ULI GLOBAL OPEN SPACE AWARDS JURY CHAIR ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA COMMENTS ON WINNERS

Two urban parks—one in Brooklyn, New York, and the other in Wellston, Missouri—have been selected as winners of the 2020 ULI Urban Open Space Award. The award recognizes outstanding examples of vibrant public open spaces that have been instrumental in promoting healthy, sustainable, and equitable outcomes in communities.  “Equitably accessible quality open spaces are increasingly understood as vital to the physical, social, and economic health of urban neighborhoods,” says Antonio Fiol-Silva, jury chairman and founding principal of SITIO architecture + urbanism in Philadelphia. “In their own particular contexts, Domino and Trojan parks are two brilliant examples of the profoundly positive impact that such spaces can have in the lives of their communities. That both civic spaces are the product of private-sector initiatives makes them even more remarkable.”

Domino Park is part of the critical transformation of the former Domino Sugar Factory site into a vibrant mixed-use space within an area that previously had one of the lowest ratios of open space to people in the city. Inspired by community input and the site’s rich history, the five-acre (2 ha) park reconnects the Williamsburg neighborhood to the East River for the first time in 160 years.

Trojan Park is a one-acre (0.4 ha) community park in Wellston, Missouri, that gets an estimated 20,000 visitors per year. It is a key destination as part of the St. Vincent Greenway, which stretches across four towns in the St. Louis region, connecting major parks, schools and universities, public transit, job centers, and neighborhoods.

Read More here.

PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE FEATURES SITIO PROJECT 'THE CHESTNUT AT UNIVERSITY CITY'

SITIO’s high rise multi-family project, The Chestnut at University City, was recently reviewed by Philadelphia Magazine’s real estate editor, Sandy Smith. The Home and Real Estate editor appreciated the tower in a garden concept that has created a  “building that’s sleek, sophisticated and stylish, mixing clean minimalist lines with warm and inviting architectural features.” Smith recognized SITIO’s founding Principal Antonio Fiol-Silva as the project’s “visionary architect whose projects include several Willard Rouse Award winners”. The project, a 405-unit building built by Hunter Roberts for EPG Urban, opened its doors to the first residents at the beginning of July as the project continues on course for a December completion. Read the article here.

ULI GLOBAL TRUSTEE ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA CHAIRS URBAN OPEN SPACE AWARD

SITIO’s Founding Principal Antonio FIol-Silva is serving as the Chair for the ULI’s 2020 Urban Space Award, a global competition that recognizes outstanding examples of vibrant public open spaces that have been instrumental in promoting healthy, sustainable, and equitable outcomes in communities.

“The jury was impressed with the breadth and quality of this year’s submissions,” said Jury Chair and ULI Trustee Fiol-Silva “From the largest project to the smallest, each of the finalist entries are community-scaled projects that focus on connecting people while making the most of resources, an imperative given the current times. The jury valued the finalist projects for the cohesion they afford their communities and for being a catalyst for transformation.” Click here to learn more. Winners will be announced in October, and finalists include:

• Domino Park, Brooklyn, New York, USA

• Historic Fourth Ward Park – Phase I, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 

• Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, Tampa, Florida, USA

• Salesforce Park, San Francisco, California, USA 

• Trojan Park, Wellston, St. Louis, Missouri, USA 

• Uptown Normal Redevelopment, Normal, Illinois, USA 

• West Eau Claire Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair, San Antonio, Texas, USA

SITIO WELCOMES BROOKE KERVI!

SITIO welcomes back Brooke Kervi! Brooke spent a semester as an intern at SITIO in 2017, and now rejoins the team upon receiving her Master of Architecture degree from Montana State University.  Working remotely from her home state of Montana, Brooke is soaking in the scenery until she can make the post-pandemic move to Philadelphia. Brooke enjoys traveling and the great outdoors; recently in Alaska she reeled in a boatload of halibut!  

BRIDESBURG RIVERFRONT PARK ACHIEVES FUNDRAISING MILESTONE

Riverfront North Partnership recently announced that it has completed fundraising for Phase 1 of the Bridesburg Riverfront Park. This significant milestone allows construction to begin next year on this 10-acre park, which will be completed in two phases. The new park is located alongside the Delaware River and offers walking trails, overlooks from its wilder upland meadow, and a great lawn area. These areas are served by park pavilions designed by SITIO that includes an entertainment stage, a picnic pavilion, and restrooms facilities. Read the Philadelphia Inquirer article by clicking here.

