A 4-hour drive from Atlanta takes us to Savannah, a time capsule of southern charm and hospitality. The city has beautifully preserved its historic buildings and green areas, and most interestingly has also been transformed by the presence of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The involvement of young artists and designers in this historic city creates an unusual mix of old and new narratives.

SCAD is a creative education empire established in 1978 that now counts four campuses in three different countries and over 9000 students. Walking around in Savannah, one can only notice the overwhelming presence of SCAD and the instrumental role it has played in restoring the historic districts. The School of Fibers is located in a building from 1906 that used to serve as a military hospital during the Civil War. SCAD’s main auditorium is located in a former high school building built in 1920. A former warehouse built in 1956 houses the industrial design department. The School of Film is located in an old power station originally built in 1894.

SCAD turned historic Savannah into a energetic platform for the young generation. Its dominating presence in the city has caused a few stirs however the benefits brought by the school have most certainly helped save many failing buildings and neighborhoods.

David Mohney talks with Cities x Design about The Curry Stone Design Prize for socially relevant design. He also touches on the architectural history of Louisville and the important role designers play in local communities.

Augusta and Gill Holland wanted something innovative and ambitious for Louisville so they took a 110 year-old masonry structure in the heart of the city’s arts district and decided to turn it into the first commercial building with a LEED platinum certification.

The Green Building is a model of architectural preservation with a modern core: an authentic masonry structure, natural lighting, eco-friendly materials, renewable energy systems, solar panels, geothermal wells and most original of all, a recycled denim insulation. This marvel of green architecture was conceived by Doug Pierson from FER Studios.

With 15,000 square foot of mixed-use space, the building houses a restaurant that serves food from local farms (732 Social), an art gallery, event and office spaces. It also boasts an indoor-outdoor courtyard, an urban farm, and a green wall vertical garden.

Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture, talks to Cities x Design about the intricacies of museum design. With the Speed Art Museum of Louisville, Kentucky as the backdrop, he explains how “acupuncture architecture” is going to transform the museum from an historic temple into a vibrant center for the creative community.

Steve Wilson, Founder, 21c Museum Hotel, talks to Cities x Design about philanthropy, collecting art, regenerating a city center and why he chose to open an art hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.

In 1791, French-born architect Pierre L’Enfant was commissioned by Georges Washington to imagine and design the layout of the US capital city. The plans developed by L’Enfant transformed Washington D.C. into a modern city with broad avenues and monumental public buildings. Washington is different from other American cities because it was primarily designed to symbolize and encapsulate the ideals of American democracy through its built environment. As the city evolved, it was confronted to common modern urban issues such as population growth, housing, and crime. Today Washington is at the start of a new chapter in which it is trying to reconcile two profiles: one as the national symbol and capital city, the other as a modern 21st century city that hopes to fulfill the needs of its residents.

Washington D.C. is the city of monuments and memorials. Sculptures, buildings, walls, fountains and countless other objects and spaces are scattered around the city as reminders of past events, historic figures or fallen soldiers. The design style and aesthetics of those monuments, that stretch from baroque to post-modernism, left us wondering about the obscure field of monument design.

Washington is the seat of government but also a city with best practice models for sustainability and preservation. One example is the Metrorail, a local landmark and a masterpiece of brutalist architecture that ranks as one of the best public works of the 20th century. It was designed in the late sixties by Chicago architect Harry Weese who studied at MIT under Alvaar Aalto. and was later influenced by his contemporaries Charles and Ray Eames. To innovate its existing transit system, the city recently introduced a new generation of bike stations that can house 130 bicycles in its 1600 sq. ft. of free standing glass and steel design.

The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum complex that includes  19 museums, 17 of which are located in Washington D.C. One can look at it as a cluster of varied architectural buildings or a giant display of over 136 million objects, artworks and specimens. Visitors have free access and usually make the effort to walk the long distances from one building to another – the Smithsonian website clearly advises people to wear comfortable shoes before a visit.

