DENVER (JANUARY 9, 2017) – Christine G. H. Franck, Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Traditional Architecture (CARTA) at the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) has been appointed to Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) “Slot Home Evaluation Task Force.” According to CPD, the “task force will assist CPD staff with an evaluation of issues associated with slot home development in Denver’s neighborhoods, and recommend specific zoning text amendments to address identified issues.”
In the summer of 2016, Franck conducted the first study documenting new residential construction in the city of Denver, with a particular focus on the West Colfax Neighborhood, to better understand the scope and impact of non-contextual new development. Franck first coined the phrase “slot home” to describe the form of attached homes turned perpendicular to the street and arranged in one or two rows with their garages and pedestrian entries accessed by a long, narrow slot in the middle or sides of the lot. Read more here: https://cudenvercarta.org/2016/07/13/documenting-change-in-denver/
CARTA is founded on the premise that traditional urban and architectural patterns and forms have evolved over time, through the earned wisdom and cumulative experience that building traditions represent, and have led to the creation of some of the highest quality public realms in large cities such as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco as well as small ones like Annapolis, Charleston, and Savannah. Denver itself has the City Beautiful as well as the traditional urban and architectural patterns and forms to thank for its beloved landscaped streets and pathways, its diverse neighborhood characters from LoDo to Baker, and much more. Franck is “very pleased and honored that CARTA can help the City of Denver build its best future by sharing the most current research and knowledge of the practices and benefits of traditional design.”
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CARTA at CU Denver 