Chattanooga Design Studio is an independent non-profit community resource that promotes excellence in urban design through education, facilitation, and collaboration.
The Work
A unifying vision for montague park
A collaboration with the City of Chattanooga, a steering committee of park-adjacent stakeholders, and the Reed-Hilderbrand Design team to envision a unified Montague Park.
WESTSIDE EVOLVES
A collaborative process with Chattanooga Housing Authority, the City & the Westside community to create a vision for the long term future of the neighborhood.
THE PORCH: EVALUATION
A post-occupancy public space evaluation of The Porch pilot project. The report summarizes the quantative and qualitative methods and results with extensive community feedback and on site observations.
Recently Shared
“LANDSCAPE, MEMORY, and TRUTH : UNLOCKING HISTORIES HIDDEN IN THE LAND”
CIVIQ with Thomas Woltz of @nelsonbyrdwoltz is one not to be missed! Over the past two decades of practice, Mr. Woltz and his team have infused narratives of the land into the places where people live, work, and play. Their research-based design approach allows the team to “listen to the land” and answer with intention, revealing cultural and ecological narratives that connect people to one another and the natural world
Join us Thursday evening for the final CIVIQ of the year presented in partnership with @trustforpublicland and supported by @chattlibrary There are only a handful of tickets left!
Images provided by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects:
Children’s Memorial at Centennial Park-Nashville, TN
Flight 93 National Memorial-Shanksville, PA
The Contemplative Site and Burial Ground for Enslaved People at Monticello-Charlottesville, VA
Will we see you at the Optimizing Downtown Streets community meeting tomorrow? Come learn more and share your input with the team.
TUESDAY 11.19
6:00 pm
Waterhouse Pavilion
Team: @cityofchattanooga Department of City Planning and Chattanooga Design Studio are working with Jeff Speck and the project consultant team from Speck Dempsey @speckdempsey and Stantec Urban Places @stantec
Scope: approximately twenty locations will be reviewed with recommendations made for potential reconfiguration
Study area: a downtown core area with several connecting corridors, including Third Street from Douglas to Glenwood Drive, Main street from Riverfront Parkway to Dodds Avenue, 20th/23rd Street from Riverfront Parkway to Dodds Avenue, Brainerd Road from the Brainerd Tunnel to Germantown Road. (Check out the scope map in the post.)
You’re Invited!
Optimizing Downtown Chattanooga Streets
-come learn more and share your input-
Tuesday, November 19th
6:00 PM
Waterhouse Pavilion, Miller Plaza
This event will kick off with a formal presentation by Walkable City author @jeffspeckfaicp and the project consultant team to introduce the project to the community. This will be followed by an open house where data will be shared and public input will be gathered.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21
The team at @nelsonbyrdwoltz uses a research-based approach in every project, creating designs that reveal cultural and ecological narratives that are embedded in the land. Thomas Woltz, senior principal and owner, will present some of these projects including national memorials and public landscapes that reveal powerful histories while connecting communities to our shared past and each other.
We are proud to offer this special CIVIQ in partnership with the local team @trustforpublicland As always, thank you to @chattlibrary for sharing space with us that is built for community in the heart of the civic center. CIVIQ is always free due to the generosity of the Lyndhurst Foundation.
Please join us!
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Thanks to Alan Mallach for taking the CIVIQ stage to share about uneven revival and how we might ensure that the benefits of growth are spread equitably. Mr. Mallach hoped that the community would walk away with a greater commitment to take steps to encourage more equitable growth. If you were there, what was your biggest takeaway?
We love when the CIVIQ community comes together to celebrate the power of this program. Thanks for showing up to get inspired, informed, and activated!
Who still needs to add a book to their fall reading list? We’ve got you covered. If you missed Alan’s book signing for The Divided City and Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World, we have copies available at the Studio. Email Ginger Birnbaum if interested: Ginger_b@chattanoogastudio.com
Full lecture available at the link in our bio or chattanoogastudio.com/civiq
We are eager to introduce you to Alan Mallach this Thursday, September 26. With an emphasis on research, he untangles policy, dives into historical context, and uses real world examples to illustrate the need for greater equity amidst growth.
Mr. Mallach will be available following CIVIQ to sign two of his books, The Divided City and Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World. Both will be available for purchase by check or cash for $25.
Hear from city planner, advocate, and writer Alan Mallach in this interview with Ray Bassett of @wutc_88.1 @scenicroots423 at the link in our bio.
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CIVIQ with Alan Mallach
9.26.24
Chattanooga Public Library, Downtown Branch
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
All welcome. Always free.
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“How do vacant spaces become vibrant places for cities and neighborhoods - and how do they become vibrant for everyone?”
Check out this conversation (linked in bio) between upcoming CIVIQ speaker Alan Mallach, Ray Bassett of @wutc_88.1 @scenicroots423 , and Studio Executive Director Eric Myers to find out.
CIVIQ with Alan Mallach
9.26.24
@chattlibrary
All welcome, always free.
Park(ing) Day: The Parklet of Your Dreams is this Friday, September 20! This is a global event where people temporarily repurpose street parking spaces to be used for playful, creative, enjoyable community space.
This Friday 10-4.
Two blocks. Fifty parklets.
