In mid-March, a distinguished jury spent a weekend perusing more than 200 submissions from over 170 firms to select winners of the Congress for the New Urbanism's second annual Charter Awards.  The 18 projects chosen represent the best in New Urbanist practice and all scales of development and planning, from individual blocks and buildings to neighborhoods and regional plans. Surprisingly, all of the award winners are infill projects.

 

Jury chair Jonathan Barnett, a long-time consultant and professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania (and CNU Board member), says: "The jury was very impressed by the high quality and great variety of the projects submitted, from regional studies to neighborhood plans, to designs for streets, blocks, and individual buildings. The ideas CNU advocates are clearly gaining widespread acceptance."

 

Projects were drawn from around the states, with a clear emphasis on the coasts, but also from Cleveland, Chicago, and St. Louis. The one winner from outside the U.S. was a plan for high-density redevelopment in Beirut, Lebanon. Three companies managed to win two awards apiece in the blind judging.

 

Along with Barnett, fellow jurors included Alex Krieger, who chairs the Urban Design Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design; Richard Rosan, executive vice president of Urban Land Institute; Elinor Bacon of the National Revitalization Commission; Bonnie Fisher, Principal, ROMA Design Group; John Norquist, Mayor of Milwaukee, WI; and Ken Greenberg, an influential architect and urbanist from Toronto, Ontario.

 

The winners will be celebrated at an awards dinner June 15, 2002, as part of the 10^th Congress for the New Urbanism in Miami Beach. CNU X will be held at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, June 13 - 16, 2002. For more information call AHI at 800-788-7077, e-mail convene@aol.com, or register on-line at www.cnu.org.

 

Winners of CNU Charter Awards 2002

 

The Region

 

Conservation Initiative, Annapolis, Maryland

Submitted by State of Maryland Office of Smart Growth

    

The Confluence Master Plan: A Conservation, Heritage, and Recreation Corridor, St. Louis, Missouri

Submitted by H3 Studio (314-531-8000)

    

The Metropolis

 

Development Plan for Sectors A & D, Beirut, Lebanon

Submitted by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

 

The City

 

Initiative for a 20/20 Vision for Concord, New Hampshire

Submitted by Goody, Clancy & Associates

 

The Neighborhood

      

Holly Park Redevelopment ­ Phase I, Seattle, Washington

Submitted by Weinstein Copeland Architects (206-443-8606)

      

Stateway Gardens Redevelopment Plan, Chicago, Illinois

Submitted by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

     

The District

 

Addison Circle, Addison, Texas

Submitted by RTKL Associates

      

Hayward Downtown Plan & Cannery Area, Hayward, California

Submitted by Solomon E.T.C. Architecture and Urban Design (415-575-4722)

      

University of Washington Tacoma Master Plan, Tacoma, Washington

Submitted by Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners

     

The Corridor

 

Riverview HOPE VI Housing, Cleveland, Ohio

Submitted by Goody, Clancy & Associates

     

The Block

 

Bethesda Row, Bethesda, Maryland

Submitted by Federal Realty Investment Trust

      

Millennium Place, Boston

Submitted by Gary Edward Handel + Associates Architects

      

Northeastern University West Campus Residence Halls, Boston

Submitted by William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.

     

The Street

 

Howard University Le Droit Park Revitalization Initiative, Washington, DC

Submitted by Sorg & Associates

     

The Building

 

101 San Fernando, San Jose, California

Submitted by Solomon E. T. C. Architecture and Urban Design (415-575-4722)

      

Chelsea Grande, New York City

Submitted by Richard Cook & Associates Architects

      

Seven Fountains, West Hollywood, California

Submitted by Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists

      

Timothy Dwight Elementary School Addition, New Haven, Connecticut

Submitted by Michael Haverland Architect/Yale Urban Design Workshop

 

Selected jury briefs:

 

State of Maryland's Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Initiative

State of Maryland, Office of Smart Growth. 

 

Maryland is at the forefront of statewide reform in terms of Smart Growth. State resources have been allocated for the application of almost every principle in CNU's Charter. These environmentally conscientious initiatives target both rural and urban areas to preserve open space, increase the viability of public transportation, and promote the revitalization and densification of already developed areas.

