Urban Design Associates (UDA; formerly known as UDA Architects) is an international

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

firm headquartered in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Pennsylvania, United States.

History

Urban Design Associates (UDA) was founded in 1964 by David Lewis, FAIA, and Raymond Gindroz, FAIA, as one of the earliest architecture firms to concentrate on the design of neighborhoods and cities. Lewis and Gindroz pioneered methods for engaging citizens in the design of community centers, schools, and neighborhoods. The firm is known for refining and developing public planning process and authored ''The Urban Design Handbook, Techniques and Working Methods'', a textbook published by W. W. Norton & Company. UDA has advanced urban design as an important branch of the architecture profession, and co-founder David Lewis was influential in creating the Regional Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) service of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

, and organized the "Remaking Cities" conference that was held in Pittsburgh in 1988 to address post-industrial cities. UDA co-founder Ray Gindroz was also a founding member of the

Congress for the New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually inf ...

and was influential in formulating policies and standards with the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Ur ...

and the Congress for the New Urbanism for the design of mixed-income neighborhoods under the federal

HOPE VI HOPE VI is a program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is intended to revitalize the worst public housing projects in the United States into mixed-income developments. Its philosophy is largely based on New Urban ...

program. UDA has been recognized for resurrecting the

pattern book A pattern book, or architectural pattern book, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works. A number of pattern boo ...

as a regulatory design tool for developers and municipalities as indicated in ''The Architectural Pattern Book, A Tool for Building Great Neighborhoods''. UDA-authored pattern books include Celebration, Florida, and WaterColor, Florida, in the United States, and

Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon ( gd, Eilean) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient region of Formart ...

, in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Developments

The Urban Design Associates portfolio of work includes urban design, transit, and community development projects working with local and regional governmental authorities and private developers in North America, Europe, and Eurasia. Sample projects include: * Alexander Street Corridor Design Guidelines,

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

* Anderson Station, Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Baxter Village Pattern Book, Fort Mill, South Carolina * Celebration Pattern Book, Celebration, Florida *

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Central Riverfront, Ohio * Clarksburg Municipal Building, Clarksburg, West Virginia * Crawford Square, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Currie Barracks, Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Daybreak, Utah: Master Planners, Pattern Book *

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

(various parts of city) * Diggs Town, Norfolk, Virginia * Downtown Norfolk, Virginia * Ellon Pattern Book, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK * Federal District,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Russian Federation *

Jacksonville Landing The Jacksonville Landing (informally The Landing) was a festival marketplace in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, at the intersection of Independent Drive and Laura Street, along the Jacksonville Riverwalk.Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Louisiana Speaks Louisiana Speaks was a regional plan, published in May 2007, and planning organization for southern Louisiana created in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. About The plan was conceived to guide the state of Louis ...

: Pattern Book & Tool Kit, Louisiana Region * Middletown Arch, Norfolk, Virginia * The New Faubourg Lafitte,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Louisiana * Park DuValle, Louisville, Kentucky * Randolph Neighborhood, Richmond, Virginia * Sewickley Heights Pattern Book,

Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania Sewickley Heights is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 857 at the 2020 census. Sewickley Heights is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Pennsylvania and in the United States. History Sewickley ...

* Tampa Waterfront Vision Plan,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

* Virginia Beach Form-Based Code,

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

* WaterColor Pattern Book, WaterColor, Florida *

West Don Lands The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River (Toronto), Don River, King Street, Toronto, Ontario, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjac ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada * Yuzhny Master Plan,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russian Federation

Founders

* David Lewis, FAIA, co-founder - Lewis is credited for inspiring the Remaking Cities Institute (RCI) at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2007 the

Heinz Endowments The Heinz Endowments is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, and was formed with the combined support from two smaller, private foundations: the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. It awards more t ...

issued an endowment in his name. * Raymond L. Gindroz, FAIA, co-founder - The "Gindroz Prize" for Carnegie Mellon architecture and music students carries his name. * Donald K. Carter, FAIA, FAICP, LEED AP, emeritus key principal

Key employees

* Barry J. Long Jr., AIA, LEED AP, principal and CEO * Rob Robinson, AIA, chairman * Paul B. Ostergaard, FAIA AoU, senior vice president * Eric R. Osth, AIA, LEED AP, vice chairman

Awards and recognitions

* 1988, Edward C. Kemper Award, David Lewis * 2014, Honor Award, Regional and Urban Design, East Baltimore Comprehensive Redevelopment Plan, Baltimore, Maryland * 2000, Honor Award, Regional and Urban Design, Park DuValle, Louisville, Kentucky * 1999, Honor Award, Regional and Urban Design, Diggs Town Public Housing, Norfolk, Virginia * 2019, AIA Presidential Citation for Exceptional Service, David Lewis, FAIA, Urban Design Associates * Citation For Excellence, Urban Design, Patching and Stitching in Urban Neighborhoods: Pittsburgh, Norfolk, and Richmond Congress for the New Urbanism * 2003, Charter Award, East Baltimore Comprehensive Redevelopment Plan, Baltimore, Maryland * 2004, Charter Award, The Campus Plan for the University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California * 2005, Charter Award, A Pattern Book for Norfolk Neighborhoods, Norfolk, Virginia * 2006, Athena Award, David Lewis * 2007, Charter Awards, Louisiana Speaks: Pattern Book, State of Louisiana * 2007, Recognition, Cooper's Crossing Pattern Book, Camden, New Jersey * 2008, Recognition, A Pattern Book for Neighborly Houses/Habitat for Humanity * 2012, Recognition, Neighborhoods of the Lower Mill Creek Valley, Cincinnati, Ohio * 2012, Charter Award, New Faubourg Lafitte, New Orleans, Louisiana * 2016, Charter Award (Merit Award), Currie, Calgary, Alberta, Canada * 2016, Charter Award (Merit Award) Orleans Landing, Detroit, Michigan Institute for Classical Architecture and Arts * 2019, Arthur Ross Award for Community Design & City Planning Presidential Design Award * 1995, Federal Design Achievement Award, The Re-design of Diggs Town (Public Housing), Norfolk, Virginia

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as ...

* 2004, Award of Excellence, Fall Creek Place, Indianapolis, Indiana * 2004, Award of Excellence, First Ward Place/ The Garden District, Charlotte, North Carolina * 2004, Award of Excellence, WaterColor, Seagrove Beach, Florida * 2017-2018, Global Award, West Don Lands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) * 2011, Donald Hunter Excellence in Economic Development Planning Award, Coliseum District Master Plan: Peninsula Town Center Project, Hampton, Virginia * 2013, National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation, Cincinnati Central Riverfront, Master Plan, Cincinnati, Ohio City of Moscow * 2012, First Prize, Federal District Concept Plan, International Competition for the Moscow Agglomeration Plan Toronto Architecture & Urban Design * 2005, Award of Excellence, Visions and Master Plans, West Don Lands Precinct Plan, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Winners of the City of Toronto Architecture & Urban Design Awards 2005
Canadian Architect, May 18, 2005.

References