Broad Street between 6th Street and 8th Street.
Keep an eye on our stories for a sneak peek. HUGE thanks to all the groups signed up to create community space! (Is that a parking space or a πΈπͺ΅π΄βοΈπͺπΏπ¬π»π«§ππΈππ¦π»?)
Let’s celebrate our next Steward Level Sponsor @modusbuildllc for supporting the mission of Chattanooga Design Studio through City Celebration 2024! We are grateful that they recognize the value of urban design education and placemaking across generations and communities. Thank you to the team at Modus Build LLC for believing in the work of the Studio!
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CITY CELEBRATION
a conversation over breakfast to benefit CDS
Friday, November 1
We are thrilled to welcome @ragansmithtn as a Steward Level Sponsor of City Celebration! With this support, the Studio is able to inspire more people across projects and throughout our programs. Thanks to the team at @ragansmithtn for recognizing the value of creating joyful, thriving communities through urban design!
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CITY CELEBRATION
a conversation over breakfast to benefit CDS
Friday, November 1
CIVIQ with Alan Mallach
Thursday, September 26
5:30-7:00 @chattlibrary
All welcome. Always free.
ποΈποΈin bio.
City Planner. Advocate. Writer.
Alan Mallach is bringing a wealth of knowledge laced with creative policies and strategies to the CIVIQ stage.
As American cities have revived, their revival has been uneven, polarized between poverty and prosperity. As Chattanooga grows, it faces unprecedented challenges if it is to escape uneven revival and spread the benefits of its growth equitably. Mr. Mallach will lay out this picture nationally and locally and suggest ways Chattanooga can foster greater equity as it grows.
You are invited to the Phillip Grymes @outdoorchatt Center at Coolidge Park for a Montague Park design update! Join the team on Wednesday, August 28 from 6:00-7:30 for a presentation and to share your input.
We hope to see you there!
We believe a vibrant civic center is built by everyone, for everyone. That’s why Chattanooga Design Studio is working alongside you to ensure that the heart of our city evolves in an intentional and thoughtful way. Downtown is for everyone: a place where people connect as they live, work, and play.
We know that great places take great work and the visionaries on this team know it too. @sasakidesign @tinkerma_llc @jameslimadevelopment and @velvetpoetry want to share 5 Big Ideas to refine and redevelop based on your feedback.
The team is here! We just need YOU!
Monday, August 12 4:00-6:00 at @chattlibrary
@aiatennessee hosted Grounding: Conference on Architecture this week in Knoxville where Executive Director Eric Myers was invited to be a part of the panel discussion "Future Visions 2024." The session showcased excellence in the categories for which AIA Fellowship is granted: Design, Management/Technical Advancement, Led the Institute (or related), Public Service, Alternative Careers, and Education. A discussion moderated by Marleen Davis, FAIA of the College of Fellows followed the presentation.
UPDATE: Hamilton County @hamcotngov Mayor Weston Wamp and @cityofchattanooga Chief of Staff Jermaine Freeman will deliver brief remarks at Monday’s charrette. Join them and make your voice heard!
Check out our latest interview with Ray Bassett of @wutc_88.1 @scenicroots423 to get more info about this public input session.
Head to the link in our bio to let us know you’re coming on Monday, August 12!
Some Wednesday Park(ing) Day inspiration! We'll meet you on Broad Street in front of @tivolichatt tomorrow, 12-1 for the Pop-up Picnic Parklet! This year's Park(ing) Day theme is The Parklet of Your Dreams, an effort to think big and dreamy. Like surrealism, our dreams don't necessarily make sense, at least not in the typical 9-5 way! This is a chance for the community to expand on the possibilities that we currently recognize and reach for the things that we've only dreamed of. After all, this is The Parklet of Your Dreams.
What type of parklet do you dream of: a play area, pocket park, community gathering spot, community service, or space for entertainment?
T O D A Y
Bring your lunch and come sit with us!
It’s a Park(ing) Day Dream Lunch to fill you with inspiration as we kick off this awesome free community event that will take place in September.
Thursday, August 1
12-1
Waterhouse Pavilion
BYOL (that’s lunch!)
We’ll provide dessert and bottled water!
Make plans to join us for a Civic Center District Plan Charrette on Monday, August 12 at @chattlibrary ! You will have the opportunity to meet with the consultant team at this public input session. Come draw, sketch, and share what you want to experience in downtown Chattanooga.
Visit our website (www.chattanoogastudio.com) to register for the charrette. We hope to see you there!
Mark your calendars, pack your lunch, and come sit with us! It’s a Park(ing) Day Dream Lunch to fill you with inspiration as we kick off this awesome community event.
Thursday, August 1
12:00-1:00 pm
Waterhouse Pavilion
Bring Your Own Lunch
Let’s kick off Park(ing) Day 2024! Bring your lunch and come hang with us at Waterhouse Pavilion on Thursday, August 1 from 12:00-1:00.
Already registered for a parklet and need to brainstorm? Let’s do it!
Need help getting registered? We can help with that!
Just curious? Come learn more!
Park(ing) Day 2024 : The Parklet of Your Dreams
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OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
A big thank you to our current funding partners for ongoing operational support of the Chattanooga Design Studio.