HARRISBURG URBAN STUDIO SELECTS UPTOWN LOCATION AS TEMPORARY HEADQUARTERS Renovating the first floor of the Hamilton Laundromat Building at 1701 North Third Street is the first project of the Urban Studio The Harrisburg Urban Studio seeks to replicate Auburn University's Rural Studio in Greater Harrisburg to improve urban neighborhood environments.   (Harrisburg, PA) - Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that the Harrisburg Urban Studio Task Force is taking a major step forward in selecting 1701 North Third Street in uptown Harrisburg as the short term location for the project. The Task Force was created by the Mayor and is comprised of a group of representatives from the planning, architecture, landscape architecture and construction departments of institutions of higher learning in Pennsylvania, local architects, concerned citizens and Harrisburg city planners schools of Pennsylvania and city planners. The group seeks to replicate Auburn University's Rural Studio in Greater Harrisburg to improve urban neighborhood environments. "1701 North Third Street has the basic needs required by the Harrisburg Urban Studio," task force chairman Brad Guy said. "It has adequate studio space, a location in central Harrisburg and storefront display space where Harrisburg residents can view the projects and progress of the Urban Studio." The Urban Studio will use only the first floor of the building for a period of one year and will not move into the location until the City of Harrisburg undertakes some building upgrades. The building will serve as the focus for student-conducted architectural projects throughout the city, which will address a variety of community and neighborhood design-build situations. The Urban Studio Architect Advisory Committee reviewed and approved the building for student use contingent on repairs and upgrades by the City. The committee consists of ten local architects who have volunteered to provide practical consultation and project mentoring to the task force. "Based on the criteria proposed by the Urban Studio Task Force our committee believes the building at 1701 North Third Street is suitable for initial studio use," Timothy P. Allen, AIA, a Harrisburg based architect and co-chair of the committee, said. The Task Force will begin Urban Studio operations in that building in January 2005. Prominent Harrisburg area architects are taking an active role in the Harrisburg Urban Studio Task Force's architecture education center modeled on Auburn University's famous Rural Studio, a program that provides architectural students with a practical learning experience while enhancing the environment of disadvantaged communities. Led by Allen and co-chair Thomas E. Potter of Architecture YTT, the Urban Studio Architect Advisory Committee includes: Bret E. Peters, of OPA; Keith R. Hudson of Facilities Planning Associates; D. Hunter Johnson, of Tono Architects; Harrison Bink, of Bink Partnership; Marzena Wolnikowski, of Hammel Architects; Vern McKissick, of McKissick Associates; and Sam Pool, of GTS Technologies' Design Group. All members are registered architects available to provide consultation and project mentoring as required by the schools and students involved in the Harrisburg Urban Studio. Pennsylvania's leading architecture colleges will send students to study, design and build projects in Harrisburg using the Harrisburg Urban Studio as a base of operations. Carnegie-Mellon University, The Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, Lehigh University, Messiah College, Harrisburg Area Community College and Auburn University's Rural Studio will be involved as members of a consortium designed to guide interactions and exchanges between the participating academic partners, Reed said. The Harrisburg Urban Studio is a project of the Mayor's Harrisburg Urban Initiative. For further information contact Nathan Pigott, Hershey Philbin Associates, npigott@hersheyphilbin.com or 717.975.2148. ###

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