The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA), recently announced its 2017 gold and silver medalists. The biennial award celebrates transformative places distinguished by physical design and contributions to the economic, environmental, and social vitality of America’s cities. A nationwide committee of urban experts determined the winners from among five finalists, naming SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus in Bethlehem, Pa., the gold medalist and recipient of $50,000 to enhance the project.
Completed in 2016, SteelStacks is the $93.5 million transformation of an abandoned steel mill into a mixed-use cultural and entertainment district. The iconic blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel mill—which employed 31,000 people at its height and supplied steel for the Chrysler Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and World War II battleships—now anchor a new civic commons that honors the city’s steelmaking legacy and symbolizes the rebirth of a region economically devastated by its closure in 1995.
The 9.5-acre SteelStacks campus was designed by WRT of Philadelphia and developed by a consortium led by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bethlehem. Envisioned as a “21st century town square,” it includes a public plaza anchored by the blast furnaces as well as the Levitt Pavilion outdoor amphitheater, Bethlehem Visitor Center, ArtsQuest Center,PBS39 public broadcasting center, and Hoover-Mason Trestle Park. The project is a significant source of community pride as well as a local and regional destination, hosting 1.5 million visitors annually for events including free outdoor concerts.
Four other finalists received Silver Medals and $10,000 each to enhance their projects:
- Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building - Boston, Mass.
A community-oriented mixed-use development integrating public school headquarters, public meeting space, retail, and transit. (Submitted by City of Boston)
- Chicago Riverwalk Phases II and III - Chicago, Ill.
Reclaimed waterfront that transforms the river into Chicago’s next great civic park.
(Submitted by Sasaki)
- La Kretz Innovation Campus + Arts District Park - Los Angeles, Calif.
A cleantech incubator, education center, and neighborhood park developed by the local public utility. (Submitted by Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects)
- Iberville Offsite Rehabs I & II - New Orleans, La.
The rehabilitation of 26 scattered-site historic houses into 46 homes for low-income families. (Submitted by Kronberg Wall Architects/Planners)
RBA entries are completed projects across the contiguous United States. Finalists and medalists are determined through an in-depth evaluation process by the selection committee involving input from the award application, site visits, interviews with project participants and community members, and committee discussions.
The 2017 selection committee:
Knox White - Mayor, Greenville, SC
Kimberly Driggins - Director of Strategic Planning, City of Detroit Planning and Development Department, Detroit, MI
David Lee, FAIA - President, Stull and Lee Incorporated, Architects, Boston, MA
Willett Moss - Principal, CMG Landscape Architecture, San Francisco, CA
Deidre Schmidt - President & CEO, CommonBond Communities, Minneapolis, MN
Scot Spencer - Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype
Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.
| Aug 11, 2010
Urban Land Institute honors five 'outstanding' developments in Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Five outstanding developments have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) 2009 Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) competition. This year, the competition also included the announcement of two special award winners. The Awards for Excellence competition is widely regarded as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program.
| Aug 11, 2010
Design firms slash IT spending in 2009
Over half of architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms (55%) are budgeting less for information technology in 2009 than they did in 2008, according to a new report from ZweigWhite. The 2009 Information Technology Survey reports that firms' 2009 IT budgets are a median of 3.3% of net service revenue, down from 3.6% in 2008. Firms planning to decrease spending are expected to do so by a median of 20%.
| Aug 11, 2010
USGBC considering LEED for Data Centers program
In a blog post this morning on Earth2Tech, Justin Moresco writes that the U.S. Green Building Council is giving strong consideration to developing a version of its LEED green building rating system for data centers.
| Aug 11, 2010
Cannon Design’s European-inspired Sparkling Hill Resort breaks ground
Cannon Design, a leading international architectural, engineering and planning firm, is pleased to announce that the firm’s Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel in Vernon, BC, has broken ground.
| Aug 11, 2010
A glimmer of hope amid grim news as construction employment falls in most states, metro areas
The construction employment picture brightened slightly with 18 states adding construction jobs from April to May according to a new analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, construction employment overall continued to decline, noted Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.
| Aug 11, 2010
University of La Verne opens new campus center designed by Gonzalez Goodale Architects
Construction has been completed on a new campus center designed by the noted Pasadena-based institutional architecture firm Gonzalez Goodale Architects for University of La Verne that will help create a new identity for the venerable institution. The Sara & Michael Abraham Campus Center will be dedicated on September 10 at 3 p.m., in a ceremony attended by campus officials and other local dignitaries.
| Aug 11, 2010
Thom Mayne unveils 'floating cube' design for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas
Calling it a “living educational tool featuring architecture inspired by nature and science,” Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and leaders from the Museum of Nature & Science unveiled the schematic designs and building model for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science at Victory Park. Groundbreaking on the approximately $185 million project will be held later this fall, and the Museum is expected to open by early 2013.
