September 15, 2011
Michael Willis, FAIA, NOMA, Pruitt-Igoe Panelist, Washington University in St. Louis
Join Washington University Libraries and the Brown School Alumni Association for special screening of the film "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth." The film explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in America, and the city centers in which they resided, while tracing the personal and poignant narratives of several of the residents of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis.
Following the film, stay for a discussion with the following participants:
Bob Hansman, Associate Professor, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts
Jack Kirkland, Associate Professor, Brown School
Michael Willis, MSW/MArch '76, Founder and President, Michael Willis Architects
Edward F. Lawlor, Dean, Brown School (Moderator)
When: Thursday, September 15; Film begins at 7 pm
Where: Graham Chapel, Washington University Danforth Campus
RSVP Today at reism@wustl.edu or 314-935-4780; Watch the Trailer
May 2011, by Charles Linn, FAIA, AIArchitect, aia.com
For Affordable Housing Architects, a Call to ‘Workshop Your Way to the Answer’
Michael Willis, FAIA, opened his Thursday AIA Convention session on Faubourg Lafitte, a residential project currently under construction in New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood, by stressing the importance of collaboration in building such a project. In the session (called “Rebirth of Treme Lafitte Neighborhood Housing in New Orleans”), he said working with a broad coalition of stakeholders is possibly the most important thing that architects and planners can do. Read the full article here.
Michael Crosbie, chairman and associate professor of the University of Hartford Department of Architecture speaks with Michael Willis on the topic. Listen to the podcast here.
February 13, 2011, by Doug McCash, The Times-Picayune, nola.com
The architecture of New Orleans’ rebuilt public housing gets mixed reviews
This month, eight families from the Lafitte public housing development trundled their belongings into brand-new apartments in an instant neighborhood dubbed Faubourg Lafitte, erected on the site of the demolished brick complex in the 6th Ward. Read the full article here.
February 8, 2011, by John King, sfgate.com
SFO terminal plan may make security check less grim
As with any project boasting a $383 million price tag, Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport has Big Moves in abundance, starting with the 150-foot-long glass murals that flank the entrance. Read the full article here.
February 04, 2011, by Martha Carr, The Times-Picayune, nola.com
HUD secretary in town to christen first phase of Lafitte redevelopment
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is in New Orleans today to christen the first phase of the redeveloped Lafitte public housing complex in the city’s 6th Ward. Read the full article here.
Humboldt Gardens Setting the Bar Higher
MWA Architects received the Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Award for Green Building from City of Portland.
MWA was one of ten companies from the Portland metropolitan region chosen from 77 applicants to be recognized at the 17th Annual BEST Awards Breakfast on April 22, 2009. The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability presents the BEST Awards annually to businesses demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to sustainability.
“Portland’s early leadership has drawn the best talent to create a confluence of expertise, fueling local innovation in sustainable design, production and clean technology,” said Mayor Adams. “It’s the innovators of today that help set that bar higher and higher for tomorrow’s companies – innovators and entrepreneurs like this year’s BEST Award winners.”
Moscone Central Subway
Moving People West: A New Transit Station
MWA is architect and Joint Venture Partner with Parsons Brinckerhoff for the newest link in San Francisco’s transportation network: The $90 million Moscone Street station is one of three new stations planned in the $628 million Central Subway Project. Moscone station will be less than two blocks away from the 2005 Moscone West Convention Center expansion on which MWA was also a Joint-Venture partner.
The new station will bring millions of visitors to Moscone, and is part of the new line that runs from the Caltrain Station, to Moscone, to Union Square to Chinatown. It is scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2009.
MWA Associate, Brad Bane presented at the 2009 HUD HOPE VI Green Building & Energy Efficiency Development Conference
Brad Bane, AIA, LEED AP was asked by our client at the Housing Authority of Portland, Julie Livingston, to co-present our work at both New Columbia and Humboldt Gardens as it relates to green building and sustainability. We are the beneficiaries of working with this progressive client. The Housing Authority of Portland consistently raises the bar on their sustainability efforts. HUD recognizes this effort and we were asked to present our achievements as well as our lessons learned.
HUD Presentation
Future Perfect:
Thinking ahead in Hunter’s Point
MWA joined a distinguished group of architects assembled by architect Dan Solomon to develop ideas for the Hunter’s Point neighborhood in the southeast section of San Francisco.
Each of six architects was given two blocks to see if there were some overarching principals that could guide the land developer, Lennar Urban to a sound plan for neighborhood redevelopment touching on issues of project types, densities, parking, retail, and streetlife. While not a final design, these conceptual approaches to building a neighborhood offers a glimpse into the issues to be resolved when the land parcels begin to go under construction. MWA focused on affordable housing in its two block parcels.