Dallas' CityDesign Studio plan for West Dallas

So maybe that Calatrava designed bridge to nowhere (aka Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge) may not be a bridge to nowhere after all.

So who is CityDesign Studio and what do they have planned for the other side of the Trinity River where the bridge ends? From the CityDesign Studio website:

"The Dallas CityDesign Studio was formed in October of 2009 through a grant to the City from the Trinity Trust Foundation, funded by a generous gift from Deedie and Rusty Rose, to focus on neighborhoods and development along the Trinity."

CityDesign Studio recently had a presentation where they presented a proposal for the development of the area of West Dallas that adjoins the Trinity River and Calatrava bridge. The proposal includes pedestrian friendly streets and "mixed-use developments", in addition to development of public spaces (hope that means parks!). This presentation and proposal is interesting because it seeks to bring some much needed development to the area. It will interesting in the future to see how this shapes up and how that area will springboard off the development already there; i.e. the Belmont Hotel.

Read more about CityDesign Studio's proposal here.

Dallas Observer's Unfair Park blog has a review of the presentation meeting here.

Hear Joan Davidow's, former director and curator of the Dallas Contemporary, commentary for KERA 90.1 here.

Dallas Arboretum Expansion Project

D Magazine's Frontburner blog got a sneak peek into the Dallas Arboretum's $50 million expansion project the Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden. The location of the garden will be to the right of the lawn if you are sitting there listening to a concert. The project's completion date is 2013.

From the comments in Frontburner's post, there is concern about the garden disturbing the "serenity" of the park and potential destruction of existing exhibits and gardens. D magazine responded that there would not be any destruction of existing gardens and exhibits. The new garden will be taking advantaged of currently unused land within the Arboretum. My concern is that the new garden be in line with the rest of the style of the arboretum. I don't want this to look like an amusement park.

You can see more images of the proposed park here.

Image from D Magazine's Frontburner blog.

A warm up for this snowy Sunday in Big D

Usually, I am drinking hot toddies during the holiday season. But since it is snowing here in Big D today, there is nothing better than curling up with a warm cup of cheer. One of my favorites is a hot buttered rum.

Ingredients you will need:

1tsp brown sugar
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
4-6 whole cloves
2 oz. dark rum (I used Cruzan aged rum, but Zaya is also good)
Boiling water
1 tsp butter





Directions:

Place all ingredients except the rum, water and butter in a heatproof mug. Add the rum, then boiling water. Float the butter on top, and drink when the butter has completely melted.

Recipe from Cocktail Hour - Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920 to 1960 by Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel.

Cheers!

Miss Me?

The Architect and I took a trip to Scandinavia for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Pictures and details forthcoming once I organize all the pictures and get my thoughts together.

In the meantime, check out this local home tour on Apartment Therapy.

Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy

The weekend was the opening for Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy at the Nasher Sculpture Center. The exhibit combines 30 of Calder's works with the works of 7 contemporary artists influence by his work.

Exhibition on view through March 6, 2011.

Image from www.nashersculpturecenter.org

Do you know your MCM?

Test your MCM design knowledge here at the TLC mid century design quiz.

Hat tip to How About Orange where I saw the quiz.

4D Mapping on the Praetorian Building in Downtown Dallas

On Tuesday of this week The Joule Hotel and the Dallas Film Society used the Praetorian Building as the backdrop to show 4D mapping projection. The presentation also included a trailer for the movie, The Tourist. I hope more of these events continue to happen in downtown after dark. It will be a good way to get people back on the street and interacting with each other. Word on the street is that they will be running the movie/show again on Friday night.