Downtown Vero Beach intersection reimagined with a newly paved Main Street that is animated nightly by digital art projections.
2024 has been off to a running start with a busy calendar of new projects, charrettes, speaking engagements, and special events that have set the tone for the rest of the year.
As we wrap up the first quarter and look ahead to the CNU next month and the summer beyond, we wanted to share some of the recent highlights with you. It’s worth mentioning that DPZ’s first two projects of the year were municipal charrettes: a downtown master plan for Vero Beach, FL, and a future land use map and form-based code for Bentonville, AR.
To read and learn more in depth about our work this past year, check out the other posts on the DPZ Pulse.
Above: The Master Plan Charrette Opening Presentation was held at Vero Beach’s historic Heritage Center. Below: A review of key goals with Mayor John Cotugno, a meeting to discuss homeless outreach, and one of the evening update presentations.
Downtown Vero Beach Charrette
DPZ returned to Vero Beach, FL, this year to produce a master plan for its Downtown. Following meetings in January with City officials and administrators, as well as business and property owners, a February charrette continued the discussions as to how to revitalize the walkable core of this historic Florida town.
Already home to a vibrant nightlife and weekly events (thanks to local entrepreneurs who see its potential), the consensus next step for this downtown is to add more residential units to patronize more shopping and dining.
In addition to enhancements along 14th Ave (Vero’s main street), DPZ will recommend updates to current regulations to make it easier for redevelopments to meet density and parking requirements and remain within the city’s 50ft height limit.
Learn more about the project here.
Photos Courtesy of PlanBentonville
Bentonville Charrette “Design Week”
This February, DPZ led Plan Bentonville, AR’s Design Week. In collaboration with Placemakers, LLC, the workshop was to help residents better understand the growth that had been projected for their community, and how they could shape its vision. Their input informed a new future land use map and form-based code.
Six days of community interaction and discussions with a diverse cross-section of the area citizenry helped answer the questions of how and where the expected growth should occur.
Read more about the Design Week on PlanBentonville’s website here.
Aerial Photo of Playa Vista’s Crescent Park Courtesy of The MLS
Playa Vista Documentary
In 1989, DPZ began a planning project for Playa Vista, a Los Angeles development for the former Howard Hughes airport and aircraft facility. It has since become a successful, mixed-use community proud of its dedicated preservation of history and commitment to the restoration of adjacent natural wetlands.
In an effort to document its history, Playa Vista Institute has created an in-depth documentary detailing the story of its development.
Read more about Playa Vista and where to watch the documentary here.
Topaz Medallion Presentation / ACSA Panel – Lizz Plater-Zyberk
This March, the ACSA held their 112th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, BC. The theme of this year’s meeting was ‘Disrupters on the Edge’ and featured discussions about challenging the status quo to reach effective design solutions for a changing world.
As previously announced in our Holiday Newsletter, Lizz was the recipient of the Topaz Medallion awarded at the event to honor architectural educators for exceptional work in building design, community collaborations,s cholarship, and service.
Congratulations again, Lizz!
Click here to learn more about the event and the award.
Big Sky Resort Celebrates 50th Anniversary
On the weekend of March 22nd – 24th, Big Sky Resort held a celebration to commemorate their 50th anniversary. The celebration, hosted by Stephen and Molly Kircher, included group tours, ski lifts opening to the public, presentations, and parties.
The anniversary also coincides with the unveiling of the new Big Sky Assouline publication.
“This book is meant to be a tribute to Big Sky Resort for the celebration of its fiftieth year in business and all it has meant to so many. Taking the time to organize and share the story of its past while forecasting the vision for its exciting future has reminded us all how fortunate we are to have been a part of Big Sky’s history, and of the responsibility we have for its future.” – Stephen Kircher, CEO of Boyne Resorts.
DPZ has worked with Big Sky since 2022 on developing the vision and master plan for the next several decades.
To learn more about the anniversary and Big Sky Resort’s history, visit their website page here.
Marina Khoury presenting at The Real Deal: Future City Retreat. Courtesy of The Real Deal.
Urban Centers, Affordable Housing, and Author Interviews with Marina Khoury
DPZ Partner Marina Khoury had a busy speaking calendar to start 2024. In February, she addressed a group of real estate executives at The Real Deal: Future City Retreat in the Bahamas where she led a discussion on crafting urban centers. In March, she spoke on affordable housing at Shenandoah University’s 2024 Housing Summit.
