SITIO'S KAREN BLANCHARD INDUCTED AS 2018 AIA PHILADELPHIA PRESIDENT

SITIO is delighted to announce that Principal Karen Blanchard was inducted as the 2018 President of AIA Philadelphia at a ceremony held at the Philadelphia Athenaeum.  Leading to her election as President Karen served as a member of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, and Co-Chair of the Women In Architecture.  Karen, a past recipient of the AIA Philadelphia Young Architect Award, looks forward to expanding the AIA’s mission of design advocacy and peer mentorship.  SITIO is proud of our history of service to AIA Philadelphia, building upon Antonio Fiol-Silva’s contributions as AIA Philadelphia President in 2014.

KAREN BLANCHARD PRESENTS AT AIA QUAD CONFERENCE PANEL

SITIO’s Karen Blanchard presented with architectural leaders from New Jersey, New York, and New England at the AIA Quad Conference in Albany, NY on November 10th. This panel presented professional experiences in creative design practices as well as the different challenges and opportunities that have impacted their work and career paths. Karen shared her involvement as the AIA Philadelphia Women In Architecture Co-Chair since 2013, focusing on the organization’s engagement not only to women in the design industry but to all emerging practitioners.

SITIO PROUD TO SPONSOR PUERTO RICO DISASTER RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT

SITIO was proud to sponsor the Puerto Rico disaster relief benefit concert at Bethlehem’s SteelStacks on Sunday November 6th.  Antonio Fiol-Silva joined Puerto Rican community leaders and Lehigh Valley Mayors and Council Members to welcome notable local Latin musicians who performed a free concert to collect donations.  All funds will go directly to Puerto Rico hurricane relief through Concilio-Philadelphia. Donations are still being accepted - checks can be made payable to Concilio-Unidos PA’ PR and can be mailed to HGSK Law Firm, 1349 Lynn Ave., Bethlehem 18015.

TALLER PUERTORRIQUENO CULTURAL CENTER RECEIVES AIA PHILADELPHIA DESIGN AWARD

Taller Puertorriqueno Cultural Center received a Merit Design Award at the AIA Philadelphia 2017 Design Awards Gala. Known as El Corazón Cultural del Barrio (The Cultural Heart of Latino Philadelphia), Taller Puertorriqueño uses art to promote development within its community and the Latino Diaspora and build bridges to the Greater Philadelphia region. SITIO Principal Antonio Fiol-Silva lead the project from feasibility to design and construction as designer and Principal-In-Charge.

A SHINING STAR: NATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS HIGHLIGHT STEELSTACKS' IMPACT ON COMMUNITY AND NATION

InQ, ArtsQuest's Magazine, reflects on the meaning of SteelStacks' successes in A SHINING STAR: National Design Awards Highlight SteelStacks' Impact on Community and Nation.   Hear from Bethlehem Leaders and SITIO Principal Antonio Fiol-Silva in the What they're saying about SteelStacks sidebar.   Click here to access the article by Mark Demko.

DESIGN OF NEW RIVERFRONT PARK IN BRIDESBURG KICKS OFF

Langan Engineering and Ground Reconsidered landscape architects, together with SITIO architecture + urbanism, began work on the new Bridesburg Riverfront Park and facilities, which will become a significant trailhead and gateway to the North Delaware Riverfront/East Coast Greenways.  

The 10+-acre park on the Delaware River, developed by the Delaware River City Corporation in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation, will open access to a spectacular panoramic swath of the Delaware River just north of the old Pennsylvania Railroad Lift and Betsy Ross Bridges.

STEELSTACKS ARTS AND CULTURAL CAMPUS RECEIVES 2017 RUDY BRUNER AWARD

Bethlehem’s SteelStacks campus was presented with the national Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence on Thursday September 7th. This multi-phased project was a part of a public-private partnership that involved, among others, the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, ArtsQuest, PBS39, and the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, who donated the land on the historic Bethlehem Steel plant site. On behalf of this multi-award winning project, Tony Hanna, Executive Director of the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, accepted this gold medal award - the Rudy Bruner’s highest recognition of urban places distinguished by their economic and social contributions to America’s cities.  SITIO's Antonio Fiol-Silva spoke about the unique challenges of the site and the transformational impacts that enhanced a vibrant arts and cultural community.  Fiol-Silva lead the SteelStacks Master Plan, The Levitt Pavilion, and the Hoover-Mason Trestle projects as Principal-In-Charge and Planner, and Karen Blanchard was the Design Architect.

ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA SERVES AS A ULI EXPERT ON CREATIVE PLACEMAKING IN DETROIT

ULI Michigan hosted a workshop with national and local experts to generate placemaking ideas for the Henry Ford Health System’s new state-of-the-art cancer center, which will be located south of its campus in Detroit’s New Center.  Made possible by a Creative Placemaking grant from ULI’s Building Healthy Places Initiative, with the generous support of the Kresge Foundation, the workshop - Chaired by ULI’s Senior Visiting Fellow in Creative Placemaking Juanita Hardy - explored opportunities to create active living, nutrition, education and community green space that links the cancer center with other healthy lifestyle assets in Detroit. 

ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA SERVES AS JUROR FOR ULI NORTH TEXAS IMPACT AWARDS

For the second consecutive year Antonio joined four other ULI experts from across the country to jury the 2017 ULI Texas Impact Awards in support of transformative land use developments, best real estate practices, and creative visioning.  The selection process included visits to over thirty projects, ranging in scale and type from Toyota’s new North American Headquarters in Plano to the new Eagle Family Plaza at the Dallas Museum of Art.  On October 3, 2017, the third annual Impact Awards Event will spotlight visionary developers and outstanding developments in North Texas, with the winners of the four competitive awards announced that evening at Union Station. 

BOXWOOD ARTS WITH SITIO'S ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA DEBUTS PLANS FOR NEW DOWNTOWN THEATER & CULTURAL CENTER

Boxwood Arts Group along with SITIO’s Antonio Fiol-Silva, recently unveiled plans for The Boxwood Arts Theatre and Cultural Center to Haddonfield Commissioners.  This new 26,000 sf Center includes a 365-seat theater, paired with a 4,000 sf ballroom and various art galleries set to elevate Haddonfield New Jersey into South Jersey’s premiere performing and visual arts. For recent press click here.

STEELSTACKS ARTS & CULTURAL CAMPUS NAMED 2017 RUDY BRUNER AWARD FOR URBAN EXCELLENCE GOLD MEDALIST

THE STEELSTACKS ARTS AND CULTURAL CAMPUS HAS BEEN NAMED THE 2017 RUDY BRUNER AWARD FOR URBAN EXCELLENCE GOLD MEDALIST!  This 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 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 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 art, cultural, and entertainment district that hosts over 1.5 million visitors annually for a variety of events.

This transformational project was created by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bethlehem under the leadership of Executive Director Tony Hanna, and continues to enhance and honor the historical Bethlehem Steel site with a vibrant arts and cultural community symbolizing the rebirth of the region. SITIO's Antonio Fiol-Silva lead the SteelStacks Master Plan, The Levitt Pavilion, and the Hoover-Mason Trestle projects as Principal-In-Charge and Planner, and Karen Blanchard was the Design Architect.

SITIO WELCOMES BROOKE KERVI

SITIO welcomes Brooke Kervi to our team! Brooke joins us from Montana, bringing a variety of architecture experience from past internships while completing her studies at Montana State University. New to Philadelphia, Brooke is excited to explore this city and others along the east coast.  In her spare time Brooke is a soup aficionado and enjoys cliff jumping when back home in Bozeman.