| Urban Design Indianapolis is a public process
to develop urban design guidelines for Downtown Indianapolis
as called for in the Regional Center zoning ordinance
adopted in 1982. The goal of these design guidelines is
twofold: to protect our historic character and to promote
creative modern design responses.
The process is an outgrowth of an initiative started by the
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and is now being
embraced by the City of Indianapolis as an implementation
project of the recently adopted Regional Center Plan 2020,
the official plan for Downtown Indianapolis.
The process is a partnership between the City of
Indianapolis, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, and
Ball State's College of Architecture & Planning Indianapolis
Center. Funding for the initiative comes from
private sources, with substantial in-kind support from all
three primary partners.
In addition, the transportation planning section of the
City of Indianapolis, the Metropolitan Planning
Organization, has leveraged initiative funding to secure
federal matching funds to explore public rights-of-way
design guidelines for the entire Indianapolis Region as a
next-step in the recently-completed Regional Pedestrian
Plan. The MPO has contracted with Storrow Kinsella
Associates (SKA) for this work. The ultimate goal is
these public rights-of-way design guidelines will be
integrated and seamless with the Regional Center design
guidelines.
Who is Leading the Process?
The process is being led by an advisory group that includes
developers, real estate professionals, architects, landscape
architects, city planners, government officials, cultural
representatives, and others whose work impacts the built
environment of Downtown. This group, the Urban
Design Oversight Committee, is an independent group first
convened by the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.
What is the Timeline and Work Program?
The process is following an 18 month timeline scheduled to be
completed in the summer of 2006.
Click here to download a
complete work program detailing the process.
The process builds off of the critical districts established
by the Regional Center Plan by focusing attention on four
groupings of these districts.
- Northeast End of Massachusetts Avenue and Cole Noble
Commercial Arts District (MSA vicinity)
- Convention Center Complex, Stadium, and Kentucky Avenue
Corridor
- West Washington Street and “The Valley” neighborhood
- BioCrossroads Research Community (Stadium Drive area and
Canal Corridor)
Each of these critical areas will receive a three month
review that includes in-depth inventory and analysis,
identification of issues, and a charrette workshop to develop
a catalog of ideas in addressing these issues. When combined
with factors relating to streets and other public
infrastructure, the issues and ideas identified in these four
critical areas will lead to the formulation of design
standards for all districts Downtown.
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ABOUT THE
PROCESS