Buffalo Rising Online

In order to sell a concept, you have to be able to show off the concept 'properly'. We have seen renderings of the Buffalo City Tower, but how far do a couple of renderings go? That is why Bashar Issa decided to commission Cannon Design to build a 3-dimensional video that would showcase the Buffalo City Tower in realistic light.

What would The Tower look like as you approached it from street level? How would it feel to be able to walk into the grand lobby with the terra-cotta walls? What would an office layout resemble? How would The Tower function in relationship with neighboring buildings? And what would a view look like as seen from the upper floors of The Tower? These are the feelings that Bashar wants his potential clients to feel as he sells his vision to out-of-state companies. “As a matter of fact, the 3D-design was completed for one company in particular,” Bashar to…

While the Artspace Lofts are nearing completion, there is hope for those who either didn't make it into the building application process or prefer the thought of living in a single-family structure to a cooperative building environment. In a very forward-thinking plan, the city of Buffalo recruited three interns in the spring of 2005 to create a document exploring ways to encourage as much development as possible from the $17 million dollar investment.

Funding for the project came primarily from $11 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). LIHTC funds come from private investors seeking federal tax relief and are awarded competitively by New York State through the Department of Housing and Community Renewal. The $11 million Artspace award was the largest one in the year it was received; without this, the project would not have been built. Funding also came from histori…

Andrew Delmonte, a film student home for summer break helped me to document the exhibition that culminates the Architecture Institute of America’s local chapters project with Buffalo Schools, “Architecture + Education” this year. An exhibit of student works was hosted at CEPA Gallery last weekend, featuring the work of students at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Hutchinson Technical High School, Discovery School, and Waterfront Elementary.

We had the opportunity to speak with Olivia and Nicholas, students in kindergarten at Discovery School. David Granville was “in the house,” representing the Mayor’s office, along with representatives from the Superintendent of Schools. In this picture, the children help with the rib…

Once a year, the Parkside Community Association offers Buffalonians the chance to enjoy an inside look into the mansions surrounding Delaware Park, many of which were created in the golden days of the Pan American Exposition and the industrial years following. This year’s tour, the ninth annual, features homes created from 1880 through 1930, including designs by prominent local architects E.B. Green and William Sydney Wicks. The Parkside area is adjacent to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park, the Buffalo Zoo, and the Main/Amherst Business District.

The entire neighborhood was actually designed as a planned mixed-use community by Olmsted, who gave it its meandering feel with no straight lines. As a result of this work and being Buffalo’s first suburb, the neighborhood has been placed under the federal designation of the National Historic Register.

The area contains supe…

The application process for the Artspace live/work lofts is in full swing -- in fact, deadline for "first consideration" status is 5 PM today. If you're an artist interested in income-based renting in beautiful, open loft apartments with like-minded people, fill out your application at the Belmont Shelter Corp. at 1195 Main Street, and file it with their receptionist. More information available at their website, or call Bryan at 884.2358, ext. 326. So far, roughly 100 applications have been received for the 60 apartments. Applications received after today will wait for the lottery participants to be placed, and, assuming there are still vacancies, will be contacted then.

Want to take a look first? The last open house will be taking place tomorrow, from 2-5 PM. Applications will still be accepted on an ongoing basis.…

After months of planning, designing and laboring through the cold and snow, the renovated house at 15 S. Putnam is ready for a celebration. The UB architecture students and professors are inviting the public to see the results of their difficult and innovative work.

We've been following their progress along the way, and seeing the transformation that has taken place is simply incredible. From a decrepit and forgotten old structure, littered with waste, the students created a wide-open and inviting home with truly unique architectural styling.

The project is a lesson for the community as much as for the students. May their work force us to reexamine our buildings and our neighborhoods, and imagine the possibilities within them bo…