At some point, we all need to create a portfolio of our best works. Putting a portfolio together could be a frustrating and time-consuming task. Harold Linton, the author of the Portfolio Design (third edition), shares with us how to avoid pitfalls and create a successful, professional portfolio in this podcast episode.

The Portfolio Design teaches you how to organize yourself and your work. Harold’s book also goes into the details of what to keep in mind while preparing your professional portfolio.

Harold sees time as one of the biggest failures in putting portfolios together. We often underestimate how long it will take to collect materials, design a layout, write and illustrate our work and, at the end, put it in a presentable format. He also recommends asking someone to review your portfolio before completion since there may be things we might have overlooked. When producing a professional portfolio, Harold still recommends traditional printing. Even with the progress of technology, the majority of schools and hiring companies still prefer to see a nicely printed version of a potential employee’s portfolio.

There are many shopping malls in the US that are out-of-date and in need of renovation. Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee was built in 1987 with one million square feet of retail space. After many years, in 2011 the mall was in need of renovation and upgrades.

Richard Foy with CommArts Stantec describes the design process of renovation. As the economy took a dive, so did the budget for Hamilton Place Mall renovation. Due to changes in the economic environment, proposed designs were presented three times to fit different budgets. The approved design for renovation cost around seven million US dollars. Under the low budget renovation, included were new mall entrances and signs, upgraded carpet, paint and floor tile and a redesigned food court with expansion by 6,000 square feet. Hamilton Place Mall stayed open during the renovation. Remodeling of the old mall brought to Hamilton Place more big name retail stores and more shoppers.

There are many more malls just like that in the US that needs to be renovated or retrofitted. Foy points out that we do have excessive retail space in the US alone. Under these conditions there is strong competition for consumer attention.

CHAIR REPORT

This month’s meeting continued to focus on I-70 east highway issues and the UDC attempt to bring a R/UDAT to Denver to study the issues. Todd Wenskoski, Principal Planner for Denver Community Planning and Development attended, representing the planning dept. Robert Schmid informed the members on issues surrounding the Denver Zoning Code and Highlands West.

An audio recording from the last Urban Design Committee is available on iTunes and website at http://urbandesignpodcast.com/index.php/2012/216/.  Thanks to Arina Habich for continuing to post the meetings and posting happenings in the public realm.

A link to the Urban Design Committee website: http://aiacolorado.org/about-us/local-chapters/aia-denver/urban-design-committee.php. Thanks to Brittany and the AIA staff.

OLD BUSINESS

3-21/ 1        Denver Zoning Code.

Robert Schmid reported on issues surrounding the West Highlands project at 32^nd and Lowell. An application for historic designation for parcels in question and additional parcels made by the West Highlands Neighborhood Assoc. had been denied and, according to Robert, the group was attempting to persuade the mayor to institute a moratorium. The AIA Board was to vote on the Committee letter, intended for Planning Board Director Molly Urbina, in support of the use-by-right project and in opposition to efforts to downzone parcels in the area.

Robert has kept the Zoning Code Work Group active since the city passed the new zoning code, and will bring these issues up in continued work to monitor citizen’s responses and will continue to report to the committee. Contact him at: rcsdesign@me.com.

3-21/ 2        Arapahoe Square / Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan.

This issue was tabled. Follow links to the plans at: www.denvergov.org/ascharrette, and:  www.denvergov.org/northeastdowntown.

3-21/ 3        Station Area Plans.

This issue was tabled due to other agenda items.

3-21/ 4        I-70 Re-alignment.

Drew Dutcher and Armando Payan, neighborhood representatives, returned to update the committee on recent developments surrounding the I-70 realignment.  Dean Foreman reported on his efforts to garner support to bring a national AIA R/UDAT to Denver to study the I-70/ Elyria/ Swansea/ Globeville corridor, including phone conversations and meetings with local and state political representatives as well as representatives of affiliated planning and design organizations. Letters of support for the RUDAT have now been received from State Senator Michael Johnston and Lucia Guzman. The need to gather letters from the Registered Neighborhood Organizations was discussed as well as business organizations. Dean will try to approach the Planning Board members again and will attempt to approach the governor with the additional support letters. Drew reported the application was being finalized and expected it would be ready to submit within the month. Neighborhood reps are working to establish a website to act as a clearinghouse for information regarding the highway expansion.

