Architecture
Here’s what Charlotte really, really needs from its 2040 plan
What does Charlotte really, really need from its 2040 comprehensive plan? That’s what we asked a dozen community leaders from different walks of life: Architects and planners, developers and brokers, activists and academics. The Charlotte Future 2040 plan is meant to be, well, comprehensive, covering everything from growth, new construction and zoning regulations to parks, […]
Designing for indoor air quality: Talking with Jefferson Ellinger
Just as trees can improve the air quality in our communities, plants can make the air in our homes and buildings cleaner. UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of Architecture Jefferson Ellinger and his partners at Fresh Air Building Systems have been working for years to develop the AMPS (Active Modular Phytoremediation System), a “probiotic” plant wall […]
David Walters, a voice for urbanism, retires from teaching
When David Walters moved to Charlotte in 1990, you could pretty much fit all the people here who understood urbanism into one room. And when that happened – for instance, at the loosely organized Charlotte Urban Forum breakfast group – Walters was generally right in the thick of it. He’s been in the thick of […]
Two-century-old mill site may be landmarked
Four properties proposed for historic landmarking will go before the Charlotte City Council on Monday – from the ruins of a Colonial-era grist mill site to a 1960s Modernist home. At its Monday night zoning meeting, the council will decide whether to designate the Long Creek Mill Ruin near Beatties Ford Road and Huntersville-Mount Holly […]
Two-century-old mill site may be landmarked
Four properties proposed for historic landmarking will go before the Charlotte City Council on Monday – from the ruins of a Colonial-era grist mill site to a 1960s Modernist home. At its Monday night zoning meeting, the council will decide whether to designate the Long Creek Mill Ruin near Beatties Ford Road and Huntersville-Mount Holly […]
Will Americans continue to be suburban creatures?
Will Americans continue to be suburban creatures? The question has been widely debated by developers, planners and the press since the Great Recession. Surveys showing preferences for urban, walkable, in-town neighborhoods have been called fads by some, or hailed by others as the end of suburbia. Ultimately, it will be the attitudes of the Millennial […]
Is there a ‘right’ density? One expert says no
Julie Campoli’s new paperback, Made for Walking: Density and Neighborhood Form, is a must read for anyone in and around Charlotte who wants to know what it takes to make good neighborhoods into great ones. The book follows Campoli’s earlier Visualizing Density with photographer Alex S. MacLean; both were published by the Lincoln Institute of […]
Beloved places in the Piedmont
(Read the full article about the contest winners here.) Although all excellent photos speak for themselves, sometimes comments from the photographer add another layer of meaning. Kevin J. Beaty, about his photos of the Torance House and Store and of uptown Charlotte: “We used to call it the ‘Ghost House’ when I was a kid, […]
Art is awesome. Poverty is not.
“Art is awesome, poverty is not.” – The Urban Ministry Center In conjunction with the opening of the photographic exhibit, Favelas: Architecture of Survival, the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture will hold a reception Friday, with a celebration of Brazilian arts. The event will be 6 to 8 p.m. at the Projective Eye […]
Historic landmark mid-century houses in Mecklenburg County
In Charlotte: The Praise Connor and Harriett Lee House3714 Country Ridge Road in the Mountainbrook neighborhoodBuilt in 1963; designed by architect Praise Connor LeeDesignated in 2002 The Robert and Elizabeth Lassiter House726 Hempstead Place in Eastover neighborhoodBuilt in 1951 (oldest Modernist house in Charlotte); designed by architect A.G. OdellDesignated in 2003 In Davidson: The James […]