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For Immediate Release:
August 26, 2011
Contact:
Erich Weyant (ECHDC) |
eweyant@esd.ny.gov | 716.846.8258
ECHDC appoints members of the Canalside Design
Committee
Group is comprised of award winning architects, urban design
professionals and community members The Board of Directors of
the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) today
appointed members to the Canalside Design Committee, which is tasked
with assisting the ECHDC Board with the development, adoption and
implementation of the Canalside Design Guidelines, which were
adopted by ECHDC in 2010. The Committee’s role is to help ensure
that the Guidelines and all development at Canalside promote a
cohesive atmosphere that is inspired by the architecture of
Buffalo’s historic canal district. The members of the committee are:
Hiro Hata, Rishawn T. Sonubi, Douglas G. Swift, Amelida Ortiz
Weinmann and Max Willig.
“Our goal is to make Canalside a place that is true to Buffalo,
while at the same time adhering to the highest design standards”
said ECHDC Chairman Jordan Levy. “By building off of the guidelines
established in the 2004 Erie Canal Harbor Master Plan and bringing
in world class talent under the guidance of the renowned Stanton
Eckstut, we are ensuring that Canalside will be a place to be proud
of.”
As originally drafted, the Canalside Design Guidelines
(“Guidelines”) anticipated that the Committee would be comprised of
three members but in order to get a broader range of participation,
the committee will consist of five members. The Committee members
shall be appointed by, and will serve at the discretion of the Board
with input from the Mayor of the City of Buffalo. When the Committee
has completed review of all proposed permanent structures within
Canalside, the Committee shall be dissolved and have no further
duties.
Mr. Hiro Hata is an Associate Professor of Architecture in Urban
Design and Visiting Associate Professor of Urban Planning at The
State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a registered
architect. His extensive experience includes urban design,
large-scale infrastructure projects, community development,
brownfield/grayfield redevelopment, streetscapes/public space
planning and design, mixed- use and high-density housing.
He previously taught urban design and architectural design studios
at the New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture,
Aarhus School of Architecture in Aarhus, Denmark, Harvard University
Graduate School of Design and Boston Architectural Center.
Mr. Hata earned a Master of Architecture in Urban Design
(post-professional degree) from Harvard University Graduate School
of Design, Cambridge MA. Prior to Harvard, he earned a Master of
Architecture from Washington University, St. Louis, MO, receiving
the best architecture student prize. He earned his BA in English and
English Literature from Reitaku University at Chiba, Japan and later
studied basic design and fine art at the Ochanomizu Academy of Fine
Arts in Tokyo.
Under his current position with at The State University of New York
at Buffalo he has been the Principal Investigator for Funded
Research in a number of studies/plans including: “South Buffalo
Brownfield Opportunity Area Redevelopment: “Connectivity Study/DL&W
Greenway Plan”; “A Plan for the North End+North Star Heritage
District, Niagara Falls, NY”, “The Main-Eggert District
Revitalization Plan”, “The Northtown Plaza Redevelopment
Alternatives Concept Plan” “Niagara Falls Pine Avenue Streetscapes
and Urban Design Guidelines” (co-author). He is currently working on
a book(“A Complete Niagara Street: An Urban Design for Buffalo")
summarizing the graduate studio he conducted with the host of
stakeholders in spring 2011 for making Niagara Street a safer, more
prosperous and sustainable place for all.
In addition, he has also been involved with other projects
including: “Spatial-Visual-Functional Analysis for the Buffalo’s
Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital Project”, “Master Landscape
Plans for UB North and South Campuses”, “ A Concept Plan for Grand
Island Town Center”, “Alternatives for Revitalizing the Uptown Main
Street Corridor”; “Lackawanna in a time of Transition” (co-author)
and “Corn Hill, Rochester, NY: Strategies for Restoring the Historic
Neighborhood”; “Erie-Buffalo Central Library Forecourt and Lafayette
Square Redevelopment Concept Plan”. Prior to his appointment at the
University at Buffalo, he worked for Sert, Jackson and Associates in
Cambridge, MA as senior designer on large-scale housing in Roosevelt
Island and Yonkers sponsored by the NYS Urban Development
Corporation. He also served as an urban design consultant for a
number of projects including a Gloucester, MA Waterfront Urban
Design Plan and Comprehensive Plan for Cambridge, MA.
Mr. Hata has also served as a member of Buffalo Complete Street
Coalition, Steering Committee for the NFTA Metro-Station Areas
Master Plan, the City of Buffalo and South Park Botanical Gardens
Planning Advisory Group, the County of Erie and has performed a
number of professional community services.
