While theres certainly no replacement for the intimacy of an in-person lecture attended by a captivated crowd, there is one distinct upside to having talks, symposiums, and other academic events be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the potential for a significantly larger audience unrestrained by pesky practicalities like geographic locale.

With most major architecture schools having fully transitioned their event programming to an online format, their fall 2020 lecture line-ups are now more accessible than ever, allowing participants to attend lectures hosted by said schools by simply signing up and opening a new Zoom window at a designated date and time. Unless otherwise noted, all lectures mentioned here are free and open to the public with advance registration required. Most, but not all, are hosted on Zoom Webinar.

Below are a dozen lecture series scheduled for fall 2020, presented by the likes of Harvard GSD, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, and more to get this very different academic season started. While topics vary, the worldand the United States, in particularis a much different place than it was in the fall of 2019 and thats duly reflected in the programming.

AN will continue to add to this list as more lecture series are finalized and announced. Specific dates and times can be confirmed on the events pages of each respective school/program.

The Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York

For this years fall lecture series, the Spitzer School of Architecture is trying something a bit different with the new SCIAME Global Spotlight Lecture Series. Titled Far South, the series, curated by Associate Professor Fabian Llonch, presents talks with leading South American architects who, per the school, will discuss their work and the unique political and environmental challenges they face. Among the featured lecturers are Teresa Moller (Chile), Paulo Tavares (Brazil), Diego Arraigada (Argentina),and Patricia Llosa Bueno (Peru).

Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture

Per the SoA at Carnegie Mellon, the schools fall 2020 lecture series will focus attention on architecture and activism, and the role that architecture can have towards social equity and spatial justice. Scheduled speakers include Mabel O. Wilson (Bulletproofing Americas Public Space: Race, Remembrance and Emmett Till), William Gilchrist (Urban Design as a Catalyst for Environmental Equity), and Toni Griffin (Design and the Just City).

Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

Launching September 21, the fall 2020 public lecture series at Columbia GSAPP is set to include Tatiana Bilbao, Toshiko Mori, Majora Carter, Stephen Burks, Yasmeen Lari, the Black Reconstruction Collective, and Bryan C. Lee Jr. of Colloqate, among others.

Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas

While additional details are forthcoming, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design has added virtual lectures from Sara Jensen Carr, Mira Henry, Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, Lesley Lokko, Michelle Joan Wilkinson, and Irene Cheng to its event calendar for fall 2020.

Harvard Graduate School of Design

Kicking off on September 10 with a lecture from Linda Shi, assistant professor at Cornell AAP, on the intersection of social justice and urban flood mitigation, Harvard GSDs roster of fall 2020 public programmingall talks and webinars are held via Zoomalso includes conversations with, among others, Emmanuel Pratt, co-founder and executive director of Chicago nonprofit the Sweet Water Foundation; Edgar Pieterse, director of the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town; and landscape architect Everett L. Fly.

Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

While additional details are still forthcoming, MIT Architectures fall 2020 lecture series is slated to include Walter Hood, Derek Ham, Charles Davis II,and Veronica Cedillos.

Rice University School of Architecture

Kicking off on September 2, Rice Architectures fall 2020 lecture series revolves around a central themeRace, Social Justice and Allyshipand includes Zoom-based talks from a range of academics, activists, and architects including Ana Mara Len, Jess Vassallo, and Ilze Wolff and Heinrich Wolff of South Africa-based firm Wolff Architects.

Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Penn State University

With on-site events currently on hold, Penn States Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture has opted to livestream its fall 2020 lecture series. Scheduled speakers include Jenny Sabin, professor of architecture at Cornell AAP and founder of experimental architectural design studio Jenny Sabin Studio; Mark Jarzombek, professor of the history and theory of architecture at MIT; and Zrich-based architect and artist Pia Simmendinger.

University of Southern California School of Architecture

The USC School of Architectures fall 2020 virtual lecture series recently commenced with a lecture from Sara Zewde of Harlem-based landscape architecture, public art, and urban design practice Studio Zewde. Upcoming lectures will find architect Michael Maltzan, Yale professor and architectural historian Dolores Hayden, Tokyo-based structural engineer Jun Sato, and others taking the Zoom mic.

The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture

Described as playing an integral role in fulfilling the schools commitment to fostering intellectual curiosity and the open exchange of ideas, the University of Texas at Austin School of Architectures fall 2020 lecture series will be livestreamed on the schools YouTube channel and touch down on societys most pressing issues, including race and spatial justice, ecology and climate change, computation and the proliferation of new and emerging technologies, and more. Upcoming talks include Peter Eisenman in dialogue with Mario Carpo and a lecture from Oakland, California-based designer, urbanist, and spatial justice activist Liz Ogbu.

Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania

Beatriz Colomina, Howard Crosby Butler Professor of the History of Architecture at Princeton University, is slated to give the inaugural talk in the Weitzman School of Designs robust fall 2020 lecture series. As evidenced by its title, Architecture and Pandemics: From Tuberculosis to COVID 19, its a topical one. Other scheduled lectures tackle a wide range of topics outside of the pandemic including Non-Traditional Green Architecture (Michael Webb, cofounder of Archigram) and The Freedom Colony Repertoire: Promising Approaches to Bridging and Bonding Social Capital Between Urban and Rural Black Meccas from Andrea Roberts, assistant professor of Urban Planning at the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University.

Yale School of Architecture

Kate Wagner, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, Rebecca Choi, and Walter Hood are among those appearing on the calendar for YSOAs Zoom-based fall 2020 lecture series, which kicks off on October 1. Additionally, the first roundtable in an ongoing, open-to-the-public series of discussions organized by the M.E.D. Working Group For Anti-Racism will commence on September 9 with POLICING.

