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AIA Architects Launch Nationwide Community Service Program “Blueprint for America” to Mark 150th Anniversary
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For Immediate Release |
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Washington, D.C., May 19,
2006 — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today launched a
nationwide community service program titled “Blueprint for
America: A Gift to the Nation” by funding the first 60 grants
for collaborative visioning initiatives between AIA architects and
their communities created to produce a shared vision for a more
livable future. The AIA will provide two million dollars in the
next six months to fund up to 200 grants.
The Blueprint for America initiative is the primary program of
AIA150, a yearlong observance in 2007 that will mark the 150th
anniversary of the founding of the AIA. The theme of AIA150 is
“Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future.” However,
the main focus of the anniversary will be the Blueprint for
America, a nationwide initiative empowering citizens to share in
creating a vision for their communities’ design
priorities.
From Lubbock to Rhode Island, Birmingham to Puerto Rico, AIA
architects and members in more than 160 communities will
participate in Blueprint initiatives that utilize community
engagement, in a collaborative process, and quality design as keys
to improving a community’s livability. Blueprint initiatives
are a gift to the community from the members of the AIA, and the
members’ participation in the initiative is provided at no
fee.
“The Blueprint for America is primarily about a vision of
what’s possible for communities,” said AIA President Kate
Schwennsen, FAIA. “It’s about helping communities see
what is possible when architects, mayors and other civic leaders,
and fellow citizens work together to tackle such issues as
brownfields, accessibility for the disabled, affordable housing,
sprawl, and environmental sustainability,” she added.
“The Blueprint for America, a keystone program of the
AIA’s 150th anniversary, is an extraordinary opportunity to
make a significant, substantive difference in the future of our
nation's communities, and AIA members, working through their state
and local components, are key to the program's success,” said
George H. Miller, FAIA, chair of AIA150. “We’ve taken on
the task of launching these initiatives and uniting architects in
service to their communities by providing the resources necessary
for this bold undertaking to be successful,” he added.
“With the launching of this community service initiative, a
simple but clear message emerges,” said Schwennsen. “The
Blueprint for America is about doing things with your community,
not for it. While the distinction may seem minor, indeed it can
change the way the entire community process works,” she
added.
Of the 60 initiatives selected to receive funding grants, the
issues addressed include revitalizing a downtown, designing a
master plan to save a historic community, dealing with
homelessness, working with state legislators to build a coalition
focused on green design, and rezoning land along a light-rail
system. The following selected initiatives received funding
grants:
AIA Columbus, Ohio: Multimodal Transit Station Design
(MTSD) Initiative
In 2007 the AIA Columbus Livable Communities Committee will
implement its seventh community design charrette – “MTSD
Initiative.” The charrette will focus on developing passenger
facilities that bring together multiple forms of transportation
(air transportation, light rail, buses, streetcars, taxis, rental
cars, bikeways, etc.) at three or four locations. The initiative
will focus on a downtown site, an urban neighborhood, an
established suburban neighborhood, and an airport site.
AIA Nebraska: The Flatwater Metroplex: Envisioning Regional
Design
This AIA member initiative will engage regional stakeholders in a
collaborative series of local forums and charrettes in which
architects, citizens, and community leaders will come together to
address a region’s distinct needs. AIA architects will lead
and facilitate the creation of smart growth visions that promote
regional-scale sustainability in five domains: environment,
society/culture, technology, economics, and public policy. This
comprehensive community service program is designed to facilitate
consensus among stakeholders, increase public awareness about
building livable communities in a climate of rapid change and
growth, help communities imagine solutions, and increase
citizen/stakeholder participation.
AIA East Tennessee: Magnolia Avenue Corridor Study: A
Revitalization Initiative for East Knoxville
This initiative involves a planning study and implementation plan
for Magnolia Avenue, the main east-bound corridor connecting
downtown Knoxville with the predominately African-American
neighborhoods of east Knoxville. This historic avenue was
previously an affluent, vibrant corridor for commerce and housing.
The goal of the study is to provide a blueprint for the public and
private sectors as they seek to invest in the corridor’s
revitalization. One idea is to undertake the restoration of a
building on Magnolia Avenue currently owned/occupied by a
non-profit or community service agency. The goal is to demonstrate
that the restoration can serve as a catalyst for other improvement
projects along the corridor.
AIA Vancouver: Vancouver USA Streetcar Feasibility
Study
AIA Vancouver invited the City of Vancouver to partner in drafting
a shared vision. The initial plan is to introduce a small streetcar
loop system in the downtown vicinity that provides opportunities
for smart, efficient, and sustainable expansion in the years to
come. The system would provide immense public transportation
benefits and an opportunity to bring vibrancy and increased foot
traffic to local businesses and downtown Vancouver. The streetcar
system will be strategically located to unify currently planned
amenities, improving Vancouver’s livability, and provide an
alternative transportation option while encouraging community
partnerships.
“The enthusiasm, dedication, and creativity represented by
these examples are testimony to the power of a vision to unite
architects in a common cause, that of creating safe, healthy,
sustainable, livable communities,” said Miller. A key
requirement of the Blueprint for America initiatives is that they
are guided by the AIA’s “Ten Principles for Livable
Communities,” which challenge architects to demonstrate how
good design is an investment and that well-designed communities
attract and benefit residents, businesses, and visitors, and meet
the needs of present and future generations alike.
Blueprint for America initiatives will evolve over the next three
years and beyond. In 2006 AIA members begin engaging local leaders,
defining the issues, and preparing to launch the eventual program.
Local AIA component initiatives will be developed in 2007, the
anniversary year. In 2008 the AIA will compile initiatives and
release the national Blueprint for America.
Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future
In 2007 the AIA will celebrate its 150th anniversary. Celebratory
events will include National Architecture Week, April 9-14, 2007,
in which AIA architects across the country will concurrently host
such events as architecture-related lectures, exhibits, K-12
programs, and architecture week proclamation ceremonies.
For 150 years, architects have used the design process to help
citizens find their voices and realize a vision for beautiful,
safe, and livable communities. By sharing their knowledge and
experience, AIA architects will offer America’s communities
the opportunity to celebrate their heritage while addressing
emerging architectural challenges and trends.
About the Blueprint for America
The Blueprint for America is a nationwide initiative through which
AIA architects engage with fellow citizens, mayors, other
professionals, and local government officials to collaborate on a
community service program that addresses a community’s
distinct need. Through their state and local components, AIA
architects will propose, convene, and participate in initiatives
that utilize community engagement, in a collaborative process, and
quality design as keys to improving a community’s livability.
Blueprint initiatives are a gift to the community from the members
of the AIA, and the members’ participation in the initiative
is provided at no fee.
About The American Institute of Architects
For almost 150 years, members of The American Institute of
Architects have worked with each other and their communities to
create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings
and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people,
knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such
resources and access, they help clients and communities make their
visions real.
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