• Civic buildings connect street to park

    The King Open/Cambridge Street Community Complex provides much-needed public spaces and inclusive facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The project won a 2020 CNU Charter Award in the Block, Street, and Building category for William Rawn Associates.
    The Community Complex on Cambridge Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, comprises a versatile set of civic uses that serves all ages of residents, throughout the day, seven days a week. The 6-acre complex, with two large buildings, elegantly combines multiple school facilities, a public library, two...Read more

  • Historic Main Street reclaims identity

    An against-the-odds comeback, launched in the Great Recession, has brought life to a waning Main Street while enhancing the historic character of Senoia, Georgia. The project won a 2020 CNU Charter Award for Historical Concepts.
    A Main Street revival in Senoia, Georgia, is an inspiring example of what is possible even during a down economy. Fifteen years ago, the town’s center was near dormant, with only eight operating businesses. A proposal to build a strip mall with a “dollar store” on the historic Main Street spurred a...Read more

  • Creativity + innovation as a pandemic response

    Across human history, crisis has always presented opportunities for innovation and will always be fertile ground for those fearless enough to look past the obvious obstacles at hand.
    We are experiencing a truly unique time in human history that we perhaps haven’t seen since the end of World War II. A global phenomenon that nearly the entire planet is dealing with simultaneously. Like the shared experience of war or other forms of crisis that brings out the best in people, we...Read more

  • Small industrial city diversifies with new urban district

    The River District Implementation Plan is building a new walkable neighborhood across from downtown Elkhart, Indiana. Speck & Associates and Stantec’s Urban Places won a merit award in CNU's 2020 Charter Awards.
    An underutilized peninsula across the river from downtown is giving Elkhart, Indiana, an opportunity to diversify its economy. The city is a center of RV manufacturing—an important jobs base that is nevertheless vulnerable to shifting markets and demands. The city was set to begin revitalizing the...Read more