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In less than two weeks, if the NFL moves forward as planned, SoFi Stadium will open in Inglewood after more than five years of design and construction.

Finally, the Rams will no longer have to play in the sun-baked L.A. Coliseum. Finally, the Chargers will no longer have to be squatters in the tiny Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly the StubHub Center and the Home Depot Center). Finally, owner Stan Kroenke will see his dream of a $2 billion (well, make that more than $5 billion now) sports and entertainment park begin to come true.

For the record:

12:42 PM, Sep. 02, 2020An earlier version of this article misstated the weight of SoFis Oculus screen as 2,000 pounds. It weighs 1,000 tons.

But heres the more important news: From a design and urban planning standpoint, SoFi is, potentially, revolutionary.

Thats because, in many ways, this stadium is not really a stadium. Its not a solid concrete and steel bowl where fans park cars and push their way in and out eight times a year. And its not a themed shopping mall and mini amusement park grafted onto a sports facility.

SoFi Stadium is a porous, indoor-outdoor, year-round complex featuring, yes, a 70,000-seat stadium and lots of parking, but also a 2.5-acre public plaza, an adjacent 6,000-seat performance space and a layered landscape filled with hills, trees, places to pause and sit and eat all connected to a vibrant 25-acre community park surrounding a 5.5-acre lake.

A view of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

SoFi Stadiums landscape, designed by Mia Lehrers Studio-MLA, includes an arroyo and a Mediterranean biome plant palette.

(Studio-MLA)

The 300-acre complex, to be called Hollywood Park, is slated to phase in over many years more than 1.5 million square feet of retail, restaurant and office space (including the almost-complete NFL Network headquarters and studios), at least 2,500 townhomes and apartments and a hotel.

The idea of a stadium as the focal point for a mixed-use project is not new. So-called sports-anchored developments are becoming the norm nationwide, from Patriot Place in New England to the Arlington Entertainment District in Texas. But more than any of those developments (including downtown Los Angeles L.A. Live), this complex its stadiums faade curving like the sweep of the coast is authentically inspired by, and caters to, its setting.

We were trying to create an expression of Southern California, said Lance Evans, principal with HKS Architects. Something that would resonate with this climate and with this place.

This is something that only Dodger Stadium embedded into the earth, obsessed with the future and surrounded by palm trees, the landscapes of Elysian Park and, alas, a heroically scaled parking lot has managed to accomplish in terms of local sports venues.

Workers have been putting the finishing touches on SoFi despite the risk of COVID-19 infection (more than 50 have tested positive) and two deaths on the site, including one caused by a fall from the roof.

Under SoFi Stadiums fritted roof, Studio-MLA has created canyons planted with trees, creating a classic California indoor-outdoor environment.

(Studio-MLA)

Citing the pandemic, the Rams, Chargers and SoFi jointly announced Aug. 25 that games will be played without fans until further notice. Once fans are allowed to come, they will approach a stadium whose field level is embedded 100 feet into the earth, reducing the buildings bulk as seen from the rest of the neighborhood and making a trip inside reminiscent of a trek down bluffs to a beach in, say, Malibu. Along the way they will proceed via a fractured landscape of textured pathways, gardens, patios and food stalls, descending through what the projects landscape architect, Studio-MLA, calls canyons terraced trails filled with earthen mounds and plants and trees from around California, weaving in and out of the stadium.

Its all about how the stadium is part of the landscape and the landscape is part of the stadium, said Studio-MLA founder Mia Lehrer, who has designed green spaces for Dodger Stadium and for Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park. She also is imagining the surroundings for the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

In classic SoCal fashion, the stadium, its edges open to the outdoors along the sides, blurs the line between interior and exterior, inviting visitors, and views, inside. It pulls in ocean breezes through its aerodynamic shape, its permeable flanks, the lifting of its seating bowl above the ground-level concourse and massive (60 feet by 60 feet) adjustable openings in its roof that can slide like sunroofs on cars. These openings can tune the wind flow, according to HKS, which designed recent stadiums for the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys.

The roof, which covers and unifies the stadium bowl, plaza and adjacent arena, is clad in ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, or ETFE, a tough, translucent plastic that, thanks to its dotted frit pattern, shades fans from about half of the suns heat. (If youve roasted at the Coliseum or at Dodger Stadium, you will appreciate that.) The ETFE also will allow concerts, community gatherings, e-sports, the Super Bowl and the Olympics to carry on in the rare case of rain.

Exterior of SoFi Stadium, designed by HKS Architects.

(SoFi Stadium)

The fritted pattern on part of the SoFi Stadium roof allows in fresh air while offering protection from the sun.

(SoFi Stadium)

One bummer: The roofs tempering of the sun means that the field had to be made of artificial turf, although such surfaces have progressed light-years since the days of AstroTurf.

The seating bowl itself is not revolutionary, but its proximity to the field is as close as the NFL will allow a good thing for fans. A massive, oval-shaped screen hangs from steel rafters, projecting images on both sides, which makes it readable from a wider range of sightlines and seat locations. It weighs more than 1,000 tons and traces the circumference of the field level, making SoFi the new champion of the NFLs Jumbotron wars.

The playing field and overhanging electronic display at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The stadium sits under a major LAX flight path, and as seen from above that roof bears an uncanny resemblance to the Rams former shield-shaped logo. (Attempts to confirm this connection were rebuffed by both the designers and the developers, perhaps to protect the Chargers feelings?) But where the roof bends down, meeting the ground at a few distinct points, you can see its lightweight aluminum faade panels, consisting of thousands of unique triangles, perforated with millions of holes to admit breezes and create intricate dappled light patterns.

