Studio opens its first permanent facility

On May 1, 2003, MUDS celebrated the opening of its first permanent studio facility in Muncie due to the generosity of Martin Schwartz, who donated his building at 628 South Walnut to the university expressly for that purpose. MUDS finally had a permanent home. The first floor of the turn-of-the-century building was cleaned and upgraded to house the studio's operation. A fresh coat of a three-color paint scheme was applied to the exterior storefront by "Woodshop Bob" Githens and Tony Costello. All of the building's systems were checked and upgraded where necessary by Ball State's Office of Facilities Planning and Management through the coordination of Michel Mounayar, associate dean of the College of Architecture and Planning, and Dave Bartle, CAP's technical resources manager. These improvements plus new signage on the storefront windows--including the Ball State logo--welcomed those who attended the opening ceremonies held on May 1, 2003. Construction of student apartments on the second floor is under way, thus giving the studio a nationally unique "live and learn" capability.

In his remarks at the dedication ceremony, CAP Dean Joseph Bilello, AIA, commented, "Downtown Muncie and the neighborhoods that surround it provide an excellent laboratory in which to study the challenges of sustaining small cities everywhere in America and bring forward answers that communities can envision, discuss, and build."

At the same ceremony, Tony Costello, FAIA, who has remained director of the studio, spoke of the service learning that takes place in community-based studios like MUDS. He remarked: "There simply is no way that these unique learning experiences afforded CAP students can be replicated on Ball State's or any other campus. By engaging our students directly with residents, merchants, public agencies, civic leaders, and local, not-for-profit entities, they come to truly understand the complexity and dynamics of urban planning and design in the real world. We are extremely thankful to Marty Schwartz for his generosity in allowing MUDS to achieve this important milestone in its history."

MUDS continues its decade-long involvement with local partners committed to building affordable housing for first-time home owners in Muncie's central-city neighborhoods. The partnership held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 28 for the construction of its first two-story, four-bedroom prototype house. Representatives of the Muncie Urban Enterprise Association, Muncie Home Ownership and Development Center, CAP, and the City of Muncie, including Mayor Canan and Deputy Mayor Amburn, attended.

Kevin Luebke, currently a fourth-year architecture student, designed the house as one component of a third-year design studio taught by Costello during the fall 2002 semester under the auspices of MUDS. Located on a corner site at First and Penn Streets in Muncie's Industry Neighborhood, the house will be the fifth built on this and an adjoining block by the partnership, including one constructed by the MACC building trades program during the 2000-01 school year. 

During the ceremony Dean Bilello remarked: "Community development is the greater good in which economic development resides. Projects like this affordable house for first-time home buyers promote that greater good, energize neighborhoods, and bring optimism to parts of urban communities in which there is the greatest need."

In concluding the ceremony, Costello noted, "I hope that community-based projects like this provide Ben and his fellow students with learning experiences that will help them better understand that an important ethical consideration in architectural practice is the belief that service to one's community is a civic, professional, and personal responsibility."

For More Information
Olon Dotson, Director
Muncie Urban Design Studio
Architecture Building 428
(765) 285-3481
(765) 285-1765 fax
odotson@bsu.edu