Happy Halloween

Some say wisdom, I say spooky.

Meant for a stained-glass window in a Hagerstown, Indiana residence designed by the architectural firm Pierre & Wright in the 1930s, this owl was supposed to connote wisdom. Here at the archive, we feel the owl might be better suited for scaring small children out trick-or-treating this weekend.

CAP Alumni Win INSLA Design Award

Last Friday, theIndiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (INASLA) presented the local landscape architectural firm of Rundell Ernstberger Associates with the Award of Excellence for its work on The Nature Conservancy’s Indianapolis headquarters, the Efroymson Conservation Center.

The INASLA Professional Design Program was created to recognize professional excellence and outstanding examples of landscape architecture by Indiana landscape architects. The awards honor works that represent the forefront of the profession of landscape architecture and embody high levels of creativity and imagination.

“We are thrilled for Rundell Ernstberger,” said Mary McConnell, state director for The Nature Conservancy’s Indiana Chapter. “Throughout the design process, Rundell Ernstberger’s work was guided by the Conservancy’s goal of achieving LEED Platinum certification, our mission of protecting biodiversity, and our limited budget. They coordinated very closely with all members of our design and construction team to find creative and unconventional solutions. We couldn’t be happier with our new home.”

“The Efroymson Conservation Center was a great opportunity to work with The Nature Conservancy to achieve their ambitious goals,” said Brian McNerney, Associate for Rundell Ernstberger. “The Conservancy wanted to emphasize their site as a model to inspire others to follow. We have shown that with good planning, teamwork, and creativity, a truly sustainable site development with native gardens is possible in a dense urban area.

McNerney added that the Efroymson Conservation Center is also a signature project for the City of Indianapolis for its innovative stormwater management design.

The site design for the Efroymson Conservation Center includes many features that highlight Runsdell Ernstberger’s successful design solution, from the parking lot with its permeable pavement to the green spaces, gardens, and green roofs that cover nearly half of the site, using unique native Indiana species not normally seen in urban environments.

Rundell Ernstberger was also part of the Efroymson Conservation Center’s award-winning stormwater management system, in which a combination of permeable pavements, a bio-swale, green roofs, and native gardens translate to zero stormwater run-off . This stormwater management system eliminated the need to connect to the City’s combined sewer system (with substantial cost savings for both the Conservancy and the City of Indianapolis).

George Rogers Clark Memorial, Vincennes

This is a 1930s era photograph depicting leveling the concrete foundation for the George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes, Indiana, located along the Wabash River at the southern end of the state. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt later dedicated the completed memorial June 14, 1936.

If your memory of high school history class is a little rusty, George Rogers Clark defeated the British on a cold February day in 1779. According to the National Parks Service website for the memorial:

The British flag would not be raised above Fort Sackville Feb. 25, 1779. At 10 a.m., the garrison surrendered to American Col. George Rogers Clark. His American army, aided by French residents of the Illinois country, had marched through freezing floodwaters to gain this victory. The fort’s capture assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states.

Although it depicts something a bit more mundane than capturing a fort, this photograph has us all enthralled with the small details--the engaged audience for the workmen, the process of leveling the concrete, and even the workman's coat hanging on a wooden post in the center of what will later become a beautiful monument. Go ahead and click on it to see it for yourself.