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DISCOVERING ARCHITECTURE

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Quick Bites

Quick Bites

Local architects create colorful, informative textbook for students

By Collin Kelley INtown Editor

Discover ARCHITECTURE, an elementary school textbook created to foster a love and understand of building design, is a “love letter to Atlanta,” according to its creators.

The colorful book was the brainchild of local architect Melody Harclerode, the president-elect of the Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and an occasional columnist for INtown. Harclerode said the catalyst for the book was an after school architecture program that was introduced at Buckhead’s E. Rivers Elementary School in 2010.

“Part of that curriculum was to balance out an over- emphasis and over-use of computers,” Harclerode said. “We wanted to provide an alternative activity that uses the hands.”

The book is a tool to help children in third through sixth grades learn about architecture design in a fun, hands on, tactile way that also includes history and math.

An example exercise is letting students add an amenity to their school, whether it’s a rollercoaster, swimming pool or zip line. Another lets kids learn about light by cutting out openings in boxes to show the path of sunlight inside a structure. And yet another teaches budding project managers how to calculate the cost of a building.

Since kids love to build things, Harclerode said common household goods, like shoeboxes and paper towel tubes, can be used to create models of their dream home.

Featured throughout Discover ARCHITECTURE are sketches of well-known Atlanta landmarks like The Varsity, Fox Theatre, High Museum, Westin Peachtree Plaza and Ponce City Market with notes about their architectural and historic significance. They were drawn by noted Atlanta architect John Busby.

While the textbook is Atlanta-centric, Harclerode said it was designed so that the curriculum could be used in Miami or Alaska.

An elementary school in suburban Chicago plans to incorporate the textbook into its 2015-16 curriculum, while Georgia Tech has purchased copies to use in its CEISMC program that assists K-12 students in Georgia prepare to use science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the modern world. Harclerode plans to speak at the National Arts Educators conference in March about the book.

Last fall kids, students at E. Rivers, Morris Brandon, Garden Hills, Springdale Park,

Centennial and Hope Hill elementary schools used the book to create their own re-imagined Atlanta landmark buildings. They will be on display, and the book will be on sale, during AIA National Convention which will be held in Atlanta this May.

Harclerode said Discover ARCHITECTURE would not have been possible without the help of volunteers who spent two years putting the book together. Those include photographer and Discover ARCHITECTURE program co-founder Phillip Alexander-Cox; graphic designer Jereme Smith; editor Robert Kauffman; and photographers Tim Ridley and Theresa Ridley. Harclerode also credited Susan Proper, Executive Director of AIA Atlanta, for her support in the creation of the program and book.

Discover ARCHITECTURE is available at Amazon. com.

675 N. Highland, a new mixed-use development with residential, retail and office space, will rise behind historic Druid Hills Baptist Church in Poncey-Highland. The project –which will actually front on North Highland, Blue Ridge and Seminole avenues across from Flip Burger – will feature 125 high-end residential units. The developer hasn’t said whether they will be apartments or condos. At ground level, there will be 12,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space fronting North Highland Avenue and 7,000 square feet of storefront office space along Blue Ridge.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 30 for the latest project by Novare Group called Atlantic House. Located at 1163 West Peachtree Street in Midtown, the 32-story tower will feature 400 apartments and 11,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

The Brookdale Group has acquired the Pinnacle and Two Live Oak buildings in Buckhead for $201 million, according to a media release. The 424,350-square-foot Pinnacle building, which is 92 percent leased, and the 286,650-square-foot Two Live Oak building, which is 62 percent leased, are the first acquisitions for Brookdale in the Buckhead market. The 21-story Pinnacle building and the 13-story Two Live Oak building are located at the intersection of Peachtree Road and Lenox Road. Renovations are planned for both properties, according to the release.

Inman Park’s historic Lizzie Chapel will be redeveloped into high-end lofts, according to a report at Curbed Atlanta. Preliminary plans show the circa-1930 church at Euclid at Edgewood avenues would have six 2,500 square-foot condos, each with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.

Post Properties and The Preston Partnership will soon begin construction on Midtown Millennium, a 23-story apartment building on the empty lot behind the Federal Reserve. According to What Now Atlanta, the 356-unit project will sit atop seven floors of enclosed parking.

University House Midtown, the new student housing tower at 930 Spring St., celebrated its topping out last month. The state-of-the-art student housing development, which will open in August, is more than 50 percent pre-leased for fall. The 20-story building has 268 apartments featuring 706 beds, and more than 9,000 square feet of retail. The property includes one-, two-, three- and four- bedroom floor plans – fully furnished, and many units include balconies with views of Midtown, the Georgia Tech campus and Downtown Atlanta. Community amenities include a resort-style pool on an elevated terrace, a secured parking garage, business center, study rooms, fitness center and a lounge on the top floor with skyline views.

ENGEL & VOLKERS

Lisa Robinson and a team of seven real estate professionals from e Robinson Realty Group have joined Engel & Völkers Buckhead Atlanta. In addition to Robinson, who founded The Robinson Realty Group in 2002, the team includes Leah Christian, Janine Franklin, Dovie Hines, Jenea Kennedy, Sharyn McCabe, Tomaree Tarpley and Jacqueline Williams who are all full-time real estate agents with extensive experience in the luxury and residential market throughout the greater Atlanta area.

The historic Ironized Yeast Company building, which later became home to cough syrup maker Creomulsion, at the corner of Ralph McGill and Glen Iris in the Old Fourth Ward has been demolished by John Wieland Homes to make way for up to 24 new townhomes.

North Point Hospitality Group is developing a Hampton Inn & Suites at the southeast corner of West Peachtree and 15th streets in Midtown. The hotel would feature 152 rooms on 10 floors above eight levels of enclosed parking.

At the Obie Awards of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA), Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices GA Properties’ New Homes Services Sales and Marketing captured 15 of the highest honors in the Marketing category. Among the top Gold and Silver awards claimed by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices were the Best Brochure, Best Audio-Video, Best On-site Signs, Best Advertising Campaign for a Builder, Best Mobile Website, Best Marketing Campaign/Promotion, Best Magazine Ad, Best Realtor Promotion, Best Website, Best TV Spot and Best Billboard.

The new Elan 144 mixeduse project in Reynoldstown, located across from the Edgewood Retail District, is underway and will feature 285 apartments, 16,000 square feet of street retail and restaurant space

New Hires: Harry Norman, Realtors has hired David Allsteadt as Chief Financial Officer to oversee financial operations for the company. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is pleased to announce that Chrishena Stanley, an experienced licensed Associate Broker, has become a sales associate with its Midtown office. Debra Johnston has joined Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices GA Properties Buckhead office as an associate specializing in luxury properties.

AIA Atlanta, the Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects, has moved to its new headquarters at 100 Edgewood Avenue: the Woodruff Volunteer Center. The office’s two-story tall glazing envelopes the storefront-style gallery space, which looks out over the eastern bound Atlanta Streetcar route and Hurt Park. In the new space, AIA Atlanta and AIA Georgia share neighboring suites with a shared entrance allowing them to carry out their related but individual tasks. Architecture firm 5G Studio Collaborative designed the new space. The build-out was performed by local Contractor and AIA Atlanta Patron Sponsor, The Structor Group. The project was awarded the 2014 Re-thinking the Future Award.

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