the season.
Kenneth B. Hall Jr & Gerald A. Porterfield. 'Community By Design:
New Urbanism for Suburbs and Small Communities"
Livable communities don't just happen. They are the result of careful planning on
everyone's part not just that of design professionals. I\o one understands this citizenbased
participatory approach better than the people of Guin, who are working hard to
direct the progress of their community with sensitivity and foresight.
Mixed-use bUildings, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. diversified industries and
commercial development are part of a master plan for managing the growth of this
:'Iarion County railroad town in mountainous northwest Alabama.
A strong public/private partnership has made such an ambitious, long-term plan feasible.
The city is working closely with agencies to reY'italize Guin's commercial center and to
promote economic growth through business retention and expansion. Guin was one of
the first cities to participate in the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) program,
which brings together the priyate sector, governmental agencies and universities to aid
the deyelopment of cities with a population between 2,000 and 18.000.
Small town living that offers easy access to metropolitan areas has great appeal today.
Driving time from this small community of about 2,500 people is two hours or less to
li.lpelo, the ~luscle Shoals/Florence area, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Memphis.
The new Interstate-22 connecting Birmingham and ~lemphis abuts Guin, proYiding
opportunities for commercial, industrial and residential growth.
"We're definitely on the move, and the catalyst behind this moye is the future of 1-22,"
notes ~layor Phil Segrayes. "We developed a plan for smart growth with the help of
sel'eral agencies and 70 residents who participated in a series of town hall meetings
during a nine-month period."
Like many Alabama communities, Guin once prospered as a textile-driyen economy.
When the textile industry declined, Guin officials sought assistance from Auburn
University's Urban Studio to deyelop a plan to revitalize their town and to maximize
the opportunities presented by 1-22.
31 VOlume XIX
"As we began our studies, the town had extensive work in progress with highwav widening
through downtown and had already secured an extension to the city limits that would
connect downtown to I -22," explains Chelyl \!organ, director of the Birmingham-based
Urban Studio, an outreach program that allows students to engage in community projects.
Working on the Guin plan was Katie Houston, an Auburn Universitv architecture student
who is now an Associate AlA with Evan Terry Associates in Birmingham. With "lorgan's
guidance, Houston created a plan that includes a proposal for mixed-use on a former
textile factorv site, new neighborhoods within walking distance of the downtown and a
water and recreation park, as weil as new downtown parks and a welcome center.
Also part of the plan is an industrial park at the primary I -22 exit for Guin, The city
first acquired 220 acres for development at this location for an industrial and retail use
and an additional 160 acres, which may be used for housing.
IVith an eve toward the creation of an industrial park and other key issues facing Guin,
Segraves participated in the 2009 DesignAlabama \layo1'5' Design Summit, which gires
Alabama mayors the opportunitv to work with designers on various projects to enhance
the !imbility of their communities.
"1 was impressed by how progressive the mavor and city council are; they understand
the importance of planning," Houston says. "You can draw pretty pictures all day long,
but the,.'re meaningless without leaders to implement them."
Tupelo's llew Tovota plant is about a 45-minute drive from Guin along 1-22, which will
position Guin for groIV1h with a potential to recruit suppliers and distributors and the
jobs and residents associated with such developments, 'lorgan explains.
"The community has been extremely successful in using the Small Town Design
Initiative Plan to secure grants for realizing a number of the proposals of the plan, 'adds
'lorgan. "As they evolve their development options at the interstate, thev have a chance to
create a distinctive commercial [lodging and retail] and industrial park that can evoke
the character of an Italian hill town - if thev are careful to adapt development to the
challenges and opportunities of the topographv at their principal interstate exchange."
"organ is also hopeful that many of Guin's new neighborhood developments will be in
the core downtown as opposed to suburban areas.
A sign conveys the Guin Garden Club's efforts to help beautify the downtown
Large flower baskets are at the base of each pole that does not have a banner.
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