A New Streetscape for Abby's Gold & Gems.

Origin 4 Design recently completed a new streetscape concept for Abby's Gold & Gems in Uniontown, PA. Abby's is located along Morgantown Road, near the heart of Downtown Uniontown.  The location is a mix of business, and residential, with many of the businessnes located in victorian-era homes. 

The goal of the transformation is to utilize some of the mature plantings while introducing others for a more complete plantscaping.  We also aimed to make Abby's more friendly to the neighborhood, including pedestrians and vehicular traffic.

The above rendering illustrates Abby's storefront as envisioned by O4D. The photograph below is the existing streetscape.

Origin 4 Design looks forward to spring, so that we can further assist Abby's streetscape transformation.

Happy New Year!

Eco-Designers Guild UPDATE: From Design to Build

We posted earlier about my (Rebecca's) work with the Penn Avenue Green + Screen project.  Here's an update...

The Spaks Lot group has made lots of progress on the site and benches are in production.  Yea!  We plan to keep chugging through the winter and install the benches in the spring.

The bench is very closely resembling the early renderings that Matt Zambelli did.  Now that we're in fabrication, there have been many details that are requiring lots of time and play.  It's safe to say that we kinda underestimated the complexity of creating this design with re-used and off-the-shelf materials.  Good news is that we're still enjoying it and learning as we go.  

Due to the carpentry and metal-working tools required, we moved some of the finer production to my parent's basement, where my dad has been amassing his tool and equipment collection for the last 40+ years (I think he built the house around some of this stuff).  Dad has also saved-the-day by bringing his know-how to several of the details.  

Last week, a five foot section of the bench made its debut on Penn Ave. for our volunteer appreciation night at Most Wanted Fine Art (and remains on display at MW through December).  "Wow, it's actually kinda comfortable", was good to hear.  Stay tuned!

Hot off the Presses! Slack Plaza Redesign News Articles

The redesign of Slack Plaza is featured in Smart Growth America Online.  Read the artcile here.

The Charleston Gazette also featured the redesign efforts in a recent article.  Read the coverage here.

Slack Plaza Redesign Unveiled

The Environmental Protection Agency along with Origin 4 Design released the final report this week on the Greening the Nation's Capitals program in Charleston, West Virginia.  Charleston was one of five cities to pilot the national program.  The program emphasied sustainable strategies for improved infrastructure and community while enhancing economic benefits to the areas served.  The final report can be viewed on the EPA's offical program website. 

The above photo illustrates the existing conditions of Slack Plaza: a barren, concrete expanse in the heart of Downtown Charleston.  The current plaza has little activity or visual interest and is often criticized for its undesirable elements of crime, uninviting seating, and conflicting uses as transportation hub and pedestrian thoroughfare.

The proposed design concept, below, illustrates the potential for a vibrant civic space filled with art, activity, interest, and clear seperation of active and passive uses, including improved (and relocated) transportation and a more defined thoroughfare.

Origin 4 Design is excited to have participated in a nationally recognized revitalization effort.  We would like to thank the individuals at the EPA and in Charleston who helped make the conceptual project a success.  We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with the City of Charleston to advance implementation efforts.