The Confluence Master Plan: A Conservation, Heritage & Recreation Corridor

H3 Studio, St. Louis, MO

The jurors were particularly impressed with the story behind this submittal, which details the efforts to create a 40-mile-long interconnected conservation, heritage, and recreation corridor with a riverside park and trail system anchoring 200 square miles in Missouri and Illinois. A collaborative effort, this project was championed by a collective including five non-profit organizations, and supported by state and federal departments as well as local museums and universities. It represents an impressive collaboration of a variety of organizations.

Development Plan for Sectors A & D in Beirut, Lebanon

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, New York City

This large-scale urban waterfront revitalization was the only international project to receive an award this year. The proposed plan covers 150 acres and would add a public park, waterfront district, and marina to a preexisting historical district suffering the aftermath of bombings and war. The jury was particularly struck by the social and historical significance of the revitalization of the port in Beirut.

Initiative for a 20/20 Vision for Concord, New Hampshire

Goody, Clancy & Associates, Boston

This growth plan for the Concord region (64 square miles overall) aims to control the anticipated 20 million square feet increase in housing that is estimated to be built in the next two decades. The planning process included public workshops, an open design charrette, a Web site, and inserts included in the local newspaper. The collaborative nature of the planning process represented an even-handed approach to allowing an entire community to make decisions about the fate of their surroundings.

Holly Park Redevelopment - Phase I

Weinstein Copeland Architects, Seattle, Washington

This HOPE VI-funded redevelopment is impressive in its intelligent approach to an expedited program. The challenge of designing for a low-cost redevelopment was met by standardizing dimensions, assemblies, and materials. These elements were then combined in a variety of ways to produce attractive individual residences in an affordable community. As is important in affordable housing, the project was connected to its surrounding environs in such a way that the street grid is continuous and encourages pedestrian traffic and increased interpersonal interaction. As the project is already built, its successful approach is on display with measurable results.

Stateway Gardens Redevelopment Plan

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago

As a necessary redevelopment of a distressed public housing project in Chicago, the project reflects the different approach needed when a high-rise building is replaced with a network of flats, townhouses, and seven-story mid-rises with retail and office space on the ground floors. A community planning process ensured the input of current residents as well as planning officials and the Chicago Housing Authority. In addition to the variety of building types to be introduced into the area, the plan also details the creation of new public spaces, the establishment of a community association, and the inclusion of surrounding unoccupied lots as part of the project.

Hayward Downtown Plan & Cannery Area

Solomon E.T.C. Architecture and Urban Design, San Francisco

This submission combined two separate but contingent plans for transit-oriented infill development in an inner-ring suburb. Architecturally, the revitalization combines traditional local types with more contemporary loft designs. Historic buildings are converted into professional offices and local landmarks are incorporated into the plans as important architectural focal points. The adaptation of the area surrounding the BART station creates an attractive pedestrian environment and much-needed accessibility to downtown businesses. Juror Kenneth Greenberg made a case for this submission as, "One of the best submitted examples of a contemporary interpretation of the suburban downtown."

Addison Circle

RTKL Associates, Dallas

Considered by some to be one of the most impressive new urbanist developments in America, Addison Circle is a new traditional neighborhood offering "classic" urban space and resources on one of few previously undeveloped sites in a first-ring suburb. In addition to quintessential new urban qualities including public transportation, a mix of uses, and above-average density, the development showcases extremely attractive design including beautiful courtyards, charming narrow streets, and utilitarian public spaces and parks. Unlike some of the submitted TND plans, this development is not only already partially built, but is adjacent to an existing developed area. It creates a beautiful new space while enhancing a preexisting area.

 

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization founded in 1993. It works with architects, developers, planners, and others involved in the creation of cities and towns, teaching them how to implement the principles of the New Urbanism. These principles include coherent regional planning, walkable neighborhoods, and attractive, accommodating civic spaces. CNU has members throughout the United States and around the world. It sponsors annual conferences, known as Congresses, for the sharing and discussion of best practices in New Urbanism.