Tag Archives: U of A Community Design Center

Creative Corridor Celebrated This Afternoon

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A grand opening to highlight the new features and completed sections of the Creative Corridor’s Low Impact Development (LID) streetscape will be held 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, as the revitalization of Little Rock’s Main Street continues to take shape, block by block.

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will join Ron Curry, Region 6 administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Randy Young, executive director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, for the kickoff event, which will begin with a project update at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (601 Main Street). Professor Stephen Luoni of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture and director of the UA Community Design Center will give an informative presentation on the theories of Low Impact Development and creative place-making that underpin the project.

The most recently completed improvements in the 500 block of Main Street will be open to the public for strolling along the tree-lined boardwalk on the west side.  All of the pedestrian and environmentally friendly streetscapes in the 100, 200, 300 and 500 blocks of Main Street contain LID features such as bioswales, porous pavers, rain gardens, and other biodiverse vegetation.

The grand opening will also celebrate the elements of creative place-making that have occurred. Recent public art installations and the clustering of artistic and creative organizations on Main Street are transforming the Creative Corridor into a downtown hub that supports a great level of pedestrian activity, sociability, recreation and aesthetics.

An arts open house and reception will follow the tour, with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Arkansas, Matt McLeod Fine Art, and Cranford Co. opening the doors to their new, connected spaces.

“The progress on Main Street is a harbinger of the exciting development yet to come for this area,” says Stodola. “The Creative Corridor, once just a vision, has become a vibrant reality that has earned national accolades, brought together many of our City’s cultural institutions, and created these beautiful spaces that will continue to grow.”

The Creative Corridor is a mixed-use development project aimed at restoring the vitality of Main Street by creating an arts district and retrofitting a four-block segment of the street between President Clinton Avenue and 7th streets. The City of Little Rock estimates that more than $100 million in private and public investment has occurred to date to help make this vision a reality.

 

More Recognition for Little Rock’s Creative Corridor

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PrintA plan to transform four neglected blocks of Main Street in downtown Little Rock into an arts district has earned yet more international recognition.  The University of Arkansas Community Design Center and Marlon Blackwell Architect’s plan The Creative Corridor: A Main Street Revitalization for Little Rock has won Honorable Mention in Urban Design (Concept) of the International Awards 2015 sponsored by Architecture Podium.

The Creative Corridor retrofits a four-block segment of downtown Main Street through economic development catalyzed by the cultural arts rather than Main Street’s traditional retail base.  The goal is to structure an identity for the Creative Corridor rooted in a mixed-use work-live environment but sensitive to the historical context. The incremental approach employs three developmental phases to transform the corridor space into a downtown node. Planning and design for the Creative Corridor was funded by a 2011 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“This is yet another in a growing line of international, national and regional recognition for the Creative Corridor.  It is a testament to the outstanding design team at the UofA Community Design Center and Marlon Blackwell Architect. I am grateful for their efforts on this project,” said Mayor Mark Stodola.

“I am also appreciative of the outstanding local effort to take this plan and execute it,” Mayor Stodola continued.  “I look forward to seeing the excitement of the arts organizations up and down Main Street with their creative talent literally spilling out on to the sidewalks.”

The Creative Corridor features elements such as marquees, green and low impact development elements, and an art installation made from street lamps of different eras from city neighborhoods.

The Creative Corridor has also received other honors, including a 2014 Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, 2013 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. It also won a Charter Award in the Neighborhood, District and Corridor category in the 2013 Charter Awards, sponsored by the Congress for the New Urbanism, and it was short-listed for the 2013 World Architecture Festival Awards in the Future Projects – Masterplanning category.

On September 14, at 3:00pm, a ribbon cutting will take place on the Creative Corridor.

Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts to visit Little Rock

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NEA LRDr. Jane Chu, a former resident of Arkadelphia, is the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.  On Tuesday, October 7, she will be in Little Rock.

At 1:30, she will be part of a presentation at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  Steve Luoni of the University of Arkansas Community Design Center, will lead a discussion of the Creative Corridor.  Dr. Chu will also make remarks.  Mayor Mark Stodola will be the host of the event.  The public is invited to attend.

During her visit in Little Rock, Dr. Chu will also take part in a variety of meetings and tours.