                        Todd Wenskoski, new principal planner for the CPD attended, but could not report on a city position following the March 8^th CDOT/City outreach meeting. The need to determine the direction that CDOT will take is important. The neighborhood representatives will try to determine what, if any position CDOT has taken.

Committee members are requested to approach their contacts within the profession, schools or organizations to generate support for the R/UDAT. Dean Foreman has requested those interested in participating in this process to contact him and register their names for a contact list. Possible areas of interest might be media relations, funding sources, coordination with the national team, or neighborhood or university liaison.

Follow this link to Preferred Alternative Collaboration Team (PACT) meetings and documents: I-70east.com.

3-21/ 5        Union Station Development.

No report. Visit the project website at: info@denverunionstation.org.

3-21/ 6        Storefront Initiative

No report.

3-21/ 7        Vision Task Force.

No report.

3-21/ 8        Fillmore Plaza/Cherry Creek North.

Todd Wenskoski reported that Western Development Group has submitted a request to rezone their property on Columbine between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenues and that an Urban Forum Task Force has been created to review the height limits and bulk planes in the Cherry Creek North area. Recommendations could impact the zoning in the area or amend the Design Guidelines and/or Area Plan.

NEW BUSINESS

3-21/ 1        Todd Wenskoski raised the idea of working with the Urban Design Committee and the AIA to focus on design and elevate the level of design discussions within the city. A joint effort with other design oriented groups was discussed with ideas on a forum or symposium offered. This item will be continued.

End of minutes

Prepared by:   Dean Foreman 4/14/12

Next Meeting: April 16, 7:30 am

Located immediately west of Denver’s Central Business District, the Auraria Higher Education Center is home to three growing institutions: the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the Community College of Denver. Together, over 44,000 students attend the Auraria Campus. Built in the 1970s in an automobile-oriented suburban manner, the campus and the rest of Downtown are separated by major streets and challenging pedestrian connections. Now, the Auraria and Downtown communities are working together to forge stronger connections, both physically and socially, and integrate the campus into its Downtown setting. Our guests for this podcast (Jill Jennings-Golich, the Auraria campus planner, Chris Geddes, campus planner and urban designer at studioINSITE, and Gary Desmond, principal at NAC Architects and chair of the Connecting Auraria Coalition) discuss the past, present, and future of the Auraria campus as a key component of Downtown Denver. Ken Schroeppel is the host.

Ken Schroeppel

By Paula Moore

WHAT: Reinventing Retail: From Black Friday to Cyber Monday

WHERE: Denver Pavilions, 500 16^th St. (16^th Street Mall), Denver, CO 80202

WHEN: Thurs., April 12, 2012, 3-6 p.m.

SNAPSHOT:

This ULI Colorado Young Leaders Group Discovery Series event involved a panel discussion about the evolution of retail — particularly how brick-and-mortar stores are competing, and will continue to, with online retailers — followed by a networking reception with food and beverages. Panel topics ranged from how national retailers such as Target Corp. stay viable — and vital — to their customers to how Denver-based MapQuest Inc.’s new Vibe application may help boost business for mom-and-pop stores, restaurants and bars in local neighborhoods.

PRESENTERS:

Henry Beer, Principal, Stantec Inc., Boulder

A co-founder of Boulder’s cutting-edge Communication Arts Inc. (CommArts) visioning/branding firm, Henry has been involved in the planning, design and branding of retail environments and entertainment venues for more than 40 years. His clients have included Taubman Centers Inc., Simon Property Group Inc., Forest City Enterprises Inc. and Gart Properties LLC. CommArts was acquired by Stantec of Vancouver, Canada, in 2010.

Allen Ginsborg, Managing Director & Principal, NewMark Merrill Mountain States, Fort Collins

A veteran shopping center developer and manager, Allen is one of the Rocky Mountain area’s leading retail experts. He has completed more than 1,000 leases valued at roughly $1 billion in his 28-plus years in business, and is currently helping to reposition Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont.