THE CHESTNUT AT UNIVERSITY CITY RAMPS UP CONSTRUCTION

Donning masks and following construction site safety protocols, SITIO was back on site at The Chestnut at University City as the Hunter Roberts Construction Group enters the final stretch of construction. The 405-unit, 30-story tower building begins receiving early-occupancy residents July 1, with final completion scheduled for the Fall – in the meantime virtual tours can be found online at https://thechestnutucity.com/. The project is looking great, broad smiles under those masks!

SITIO’S KAREN BLANCHARD JOINS SHARKS AT THE 2020 ULI PHILADELPHIA SHARK TANK

On March 17th SITIO Principal Karen Blanchard will join an esteemed panel of Philadelphia real estate icons and industry leaders as a ‘Shark’ at the 2020 ULI Philadelphia Shark Tank event. Hosted by the ULI Philadelphia Young Leaders Group, this event gives emerging real estate developers a unique opportunity to pitch their local development project. This year’s Shark Tank will feature a special focus on impact development and will showcase two developers that have demonstrated a commitment to improving not just their portfolio of properties but their local neighborhoods as well.  Learn more about the event and meet the Sharks here!

SITIO’S KAREN BLANCHARD JURIES AIA AWARDS OF DESIGN EXCELLENCE

SITIO Principal Karen Blanchard was an invited juror for both the AIA Eastern Pennsylvania and AIA State of New Jersey Design Awards last month.  After much thoughtful review and debate, both juries recognized awards of design excellence in the submissions of the Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Chapters, respectively.  Both annual awards celebrate the best buildings and spaces, and the people behind them, with some of the most esteemed awards in the built environment of their Chapter.

Jurors: AIA Eastern Pennsylvania Excellence in Design Awards:

Karen Blanchard AIA, SITIO architecture + urbanism

Casey Boss AIA, University of Pennsylvania

Jules Dingle FAIA, DIGSAU

Jeff Goldstein AIA, DIGSAU

Jurors: AIA State of New Jersey Excellence in Design Awards:

Karen Blanchard AIA, SITIO architecture + urbanism

Jeff Goldstein AIA, DIGSAU

Jeff Pastva AIA, Bright Common Architecture + Design

ULI SHINES ITS URBAN VISIONARY SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT ON SITIO

This month ULI Philadelphia shines its Urban Visionary Sponsor Spotlight on SITIO, with an article featuring two of its current projects, The Chestnut at University City and The Penn Drexel Newman Center.  To learn more about the redevelopment strategy and partnership that is transforming this pivotal University City block, and about the projects themselves check out Placemaking Through Effective Public and Institutional/Private Sector Partnerships.

THE CHESTNUT AT UNIVERSITY CITY HITS CONSTRUCTION MILESTONE

Last week Madison topped-off the concrete pour of SITIO’s 30-story mixed-use tower at 3720 Chestnut Street in University City, Philadelphia. Constructed by Hunter Roberts, the 405-unit luxury apartment building includes two floors of amenity spaces graced with wide balconies overlooking its ground floor gardens and courtyards and a roof deck, lounge and pool featuring dramatic skyline views.

Scheduled for completion in mid-2020, this project by EPG Urban is designed as a “tower-in-the-garden”, that will create a series of indoor-outdoor spaces providing an elegant setting for gracious urban living and shopping in the heart of University City. 

NEWMAN CENTER CELEBRATES BUILDING OPENING & 125TH ANNIVERSARY

The Penn/Drexel Newman Center celebrated the grand opening of its new home with a four-day program of conferences, services and festivities coinciding with The Newman Center’s 125th anniversary.  The Penn Newman Center is the first and oldest of the over 2,000 Newman Centers in the nation.  

The 43,000 s.f. state-of-the-art facility designed by SITIO integrates two stately stone buildings through a new glass-enclosed garden pavilion and landscaped courtyard to create a seamless new center.  Its program includes a large 200-seat meeting space for receptions, dinners and lectures; a large lounge for informal gatherings and events; meeting rooms; offices and a chapel. For more information on the center and events visit https://newman.upenn.edu

SITIO’S KAREN BLANCHARD KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT AIAS NORTHEAST QUAD CONFERENCE

SITIO Principal Karen Blanchard was a keynote speaker at the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) Northeast Quad Conference held in Philadelphia on October 5th. Karen shared her personal path of discovery and development as an architect, her involvement in the AIA, and recent work.

The AIAS Quad Conference is the largest annual architecture and design conference in the Northeast Quadrant of the United States, offering students the opportunity to learn about issues facing architectural education and the profession, to meet and network with other students and professionals with common interests, and to interact with today’s leading architects.