City of

Waterloo Sustainable Design Workshop:

Reclaiming the Downtown Riverfront

October 6-8, 1995
AIA & AIAIowa Committees on the Environment
Cedar Arts Forum
Iowa Community Design / ISU
A joint effort by the AIA and AIAIowa Committees on the Environment; AIA Iowa; The Community of Waterloo; Cedar Arts Forum; University of Northern Iowa; Iowa Community Design and the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Community and Regional Planning at Iowa State University; and the Iowa Architectural Foundation. A local host committee has arranged for workspace, publicity, tours, housing, and meals during the event. Additional support for the workshop has been provided by the Institute for Design Research and Outreach / ISU, the Iowa Arts Council, and many Waterloo businesses.

The primary intention of the workshop is to increase the host community's understanding of sustainable design and its role in community development. There are several public and private initiatives underway in the area that would benefit from a shared vision in order to maximize the gains from each.

There has been considerable interest among environmental design practitioners and communities to conduct volunteer design assistance workshops in the state. The Waterloo workshop builds upon the workshop held last spring in Spirit Lake, and continues the recent design assistance provided in Waterloo by an AIA / Regional and Urban Design Assistant Team and by the Mayors' Institute for Urban Design. An excellent team of national and state environmental designers, engineers, and planners has volunteered to participate in the weekend workshop. We will be sharing our experience and expertise nationally by being connected electronically with the Environmental Design Charrette, organized by the AIA Committee on the Environment, which will take place in nineteen sites across the country.

A typical workshop involves a three day intensive assessment of local needs, analysis of the design substance and structure of the community, and conceptual recommendations for strengthening the designed environment within the community. The team is typically composed of practicing and teaching environmental designers, engineers, planners, and citizens with a support goup of advanced design students. Central to the success of workshop is considerable community participation in the activities.


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