Research

LA 338/Arch 372 Collaborative Studio, 2000

Master planning and community design in two different Illinois cities

youth activities revitalization employment
cultural resources livability community center

Since 1990 the University of Illinois has completed several master planning studies in partnership with neighborhood action groups in Illinois cities. This semester we focus on the Alta Sita neighborhood of East St. Louis and an east-side neighborhood in Springfield.

Select the linked city names below to go to the two project websites.

East St. Louis	Springfield
Alta Sita Neighborhood Context	The Springfield Project Context

Collaborators:
Architecture 372, Prof. Kathryn Anthony, School of Architecture
Landscape Architecture 338, Prof. Brian Orland, Department of Landscape Architecture
Web and Bibliographic Resources

1. East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP)

Since 1990 ESLARP has completed several master planning studies in partnership with neighborhood action groups in East St. Louis, most recently an Emerson Park Development Corporation (EPDC) initiative to site 200 new housing units to take advantage of a new light rail station starting construction in Emerson Park. (ESLARP Update here), and in Alta Sita, LA338-Spring '99

LA338-Spring '99 focused on the siting and green space development issues associated with housing plans at scales ranging from city-wide strategic plans to green space design associated with particular housing layouts. Our proposal this semester is to focus on the Alta Sita neighborhood and on housing scale proposals to illustrate the various options available to citizens both in making appropriate responses to the constraints of existing site and neighborhood conditions, and in achieving satisfying and enhanced quality of life for future residents. We will focus on sustainability as a design guide and generator. LA341 has this semester used CITYGreen, an extension of ArcView, to make comprehensive analyses of environmental beenfits of green development (/la/LA341-F99/notes/p11cgex.htm). This class will build on that preliminary work. All work will be produced and presented electronically via a class web-page.

2. University of Illinois-Springfield COPC

UI-S has a project very similar to ESLARP, but no School of Architecture or Department of Landscape Architecture. We have been asked to work with them on developing a proposed "image" for an 18-block area in Springfield. They have collected comprehensive neighborhood data and are looking for a highly visual and evocative image of what this once-vibrant meighborhood could become.

This will be a small team of probably only four total, with an RA assigned as project liaison. Work will invlove traditional as well as new media such as extensive Photoshop use. We anticipate developing a web-page and illustrated brochure as part of this project.

All studio work will be conducted in interdisciplinary groups of Architecture and Landscape Architecture students.
Class meets 1:30-5:00pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays -
Room 325/319 Temple Buell Hall.
Grade:
70% on group design work
30% on in-class participation.
Evaluation:
A, B, C, etc letter grades with +/-.
Refer to departmental guidelines for detailed explanations but we regard good work as "B" work. "A" is reserved for truly outstanding work, "C" is adequate and "D" is below our expectations for you.
Attendance:
... is critical. Unexcused absences will earn a 5% deduction from your grade for each one.