Case Studies
Sample Projects
Clarendon Place
residential
Friendship Development Associates (FDA) requested assistance from the Design Center to support the redevelopment of row houses dating from 1910. The structures were in poor condition, suffering from mismanagement by an absentee landlord, and were the site of drug- and gang-related activities which endangered the rest of the neighborhood.
Spinning Plates Artists Lofts
residential
The Pittsburgh-based group Artists & Cities was seeking a solution to the dearth of affordable living and working space for low- to moderate-income artists when the Constantine Pontiac Building, located in the east end neighborhood of East Liberty, caught its eye.
Allegheny Commons King Playspace Project
landscape architecture
The Allegheny Commons Initiative (ACI) is a community-based organization seeking to restore and revitalize the Allegheny Commons park for the better use of Northside residents. In 2010, ACI and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy sought a grant from the Design Center in order to fund a new vision plan of the outdoor spaces surrounding the Pittsburgh King PreK - 8 School.
Mt. Washington Business District Plan, Phase II
streetscape improvement plan
In 2007, the Mt. Washington CDC (MWCDC) received support from the Design Center to create a vision plan that would unify and beautify the neighborhood’s commercial district. Shortly after the completion of this project, the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission granted the Virginia Ave. corridor a zoning upgrade (to Local Neighborhood Commercial).
Union Project Side Yard Improvement Project
greenspace planning
Union Project, created in 2002, offers safe space for local artists, community leaders, and diverse people of faith to create positive changes in Pittsburgh’s East End. It is also taking on projects related to revitalizing its home building in East Liberty, a blighted church building dating from 1905.
Liberty Avenue Streetscape
urban design
In 2009, the Bloomfield Development Corporation (BDC) sought assistance in producing a vision plan for the neighborhood’s Liberty Avenue business district. The proposed streetscape improvement plan would focus on three sites along Liberty Avenue: the Shur-Save neighborhood grocery store, the 5-way intersection at the Bloomfield Bridge, and the section of Liberty Avenue between Millvale and Mathilda Streets in front of West Penn Hospital.
Moms Green Project
landscape architecture
Sojourner House is a faith-based residential rehabilitation facility where addicted women learn to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty and chemical abuse. The Sojourner House Motivation, Opportunities, Mentoring and Spirituality (MOMS) Program builds on Sojourner House’s experience in providing a holistic mind-body-spirit approach to treating addiction.
Forward Avenue Gateway
urban design
The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition (SHUC) sought assistance to produce a comprehensive design that would suggest streetscape improvements for the Murray Avenue & Forward Avenue intersection and surrounding area
North Point Breeze Site Improvements
landscape
With their $4,000 grant, Grow Pittsburgh hired Burt Hill, whose landscape architects designed site improvements that will transform it into a community centerpiece. In time, Grow Pittsburgh’s North Point Breeze garden will engage the community in its work by offering on-site art, seating areas, and a small neighborhood gathering place along with its fresh produce.
Brew house Building Master Plan
residential
Built in 1889, the Duquesne Brewery Building was vacated in the 1970s and quickly became a low-rent haven for Pittsburgh artists. In 1991, the Brew House Association was formally organized by the inhabitants of the Brew House in order to purchase the building from the city.
East Commons Evaluation Project
landscape
Allegheny Commons is Pittsburgh’s oldest park and occupies 88 acres in the City’s north side. In 2000, after over a century of use, the park was in need of restoration. The Allegheny Commons Steering Committee formed to spearhead the Master Planning process that would guide the park’s renewal.
Bride Row
historic preservation
In 2007, Friendship Development Associates (FDA) sought assistance from the Design Center to support the rehabilitation of eight Victorian-style houses on Penn Avenue. The identical structures, built in 1900, are neighborhood icons. Their hilltop location renders them highly visible; they are in a part of the neighborhood experiencing significant reinvestment; and they are located between the well-known “Bride of Penn Avenue” mural, painted in 1995, and the recently-constructed Penn-Fairmount Apartments.
Herron Ave Greenspace
street revitalization
In spring 2007 FTR! contacted the Design Center for design assistance in developing a masterplan of the Hill District. Strategic sites where immediate action was needed, were identified. Special attention was sought on the southern end of herron avenue towards the gateway, in which called for designs solution that took into consideration traffic management, green space, as well restricted pedestrian areas.
Manchester Neighborhood Plan
neighborhood master plan
The Manchester community is one of the City of Pittsburgh’s oldest National Registered Historic Districts. The neighborhood boasts a variety of home styles, some of which have been beautifully restored, but many are in various states of disrepair. To quantify the extent of the community’s abandoned property, the Manchester Citizens Council (MCC) conducted a survey; the resulting document served as a basic conditions study to inform future planning within the neighborhood.
Mt. Washington Business District Plan
streetscape improvement plan
Mt. Washington’s business district is directly adjacent to the Grandview Avenue Overlook, which draws over one million visitors each year. Despite its convenient location, the community’s fragmented commercial areas were not drawing many of those tourists deeper into the neighborhood.
5430 Penn Ave – Quiet Storm
rehabilitation
For years the Quiet Storm Bar & Grill was a nuisance to neighbors of Penn Avenue in the Friendship, Bloomfield and Garfield neighborhoods. Eventually, the community’s efforts to have the bar shut down proved successful and the building at 5430 Penn Avenue sat empty, full of possibilities.