Practicing ArchitectureAwards

2010 INSTITUTE HONOR AWARDS FOR REGIONAL AND URBAN DESIGN RECIPIENT

Architecture

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Interior Architecture

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Regional & Urban Design

Notes of Interest

As the lead design consultant for this mayoral initiative, the firm created a new vision for seven miles of the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Currently cut off from the city by the intrusion of I-95, this riverfront is comprised of underutilized post-industrial land and big-box development, and is subject to unregulated residential speculation. The plan emphasizes the ecological and economic value of the waterfront and sets forth a framework that the city can follow to generate new, cohesive, and sustainable development. This new growth will be organized around parks and open space, providing access to the river and a new movement system, including the decking- over of I-95 and a grand civic boulevard complete with public transit. For the ability of the plan to accommodate the future needs of the city and its people, this project has received numerous endorsements.

JURY COMMENTS

Focusing on seven miles of
Philadelphia’s former industrial
waterfront, this concept for
reclaiming severely dilapidated
real estate is long overdue. Most
striking is how separate districts
along the waterfront will tie in to
the existing I-95 corridor, blending
the hard and soft qualities of the
city and making critical
connections from the city to the
river. The parks, transit, trails, and
mixed-use development that re-
establish the riparian qualities of
the Delaware, also reaches out to
the city across the river, Camden,
N.J. Holistically, this is a very
appropriate set of solutions to a set
of longstanding problems and a
sustainable approach to the re-
invigoration of existing facilities.
As just one example that addresses
an urban problem found
nationwide— that of the car-
centric, neighborhood-dividing
fallout from the 1960s-era
construction of interstate
highways—the planned decking
over and under I-95 reconnects the
city to its waterfront, which makes
the larger plan’s success that much
more realistic.

2010 INSTITUTE HONOR AWARDS FOR REGIONAL AND URBAN DESIGN JURY

John F. Torti, FAIA (Chair)
Torti Gallas & Partners, Inc.
Silver Spring, Maryland

Lance Jay Brown, FAIA
Lance Jay Brown Architecture & Urban Design
New York City

Brenda Scheer, AIA
University of Utah
College of Architecture + Planning
Salt Lake City

Edward K. Uhlir, FAIA
Uhlir Consulting, LLC
Chicago

Debby Wieneke
Habitat for Humanity of Benton County, Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas