Tag Archive for: Preservation

Mass Ave Isn’t What It Used to Be: Urban Revitalization in Indianapolis

Years of redevelopment and steadfast anchor institutions are to thank for the Mass Ave we know and love.   Did you know that MacNiven’s used to be a biker bar? Maybe you noticed the original “Sears, Roebuck and Company” still etched into the west side of Needler’s Fresh Market at the corner of Alabama and […]

Preserve, Rehab, Restore, Or Reconstruct?

CA: Commercial Architecture Features Wayne Schmidt & Phil Medley on St. Joseph Brewery November 6, 2017 “Working with historic buildings involves choices, challenges, and rewards. The trendy and chic St. Joseph Brewery and Public House in Indianapolis emerged from an abandoned 1880s Catholic Church. The building had been empty for nearly 30 years…” read full article

The Heart of the Placemaking Process

Every place evokes feelings for people. A great place feels welcoming, exciting, curious, comforting—and maybe even inspiring. Your designated place always has the opportunity to evoke vastly different feelings than it does now. In downtown places, reinvestment from all parties is evident and necessary—and generates a lot of interest and excitement. A Placemaking Plan does […]

Elevate Your Expectations for Downtown Development, Part III

In my Indianapolis Business Journal column listing 10 things Indianapolis could do to make our already thriving downtown an even better place to live, the third item was: Mix in more housing individuals can afford. Starter living units with lower price points will lure sought-after young professionals earlier. Energy consumption will make housing and retail […]

50 Letters From Architects: Our Contribution

It is good to dream about what could make our city a better place. When the American Institute of Architects (AIA)-Indianapolis invited Schmidt Associates to write letters to Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, we happily accepted the invitation to provide one page of big or small ideas to improve the urban built environment for Indianapolis — […]

Leadership Moment for April

Now a vibrant stretch of eclectic urban distinction, Mass Ave could hardly be more different from the urban ruin it was 35 years ago. Riddled with deterioration, crime, and neglect, it took penetrating vision to see what once was—and more importantly, what it could become. The historic flatiron building at New York Street—particularly prominent as […]

Third in the Series of Four Core Principles of Design at Schmidt Associates – A Closer Look at the Stewardship Principle

The purpose behind design at Schmidt Associates is to act passionately and intentionally out of our Core Principles of Design, which are the mirrors of our kaleidoscope. The second of these principles is Stewardship.  This principal is a hallmark of Schmidt Associates’ strong belief in Servant Leadership. We work with clients to achieve the maximum […]

Bridging the Historic with the New – A Successful Story of Adaptive Reuse

Historic preservation projects face many challenges.  Some of these include, but are not limited to: Who will use the building and does it support the many programmatic needs of this group? How can you repurpose the building while integrating modern building systems and technology throughout? How do you maintain the historic features of the building, […]