Mr. Hata has received the following distinctions: Outstanding
Student Project Award, from the American Planning Association, New
York Upstate Chapter and Western New York Chapter, Third Prize from
The Buffalo Urban Retail Core International Design Competition,
Graham Scholar-Traveling Fellowship, Graham Foundation, Frederick
Widman Prize-the best architecture student at Washington University.
He has authored a number of published reports, along with various
articles, papers and has served as a professional consultant for
private firms and public institutions.
Mr. Rishawn T. Sonubi has worked for Young + Wright for the past 5
years and has been working in the field of architecture and urban
planning since 1999. He has been involved in a variety of projects,
which include educational facilities, historic restoration and other
urban/suburban projects. His responsibilities have included
schematic design, construction documentation and coordination. In
addition, Mr. Sonubi has extensive knowledge of graphic
visualization and urban design.
Mr. Sonubi earned both a Master of Architecture and Master of Urban
and Regional Planning at The State University of New York at Buffalo
in 2003. He earned his Bachelor of Professional Studies in
Architecture in 2000 at The State University of New York at Buffalo.
Personal accreditations include an innovative design project
published in the nationally distributed Arcadia Quarterly and
work on the award winning urban design for Buffalo’s waterfront
entitled “Lighting the Way for Buffalo’s Waterfront Gateways:
Urban Design and Interstate 190”.
Mr. Douglas G. Swift is the President and Director of Design for
CityView Properties, Inc. He joined the CityView group in 1995,
initially as an investor and later as a partner. He graduated in
1979 with a BA, Drama, for Scene Design and Technical Direction from
San Francisco State University, and in 1992, earned a Master’s
Degree in architecture from The State University of New York at
Buffalo, receiving the AIA School Metal and Certificate of Merit for
Graduating first in the class.
Prior to joining the development group Mr. Swift was the owner and
operator of Residential Development Inc., in Washington, DC. There
he was responsible for financing, designing, contracting and selling
restored town homes in the Capital Hill district.
In 2000, Mr. Swift took a sabbatical from his operational
responsibilities to join the Teton County Housing Authority, in
Jackson, Wyoming, as its director. During his association with the
Authority, Mr. Swift became familiar with all aspects of public
benefit housing developments and the various nuances of financing
projects where public/private partnerships are required.
Mr. Swift’s primary responsibilities with CityView pertain to all
aspects of initial design, design development, construction drawings
and documents and construction plan administration. He is the
overall coordinator of long range planning and marketing. He also
participates, from an internal office consultation position, in
construction management aspects of the operation that are design
driven.
Working with his partners at CityView, Bill Jones, Joe Petrella and
Howard Zemsky, he has developed several downtown Buffalo properties.
CityView’s portfolio includes City Centre, 620 Main Street, 598 Main
Street and the Root Building at 70 W. Chippewa Street. CityView has
recently completed adaptive reuse of the Larkin at Exchange Building
and plans to develop additional properties in the emerging Larkin
District. CityView has recently partnered with the Margaret L. Wendt
Foundation in an effort to restore the Genesee Gateway project,
located between Oak Street and Ellicott Street. CityView owns and
manages over 1 million square feet of downtown real estate.
Mr. Swift is President of the board of the Roycroft Campus
Corporation. He is currently chairing the Roycroft Campus
Corporation’s $17 million Capital Campaign. He is the founding board
member of Preservation Buffalo Niagara. He is a former board member
of: The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, The Darwin Martin House
restoration Corporation, The Graycliff Conservancy, The Preservation
League of New York State and of The Elmwood Franklin School in
Buffalo. He is a native of Buffalo, NY.
Ms. Amelida Ortiz Weinmann is currently Sergeant at Arms for the
Erie County Democratic Committee (ECDC), and a 3rd generation
committee member. She is one of the few non-attorneys on the ECDC
Judicial Screening committee, lending a fresh non-legal perspective.
She studied at SUNY Binghamton, working in college residential,
transportation and research at the University and later transferred
to The State University of New York at Buffalo where she earned her
BA in Interdisciplinary Studies: Early Childhood Education,
permitting her to be an elementary school teacher.
Prior to that Ms. Ortiz Weinmann has worked at Hispanics United at
Buffalo, the Massachusetts Avenue Project, the U.S. Department of
Commerce, and the Buffalo Public Schools. She participated on
committees at the Junior League of Buffalo and Jewish Federation of
Buffalo. She also served on committees for Erie County Coalition
Against Family Violence and the Hispanic Conference of Western New
York.
Ms. Ortiz Weinmann is a charter member of a new initiative, Cultures
of Giving Council at the Community Foundation, a 7-year member of
MENSA, a 15-year member of the Hispanic Women’s League, Western New
York Hispanic and Friends Civic Association, and a Life member of
Hadassah, an American Jewish volunteer women's organization.
