Tweet Great parks add to the heart and soul of a city. Think of Central Park in New York, Forest Park in Portland, and Balboa Park in San Diego. There are few cities that need an infusion of heart and soul more than Phoenix. And so the recent selection of a design team for the revitalization of Margaret Hance Park bears with it a great hope that the park can become a big part of the heart and soul of Phoenix. The City of Phoenix just hired a design team that will take the park from being a green space…
Posts Tagged ‘Burton Barr Library’
Tweet Today’s post is the third segment of my interview with architect Will Bruder. If you missed them, make sure to take a look at the first and second segments as well! In today’s segment, Will talks about his vision for transit oriented development in the Valley, what excites him most about our city, the one building type he thinks is in sore need of transformation and finally, who he thinks should be the next mayor of Phoenix. Part VI Will’s vision for transit oriented development: Part VII What excites Will most about Phoenix and the one building type we…
Tweet One of the reasons I love being a blogger is that I have an excuse to talk with the people I admire most about things I’ve always wanted to ask them. I had such an opportunity two weeks ago with Will Bruder, a world renown architect who is responsible for such architectural masterpieces as the Burton Barr Library, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Henkel Headquarters, and the Vale among a myriad of other projects and project types. In Parts I, II and III of the interview, shown below, we talked about the role of the architect in society,…
Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: This past 12 months I’ve been blessed with a reason to travel overseas and tour some fantastic cities. Having seen a number of castles, cathedrals, bridges, parks and rail stations, I am most grateful for an expanded sense of how public spaces can both succeed and fail. That said, the first question friends & colleagues ask when I return is always “how was your trip? what was (city) like?”. Inevitably, most people want to hear about the landmark places they expect you to go; “Oh, you were in London? Did you…
Tweet There’s something remarkable happening at the Lexington Hotel, a place that has sat rather unremarkably on our landscape for quite some time now. Recently, Habitat Metro got control of it and has big plans to revitalize it into a boutique hotel with a focus on the arts community. The Lexington hotel is located at an important crux point of our city. It is between the Roosevelt neighborhood and the midtown museum area that includes the Phoenix Art Museum, Burton Barr and Margaret Hance Park. If done well, it has the potential to act as a connector, catalyst and activator…
Tweet On the 24th of March, I spoke with Architekton principal, John Kane at his fabulous Downtown Tempe office. Below is part I of our conversation: The architect who’s influenced John most: “In the early days, Zaha Hadid was one of my heroes. She still is one of my heroes. But I think she’s the one, when I was in school, the profession was going one way and she kind of shook it all up. I think I’ve always admired that kind of panache and the excitement in the way she works and the art of the whole thing.” His…
Tweet On the 24th of March, I spoke with Architekton principal, John Kane at his fabulous Downtown Tempe office. Below is part I of our conversation: The architect who’s influenced John most: “In the early days, Zaha Hadid was one of my heroes. She still is one of my heroes. But I think she’s the one, when I was in school, the profession was going one way and she kind of shook it all up. I think I’ve always admired that kind of panache and the excitement in the way she works and the art of the whole thing.” His…
Tweet On Saturday I attended the first Annual Bicycle Summit of Phoenix at the Burton Barr Library put on by the City of Phoenix. It was wonderful to hear about proposed bike infrastructure improvements, existing safety and traffic laws, and programs and events concerning cyclists. It was also a great opportunity for the biking community to get together and be heard. I commend the organizers – City of Phoenix bicycle coordinator Joseph Perez and traffic engineer Kerry Wilcoxon for making a concerted effort to listen to what the bikers of Phoenix need and want. Although the summit this Saturday was…
Tweet Prepare yourself for a lot of tan with a bit of green background, courtesy of Google Maps. I am not an employee of Google nor do I play one on TV. I do not own Google stock out-right — dang it! — but I may have a few shares in the bowels of some mutual fund I hold. With that said, I enjoy making Google Maps because I’ve been a fan of maps and flags of countries since childhood. Thank you National Geographic. And it’s true, a picture is worth a thousand words. You’re now reading Blooming Rock, “Your…
Tweet Today’s post is by guest blogger David Bickford, PHX Rail Food blogger. I first met David at a Radiate PHX event and I’ve run into him several times around town at places like the Public Market and Lola’s on Central. Sometimes we have time for a great conversation but usually, David is on his way to pick his little girls up after work. He’s one of the few people I know who is an urban dweller that has kids. David works in a managerial position at a Phoenix-based institution of higher education, but his hobby is PHX Rail Food,…