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	Planners urge design competition Want architects to submit models for the new convention center Saturday, June 18, 2005 Sarah Hollander Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland's Planning Commission on Friday proposed a design competition for a new convention center on downtown's Mall. A similar process led to construction of rival Pittsburgh's innovative and widely acclaimed center on the Allegheny River. Cleveland needs a design worthy of the landmark civic space, commission Chairman Anthony Coyne said. The commission passed a resolution recommending the competition, but the Convention Facilities Authority will make the ultimate decision. The authority had hired LMN Architects of Seattle and Osborn Architects & Engineers of Cleveland in February to update plans for the mall site, the only location still under consideration for the convention center. The firms submitted two alternatives. The city could expand north by creating a Mall D and building over the railroad tracks behind City Hall. Or it could expand west by razing buildings between Ontario Street and Mall B. The exhibit hall - the center's bulkiest element - would remain under the malls and out of sight in both alternatives. Members of the Cleveland Restoration Society gave the Planning Commission a slide show presentation of the city's 1903 Group Plan for the malls - a progressive and popular plan that put Cleveland in the national and international spotlight. "Our generation has an amazing opportunity to build upon this noble plan," said Anthony Hiti, an architect and society trustee. The goal, Hiti said, should be to create a modern and unique design that is compatible in scale with the older buildings along the mall: Public Auditorium, City Hall, the old county courthouse, the Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse, the Cleveland Public Library and the Cleveland Board of Education headquarters. The LMN and Osborn designs gave planners the confidence that a state-of-the-art center could be built on and under the malls, city planner Linda Henrichsen said. The firms plotted alternative footprints for the building but didn't draw a final design. That's where a competition would come in, Henrichsen said. She plans to research ways to conduct the competition and will report her findings to the Planning Commission and the facilities authority. Typically, architects would be given basic guidelines and a budget to work with. In Pittsburgh's case, 25 architects expressed interest, and four finalists were asked to submit designs. A panel of jurors with experience in hospitality, planning, architecture and economic development eventually chose New York architect Rafael Vinoly's design. Vinoly's firm designed the $258 million renovation and expansion of the Cleveland Museum of Art now under way. Planning commission member Lillian Kuri suggested Cleveland seek foundation grants to help pay for the competition, as Pittsburgh did. The planning commission also recommended: Restoring Public Hall, the 1920s edifice east of Mall B, and incorporating it into the new design. Rehabilitating Malls B and C. Including climate-controlled passageways to nearby hotels and the waterfront. Encouraging private, spin-off development. Incorporating environmentally friendly features for "green building" status. Convention Facilities Authority Chairman William Reidy said the authority will consider the Planning Commission's suggestions. "This will probably be one of the biggest public-works projects in the city's history and could reach $500 million," Reidy said. "We want to do it right."	<< Back
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