envisioning the contemporary world by uniting academy and community
citi (city) cit•y n
- an extensive built-up area where large numbers of people live and work
- the inhabitants of a city collectively
- a thing, place, or situation that is a good or extreme example of its type (slang) (used in combination)
- an incorporated urban center in the United States that has self-government, boundaries, and legal rights established by state charter
lab (laboratory) lab•o•ra•to•ry n
- a room or place with appropriate equipment for teaching science or doing scientific work
- a facility, or a room in a facility, where research and testing is carried out
- a period in school when students work in a laboratory
(Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999)
Citi-Lab Orlando is an interdisciplinary design and research center, sponsored
by the University of Florida, School of Architecture, and focused upon
the project of the contemporary American city. Citi-lab proposes to link
the multivalent resources of the academic community, the public sector
and private industry in order to offer innovative and visionary solutions
to the problems and opportunities within the built environment. The Citi-Lab
facility will consist of a gallery, working design studios for upper level
undergraduate and graduate students, a library and resource center and
a meeting space for discussions, charettes and educational events.
The work of Citi-Lab is wide-ranging and ambitious. From grappling with the largest and most abstract condition of regional suburban sprawl to the identification and development of special projects within communities and neighborhoods, Citi-Lab proposes to engage in an objective and critical review of resources, requirements, precedents and applicable state of the art design, development, and revitalization projects in an effort to best serve metro Orlando.
Why Orlando?
Orlando offers an archetypal post-war (post WW2) condition
of urbanity. The “post-industrial” city that has come of age
in the latter half of the 20th century is characterized by a decline of
manufacturing and an emerging service sector so clearly illustrated in
a community, such as Orlando, largely defined through the tourist and
hospitality industry. Coupled with the emerging I-4 high technology corridor,
Orlando exemplifies the “age of information and entertainment”.
Orlando,
however, is further characterized by exceptional neighborhoods, extensive
public amenities and a complex, increasingly diverse economy. It is a
city of multiple identities: a high-profile city of international reputation,
a region of intimate, well-defined communities, and a less-specific, more
generic condition of sprawling growth and repetition. Which Orlando, one
wonders, will emerge as the region continues to evolve and mature.
The Work of Citi-lab
Citi-lab seeks to work with the community of greater Orlando through the following means:
- To work with elected officials and community leaders to determine and pursue targeted projects and studies that might best serve the community.
- To introduce exemplar ideas and prototypical projects to the community through exhibits (projects from the UF SoA, Citi-lab, and national/international works) and publications.
- To serve the community as a resource center with publications, books, and digital media offering a wide range of ideas, theories, and examples of community building in the public realm.
- To collaborate with regional design and engineering professionals as an affordable, up-front, value-added service to public and private projects.
- To provide students the opportunity to work with professionals and communities in solving very real problems in the public arena.
- To offer opportunities for design professionals at various stages of career development to access both formal and informal continuing education experiences.
- To offer a place for discussion and exploration of important design and growth issues in the community; a kind of neutral ground for seminars, meetings, symposia and less formal receptions and discussion groups.