Connected to the stadium via textured pathways and a grove of palm trees is Lake Park, the other focal point of the development. The park has the potential to be a profound amenity for Inglewood.

An artificial lake which collects water runoff from around the complex was inspired by the lake at Hollywood Park Racetrack, which used to stand on the site. Its surrounded by a mix of flora thats even more robust than what is along the stadiums edge, including some plants that are quite exotic. Lehrer calls them Dr. Seuss plants, including the strangely fractured monkey puzzle tree and the jug-shaped bootle tree. All are part of the Mediterranean biome, an effort by Studio-MLA to connect Southern California to similar environments worldwide, including the Mediterranean region, the Cape of Africa and Chile.

For the SoFi Stadium landscape, Studio-MLA chose plants from the Mediterranean, the Cape of Africa and Chile.

(Studio-MLA)

Visitors can experience, among other things, long alles of trees edging the water, undulating arroyos, seats built into angled planters, impressive views across the lake to the stadium and a deck projecting over the water.

The park, and much of the stadiums periphery, will be open to the public every day, not just on game days, making the landscape part of the neighborhood. The complexs ability to host almost any type of event should help energize the site most of the year. It has the potential to become a real civic place, not just a sports-fueled fan zone. But just how civic is up to Kroenke and his team.

Despite many positive signs, much of the 300-acre site remains a question mark. The landscaping, as fantastic as it seems, is so young its hard to tell just how effective it will be. And its still unclear how much of the immediate stadium area will remain open when events arent taking place. Parking lots dominate the sites future development areas, and because of the incredibly uncertain economy, theres no guarantee that all of these elements ever will come. (Nor is it a sure thing that this development, if it does come, will be welcoming.)

Looking at toward the park at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Football is a sure thing, and the Super Bowl and the College Football National Championship seem likely, as do the Olympics. But many other events like those catering to the local community are a long way from being programmed. How will the place interact with the neighborhood around it, including the Forum to the north and a planned complex for the Clippers to the south? Also: Can a stadium with 260 luxury suites and 13,000 premium suites really be considered civic?

For now, public transit connections to the stadium are problematic. A so-called transportation hub along the sites west edge, amassing buses from nearby neighborhoods and the Metro Crenshaw Lines Downtown Inglewood light rail station (delayed until late 2021), is just a parking lot. (The Inglewood Transit Connector, an elevated tram running from the Metro station to SoFi, the Forum and other destinations, is still just a plan.)

Thanks to COVID-19, we probably wont know for more than a year how the whole complex performs. Not until a game day with actual fans, actual concessions, actual crowd noise, actual traffic.

So, like everything else in our current state of suspended animation, well have to wait and see whether SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park are a success, for fans, for the region, and for the concept that a stadium can become a true community asset. Well have to keep a close eye. Whats been achieved so far is impressive, but its just the beginning.

The fritted roof allows for SoFi Stadium to glow different hues of light at night.

(SoFi Stadium)

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Why SoFi Stadium is revolutionary for the NFL and L.A. - Los Angeles Times

William G. Bill McMinn, an architect and educator who served as dean of three architecture schools, died August 21 in Asheville, North Carolina, of complications from a stroke. He was 89.

In 1974, McMinn was named the founding dean of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University (MSU), part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, and stayed there until 1984. In 1997, he was named founding dean of the School of Architecture at Florida International University (FIU) now part of its College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts.

In between, from 1984 to 1996, he served as dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University. While at Cornell, he founded the Cornell in Rome Program for students, taking advantage of the expertise of Professor Colin Rowe and others, and was instrumental in establishing an undergraduate program in the colleges Department of City and Regional Planning. He also helped raise funds to improve the colleges facilities and served on the board of the I. M. Pei-designed Herbert F. Johnson Museum on campus.

Bill McMinns contributions to the stature of the college cannot be overstated, write Meejin Yoon, Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of AAP, in an article posted on the schools website.

As a founder of the Cornell in Rome program, he enriched the lives of so many as the program has grown into a vital component of many architecture, art, and planning students education. He was a practitioner as well as an educator, and his influence will continue to be felt beyond scholarship to the underpinnings of the culture at AAP and well beyond.

According to the Cornell article by Patti Witten, McMinn was modest about his accomplishments as an educator, insisting that colleges cant really teach architecture. At best, he would say, we provide a place for students to discover it, Witten wrote.

Bill was the right person to start a program in Mississippi, said Robert V. M. Harrison, an early faculty member and founder of the schools advisory board, in an article on the MSU website.

He was a people person and brought in the right people. He had the knack to communicate with everyone. Architects,accreditation teams and legislators respected him. He got a full accreditation for the school at the earliest possible date, which is miraculous. A miracle worker.

As part of his effort to give the new Mississippi school a national presence and broaden the students perspective, former students and faculty members say that McMinn established a lecture series that brought big-name architects and critics to campus in the 1970s and 1980s, including Stanley Tigerman, Robert Venturi, Michael Graves, Rem Koolhaas, Charles Moore, and writers Ada Louise Huxtable and Paul Goldberger.

One story that has made the rounds for years is that McMinn was so eager to bring luminaries to campus that he would play one architect off the other, calling Michael Graves and telling him that Peter Eisenman was coming to campus and then calling Eisenman and telling him that Graves was coming.

McMinn was a strong supporter of architects who wanted to use their education to influence other fields, said alumnus Janet Marie Smith. She used her MSU degree to carve out an unconventional career in sports architecture, building or renovating stadiums including Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Fenway Park in Boston, and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

After 12 winters in upstate New York, McMinn moved to Florida in 1996 to become director of FIUs program in architecture, then part of its School of Design.

