Arts + Culture

CPA honors excellence in education, renovation

Over 100 members and guests were in attendance as the Cincinnati Preservation Association presented its 2008 Preservation Awards at its annual meeting on November 9.Chuck Lohre and Janet Groeber of Clifton were honored with the CPA Education Award for sharing their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian home, the Boulter House, and for raising awareness of preserving Cincinnati's Modern architecture legacy.Lohre is also a co-founder and co-chair of Cincinnati Form Follows Function (cf3), a non-profit Modern design forum.Winners of the Rehabilitation Awards included: Bishop's Place, Clifton: A Chateauesque-style house completely restored.  Ken Hughes of Decorative Restorations, Steve Lichtenberg of Lichtenberg Landscaping, Jason Reinhold of Land & Stone, and Kimball Derrick.Cincinnati Observatory Center, Mount Lookout: The completion of an eight-year restoration of the National Historic Landmark.  Craig Niemi of the Cincinnati Observatory Center and Gus Thierry of ICS Construction.Dillon House, Madeira: A mid-century Modern house that was saved from the teardown trend and restored. Vernon's Corner, Over-the-Rhine: A five-year renovation project that has resulted in new apartments and an art gallery.  Vernon Rader and Mark Bernhardt, Don Beck of Beck Architecture, and Mark Brunner.Verona Historic Residences, Walnut Hills: Renovation of historic apartment house into 76 luxury condominiums.  Ed Horgan of Campus Management and Denis L. Back of Denis L. Back & Associaties. At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, a special Design Excellence Award was presented to architect Natalie de Blois.As the lead designer of the Terrace Plaza Hotel, widely considered Cincinnati's greatest mid-century Modern building, de Blois was recognized for her significant contribution to design during a time of blatant discrimination against women architects.De Blois was involved in approximately 48 projects at the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designing such notable structures as New York City's Union Carbide and Pepsi Cola buildings, the Connecticut General Life Insurance Building in Bloomfield Hills, CT, and a Hilton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Margo Warminski, preservation director, Cincinnati Preservation Association

Limited-edition Rookwood tiles support OTRCH mission

Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) is offering a limited-edition Rookwood art tile as part of the organization’s fundraising initiative.Only 200 tiles were produced, and over half of the $150 tiles have been sold.Sarah Allan, project manager for OTRCH, says they originally came up with the fundraising idea last year."This type of fundraising activity is new for us," she says.  "We typically don't offer a product, but with Rookwood moving to OTR in the near future, we thought it would be appropriate to collaborate with them."Designed by nationally-known local artist Terri Kern, the 8-by-8 tile tells the story of how OTRCH impacts the community one person at a time.Each image represents a characteristic or philosophy of the organization, including diversity, compassion, and commitment."Rookwood gave us a very good deal to produce the tiles and we were privileged to have Terri Kern as the artist of the tile," Allan says.  "And we thought that it would be an incentive for donors to give a little more if they got something in return."The tiles, which are tax-deductible, can be purchased in Over-the-Rhine at Park + Vine, MiCA 12/v, and Urban Eden; at Indigenous in O'Bryonville, or through the OTRCH website."This type of fundraising is important for our bottom line because it is unrestricted funding, which means we can use it to fill gaps in our budget where there isn’t funding readily available," Allan says.  "For example, helping to write down the cost of a home so that it can be affordable to a first time low-income buyer, or helping to add air conditioning to an old five-story building that houses elderly folks."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Sarah Allan, project manager, Over-the-Rhine Community Housing

A different kind of lending institution

No one knows what the future holds for our economy but Cincinnatian’s are rediscovering their local libraries as valuable resources when budgets are tight. Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati are home to some of the largest and most successful libraries in the nation with services that may just surprise you.

Soapicks November 11-17

As the days grow shorter and colder, the nights in Cincinnati continue to heat up. This week enjoy a whirlwind Fire & Ice Soiree, secret works of art, a fashion show from afar and a little Jazz for Lease.

UC team virtually rebuilds lost architecture of the Shakers

An ongoing University of Cincinnati public education project is virtually rebuilding the lost structures of the Shakers, with a focus on the White Water Shaker Village near Harrison.Jose Kozan, adjunct professor of architecture and research associate in UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, is working in conjunction with members of the Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites to recreate the buildings and interiors that have been lost since the site was vacated in 1916.Using Google's 3D Warehouse and Google Earth, the team has created 3D virtual models of nearly a dozen buildings, taking great care to present the interiors as they would have looked when the village was established in 1824.According to UC News, Kozan's goal is to expand these virtual reconstructions to include other Shaker communities throughout the United States, to spread the architectural lessons to be learned, and to encourage tourism via preservation.Read the full article here.

Great Cincinnati Families moves to Park + Vine

Cincinnati’s Architectural Nuance

Cincinnati boasts a long list of historical and contemporary architectural statements dotted throughout downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Soapbox now gives you 10 great reasons to cut a new swath across your city as we explore some of the most stunning and surprising buildings in the region.

Lindner Athletics Center wins AIA Chicago award

The Richard E. Lindner Center and George & Helen Smith Athletics Museum on the University of Cincinnati main campus has won special recognition from the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects.Focusing on interiors and, more specifically, the trophy case, one juror called the multi-story, translucent wall of trophies "brilliant".AIA Chicago jurors also liked the "good environmental graphics and industrial design" employed by the architects in showcasing the university's athletic and academic success.Earning special recognition were Perkins+Will/Eva Maddox Branded Environments, Bernard Tschumi Architects, Glaserworks, Intaglio, Turner Construction Company, Harmon Inc., and Xibitz.Read the full release here.

Cincinnati’s library system earns top 10 ranking

For the third year in a row, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (PLCHC) has ranked in the top 10 nationally.Cincinnati placed 10th among 79 library systems in the "Over 500,000 population" category in Hennen's American Public Library Ratings.The ratings are based on statistics such as circulation, customer visits per hour, and number of volumes owned per capita.While PLCHC executive director Kim Fender is pleased with the ranking, she tells WLWT.com that "our Library is much more than the number of items on the shelves".Read the full article here.