|
|
 |
| |
AIA Blueprint
for Springfield: Designing the Future of the Historic Downtown of
Illinois Capitol City
 In
2002 the City of Springfield called on the American Institute of
Architects for assistance in “A New Dimension for Downtown
Springfield: Preserving the Past and Building the
Future.” The study team, composed of professionals
and
architecture students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
found significant assets in the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Presidential
Library, the renovated train station/now visitors’ center for
the
City, and the fact that Springfield is the state capital with the
historic Capitol building in downtown.
They also found that these assets weren’t enough to make
downtown
interesting to residents and frequent visitors. The
Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team recommendations included:
Encourage housing downtown in historic buildings and new construction
Establish guidelines specific to downtown for renovation and infill
construction
Encourage retail and entertainment development.
The essence of the report is: make downtown a neighborhood,
not
just the site of Abraham Lincoln’s home and the state capitol
building.
 To
develop ideas for implementation, AIA
Central Illinois,
esp. AIA Springfield and a graduate design studio at UIUC examined data
developed in a pre-R/UDAT study, “Springfield Strategy
2020,” the R/UDAT itself, and follow-up community
meetings. Working closely with Downtown
Springfield, Inc.,
a business development group, and the City, the team held a public
meeting to develop their goals and objectives, the scope of their work,
and the priorities of the citizens and business community. In
addition to their professor’s critiques, the students brought
their ideas back to public meetings for review and comment.
Their
aim was to reclaim most of what once described downtown
Springfield—a center of retail, social and cultural
activities.
The design team examined five sites for infill development:
- A surface parking lot near the
state Capitol and Governor’s Mansion
- A vacant site adjacent to the
historic downtown district
- A parking lot near the Old State
Capitol
- A narrow lot with views to the
Capitol
- A parking lot between the old and
new capitol buildings
The final product of this phase is a booklet presenting in graphic and
text format designs to address the R/UDAT recommendations.
Implementation depends on City government and the private sector, both
of which were engaged in the process from start to finish.
The distribution list for the booklet includes:
- All participants
- City officials in Central Illinois
- AIA components in Central Illinois
- Public libraries in those
communities
- All collegiate schools of
architecture
It is also available from AIA Illinois on line at www.aiail.org, or
from AIA Central Illinois on line at www.aiaci.org.
View
all Blueprint Initiatives |
|
| |
|
| |
|
)
)