Mark Goldberg (moderator), President, Goldberg Properties Inc., Denver

Mark has more than 30 years of experience as a real estate developer, working on projects for retailers such as King Soopers, Albertsons, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Simon Hill, Principal Project Manager, MapQuest Inc. (an AOL Inc. subsidiary), Denver

Simon lead the creation of MapQuest’s Vibe application, from conception and funding to developing five patents for algorithms related to the product.

Carol Nielsen, Consultant, Nielsen Consulting, Boulder

Target Corp.’s former, long-time Director of Research & Planning, Nielsen has vast experience in metropolitan analysis, store location strategy and sales forecasting.

EVENT CAPTAINS:

Robert Ferrin, City & County of Denver, and Justin Hay, CLC Associates Inc.

YLG DISCOVERY PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIRS:

Josh Burdick, Urban Land Conservancy, and Matt Chiodini, Shears Adkins + Rockmore Architects LLC

PANEL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Justin Hay, in his pre-panel welcoming remarks, said the goal of the panel was to seek answers to what reinventing retail really means — and about the synergy between the traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping experience and the new digital one.

“On Black Friday, you go out to the mall at 2 a.m. in your PJs looking for the best deal on a flat-screen,” Hay said. “On Cyber Monday, you’re still in your pajamas looking for the same products online.”

• Susan Cantwell, Director of Leasing at Denver Pavilions owner Gart Properties LLC, updated attendees on work Gart has done to the two-block downtown shopping center since buying it in 2008, despite the economic downturn. “We struggled with doing that in a down economy, but decided it was better to get it done all at once,” she said. Gart spent $10 million in 2009 on upgrades such as new signage and escalators.

The Pavilions has also expanded its Forever 21 store, and opened Colorado’s first H&M clothing store, which posted record opening sales in late 2011. “We’re getting more attention from other retailers because of H&M,” Cantwell said. “We hope to make more announcements soon.”

• “We’re going to talk about retail, and when you talk about retail, you’re talking about consumerism,” moderator Mark Goldberg said, kicking off the panel discussion. As background, he talked about the shift from Main Street consumerism to shopping centers and big box stores to e-commerce. He mentioned the recent paradigm shift from people purchasing books at a physical bookstore to buying Kindle and iPad “books” online.

“Because of changes in technology, there have been changes in how retailers deliver product,” he said.

• Using research, retail consultant and Target veteran Carol Nielsen reviewed what happened to retailing during the recession and what it will look like going forward. While most retailers experienced aggressive growth in the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, that expansion ground to a halt a few years later. Target alone opened 90 to 100 stores a year during the go-go period. It had positive same-store sales growth.

But with the recession, Target posted negative sales in 2008 and 2009, before rebounding to positive sales in 2010 (2.1 percent sales growth) and 2011 (3 percent). “E-commerce sales never went negative,” she said.

The last few years, brick-and-mortar retailers have slowed development of new stores dramatically, and focused instead on remodeling existing locations. Target, for example, has added in-store boutiques, grocery components and mini-Apple stores, and it’s working on personalized couponing. Retailers are more conservative about return on investment and risk averse, as well. They’re downsizing stores, and building more urban locations because the suburbs have been saturated.

“Now retail growth is more market demand-based, which is a really good thing,” Nielsen said.

Ultimately, retailers have to figure out how to draw people to their stores as well as interface with them online, according to Nielsen. “They have to make the retail experience enjoyable, so you feel good when you’re there,” she said.

• Developer Allen Ginsborg talked about the process of “creative destruction” currently going on now in retail. Because of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar stores are “squeezing out inefficiencies,” he said.

“Consumers are schooled up; they know how to buy right,” Ginsborg added. “Retailer response to that is critical.” An example of that is “showrooming,” or consumers who go to Best Buy to test a product they’re considering buying, and then go home and purchase the product online.

In order to compete these days, traditional retailers need to give shoppers a reason to go to their stores. “It’s about story, about narrative,” Ginsborg said. He cited Whole Foods as an example of a retailer who’s doing that, through engagement with its customers — through creating a unique shopping experience. Target’s specialty boutiques are another example.

At Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont, which NewMark Merrill Mountain States is repositioning, the developer is working to create a unique experience by making the property more a part of its surrounding community. NewMark is consulting with the nearby St. Vrain School District about what the shopping center’s role with the district might be, as well as getting feedback through community meetings and its Facebook page.