Due to our limited schedule, we narrowed our visit to the National Museum of the American Indian (pictured above). We were initially attracted to its controversial postmodern design which was previously referred to as “native by design” by the National Geographic magazine. The building was designed by several Native American architects – Douglas Cardinal, a Blackfeet Indian; Johnpaul Jones, a Cherokee/Choctaw; Ramona Sakiestewa, a Hopi, Donna House, a Navajo/Oneida, and Lou Weller, a Caddo Indian – and its construction was assisted by a Native American Design  Collaborative known as the Table Mountain Rancheria Enterprises.

The museum has an exterior cladding of Kasota dolomitic limestone that give the building the appearance of a stratified stone mass that has been carved by wind and water. The interior is unfortunately more conventional and consists of dark gallery spaces generously filled with over a million artefacts.

A temporary exhibition called Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America caught our attention. By looking beyond the traditional representations of Native American culture, this show reflects indigenous culture in a 21st century context. We learned that skateboarding has inspired many Native American youths to start their own companies and build community-based skate parks in the United States. By fusing design, graphic art, filmmaking, and music through skateboard culture, those individuals are affirming their identity within contemporary American society, perhaps to also show that their heritage is vibrant and alive.

The National Building Museum was a surprising find in DC. The building is an adapted re-use of the former US Pension Bureau Headquarters, a building inspired by two Italian models. The exterior is a red brick semi-replica of the Michelangelo-designed Palazzo Farnese, an imposing palace located in Rome. The interior, on the other hand, boasts an open arcade gallery space inspired by the Palazzo della Cancelleria, a renaissance style palace of the sixteenth century.

This museum is a place where architecture and the built environment are put into perspective rather than simply put on show. Their past exhibitions include topics such as recycling, green houses, the places where we live, New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, or design for public spaces. Our first viewing was the Washington: Symbol and City exhibition, a very dense collection of images and texts documenting the architectural and social history of the capital from its conception to the twentieth century. This exhibition raises questions about the effects of urban planning on social well-being and highlights the capacity of design to connect all aspects of everyday life including transportation, housing, commerce, energy, and institutions. In a separate modern gallery space was shown Green Community, an interactive and playful display of sustainable best practices from around the globe. Waste management, land conservation, technologies, mass transit systems were amongst the priority issues at stake. Their award-winning interactive installations successfully engage the viewer to consider sustainability on a personal, global and community level.

Pittsburgh is the birthplace of Andy Warhol, home to Carnegie Mellon University and Heinz tomato ketchup. The triangle-shaped downtown area is situated at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers that form the beginning of the Ohio River. Bridges and hill views make this city rather unique. Unlike other American cities, Pittsburgh has kept a very strong sense of authenticity that is reflected in its vintage storefronts, diners, and industrial buildings.

The presence of Carnegie Mellon is a competitive advantage for the city in the fields of science and culture. The university’s School of Design offers an innovative program that blends science, technology and the arts and is one of the few American institutions that offers a Ph.D in design research.

As the former base of Richard Florida (author of The Rise of the Creative Class and former Carnegie Mellon Professor), Pittsburgh is today still pursuing and working towards neighborhood redevelopment projects that are based on quality of life and local creative skills that can generate unique retail and dining experience. Lawrenceville is an example of a mixed-use district that seeks to attract young creative entrepreneurs by offering affordable work/live spaces.

The Design Center at Philadelphia University is located at the former private residence of Goldie Pailey (mother of CBS founder, William Pailey). The house borrows from California’s mid-century modern architecture. Even though the house has been converted into a gallery, the interiors have been kept intact. It features a beautiful 50′s kitchen with original appliances – that serves as a meeting room, closet spaces and bathrooms, including one that is being used as a site-specific installation room filled with light bulbs. Some vintage cabinets and drawers have been turned into mini fiber galleries by designer Todd Oldham  (pictured above). In fact, there is not a single space that is not creatively occupied at the Design Center. It is a real cabinet of curiosities.

Lace in Translation (pictured above) is the latest exhibition at the Design Center. Dutch design studios Demakersvan, Cal Lane and Tord Boontje were given access to the Quaker Lace Company’s collection to re-interpret the pieces and produce something new. The results are original pieces of contemporary furniture, garden sculptures and interior objects that reflect the delicate complexities of lacing.