A year later he was named founding dean of the FIU School of Architecture. Under his leadership, the school earned full accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board, changing its status from a department to a school. McMinn initiated a competition that led to the construction of the Bernard Tschumi-designed Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture Building on the FIU Modesto Maidique campus.

According to FIU, the curriculum under McMinn incorporated pre-professional undergraduate programs in architecture and interior design, graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture and environment and urban systems, and study-abroad programs. McMinn stepped down as dean in 2000 to return to teaching. He retired in 2004 and moved to North Carolina.

Born in Abilene, Texas, McMinn earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1953 from Rice University and a Master of Architecture degree in 1954 from the University of TexasAustin. He began teaching in 1956 at Texas Tech University and then held teaching or department leadership positions at Clemson University, Auburn University, and Louisiana State University.

In 2006, he received the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the highest award for outstanding contribution to architectural education in the U.S.

A Fellow of the AIA and the American Academy in Rome, McMinn received the ACSAs Distinguished Professor Award in 1991 and the Educational Leadership Award in Architecture from the AIA Miami chapter.

According to the AIA, he helped establish a School of Design at King Fahd University in Saudi Arabia, was a U.S.-appointed consultant to the School of Architecture at the University of Jordan, and helped improve the curriculum at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul.

Bill McMinn has, throughout his career, served as a strong bridge between practice and education. His vision has always been to provide a seamless transition between the two realms, said John McRae, then-dean of the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design, in nominating McMinn for the Topaz Medallion.

I have known dozens of deans, said FIU president Modesto Maidique in his nomination letter. Seldom have I found one with the passion, dedication and sophistication that Bill exhibited during his tenure.

In addition to his teaching career, McMinn practiced architecture professionally from 1968 to 1971 as director of design at Six Associates in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1980, he was appointed to the National Architectural Accreditation Board and was elected NAAB President in 1983. He chaired NAAB reviews of 24 architecture programs, including those at Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Following his retirement to North Carolina in 2004, McMinn continued to advise on architectural design competitions and projects. He served as the professional advisor for a national competition to design a Performing and Visual Arts Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, a contest that drew 58 entries. In 2004, he helped select the dean of the architectural school at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Of all his achievements, one that made him especially proud was the Cornell in Rome program and the creation of the Cornell Center in Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, dedicated in 1997. In addition to Colin Rowe, early faculty members included architecture professor John Shaw and sculptor and fine arts professor Jack Squier. Roberto Einaudi was Cornell in Romes first director.

Bill was firmly convinced that Rome, this most ancient and complicated of cities, is the ideal laboratory for the disciplines of architecture, art, and planning, said Jeffrey Blanchard, the current academic director for Cornell in Rome, according to the AAP article. While Bills distinguished career as an educator unfolded in a number of institutions and was marked by many achievements and awards. I believe he always considered the creation of Cornells Rome program to be one of his most important and enduring accomplishments.

McMinn is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan; his son Kevin, and his daughter Tracey.

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Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Photo: Hamerman Photography, 2017 / Contributed Photo

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Norwalks Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala includes talk on bioethics in the pursuit of immortality

Norwalks Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will celebrate science and history at its virtual Starlit Gala on Saturday, Oct. 17, that will include a presentation on humanitys pursuit of immortality by award-winning expert on bioethics, Glenn E. McGee, PhD.

Along with McGees talk, the 8 p.m. event, co-chaired by trustees Trudy Dujardin and Mickey Koleszar, will honor David Westmoreland, a longstanding supporter of LMMM and its preservation.

There will be a catered dinner and silent auction. All all proceeds will benefit the museums educational and cultural programs. Tickets are $50 to $100.

During these uncertain times, this educational and cultural icon needs support from all of our communities, and the gala is a major opportunity to step up to the plate, Dujardin and Koleszar said in a news release.

McGee will discuss revolutionary advances in biomedical science technology in pursuit of immortality, and the ethical, legal and social questions they pose.

McGee is the author of three books, The Perfect Baby: A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics; Beyond Genetics; and Bioethics for Beginners, and more than 100 articles. He is the founder and served for 11 years as editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Bioethics, the leading publication in its field. He has served on the board of directors of the American Society for Bioethics and on more than a dozen federal and state advisory panels. He has received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Cellular and Molecular Devices Advisory Panel Outstanding Service Award. McGee is Deputy Provost for the University of New Haven and received a B.A. from Baylor University and M.A. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Born in Houston, Texas, Westmoreland graduated from Baylor University with a bachelors degree in Computer Science and worked for 23 years in the field of Information Technology at such corporations as American Airlines and Arrow Electronics. He completed his Master of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University in 2006 and is a registered landscape architect and co-owner, with Mike Mushak, of Tuliptree Site Design, Inc. in Norwalk.

Westmoreland serves the community in Norwalk in a number of roles, including: Chairman of the Second Taxing District Commission (SNEW), Redevelopment Agency Commissioner, and on the Norwalk Historical Society Board of Directors, among others. He has served as chairman of the City of Norwalks Historical Commission, overseeing the relocation and development of the new Historical Society Museum, the renovations of the buildings and park at Mill Hill, and three city-owned cemeteries, along with the historic buildings at Mathews Park, including the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum.

The virtual Starlit Gala is sponsored in part by Fairfield County Bank and David Scott Parker Architects. The graphic design sponsor is Miggs B Design.

LMMMs cultural and educational programs are made possible in part by funding from LMMMs Founding Patrons: The Estate of Mrs. Cynthia Clark Brown; LMMMs Leadership Patrons: The Sealark Foundation; LMMMs 2020 Season Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk and The Maurice Goodman Foundation; LMMMs 2020 Distinguished Benefactors for Education: The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation, Inc.