Ms. Ortiz Weinmann is a recipient of the of the Western New York
Girl Scout Leader of the Year Award for Amherst/Eggertsville, for
the establishment of a multi-level Girl Scout Troup which she
continues to serves as a Leader.
Max Willig is a licensed architect in the State of New York and
holds a National Certification from the National Council of
Architectural Regional Boards (NCARB). He graduated in 1981 with a
Bachelor of Architecture from the College of Architecture, Planning
& Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois. Mr.
Willig has been engaged in private practice since 1988 and in
addition has served on the faculty of the School of Architecture and
Planning at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the
College of Architecture, Planning & Design, Illinois Institute of
Technology, Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. Willig’s architectural skills have been coupled with the
Education Department and the Clifton Hall Exhibition System,
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, The Buffalo and the Amherst
Buildings for The Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo Inc.
Leader All Surface Printing, Printing Prep Inc., Buffalo, New York,
Headquarters Expansion Study, Rich Products Corporation, Buffalo,
New York (in association with Peter Castle Architect), Dolinar
Dental Offices, Hamburg, New York, Sheridan Pediatrics, Amherst, New
York, Council Opticians, Williamsville, New York, City Spa, Buffalo,
New York, The Law Offices of DiNardo, DiNardo & Lukasik, Buffalo,
New York, the Law Offices of Magavern & Magavern, Buffalo, New York
(in association with Peter Castle Architect) along with an array of
private residences in Western New York within Buffalo, Amherst,
Clarence, Elma, Orchard Park, Lewiston, Bemus Point, and Westfield.
In addition, Crystal Beach and Thunder Bay, Ontario, Inner Grove
Heights, Minnesota, and Nantucket, Massachusetts. He has also
consulted on projects in the Hamptons, Water Mill, New York, and New
York City.
Previously, Mr. Willig worked as a Designer and Project Architect
for Cannon Design, Inc. His project experience at Cannon Design Inc.
included: Aircraft Controls Division - Moog Corporation, West
Seneca, NY, Clifton Hall, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY,
NYS Urban Cultural Parks Project, Office of Park, Recreation and
Historic Preservation, Albany, NY, School of Medicine, Cary Farber,
Sherman Hall, State University of NY at Buffalo, Veterans Memorial
Building, Camp Hill Medical Center, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Shore
Memorial Hospital, Somers Point, New Jersey, The Country Club of
Buffalo, Amherst, New York, The Boston Garden Redevelopment, Boston,
Massachusetts, Senior Hall, Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri,
Lafayette Court Building, Buffalo, New York, Maple Office Park,
Amherst, New York, Corporate Headquarters of Norstar Bank, Newburgh,
New York, and the Marine Midland Development, Buffalo, New York.
Within his professional career in Buffalo, Mr. Willig currently
serves as the Co-Chair of the Community Advisory Group for Richard
Olmsted Complex Master Plan, Vice-President for the Grant-Amherst
Business Association in Historic Black Rock, Steering Committee &
Professional Design Review Committee for Black Rock/Riverside Good
Neighborhood Planning Alliance, and the Steering Committee of the
Buffalo Neighborhood Alliance. In addition, he has served as a Juror
for the 2006 Annual Design Awards New York Upstate/Canada East
Chapter/American Society of Interior Designers and on the Review
Committee for the West Village/National Landmark Preservation
District in downtown Buffalo.
The Guidelines were prepared by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn
Architects, July 2009 and revised March 2010 and apply to all
development parcels within Canalside. These Guidelines take as their
foundation, both in terms of intent and detail, the guidelines
approved as part of the 2005 Erie Canal Harbor Amendment to the
Urban Renewal Plan for the Waterfront Redevelopment Project. The
guidelines established in that document are preserved to the maximum
extent possible, especially where concerning the Erie Canal Harbor
Parcels.
As the scope, program, and type of the proposed project has evolved
and expanded since the 2004 Erie Canal Harbor Project Master Plan,
some elements of that project’s associated guidelines have been
revised. The emphasis of the Guidelines is on the public spaces. The
goals of the Guidelines are to provide high quality, attractive and
active spaces that employ contemporary techniques but connect to the
unique history of the site and Buffalo as a whole. To this end, the
Guidelines are focused on the impact of buildings on the public
environment. The Guidelines seek to create spaces, not projects. The
goal is to create an ever changing, lively atmosphere and visual
appeal throughout (this is not a traditional business or residential
district). The focus is on the pedestrian - to provide a human
scale, good wayfinding, and a comfortable walking environment. The
automobile is considered and sought to be convenient, but not
dominate the view.
Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation is a subsidiary agency of
Empire State Development Corporation whose vision is to revitalize
Western New York’s waterfront and restore economic growth to Buffalo
based on the region’s legacy of pride, urban significance and
natural beauty.
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