iLounge { instant / interim / interactive } designed by Tulane School of Architecture (TSA) Assistant Professor Marcella Del Signore in collaboration with Mona El Khafif, Associate Professor at California College of the Arts (CCA) is selected for the full construction and implementation, co-commissioned by Northern Spark and ZERO1. Its installation is scheduled for Northern Spark 2012 in June in Minneapolis and the 2012 ZERO1 Art & Technology Biennial in September in San Jose. The funding is partially supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and is currently under construction by TSA and CCA team. http://www.zero1biennial.org/content/Marcella-del-Signore-and-Mona-El-Khafif

The Tulane City Center (TCC) is collaborating with the Tulane Master of Real Estate Program (MSRED) to develop affordable housing options for the Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative (JPNSI). Faculty members Casius Pealer and Cordula Roser Gray in conjunction with Dan Etheridge (Associate Director TCC) are in the process of developing conversion strategies for 2 multi-unit housing projects in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans that aim at advancing equitable housing patterns, neighborhood stability and community driven land-use planning. With the help of a community land trust (CLT) model of land stewardship and shared equity, JPNSI hopes to offer affordable housing options to local residents by encouraging resident controlled development and promoting community building initiatives. The project is funded through a grant from the Surdna Foundation.

The Tulane Regional Urban Design Center (TRUDC) has been selected to host the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD), South Regional session, to be held this fall. The Mayors’ Institute is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors. It is considered the country’s premier educational initiative for public officials.

In collaboration with the Mayors’ Institute founders, TRUDC Director Grover Mouton helped form the regional session format in 1991, allowing each conference to focus on the unique planning and design issues facing a particular region. Since that time, he has hosted more than 50 mayors at numerous MICD conferences in New Orleans. Eight mayors from across the Southeastern US will be invited to the upcoming forum, where they will be advised by planning, design, development, and preservation experts from across the country. Professor Mouton and TRUDC staff will visit each participating city, and guide the mayors in selecting and presenting design challenges from their respective cities, ensuring that each project presented is met with appropriate design and policy solutions from the assembled expert panel. The MICD South Regional session will be held in the fall of 2012.