For more information on the gala, visit lockwoodmathewsmansion.com.

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Norwalks Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala includes talk on bioethics in the pursuit of immortality - Thehour.com

The Monongahela riverfront at Hazelwood Green stretches 1.3 miles, sloping and overgrown in places, pockmarked with abandoned industrial structures. An active rail line runs through it.

Yet once reclaimed, it holds promise for recreational use, says Todd Stern, managing director of U3 Advisors in New York City, development advisors for the site.

The riverfront plan is something weve long set our sights on, and we want to open that space to the public again as we anticipate future private and other mixed-use development on the site, says Stern. We feel that this is the time to begin to figure out the riverfront.

That effort begins after Labor Day with a master planning and public input process, led by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council which received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and landscape architect Environmental Planning & Design (EPD) of Pittsburgh.

The mantra of Hazelwood Green is being a place of innovation.The 1.3 miles ofriverfront present an opportunity to blend engineering, technology, ecology, culture and recreation in innovative ways, says Andrew JG Schwartz, studio director with EPD. This creative fusion will celebratethe riverfronts legacy while developing a meaningful, soul-satisfying and funky public space that is uniquely Pittsburgh.

When completed in summer 2021, the master plan will guide the development of land along the river and decisions about the use and preservation of industrial heritage pieces along the rivers edge, including a pump house, mooring cells, platforms, coal loaders and catwalks.

Industrial use of the riverfront property about 21 acres that vary in width from 55 to 200 feet has created a barrier between the neighborhood and the river for more than a century, Stern says.

This master planning process is founded on the view that the riverfront is common ground. The project team will be asking for public input and feedback at each stage of design, to ensure that we create an inclusive place that users of all abilities and interests can enjoy, he says.

Gathering public input begins on September 8 with a presentation by EPD at the Greater Hazelwood Monthly Community Meeting, hosted by the Hazelwood Initiative. Then a design charrette is scheduled for October 15-17, at a time and place still undecided. During these three days, technical experts will present maps and models to help solicit input from the public.

We do hope to do this in person and are figuring out ways that people can come together in small groups safely because of the pandemic, says Stern. Its almost going to be like well have office hours, where people will be able to drop in at different times and well try to manage the flow of people so that its not too crowded.

Additionally, the organizers will distribute surveys and engage with people through social media to familiarize them with the site. Public engagement activities will be posted onlinethroughout the fall and the duration of the project.

An advisory committee of neighborhood, city, regional and site representatives has toured the riverfront and hopes to allow others to do so at some point, Stern says. The committee will lend guidance to the design process.

Its an amazing location that offers everything from city views and connection to the river to economic opportunity, says Terri Shields, a committee member and chair of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative. The community process will be critical to ensuring that neighborhood input is not only heard but integrated throughout the entire design phase.

The Hazelwood Green Riverfront Master Plan will ultimately be presented to the DCNR for review.

Part of the restoration is to address environmental impacts of past industrialization on the ecosystem. Any use of the property will follow Hazelwood Greens pledge to do sustainable development.

We dont want anything we do to change the nature of that landscape materially, other than providing access, says Stern. And well have to manage access, in terms of volume; we dont want hundreds of people at one time, so lower-impact uses that manage traffic flow and the programming that we put on there is one way we manage sustainability. The other is plantings and other landscaping for stormwater runoff.

Additional challenges includethe riverfronts steep grade, and the railroad tracks and fencing. There are different easement rights and ownership conditions along the track, Stern says, so the group will work with rail partners.

Theres no simple convert it all to a trail, he says, so the existing rail ownership and easement rights have to be factored into our ultimate solution.

Sam Reiman, director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, says restoring the communitys connection to the river is a longstanding goal of the development that until recently was called Almono.

This master planning is the first step in activating the riverfront to support outdoor recreation, public health and local businesses along an extensive trail system that extends all the way from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., Reiman says.

Its too soon to put a cost to the project, Stern says. Much of that depends on the scope of the master plan and the degree to which existing physical and legal constraints restrict whatever development ideas come from the effort.

I assume that will be low-impact activities that provide recreational access to the Monongahela, he says.

AlmonoHazelwoodHazelwood Green

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It's time to figure out the riverfront. Planning begins at Hazelwood Green with public input - NEXTpittsburgh

MAD Architects has formally revealed Gardenhouse, the Beijing-headquartered firms first completed project in the United States. Located at 8600 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, the 48,000-square-foot mixed-use complexstreet-level commercial at its base, luxury residential up topmanages to both politely blend into its well-groomed environs while and also bringing something playful and new.

With a series of white gabled facades poking up from above a vegetation-wrapped base, the visually arresting building is meant to be reminiscent of a small, remote village perched on a lush mountainside. The semblance is visually quite effective, if a bit puckish, even though the five-story building isnt towering or intrusive, as it tops out at just under 60 feet.

The illusion of a summit-topping hamlet carries through to Gardenhouses range of housing typologies: eight condominiums, five villas, three townhouses, and two studio apartments. Per the firm, this diversity is meant to offer residents a high sense of community, and a feeling of individuality and exclusiveness even in this small-scale development. And in lieu of a central corridor, the units, most sporting pitched roofs and all clustered around a tree-lined second-floor courtyard, have their own independent entry/exit circulation routes as if they were standalone houses.

