Rebecca Dobrinski

Last semester, Urban Studio fifth-year students dove into creating a master plan for the revitalization of one of downtown Birmingham’s busiest one-way streets, Fourth Avenue North.
Through their research, they discovered how such a significant project has the potential to reconnect neighborhoods like Smithfield to downtown and rejuvenate this critical corridor....

DesignAlabama continues to make a transformative impact across the state through its DesignVision program, a dynamic professionalstudent-community partnership. This annual initiative exemplifies our commitment to fostering collaborative design processes that benefit Alabama’s communities while providing invaluable real-world experience for future architects. The 2024 DesignVision Charrette is another testament to how design can bring together diverse voices to create meaningful change.

Throughout the school year Auburn’s Urban Studio hosts regional schools for field trips and recruiting visits.
Last month, Birmingham’s Red Mountain Community School (RMCS) visited Auburn in Birmingham for an exciting Friday architectural scavenger hunt and to learn more about architecture and the role of architects.
Local ACE (Architecture, Construction, Engineering) Mentor Program volunteers joined the Urban Studio team to lead small groups through downtown Birmingham...

Residential renovations and additions, plus a master signage plan update and a new park space came before Birmingham’s Design Review Committee in February.
The UAB campus is getting a new park space adjacent to the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building. First presented as part of the overall building plans at the May 25, 2022, meeting but not approved at the time, the team returned for approval of the park phase of the project...

Written by Kenn McCracken, the photo of the band was taken by me in 2004.

What’s scarier than an apocalypse? For many, it’s public speaking. But what if learning to present wasn’t so terrifying—and actually, a little absurdly fun? Enter Apocalypse Pants: a hilariously interactive crash course in crafting compelling presentations.
Led by presentation coach Rebecca Dobrinski, this talk starts with key insights...

Last summer, Interior Architecture students arrived in Birmingham for a workshop amidst their summer thesis. By immersing themselves in the hustle and bustle of an urban setting, they were able to draw inspiration from the city’s rich culture, diverse restaurant scene and historic architecture to shape their design projects. They explored how context and community influence restaurant design, and through hands-on research and collaboration at the Urban Studio...

Edited by Paul Barrett and Rebecca Dobrinski
This catalog was produced in conjunction with the exhibitions Thornton Dial: I, Too, Am Alabama at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and I, Too, Am Thornton Dial at the Samford University Art Gallery, both in Birmingham, Alabama.

We recently sat down (virtually, of course) with DesignAlabama Board Member Brandon Bias, AICP, LEED Green Associate. Brandon is a Certified Community and Regional Planner in the Mobile office of Goodwin Mills Cawood (GMC). He has worked on DesignPlace projects in Gadsden and Troy, DesignDash in Fayette, and with YourTown Alabama.

At its January meetings, Birmingham’s Design Review Committee approved three demolition projects across the city, as well as signage, residential projects, and new development and redevelopment projects including in Woodlawn....

©2024 Optometric Education
The journal of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. All rights reserved.

What happens when the City of Birmingham receives a grant to reimagine Fourth Avenue North?
It creates an opportunity for Urban Studio students in Auburn’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture to exercise their creativity and reinvent what it means to the city when Fourth Avenue North thrives.

They learn to work with community leaders, engage with real-world constraints and understand how their work extends and shapes the public realm. Returning to campus afterward is both a transition and an opportunity to integrate new perspectives into their evolving design philosophies.

Their semester studies concluded with presentations on their designs for a new affordable housing structure, situated on a challenging site directly across the street from the Auburn in Birmingham building. The students were tasked with designing and programming a structure that would include 45 one-bedroom units on a site many would dismiss as unusable—the 18’ area between the sidewalk and the exterior of a public parking deck. In addition to site’s narrow constraints, the location presented...

Birmingham Real-Time News
Twice a month, the city of Birmingham’s Design Review Committee convenes to discuss plans to make alterations to structures that fall within one of the city’s many historic and commercial revitalization districts. This column summarizes recent DRC activity with projects grouped by type and location. This edition of Design Review recaps the DRC meeting from Sept. 25, 2024....