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 Summer Film Series - 6pm Wed August 18 - Helvetica
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which recently celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
 Summer Film Series - Wed July 21, 6pm - The Garden
The Garden, a documentary by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, is an engaging and powerful look at the famous political and social battle over the largest community garden in the U.S. (located in south central Los Angeles).
A follow-up to Kennedy's award-winning documentary, OT: Our, the film shows how the politics of power and greed (backroom deals, land developing, green politics, money) tragically intersect with working class families who rely on this communal garden for their livelihood.
 June Design Forum on Community Land Trusts -- Wednesday, June 23 @ 6pm
David Harper, founder of Land In Common, will discuss how landowners and community organizations can implement a Community Land Trust (CLT) as a way to promote a resilient local economy.
A CLT is a non-profit organization using common land ownership to promote affordable, ecologically-sound land stewardship for housing, food production, forestry, and other community-based land uses. CLTs acquire land by gift, purchase, or bargain sale and hold it in trust for the community, thereby reducing the impact of land appreciation and speculation driven by the real estate market. By allowing individuals and organizations to obtain long-term (99-year), inheritable leases on the land they hold in trust, CLT's provide a secure, affordable land base for communities and individuals seeking to re-establish resilient bioregional economies.
Click here to view the powerpoint from David Harper's presentation on the community land trust concept.
 May Design Forum
Topic: Bikeways, Greenways, and Pedestrian Facilities for Asheville: A Status Report and a Look Forward
Presenters: Marc Hunt, Chair, Asheville Greenway Commission, and Don Kostelec, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner, TRANSPO GROUP
April Design Forum Topic: Designing Community
Speaker: UNC-Charlotte Professor David Walters
Architect, town planner and professor of urban design David Walters will be discussing the fundamentals of his book Designing Community, especially as they relate to urban design as a process of interaction between professional designers and the community. Discussions will deal mainly with topics such as the public participation and the charrette process, the importance of design guidelines and the emergence of form-based codes to regulate the urban fabric. Case studies from across several urban scales will be used to illustrate these topics, which are at the heart of the Asheville Design Center's mission to empower people to work together in developing their communities. |
September Design Forum: Architecture in the Public Interest: The Roles of Academia, by Prof. Georgia Bizios
October Design Forum: Modern Interpretation of a Mountain Home