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 based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

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 construction, constructi ...

firm headquartered in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, 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. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

, and organized the "Remaking Cities" conference that was held in Pittsburgh in 1988 to address

post-industrial In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy. The term was originated by Alain Touraine and is closely related t ...

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 that 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 in ...

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 u ...

and the Congress for the New Urbanism for the design of mixed-income neighborhoods under the federal HOPE VI 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 bo ...

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 () 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 Formartine. Its nam ...

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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 the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

* Anderson Station,

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, Canada * Baxter Village Pattern Book,

Fort Mill, South Carolina Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 24,521. Some businesses and residents in th ...

* Celebration Pattern Book, Celebration, Florida *

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Central Riverfront, Ohio * Clarksburg Municipal Building,

Clarksburg, West Virginia Clarksburg is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 16,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, tenth-most populous city ...

* Crawford Square, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Currie Barracks, Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Daybreak, Utah: Master Planners, Pattern Book *

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(various parts of city) * Diggs Town,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

* Downtown Norfolk, Virginia * Ellon Pattern Book,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland, UK * Federal District,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, 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 the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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 (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana * Park DuValle, Louisville, Kentucky * Randolph Neighborhood,

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

* Sewickley Heights Pattern Book, Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania * 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. Tampa'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 t ...

* Virginia Beach Form-Based Code,

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

* 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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada * Yuzhny Master Plan,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russian Federation

Founders

* David Lewis, FAIA, co-founder - Lewis is credited for inspiring the Remaking Cities Institute (RCI) at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

. In 2007 the

Heinz Endowments The Heinz Endowments is a philanthropic organization 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 than $60 million a ...

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 * Paul B. Ostergaard, FAIA AoU, emeritus key principal * Rob Robinson, AIA, emeritus key principal

Key employees

* Barry J. Long Jr., AIA, LEED AP, President and CEO * Megan O'Hara, AICP, LEED AP BD+C, Vice President * Eric R. Osth, AIA, LEED AP, 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 global nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI aims to help its members and their partners build more equitable, sustainable, heal ...

* 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