More than 20 years of award-winning work of Chattanooga’s Urban Design Studio will be showcased in an interactive temporary exhibit beginning with a public reception on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at 831 Chestnut St.
The Urban Design Studio Retrospective was announced Thursday by Heidi Hefferlin, local architect and spokesperson for The Watson Fund. “The Studio was intimately involved in projects such as the development of Miller Plaza, the create of the Aquarium Plaza at Ross’s Landing, the revitalization of the Southside, and the 21st Century Waterfront. But more than that, it is a key part of Chattanooga’s legacy of urban renaissance – and should be a guide for our future as well.”
The retrospective celebrates the nearly quarter-century’s worth of visioning and urban design work of the Design Studio.
The work of the Studio has been compiled into an online archive, and representative works are being put on exhibit for the next three months. It will display an unprecedented array of student, professional and citizen based work.
Christian Rushing, local planner and urban designer responsible for creating The Retrospective noted: “I think it’s important to recognize that Downtown Chattanooga didn’t just happen. It is the result of decades of planning, design, visioning, and collaboration- the Design Studio was a hub for that type of activity.”
In 1981, the Urban Design Studio began in a modest renovated drug store in downtown Chattanooga. Supported by the University of Tennessee School of Architecture and the Lyndhurst Foundation, the studio hosted fourth-year architecture students who worked on Chattanooga based design projects. The Studio eventually added staff from the River City Company and the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency.
The goal of the studio was to integrate the education of future architects with the education of the community. The Studio stressed the importance of design and urbanism by focusing on the urban public realm, the streets, parks, plazas and blocks that form the “living room” of the community.
The Watson Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, was established with the goal of promoting urban design education and awareness. The Retrospective is also supported by the Lyndhurst and Benwood Foundations and River City Company.
The Retrospective is located at 831 Chestnut St. in the CitiPark Building. Hours for the exhibition will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays from the opening through Oct. 25. For more information contact Christian Rushing and info@chattanoogastudio.com or visit the Retrospective website at www.chattanoogastudio.com.