Institute for Urban Design
The Institute for Urban Design (IfUD) is a not-for-profit organization based in New York that promotes productive dialogue between architects, planners, policy-makers, developers, and academics within the city and around the world. Through a series of lectures, symposia, and publications, the Institute provides a forum for debate over critical issues in contemporary urban planning, development, and design.
Early history
The nonprofit Institute for Urban Design was founded by Ann Ferebee in 1979, shortly before the convening of the first International Conference on Urban Design in Philadelphia, held October 17–20. At the conference, the Institute distributed the inaugural issue of its bi-monthly journal "Urban Design International."
In July 1979, the Institute for Urban Design conducted its first Study Tour. Working in cooperation with academics and professionals in France, members of the Institute traveled to Paris to participate in design seminars and workshops.[1]
The Second International Conference on Urban Design coincided with the Great Cities of the World Conference as part of Boston's 350th Jubilee, and was held in Cambridge Massachusetts, September 24–27.[2]
In May 1980, the Institute conducted its second Study Tour, this time traveling to Helsinki, Finland.[3]
The Third International Conference on Urban Design was held October 28–31 in Galveston, Texas and focused on developing an urban design solution for the development of the island city.[4]
In June 1981, members of the Institute traveled to Berlin, Germany for the third Study Tour. Participants were hosted by the International Bauausstellung Berlin (IBA), a German agency responsible for organizing an international building exhibition in the capital scheduled for 1984.[5]
By the beginning of 1982, there were nearly 1400 members of the Institute.[6]
The Fourth International Conference on Urban Design was held October 13–16, 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[7]
A fourth Study Tour took place in August 1982. Institute members traveled to Jerusalem to visit the Harvard Graduate School of Design's Jerusalem Studio under the leadership of Moshe Safdie.[8]
Publication of the "Urban Design International" continued until 1984, at which point it was replaced by the members-only newsletter "Institute Update."
In more recent years, the Institute has begun to develop more public programming. In September 2011, the organization staged the first Urban Design Week festival in New York City. In October of that same year, the United States Department of State announced that the Institute had been selected to organize US participation in the 13th Venice Biennale of Architecture, which will take place in late 2012.[9]
Membership
Over the course of its three decades, members and contributors to the institute have included Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, Jane Jacobs, Simon Schama, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Richard Sennett, Susannah Hagan, Adolfo Carrión, and Moshe Safdie.
Fellows of the Institute for Urban Design are nominated by their peers.The Board of Directors is currently chaired by urban designer and theorist Michael Sorkin, and includes Winka Dubbeldam, Toni Griffin, Tami Hausman, Craig Kaplan, Cathy Lang Ho, Thom Mayne, Enrique Norten, Saskia Sassen, Byron Stigge, and Claire Weisz.
Anne Guiney serves as the IfUD’s Executive Director.
External links
- Institute for Urban Design Website
- Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good
- Urban Design Week
Similar Organizations
Similar organizations include The Architectural League of New York, The Van Alen Institute, The Municipal Art Society, Project for Public Spaces, and The Center for Urban Pedagogy, and Openhousenewyork.
References
- ↑ Urban Design International 1, no. 3 (1980): 3.
- ↑ Urban Design International 1, no. 5 (1980): 9.
- ↑ Urban Design International 2, no. 2 (1981): 13.
- ↑ Urban Design International 2, no. 5 (1981): 5.
- ↑ Urban Design International 2, no. 3 (1981): 4.
- ↑ Urban Design International. 1982 Directory of Members. Port Chester: GFI, 1982.
- ↑ Urban Design International 3, no.2 (1982): 6.
- ↑ Urban Design International. 1982 Directory of Members. Port Chester: GFI, 1982.
- ↑ http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/institute-for-urban-design-to-organize-us-pavilion-for-venice-architecture-biennale.aspx