Additionally, in April, Marina facilitated an interview and discussion with former CNU board chair Ray Gindroz, who presented his new book, Taking a Pen for a Walk, as a part of CNU’s On The Park Bench series. The full webinar can be viewed here.
Alumni from the Yale School of Architecture gathered at DPZ’s Miami office. Pictured (left to right): Victor Deupi (Yale ’89), David Waggonner (Yale ’75), Britt Hayes (Yale ’13), Dean Deborah Berke, EPZ (Yale ’74), Michelle Badr (Yale ’20), Andrew Clum (Yale ’23), Patrick Giannini (Yale ’04), Ben Norhrup (Yale ’98).
Yale School of Architecture Alumni Event
On February 8th, DPZ hosted a gathering for alumni of the Yale School of Architecture in South Florida. Joining Lizz at the reception were DPZ’s Ben Northrup (Yale M. Arch ’98) and UM Senior Lecturer Victor Deupi (Yale M. Arch ’89).
Dean Deborah Berke gave an update on the school, including news of the Yale Urban Design Workshop led by Alan Plattus. New Haven, like many American cities, has been experiencing an urban renaissance in recent years. Berke and DPZ have a shared past that dates back to the early years of Seaside. It was there that she designed the award-winning Modica Market, one of the first commercial buildings to be built around the Central Square, as well as numerous single-family homes.
Dean Berke observed that the honorary doctorate degree received by Lizz and Andrés last year was the first joint honorary degree to be awarded by the University.
Miami’s Pedestrian-Friendly Centers: The Design District
On May 10th, DPZ Partner Lizz Plater-Zyberk will be leading a Walkshop for the NACTO Designing Cities 2024: Miami-Dade with DPZ Associate Judith Bell and University of Miami’s Ruth Ron as additional support staff.
The walking lecture is a 2-hour on-foot tour exploring Miami’s Design District – a curated architecture and art experience amidst landscaped and shaded city streets and cross-block passages. The District’s design was enabled by the Special Area Plan, a component of DPZ’s Miami 21 form-based code.
To learn more about the conference and how to register, visit the Designing Cities Website here.
2024 Grow Smart Academy in Lexington, Kentucky with Galina Tachieva
On May 7th, DPZ Partner Galina Tachieva will be the keynote speaker at Fayette Alliance’s Grow Smart Academy, a free, five-session program centered around education on land-use planning and its relationship to the economic development, environment, and quality of life in Lexington, Kentucky.
Galina’s keynote session, Retrofitting Urban Sprawl in Lexington, will kick off the event on Tuesday evening at the historic Kentucky Theatre in downtown Lexington. She will reference her 25+ years of experience in sustainable planning, urban redevelopment, and form-based codes to illustrate examples of how city officials and residents can move toward creating a more walkable, pedestrian-friendly city.
To learn more about the program and how to register, visit the Fayette Alliance’s event page here.
Alys Beach Vogue Feature
“A New Urbanist town 20 years in the making, Alys Beach… is an exclusive coastal community unlike any other, in both design and execution. The stunning white stucco enclave comprises a beauty all its own.”
Read the full article here.
Andrés in Sarasota
In January, Andrés participated in Architecture Sarasota’s lecture series “Downtown Sarasota: Hindsight, Insight and Foresight.”
DPZ was the principal consultant for Downtown Sarasota’s master plan.
While in Sarasota, Andrés remarked on how government is “getting in the way” of real progress and efficient development in communities.
Read the full article by the Observer here.
Housing the Nation
This new book edited by Alex Gorlin and Victoria Newhouse features an essay by Andrés that discusses his research on mobile home design.
“Scholars, advocates, and architects assess America’s affordable housing crisis and suggest various strategies to rectify it, including numerous images of important, recently built houses and complexes.”
Read a thorough book review and learn how to purchase it here.
With great sadness we note the surprise departure of our colleague Teófilo Victoria, professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture and partner, with his wife Maria de la Guardia, in the firm DLGV Architects and Urbanists.
Teófilo was the first Town Architect of Seaside, having participated in the community’s design and guiding its early building. He dedicated his academic life to his students, teaching the introductory architecture course for many years, and traveling with students far and wide during summer sessions. In his professional life, he and Maria designed beautiful buildings throughout the greater Caribbean, including the first townhouses in Coral Gables, and for many years he led the Florida chapter of the Institute for Classical Architecture and Art.
A long-time friend of many at DPZ, we are missing his personality and his commitment to shared values. We imagine him happily now in conversation with old friends Vitruvius, Palladio, and Alberti!
Stories about Teófilo are being gathered at social.arch@miami.edu.
