Year archives: 2010

The Nature Conservancy and The Maxwell

This post is intended to be an antidote to recent pessimism regarding the quality of our city’s infill projects. Two newer buildings on East Ohio Street deserve recognition for their attractive design. The Nature Conservancy building was not without controversy, as they decided to tear down the existing building, as opposed to renovating it, or …

November 2010 Wallpaper

Here ya go, for those still keeping up. This is November 2010’s wallpaper. In assorted sizes for your enjoyment! This is the World War I Monument in downtown Indy being overshadowed by a beautiful sunset just last week. 2560×1600, 1366×768, 1280×1024, 1280×853

The New Georgia Street: An Urban Design Crit.

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, Georgia Street in downtown Indianapolis is currently getting an extreme makeover and turning large portions of its right-of way over to the pedestrian.  Announced in early May of this year, this project has been touted as the latest example of Indianapolis taking positive steps in turning their downtown into a …

Report from Railvolution & Portland

MAX on the Transit Mall

In our everyday lives we get hung up on our normal habits. Whether you ride a bike, drive a car,ride the bus or simply walk to where you need to go, our daily habits become so ingrained in our daily habits that we don’t often think about how other communities are living. It was with …

The Di Rimini Code Violation Saga Rolls On

Just when you thought we’d gotten to the end of The Di Rimini code violation list, it’s time to tack on another.  Apparently the owner not only chose to violate a city order forbidding occupancy of the building — word is that several tenants have already been moved in — but they have now been …

Zoned Out Indy

The city of Indianapolis uses a comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances as their main tool of city planning (see current zoning codes; or see Indy’s zoning synopsis).  The purpose of our zoning code is to resolve conflicts between land uses by separating them (Euclidean style).  Obviously, there are some land uses that don’t fit well …

Options for Bush Stadium

Since its opening in 1996, Victory Field has received much praise as the home of the Indianapolis Indians.  And rightfully so.  It is a beautiful ballpark in an urban setting that has helped link the central part of downtown to White River State Park. But the one downside to the new ballpark is what was …