BPA Architecture & Design

Birmingham and Urban Architecture: A Case Study, Part 2

Our Case Studies in Urban Architecture continue as we move to Birmingham's Southside to an area called Five Points.  A great area of the city fo meet, eat, relax, and shop, Five Points is one of Birmingham's best examples of positive, sustainable urban design.

From a bird's eye view, Five Points' success if due primarily to its 'natural' advantages.  It is lcated at the convergence of several important streets which connect it directly to the UAB Campus, Downtown, the Highway 280 Corridor, Vulcan Park, and Downtown Homewood.  It also benefits from the necessary slowing and bottle-necking of a lot of regular thru-traffic, causing shops and stores to be noticed more frequently - increasing the changes of people stopping by.  Let's look a little closer at some other features:

1) Trees!  In the sea of asphalt that is the City of Birmingham, Five Points has trees!  Man's inherent bond to nature has not been overlooked as there are actually places to sit under them as well.

2) Zones of Use: moving traffic, on-street parking, vegetation, sidewalk, shops.  These zones create a pleasant experience for pedestrians, but also increase safety by creating buffers between moving automobiles and walking pedestrians.  On street parking also increases access to stores.

3) Shops and buildings are pulled far back from street corners, making each corner an open plaza and a great location for tables, chairs, and fun activities: art displays, street-band performances, or simply socializing.

4) The scale of the pedestrian is always considered as low storefront windows extend the line of vision and interest far into shops and restaurants.  

5) From the local mini-mart to the Starbucks and post office, Five Points has a little bit of everything for everybody.  Apartments and condos located above and around the corner from all the shops invite all types of people, not only to visit, but to stay and add to the flavor and inviting atmosphere of the intersection of Five Points.

Tribute to Railroad Park

 

Still in the making, this link will treat you to a preview of a short film on Birmingham's Railroad park.

http://vimeo.com/38192617

Michelle Forman, filmmaker and Co-Director of the UAB Media Studies program, directed this amazing piece, capturing the movement of the trains and the seasons through the park.

Spring is here! If you have not been to the park, now is the perfect time to go.

{photos by Maria Glaser}

Red Mountain Park opens for Spring 2012

With the beginning of spring, Red Mountain Park has opened numerous new trails thereby making it one of the largest urban parks in America.  As a comparison, it is 40% larger than Central Park in New York City!  Over 10 miles of trails and roughly half of the park’s 1,200 acres are now open seven days a week.  Keep watch for the opening of a zip-line on April 14th. 

Birmingham can certainly be proud of its parks.

http://www.redmountainpark.org/

 

Senior Care Models, As Interpreted Overseas

With the aging of our population, more and more emphasis is being placed on how to create the best environment for those individuals suffering with Alzheimers and Dementia.  Current trends revolve around creating safe environments that allow patients to move freely from space to space: sitting, walking, socializing, and recreating as the patient wishes.  Entire campuses have even been built that create a kind of village for residents - even allowing movement from building to building.  Our firm has been heavily involved in Senior Living and has seen the evolution of care models and how the built environment must respond.  (Below is a BPA project: Highlands Center at a Senior Living Community outside of Birmingham, AL)

There is an Alzheimers/Dementia Care project in Switzerland that is garnering some  international attention because of two aspects that are setting it apart from what we might see in the U.S.  The first is that it will be styled in a way to transport the patients to a past world.  Patients suffering with this illness often have strong memories of the past, but struggle to remember present-day events.  The Swiss facility references this fact as it's basis to root the design in a more "comfortable and familiar" time - the 1950s.  This concept perhaps is not uncommon in many developments seeking an architectural language that is familiar to it's residents, but the second aspect: how the care model will be structured, is drawing attention - and criticism.  

The caregivers in this facility will not be dressed as Nurses, but instead as gardeners, hairdressers, amd shop assistants.  Does this cross the line from sensitive care-giving to deception?  An essential component of long-term care environments is for patients to maintain their dignity - does this Swiss illusion undermine this?  Read more about this facility here.

 

St. Vincent's St. Clair Replacement Hospital Opens

On Saturday, December 10 St. Vincent's proudly opened their new replacement hospital in Pell City, Alabama: St. Vincent's St. Clair Hospital. The hospital touts a full compliment of services which include a state of the art Diagnostic Department, Emergency Department, 40-bed Patient Wing (with ICU) and Surgical Suite. An adjacent Medical Office Building will house physician practices to provide a variety of outpatient services.

From a design standpoint, our goal was to create a hospital of the appropriate scale that would command a strong presence along the I-20 corridor. Working with the St. Clair County Healthcare Authority, St. Vincent's Health System, St. Clair County Economic Development Council, the City of Pell City, and the St. Clair County Commission, the challenges were many and varied, but the final outcome is one that meets the needs of the community.