MADs mountaintop village in the heart of Beverly Hills does, however, have a ground-floor central entry point tucked away on Stanley Drive that makes entering Gardenhouse from the street sound like a rather heady experience. The entrance adopts the atmosphere of a cave digging into the hillside; a dim, surreal environment where residents are led on a journey through a fairyland of light, shadow, and the sound of water, reads a statement released by MAD. Further ahead, the softness of the cave meets a bright conclusion, with natural light flooding through a connected water feature from the courtyard patio above.

The most verdant and profuse element of the complex isnt necessary the inner courtyardor a secret garden as the firm describes it. From almost top to bottom, the buildings street-facing exterior is clad in an impressively generous swath of greenery thats composed of vines, drought-resistant succulents, and an array of native plants. This defining feature is described by MAD as one of the largest living walls in the U.S. Seasons Landscaping is credited as the projects green wall specialist, working alongside landscape architecture-helming Gruen Associates.

Los Angeles and Beverly Hills are highly modernized and developed. Their residences on the hills seemingly coexist with the urban environment, said MAD Architects founding principal Ma Yansong in a statement. However, they also see enclosed movement at their core. The commune connection between the urban environment and nature is isolated. What new perspectives, and new value, can we bring to Los Angeles? Perhaps, we can create a hill in the urban context, so people can live on it and make it a village. This place will be half urban, half nature. This can offer an interesting response to Beverly Hills: a neighborhood which is often carefully organized and maintained, now with a witty, playful new resident.

In addition to Gruen Associates, who also served as executive architect, and Seasons Landscaping, the project team includes Rottet Studio (interior design), John Labib + Associates (structural engineer), Breen Engineering Inc. (MEP Engineer) and DHC Builders, Inc. (general contractor). The project was developed by the Santa Monica-based Palisades Capital Partners.

Not surprisingly, much like the topography that Gardenhouse evokes, prices for the units are similarly steep and start at $3.7 million.

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MAD Architects' first US project echoes a lush mountaintop village in the heart of Beverly Hills - The Architect's Newspaper

There is a plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission to convert the former Vallin Galleries on Danbury Road to a tile showroom.

There is a plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission to convert the former Vallin Galleries on Danbury Road to a tile showroom.

Photo: Jeannette Ross / Hearst Connecticut Media

There is a plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission to convert the former Vallin Galleries on Danbury Road to a tile showroom.

There is a plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission to convert the former Vallin Galleries on Danbury Road to a tile showroom.

On the move in Wilton: preschool, tile showroom

At its meeting on June 22, the Planning and Zoning Commission opened a public hearing for both the Apple Blossom School and a retail tile store.

The school is seeking to move from its present location at 440 Danbury Road to a building at 416 Danbury Road that it would seek to convert under the adaptive use zoning rules.

Architect Rob Sanders explained that the applicants want an easily accessible location near the current school. At the new site, they would like to establish a one-way loop entrance that makes it easier for parents to drop off their children.

Since the children dont all get dropped off at the same time, because different age groups start at different times, this would not present a traffic issue, he said.

The school offers programs with infants, toddlers, nursery preschool, and mixed-aged kindergarten children. Summer camp at the school will began June 29 and will run until Aug. 21 for children ages 2-7 years old.

As for the building itself, there will be some changes to the exterior that include replacing a window and moving a door.

The applicants are proposing a long-term lease to plant their roots, Sanders said.

There was no public comment and the public hearing will be continued on July 13 to discuss any further details.

A public hearing was also opened for an application submitted by Bruce Darbandi to have a tile retail store at 516 Danbury Road, which is an adaptive reuse of the former antique shop, Vallin Galleries.

The plan is to have a showroom on the main floor and office space on the second level.

One area needing improvement is the lower parking area. The proposal includes a 20-foot-wide paved driveway along with a gravel parking lot to include five parking spaces. There will also be a lamp to provide light to the main building.

As for the design and landscaping for the property, Kate Throckmorton, landscape architect wants to keep it simple and neat.

Before the project can move forward, it will need to be finalized with the Inland Wetlands Commission. The public hearing will be continued on July 13.

New applicants Erskine Associates, LLC at 134 Olmstead Hill Road is seeking to complete a project that will convert an existing free-standing cottage to accessory dwelling unit. There is a scheduled public hearing for this on July 13.

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On the move in Wilton: preschool, tile showroom - The Wilton Bulletin

The sale of the Club West Golf Course has been finalized and the new owners are working on a collaborative plan to revitalize the property.

After initial attempts by The Edge to create a new golf experience at Club West, community members and Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio requested that The Edge consider alternative development plans that reduce the number of single-family detached residential homes required to finance any revitalization plan.

The new plan, tentatively called The Park at Club West, will redevelop the course into a community park with enhanced trails, open spaces, and recreational amenities.

The golf course has been closed since 2016 and reopening it is not a viable option.

A collaborative design process has commenced with eight (8) member Neighborhood Committee established by the Club West HOA and Community Land Solutions (CLS), as representatives of The Edge.

Community Land Solutions is in the process of retaining a landscape architect for the project. The goal is for a maximum amount of new park and open space along with responsible and minimal development.

We are neighbors first. We want to bring new green and open spaces to the shuttered Club West Golf Course. Our plans are community-minded and will raise property values, said Matt Shearer, a principal with CLS, which is leading efforts to build the new park and greenbelt.

CLS and the Neighborhood Committee are meeting on a weekly basis with the goal of distributing an initial Draft Park Plan to the Club West Community for additional input. Shearer said additional meetings and communications with community members are planned and welcomed as revitalization plans move forward.

The process includes significant time for community feedback, presentations to the HOA and homeowners, additional open houses and community events, a homeowners vote, and approvals from the city of Phoenix.

