• A new cultural epicenter for Savannah

    The Plant Riverside District in Savannah, Georgia, transformed an abandoned industrial site into the most significant modern expansion of the city’s urban core. Sottile & Sottile and The Kessler Collection won the 2021 CNU Grand Prize Charter Award.
    Note: Charter Awards will be presented in a ceremony Friday evening, May 21, at CNU 29. Design for Change . Plant Riverside District revamped a former industrial site into a dynamic mixed-use waterfront district, woven into the city, extending Savannah’s renowned Oglethorpe plan. The development...Read more

  • The Cayalá effect in Guatemala City

    The Paseo Cayalá Neighborhood in Guatemala City is a model of open and economically resilient development in a city of gated development. Estudio Urbano and Leon Krier won a 2021 CNU Charter Award in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category.
    Many developments in Guatemala City, Guatemala, are gated, and the New Town of Cayalá sets a different example: One of welcome and openness to all citizens. This growing town, with 350 shops, 650 residences, and major civic buildings and institutions, revives the architectural identity of the...Read more

  • ‘Green streets,’ gentle density in a new studio town

    Trilith in Fayetteville, Georgia, is built around the idea that well-designed public space contributes to individual happiness and community well-being. Lew Oliver Inc. won a 2021 CNU Charter Award in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category.
    Trilith is inspired by the words of Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia: “Great public space is a kind of magical good. It never ceases to yield happiness. It is almost happiness itself.” With that idea in mind, each part of Trilith is intended to connect to the whole community and...Read more

  • Enhancing city life while preparing for climate change

    Hammetts Wharf in Newport, Rhode Island, is an urban asset that protects and connects the city at the water’s edge. Union Studio Architecture & Community Design won a 2021 CNU Charter Award in the Block, Street, and Building category.
    This 24,000-square-foot mixed-use building shows how to respect and enhance a 19 th Century city while preparing for the impacts of climate change in the 21 st Century. Hammetts Wharf took a hole in the urban fabric—a parking lot on Newport’s waterfront—and created an urban asset that connects the...Read more