Birchfield Penuel and Associates thanks all of those involved, we are blessed to be a part of such a special project.

a BPA Christmas

 

 

Things are slowing down as we leave one by one for our respective holiday vacations.   Meanwhile, at BPA, we are drinking in every last moment of holiday cheer.

Today we gathered at Do Di Yo's in Homewood for a festive holiday lunch.  Then we came back to load up Maria's car with poinsettia's.  Every year BPA donates our foyer poinsettias (purchased through the UCP Poinsettia Drive) to East Glen Skilled Nursing Facility to enjoy over the Christmas break.  We think this year was a record setter for number of poinsettias crammed in Maria's car.  

 

Merry Christmas!

A Biltmore Christmas

There is nothing quite as festive as a castle dressed for the holidays.  Often referred to as America’s castle, the Biltmore Estate goes all out for Christmas.  Last week, one of our architects trekked up to historic Asheville, NC to experience the Biltmore’s holiday tradition.   

 The Biltmore house was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for the George W. Vanderbilt family and modeled after three French chateaux.  Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park, is responsible for designing the grounds.  After six years of construction, the house originally opened for the first time on Christmas Eve 1895.  The same excitement that the Vanderbilt family felt as they walked into this masterpiece for the first time will enchant you as you drive up to the house,  taking in all the splendor. 

This view was captured for us by Tom Kidwell.

http://christmas.biltmore.com/#/day

El Barrio

Wednesday night,  the long awaited El Barrio opened for customers.  This is the second restaurant for Brian Somershield and Geoff Lockert, co-owners of Trattoria Centrale, a Birmingham favorite.  It highlights south-of-the-border food with their signature talent for infusing fresh flavors.  A few of us headed downtown to 2nd Ave. N.  yesterday to try it out for lunch and were thrilled.

Along with amazing food, the interior space rivals as being equally tasteful.   Appleseed Workshop joined with architect Kyle D'Agostino to design & renovate what once was a vacant part of the Storkland baby and children's furniture store.   They achieved the perfect feel for a casual neighborhood restaurant that still feels like you are "going out" to eat.  Walking down 2nd avenue north in the evening, the glow of lights against the rich rustic plank wall will catch your eye,  a welcome addition to that city block.

Currently, El Barrio is open for lunch during the week.  Make sure to check it out.  We highly recommend the guacamole!

http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2011/04/trattoria_guys_plan_mexican_re.html

IIDA Designers & Students Tour of JCDH Tate Building Rennovations

After 2 - 1/2 years of planning and phased construction, the complete renovation of JCDH's central health clinic is nearing the end.  Architect Tom Kidwell and Interior Designer, Lydia Thomson led a group of IIDA members on a continuing education tour a few weeks back, sharing the strategies and lessons learned throughout the design & construction process.  IIDA offers this quarterly Forum program, highlighting IIDA member projects in Alabama.

Keep your eyes pealed for the unveiling of the final phase, scheduled to be complete by March 2012.

Birmingham and Urban Architecture: A Case Study, Part 1

Someone once said that, "As the purpose of art is to evoke an emotion, so the purpose of architecture is to evoke an experience." In educating those unfamiliar with the basic principles of architecture, I like to assume this statement to be true, as it generates a workable and even tangible definition of architecture that anyone can relate to. Birmingham is a perfect case study for the foundational principles of urban architecture. Often side by side, both good and bad architectural practices within the city are easy to point out. In this first installment, we'll take an general approach to some basic tenents of Architecture by looking at some successful examples along Highland Avenue in Birmingham's Southside.

Green space, green space, green space! People are naturally attracted to green space. Pocket parks, community parks, planters, trees - the more the better!

Human Scale - wide shop windows and entrances lining and lighting the street seem to reduce the height and increase the depth of buildings. Pedestrians feel at ease walking alongside things more their size. Tall blank walls are domating and oppressive.

Accessibility and Convenience - Sidewalks and crosswalks are abundant and everything you need for the week is within a short, pleasant walking distance from where you live: food marts, drug stores, restaurants, retail, businesses.

Buffers / Zones - If we're going to walk to a destination, it doesn't matter how nice the experience, if we don't feel safe, we aren't going to go. Creating buffers between moving traffic, parked cars, and pedestrians increases security while opening up opportunities for space-making. Planted medians and tree-lined sidewalks serve a useful function while enhancing the experience.

Whether we notice it or not, we all like good architecture. We are drawn to it and seek it out...because somehow we know that with good architecture we are guaranteed to experience something special. Stay tuned for more installments...