FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Anthony Abbate, Associate Professor, Director
Broward Community Design Collaborative
aabbate@fau.edu
954.762.5636 (office)
954.647.9970 (cell)

AIA Florida Awards FAU professor and architect Anthony Abbate the 2009 Florida/Caribbean Research Award for pioneering transportation planning project

Fort Lauderdale, FL – August 2, 2009 – Associate Professor and architect Anthony Abbate AIA, was honored with the 2009 Florida/Caribbean Research Award, for his work on Broward County’s innovative Transit | Housing Oriented Redevelopment (THOR) Pilot Study, at the annual awards ceremony held in Tampa, Florida.  The awards are presented each year by the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Florida) and represent the region’s most prestigious award program for the architectural profession.

The THOR Pilot Study was recognized for developing an alternative planning model that addresses the crucial nexus between transportation, housing, and urban redevelopment.  The innovative approach involved architecture students in a multi-collaborative method for creating sustainable, context-driven strategies for redevelopment and urban design through a process combining public involvement with input from stakeholders concerned with local development policies, transportation, regulations and land use practices.

“This project was a highly collaborative effort and the award must be shared equally with all the parties involved,” said Anthony Abbate, the project lead.  “It is gratifying to be recognized for a project that can have a real impact on our region as we look towards creating more sustainable growth policies in the future.  And it was especially rewarding to see so many parties come together – many for the first time – to work together towards a central cause.”

The THOR Pilot Study involved the Broward Community Design Collaborative at FAU’s  College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs, architecture design studios at the School of Architecture, the Broward County Growth Management and Environmental Protection Department Planning and Redevelopment Division, and the public at large, with support from the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of Transportation.

By aligning disciplines and practices from FAU, an urban academic institution, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, which deals with regional transportation issues, and various public and private interests, the THOR Pilot Study was able to tackle “real urban problems on real sites, for real communities in real regulatory environments,” notes Abbate.  “The students benefitted by expanding the boundaries of the traditional academic setting, and testing the boundaries of design thinking applied to real world problems.  This kind of action based research and engagement with the community will help a new generation of designers ignite future discussions and move public debate about building a sustainable future.  Only better communities can result from positive engagements such as these.”

The THOR Pilot Study has already started to stimulate positive outcomes.  The study itself has since been expanded to encompass the next phase of implementation on the State Road 7 and Broward Boulevard corridors in Broward County.  And an innovative design for a new generation of bus shelters, conceived as part of the research students conducted in Oakland Park and Wilton Manors, has been selected by the Broward Transportation Division as a prototype for the county’s future bus shelters.  With visual and voice alerts to announce coming buses, moveable solar panels that power the alerts and illuminate the shelter at night, protection from the weather and a sleek modular design, “the self-sustaining design solution is exactly the type of creative energy the project was hoping to inspire.”

Florida/Caribbean Design Awards are presented by AIA Florida to encourage excellence in architecture and to elevate pubic consciousness of good design and to recognize those whose work enriches the built environment.

Winners were asked to submit projects in one or more of four award categories, which were judged by a San Diego-based jury. An out-of-state jury was selected to ensure the confidentiality of the authors and entries and allow the jurors to be detached from prestige and any other unwarranted influence during the judging process.

About the Broward Community Design Collaborative
The mission of the Broward Community Design Collaborative (BCDC) is to advance knowledge on issues related to urban form in South Florida by creating a forum for urban design oriented solutions at multiple scales, with the objective to help build healthy communities in Broward County that are walk able, livable, and equitable.   While the Collaborative focuses its efforts on the local context, its academic mission is to study sustainable design solutions within the urban and suburban sub-tropical setting. 
www.fau.edu/bcdc

About Anthony Abbate AIA, LEED AP
A Fort Lauderdale native, Anthony Abbate earned his Master of Architeture degree from Washington University, St. Louis.  He is and Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Florida Atlantic University, and director of the Broward Community Design Collaborative at the College of Urban and Public Affairs.  He also maintains a private practice in Fort Lauderdale.  He and his firm have received over 20 awards for design excellence from the American Institute of Architects since he began practice in 1990, including one for the groundbreaking Broward County County-wide Community Design Guidebook, and he is the author of the book Sustainable Subtropical, which focuses on design practices that address key issues facing cities in subtropical climates.

Tony currently sits on the Broward County Housing Council, the Broward Cultural Council, and is chair of the Public Art and Design Committee.  He has served on the Board of Adjustment for the City of Fort Lauderdale,  the State of Florida Department of Education Building Construction Advisory Committee, and as president of the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
He was the recipient of the prestigious Arango Design Award and chaired International Design and Architecture Day for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.  He received Washington University’s Distinguished Alumni Award for his service to the profession and the community, and the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects President’s Award for Distinguished Service to the profession in the aftermath of hurricane Andrew.