We want open and transparent dialogues with all our neighbors and remain optimistic in uniting the community with sustainable solution that removes uncertainty and enhances property values. There is still a lot of misinformation surrounding the future redevelopment plans for the property. We are confident that the current planning process will allow us to proceed with constructive discussions based on facts, Shearer added.

Shearer is a principal with CLS along with Bill McManus and Mike Hare.

The effort and the Neighborhood Committee are looking at how other communities and former golf courses in Arizona (including in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Oro Valley) and other states (including in Washington state and Ohio) created new parks and open space and executed responsible development solutions to revive their respective communities and property values.

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Here are the revitalization plans for Club West Golf Course land - AZ Big Media

Coronavirus quarantine had many people rethinking the interiors of their homes this spring. DIY projects were tackled, and rooms reorganized.

Now that summers here, why not give the same mini-makeover to backyards and outdoor spaces?

Youll feel less cooped up if you bring some indoor style outside, even if its just to a tiny balcony or front porch, says New Jersey interior designer Anna Maria Mannarino.

Youre expanding the real estate really by bringing the indoors out, Mannarino says.

Here, she and two other design experts Connecticut landscape architect Janice Parker and Houston interior designer Lauren Rottet share advice on how they create stylish outdoor spaces that can accommodate a range of activities, from cooking and socially distant entertaining to relaxing and working from home.

Even the smallest outdoor space probably has room for one or two comfortable chairs and a bistro table, Mannarino says. If you dont normally keep a table outside, Rottet suggests bringing out a small folding table when you want to dine or work outside. Add a crisp linen tablecloth, she says, and even an inexpensive card table will look special.

Layering the space with pillows and a throw blanket for evenings adds a cozy vibe. Choose pillows and cushions in an outdoor-friendly fabric like Sunbrella, which needs little care to stay looking and feeling good throughout the seasons, Mannarino says.

And I would definitely add an outdoor rug if you have the space to do it, she says.

If you dont want to buy an outdoor rug, Parker says, just bring out a throw rug from inside to use on a sunny day.

The sounds of rippling water or birdsong can be great antidotes to rumbling traffic or barking dogs. Parker suggests buying an inexpensive tabletop fountain, and bird feeders to attract songbirds.

Its a great time to get into bird watching, she says, because they do seem to be more abundant than in the past. (Get a squirrel-proof feeder if you want to make sure the food actually goes to the birds.)

Theres an even simpler, virtual option, Parker points out: When you sit outside, play recordings of chirping birds or rippling water from your phone or other device.

Pleasing scents will also elevate your outdoor space. Buy a potted lavender plant, Parker says, or flowering plants like nicotiana (also called flowering tobacco), which are iridescent in the evening and have a wonderful scent.

Many grocery stores are selling potted plants and you dont have to fuss with re-potting them, Parker says. If they come in plain plastic containers, simply wrap the container in a bit of burlap or other fabric to make it more attractive.

For something more dramatic, Rottet says, potted citrus trees look and smell lovely. Or add a pencil cactus or other succulent in a tall planter; it can withstand summer heat while functioning like a sculpture in your outdoor space. When summer ends, fill the planter with a hardy flower like pansies, which might even last through the winter.

No time or resources to add plants this year? Floral or lavender candles are another option, Parker says.

A gas grill can be an asset if youre cooking outdoors a lot. But Rottet also recommends the Big Green Egg charcoal grill. Its not a huge commitment, she says, because you can roll it into a tight little space.

If you have a grill and would like to create more of a kitchen around it, add an outdoor table or console that can serve as a work surface and perhaps has some storage, Mannarino says, so youre not just walking over to a grill and holding a tray in your hand.

Want to create the feel of an outdoor bar? Add a rolling bar cart, or, even more simply, fill your biggest salad bowl with ice, Parker says, and bring out a selection of cold drinks.

If youre working outside, you need shade to see the screen. Retractable awnings are helpful, as are large outdoor umbrellas that stand alone or fit into an outdoor table. (They also let you spend more time outside, if its raining.)

In the evening, Rottet says, you can expand the feeling of even a small backyard by wrapping strands of small white lights (available in outdoor-safe versions that are battery-powered or solar-powered) around your trees.

Lanterns with lit candles inside are lovely outdoors after the sun goes down, though LED candles can be a more practical choice on a breezy night.

A fire pit will also brighten up your outdoor space, and warm it up this fall and winter.

Rottet created one for her Houston home using a large concrete planter that can withstand heat.

But as Parker points out, you dont have to buy anything to have a fire pit. It might be fun to create one the old-school way: Dig a wide hole in the ground, she says, contain the space safely and build a campfire Boy Scout style.

The changes you make to your outdoor space dont have to be elaborate, she says. Just get out there. Take your chair from the kitchen table if you need to. Take your coffee cup and go.

Originally posted here:
Make the most of your outdoor space | Close To Home - Lewiston Morning Tribune

These are fraught times for Dallas. A demon virus has spread across the land, forcing a beleaguered citizenry indoors and behind masks. There is anger and there is frustration, understandably. There are no, or few, professional sports. Lets face it: The city could use all the help it can get. But heres some good news: Five homegrown superheroes have come to the rescue, and theyre ready to bring healing to the city. Theres just one problem: They need a place to call home, a headquarters where they can plot their acts of derring-do.

Emmy: Im sorry. Your name is...Pegasus?

Peg: Right.

Emmy: Like the horse with wings?"

Peg: Yes. But you can just call me Peg.

Emmy. OK. And how can we help you, Peg?

Peg: Youre real estate brokers. I need something in downtown Dallas. Something big. Something secure.

Emmy: OK. And what is this for, exactly?

Peg: Part headquarters. Part lair. For a team of superheroes.

