United States

"Open House" is artist Matthew Mazzotta's latest invention: a compact, faded pink house that unfolds into a ten-piece outdoor theater that seats nearly 100 people. Facing a raised earthen stage, it's a public space made from the remnants of a privately owned blighted property. Reversing the loss of public space that the city of York, Alabama has experienced, Open House has transformed a wasted ruin of a house into an outdoor theatre open to various community events.

In honor and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, which took place August 28, 1963, the RFQ for architectural services for the new Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library was officially launched today by the District of Columbia Public Library. Currently a Mies van der Rohe building, which is his only library and the only Mies building in D.C., people using the public library more than ever to seek assistance in navigating the complex networks of information available to them and in converting that information to knowledge for their personal needs (education, lifelong learning, enjoyment, jobs, business development, and so on).

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library will be a place for residents to explore, connect, create and engage. They seek an inspiring design for the library of the future that will accommodate great flexibility in library uses and in technology. The RFQ's are due no later than September 23. A pre-proposal conference is also set to take place September 10. For more information, including the full RFQ document, please visit here.

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Studio V Architecture recently won the competition put forth by the Connecticut Department of Transportation for the design of a $500 million redevelopment of the Stamford Transportation Center and surrounding area. Grown to become the second largest in the region after Grand Central Terminal, Studio V, along with developer Stamford Manhattan Development Ventures (SMDV), aims to transform this traffic-congested station into a dramatic new 24-hour community that reconnects Downtown Stamford to the South End and the city's waterfront. More images and architects' description after the break.

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Launching August 22 at 6:30pm at the Center for Architecture, the QueensWay Connection: Elevating the Public Realm Competition supports Friends of the Queensway and The Trust for Public Land in their efforts to transform an abandoned rail right-of-way into a greenway serving diverse neighborhoods in central and southern Queens. Presented by The Emerging New York Architects (ENYA) committee of the AIA New York Chapter, this sixth biennial competition seeks to supplement the ongoing feasibility study for the railway’s transformation by proposing ways the future park can be activated in addition to recreation and leisure. With emphasis on the park’s access points the competition brief provides an opportunity to speculate about programming and design to extend street activity onto the railway. Submissions are due in January. For more information, please visit here.

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Despite its drastic evolution in the past 50 years, New York's historic Garment District remains one of the most authentic neighborhoods in the city. From August 5 through October 31, The Skyscraper Museum is presenting a free exhibition on its architecture and urban history in a pop-up space at 1411 Broadway. The installation reprises the exhibition The Skyscraper Museum originated last year in its lower Manhattan gallery. This exhibition is a great opportunity to explore a place that was once known as having the largest concentration of skyscraper factories in the world with more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs. For more information, please visit here.

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This year's Seattle Design Festival, hosted by Design in Public and AIA Seattle, will feature large scale installations, home tours, walking tours, films, lectures, exhibitions, competitions, activities, pop-up parklets, and more which is open to the general public. The city-wide event takes place September 13-22 with the hub of the festival at the ‘Design Block’ in Pioneer Square. This year's theme is ‘Design in Health’ exploring the connection between environmental design and health & well-being. Design can improve health by: promoting physical activity, increasing access to healthy food, reducing injuries, improving air and water quality, minimizing stress, and strengthening the social fabric of communities. More information after the break.

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