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.

SITIO’S ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA SERVES ON THE INTERNATIONAL JURY FOR THE 2019 ULI GLOBAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Eleven outstanding real estate development projects from around the globe were selected as winners of the 2019 ULI Global Awards for Excellence, widely recognized as one of the development industry’s most prestigious awards programs.  The winners, each of which demonstrates a comprehensive level of quality and a forward-looking approach to development and design, include seven projects in the United States, three in Asia, and one in Europe. 

More information on each of the eleven remarkable awarded projects below can be found here.

• 1800 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Cornell Tech Campus Framework Plan & Phase I, New York

• Empire Stores, Brooklyn, New York

• Gathering Place, Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Guoco Tower, Singapore

• Hoffman-Madison Waterfront- The Wharf Phase I

• International Market Place, Honolulu, Hawaii

•  Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), Shanghai, China

• Lingnan Tiandi (LNTD) Lot 1, Foshan, Guangdong, China

• Moscow Street Program, Moscow, Russia

• The Scioto Peninsula Cultural District, Columbus, Ohio

The winners were selected by the international jury made up of leading ULI members representing multidisciplinary real estate expertise, including finance, planning, development, design, and other professional services.  Joining Antonio on the 2019 ULI Global Awards for Excellence jury was Jacinta McCann, Global Design Advisor to AECOM; Stuart Ackerberg, Chief Executive Officer, Ackerberg, Minneapolis; Amy Coburn, University Architect, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Michael Grove, Principal and Chair of Landscape Architecture, Sasaki Associates, Watertown; Blake Olafson, Managing Partner, Asia Capital Real Estate Pte Ltd, Singapore; Gayle Starr, Managing Director, Prologis, San Francisco; and Becky Zimmermann, President, Design Workshop, Denver. 

ULI GLOBAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE: 2019 Winners, Finalists & Jury

SITIO PRINCIPAL KAREN BLANCHARD DISCUSSES COMMUNITY DESIGN WITH CIVIC LEADERS OF PHILADELPHIA

SITIO Principal Karen Blanchard joined a distinguished panel leading the discussion on ‘Building Strong Communities: Connecting Neighborhoods Through Inclusive Design’ at the AIA Philadelphia’s Forum on Architecture + Design.  As a member of the Board of Directors for the Fairmount CDC, Karen shared her role in engaging her community in an inclusive design processes and the resultant design. Joining Karen were panelist Jamie Gauthier, incoming City Council Member representing the 3rd District of Philadelphia; Sarajane Blair, Executive Director of the Fairmount CDC; Emaleigh Doley, Deputy Director for Germantown United CDC; moderated by Alesa Rubendall, Principal at Design Moxie. The Forum on Architecture + Design is a regional design conference focused on multidisciplinary content for all industries that contribute to shaping our built environment.

SITIO PRINCIPAL ANTONIO FIOL-SILVA TO SPEAK AT RE: HOUSING: DETROIT CONFERENCE

SITIO’s Founding Principal, Antonio Fiol-Silva, FAIA will join a distinguished panel of housing experts for the Re: Housing: Detroit Symposium held in Detroit and at the University of Michigan this coming September 12th & 13th.  The symposium will convene housing innovators and practitioners from across the fields of academia, real estate, architecture, planning, and housing advocacy, who are working on real solutions to Detroit’s “missing middle-density” housing. 

As North American cities work through the long-term implications of globalization, disinvestment, and post-recession revitalization, affordable housing and community resilience have become essential, but often elusive elements of urban life.   Antonio will address those issues alongside architects and developers currently working on groundbreaking projects in Detroit -  and throughout the US - as part of Detroit’s Month of Design and the biennial exhibition Detroit Design 139.

SITIO SELECTED FOR REBUILD'S LAWNCREST LIBRARY AND LAWNCREST RECREATION CENTER PROJECTS

SITIO has been selected to collaborate with Community Ventures on the Lawncrest Library and the Lawncrest Recreation Center and Park as part of the City of Philadelphia’s Rebuild program. This program is invested in improving community parks, recreation centers, and libraries throughout the City of Philadelphia. To kick off the projects at Lawncrest, an existing conditions assessment is currently underway as the first phase of design of the 18 acre site that contains basketball and tennis courts, a roller rink, swimming pool, playing fields and park space in addition to the Recreation Center and Library. 

For more information on Rebuild see https://www.phila.gov/programs/rebuild/

NORTH NEW STREET PROJECT RECEIVES UNANIMOUS PLANNING APPROVAL

SITIO’S North New Street mixed-use residential project in downtown Bethlehem received unanimous approval from the Bethlehem Planning Commission this week.  Located in Bethlehem’s popular Main Street district, North New Street offers residents the opportunity of modern living in a desirable and walk-able location to the heart of the City.

Click here for a featured article by lehighvalleylive.com

SITIO PRINCIPAL KAREN BLANCHARD CO-CHAIR’S WIA ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER

SITIO principal Karen Blanchard has just completed another successful fundraiser for the AIA Philadelphia Women In Architecture (WIA) Scholarship.  As a long-time Co-Chair with Alesa Rubendall, principal of Design Moxie architecture + planning, Karen and Alesa have endeavored to expand WIA’s mission to cultivate a passion of design and architecture in the next generation. In support of this goal they launched and lead the Scholarship for the past 6 years - with notable guest speakers such as Inga Saffron, Denise Scott Brown, Billie Tsien, Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Billie Faircloth, and this year, Mónica Ponce de León.

The WIA committee created this annual fundraiser to establish scholarship awards to graduating female designers from Charter High School of Architecture and Design (CHAD) to pursue an education in architecture and design. The proceeds also support PATINA (Philadelphia Architects Teach Innovation, Networking + Agency), an immersive and interactive mentorship program created by WIA that pairs design professionals with female students, which has successfully entered its fourth year and continues to grow.

Karen credits “the success of this scholarship to the dedication and generosity of our local design community. WIA is very committed and proud to support our pipeline of aspiring female designers.”   SITIO is proud of our ongoing role in furthering that mission.