Emmy: Excuse me?

Peg: Superheroes. You know. Capes. Special powers. Masks. That kind of thing. There are five of us. Me, Big Tex, Trinity, Erykah and Dirk.

Emmy: You know what? I might have just the thing for you.

Peg: Looks pretty cool. What is this thing?

Emmy: The Rolex tower. Its their North American repair and sales center. It opened last year, before the virus shut everything down. Its a proprietary design. Definitely not your typical office building.

Peg: It is distinctive, unlike so many of the boring buildings around here. Tough but not brutish. I like the way it corkscrews up as it rises. A building that shape-shifts seems right for a band of superheroes. And its not too flashy or garish, not covered in LEDs what is it with this town? We dont want a lot of attention.

Emmy: Thats the Rolex brand. A little butch, but also classy. I would say its the most interesting new commercial building the city has seen since, well, for a long time. The best tower since Fountain Place, and that was in 1986. The architect is Japanese. Kengo Kuma. Not a household name, but he should be. He actually designed the stadium for the Tokyo Olympics this summer, but I guess thats not happening, now. It would have made quite a splash, though. Its largely made of wood larch and cedar and modeled on an ancient Japanese temple.

Peg: Interesting. But lets get back to Dallas. Whats with the stone wall at the base? Must have cost a bundle.

Emmy: Yes it did. It is, quite literally, a castle wall, built using traditional Japanese methods by a 15th-generation stonemason named Suminori Awata. Were talking Shogun-era craftsmanship. The different sized stones represent the diversity of life. Kuma believes quite strongly in using traditional materials and techniques. Architecture should go back to fabrication, to using real materials, to using the hand, he has said.

Peg: I like that it has a fortress quality. That will be good for us.

Emmy: Thats why I brought you here. The stone wall gives you extra protection at the rear of the building where it faces Harry Hines. You dont want anyone sneaking up on you.

Peg: Yes, that is good. What are those white bands that wrap around it?

Emmy: Thin metal louvers. Sun shades three rows on each floor. They keep the heat load down, and they give it a nice flair, so its not just another black box. Theyll give you a little privacy, too. Im sure you superheroes dont want villains seeing what youre up to all day.

Peg: No, we dont.

Emmy: Youll also notice that as the building torques around, it creates these little garden ledges. In Japanese, theyre called engawa, in-between spaces. Kuma had a Japanese landscape architect, Sadafumi Uchiyama, come and design them. The idea is to dissolve the distinction between inside and outside. You see this kind of element in his work elsewhere. I think the inspiration is the rice-growing terraces you see in rural Japan.

Peg: Nice. But, there are only five of us. Im not sure we need this much building.

Emmy: Actually, It looks tall but thats deceptive; its really just seven stories. Thats one story each, and then some common space. I know superheroes need room for equipment development and training.

Peg: True. Can we get a look inside?

Emmy: You can see theres a nice entry sequence, with a path across landscaping and fountains. Good for surveillance of anyone approaching. This is the front lobby. Its quite spacious and cool, with black granite floors, blackened walls and horizontal blond wood slats running from the ceiling down along the walls, animating the space and referencing the louvers on the exterior. Its got a broad security desk, where you can put one of your minions.

Peg: That works. It is nice. Corporate, but not too impersonal or cold. Thats rare."

Emmy: Right. Walking back behind it you have a little sitting area. Rolex uses this as a waiting space for repair returns you can see it has a small counter for a clerk. Maybe this could be a room where you screen requests for assistance?

Peg: Yes. What about upstairs?

Emmy: So this is the executive boardroom. You can see we once again have the horizontal wood elements that create a seamless flow between wall and ceiling.

Peg: This will be an excellent place for us to plan operations.

Emmy: And come this way. Here is one of the most exciting features: The entertainment deck here is enclosed by a two-story screen of louvers. If you get up close you can see how sharp they are: aluminum, with a leafy pattern printed on the bottoms, to give them a natural feel and help diffuse light. So when youre out here, youre both outside and inside. You can look out, but its hard to see in. Its perfect for superheroes, like yourselves. Its meant as an event space and for employee dining, but you can train out here and, of course, for those of you who can fly, you can just take right off, and nobody will see.

Peg: "Wow. Perfect.

Emmy: As for the rest of the place, its ideal for your secret laboratory and fabrication needs. The floors have a sophisticated ventilation system that sucks out any particulate matter key for when theyre doing watch repair.

Peg: Excellent.

Emmy: And of course theres a vault where you can store any secret plans, manifestos, genealogies whatever. I know superheroes maintain a lot of proprietary information.

Peg: Yes. Thats all great. But this is Dallas, so you know I have to ask: What about parking?

Emmy: No problem. The garage here is actually below grade, which is nice generally if this city was smart it would mandate that for all new construction and of course it means you can keep your super-mobiles hidden. There are also a couple of short-term spaces on the street, for deliveries. Which is handy.

Peg: And this is all available?

Emmy: Well...for the moment. During the shutdown, anyway.

Peg: I think well take it.

Emmy: "You know what? You guys could call yourselves The Watch Men. Get it?

Peg: Stick to real estate.

Pegasus (aka Peg)

Uniform: Red neon wings

Power: Can transform into a flying horse

Trinity

Uniform: Covered in patchy grass

Power: Sprays jets of toxic water

Big Tex

Uniform: Hokey cowboy

Power: Transforms into giant

Erykah

Uniform: Head wrap

Power: Voice renders enemies helpless

Dirk

Uniform: Mavs warmups, weird haircut

Power: So likable villains just surrender

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The new Rolex tower in Dallas is straight out of a superhero movie - The Dallas Morning News