“We’re trying to create this community amenity that will produce a return on capital,” Ginsborg said.

Ginsborg has helped other properties be part of their communities through educational and health events and even a parachuting Santa Claus at Christmastime. “You need a communal area where activity occurs,” he said.

• MapQuest’s Simon Hill, who’s originally from the United Kingdom, created the Vibe app as an “online delivery solution to get people back to brick-and-mortar,” he said.

The idea behind Vibe is to break the world down into neighborhoods — so users basically feel like locals, wherever they are. The service features more than 50,000 neighborhoods in 27,000 cities, including hotspots. It provides rankings from users of top restaurants, shops, services, etc., by neighborhood. In Denver, for example, downtown gets a 10 ranking, Cherry Creek a 9.7 and Platte Park an 8.9.

“Our main focus is the neighborhood environment, the mom-and-pop orientation,” Hill said. “It’s all about conjuring the local experience online. … There’s all this potential for personal connection.”

• Visioning expert Henry Beer started his discussion with a photo of a live turkey from eastern Colorado, with tail feathers displayed. He talked about how the turkey goes about its daily life, until one day — Nov. 25 — it ends up on a platter as someone’s Thanksgiving dinner. “We call this the Black Swan,” Beer said. “The future is unknowable, impossible to project.”

The same is true for the retail industry. That said, there are changes going on that retailers need to heed — particularly the new connectivity created by Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone and other new technology. Retailers need to generate more of an emotional connection with consumers through experiential environments — to pay more attention to how customers imagine themselves, and how to help fulfill their aspirations.   Beer called the convergence of “bricks and clicks” inevitable, with stores acting as knowledge sources for consumers.

“You need to get a compelling environment. … The world is about content, not form,” he said.

Paula Moore is veteran journalist and former real estate reporter at the Denver Business Journal. She is currently a freelance writer/editor in Denver.

219. Reinventing Retail

219. Reinventing Retail

The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) was originally created under congressional authority to help federal agencies with building technology issues and information exchange. The WBDG is a web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information from a ‘whole buildings’ perspective.
Casey Martin hosts an interview with Richard Paradis, Director of the Whole Building Design Guide. Development of the WBDG is a collaborative effort among federal agencies, private sector companies, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. Its success depends on industry and government experts contributing their knowledge and experience to better serve the building community.
The Whole Building Design Guide can be accessed at the following link:

http://www.wbdg.org/

Casey Martin

It can be overwhelming with all of the new travel books being offered today. That’s why we would like to introduce you to introduce you to a small pocket guide series by Judith Paine McBrien. Her latest book is a Pocket Guide to Miami Architecture, featuring self-guided walking and driving tours through Miami and Miami Beach. A Pocket Guide is accompanied with beautiful illustrations by John F. DeSalvo.

This guide highlights buildings and architects that have been chosen using very selective criterion. One of these criteria is that all buildings in the guide are accessible to the public. We often forget the names of the architects who are behind great buildings. McBrien reminds us about them and their work, specifically how the personalities and lives of architects are reflected in buildings that we see in Miami and Miami Beach. McBrien tells us more about her favorite architects in this podcast episode.

If you are planning to visit Miami, we recommend you bring with you A Pocket Guide to Miami Architecture.

This month we continue our efforts to bring a RUDAT to Denver to study the I-70 east expansion as well as issues surrounding downzoning in West Highlands, and a look at proposed zoning changes in Cherry Creek.

There are qualities and behaviors that academic institutions seek in order to promote individuals to facility officers and facility managers.  APPA’s 2011 Thought Leaders Series identifies some of those characteristics for those hoping to manage facilities and the built environment.

Additional information can be found at the APPA webpage or the Thought Leaders Publication for 2011:

2011: Workplace Demographics and Technology: Challenges and Opportunities to the Campus Mission

The 2011 Thought Leaders report from APPA identified ten critical planning issues, along with key strategies and questions to ask to evoke meaningful discussions.  Topics discussed range from establishing a culture of innovation and collaboration, to making smart decisions about outsourcing.

Additional information can be found at the APPA webpage or the Thought Leaders Publication for 2011:

2011: Workplace Demographics and Technology: Challenges and Opportunities to the Campus Mission