Ann Arbor

U-M Museum of Art nearly done with restoration, expansion

By Newsroom

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December 10, 2008

Work is wrapping up on the University of Michigan’s newly expanded Museum of Art while plans are being made for a grand opening next spring.The museum stood at 41,000 square feet at the corner of State and South University streets before work started. Now it stands at 94,000 square feet of state-of-the-art museum space thanks to a $41.9 million restoration and expansion.The new version of Alumni Memorial Hall, designed by Allied Works Architecture, includes room for displays, research, exhibitions, educational programs, classrooms, a cafe and a 225-seat auditorium. The new space will serve as display space for the museum’s 150-year-old collection and serve as a meeting space for the arts community. The idea is to make the building the heart of the arts culture for the university.The museum will hold a week of special events as part of a grand opening celebration in late march. The events will include display of the museum’s 18,000 works, new artwork and local projects. It will culminate with a 24-hour public opening starting at 6 p.m. March 28.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

From the Diag down Liberty

By Newsroom

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General

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December 10, 2008

No two walks through Ann Arbor’s city center are the same. Excerpt: Outside Hatcher Library, a guy decked out completely in black and dark gray – from his patent leather dress shoes, to his overcoat, to his fedora, to a black knit face covering – stood silently, paging every once in a while through a USA Today newspaper. It was the day after Black Friday, and The Chronicle was beginning an afternoon walk from the UM Diag westward along the Liberty Street corridor. Outdoor performance was the common thread of the walk. The theme started with that apparent performance art piece, continued to a standard bell-ringing number at a Salvation Army kettle, was punctuated by the “Michael Jackson guy” in the alley adjacent to the Michigan Theater, and finished with news of an appearance next Saturday at Downtown Home & Garden by Santa and Mrs. Claus. Read the rest of the story here.

Valet parking coming to Maynard structure in downtown Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Development News

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December 10, 2008

Public parking in downtown Ann Arbor is about to become a little more luxurious now that the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority intends to start offering valet services at the Maynard parking structure.The idea is make parking more efficient for downtown patrons during peak times. That means it will be offered between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at the large structure near Borders. It's set to begin on Monday.Motorists will be able to drop off their car at the Thompson Street entrance. From there it will be deposited in one of the structure's upper levels. Users can set up a time to pick it up or call Republic Parking (which manages the garage) at (734) 945-9147. The valets will bring it down within 15 minutes. The service will cost $5 plus standard parking fees. This new service will serve as a pilot program for extending the service throughout downtown. For information, contact Joe Morehouse at jmorehouse@a2dda.org or at (734) 994-6697.Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

The office cubicle turns 40: Much-maligned workspace was born in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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General

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December 10, 2008

The cubicle isn't exactly an example of innovation today, but it was when it was invented in Ann Arbor 40 years ago. Excerpt: Forty years ago, in an odd-shaped building on South State Street between Interstate 94 and the University of Michigan campus, a team of researchers and designers came up with an idea that seems simple now. However their idea - now known simply as the office cubicle -- transformed the way millions of people around the country do their daily business. Called "Action Office," the team from the Herman Miller furniture company developed a system of mobile office furniture that led the business world away from simple rows of desks toward more flexible work spaces. Completed in Ann Arbor in 1968 by a team led by Robert Propst, the Action Office was created to meet the needs of many different individuals and types of businesses, and to move away from the standard configurations that were prevalent at the time. As Propst wrote in his 1968 book describing the system: "The renewed rise of individuality as a value and the great diversity in what one may be required to do in an office does not allow a continuation of sterile uniformity ..." Read the rest of the story here.

Avalon makes plans for mid-rise affordable housing in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 10, 2008

More mid-rise buildings are planned for Ann Arbor, this time along Main Street a few blocks north of downtown and west of the Amtrak train station.Three Oaks Development and Avalon Housing want to build a couple of 5-story buildings on the east side of North Main between Felch and Summit streets called, approriately enough, North Main. Plans for the structures presented to the city show a suburban-style layout with modern buildings flanked by large surface parking lots.The developers want to bulldoze seven single-family homes and a small corner store to make way for the project. These buildings have served in a traditional urban neighborhood on Ann Arbor's near north side for about a century. North Main would provide about 60 one-bedroom units of affordable housing. That means about one third of the units will be set aside for special-needs residents. The rest will go for people who make between 30 and 60 percent of the area's median income.The developer is also looking into pursuing LEED status with the project, and could include such sustainable features like a green roof, geothermal heating and permeable pavement.The developer has an uphill climb before construction can start. The project exceeds the zoning of the area in terms of height, density and setback. The city's central plan also calls for preserving the homes in the existing neighborhood and whatever is built in the area respect the surrounding historic architecture.The project still needs to go before the city's Planning Commission and City Council before the developer can begin construction.Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

UM Student Venture Fund Celebrates 10 Years

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 10, 2008

The venture capital community is growing in Michigan, especially at the University of Michigan. Excerpt: Charting a course for many of today's student-led venture capital funds, the Wolverine Venture Fund marks an important milestone -- ten years of providing a unique learning experience for University of Michigan Ross School of Business students. Part of the university's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and its Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance, the Wolverine Venture Fund was created in 1998. It was the country's first student led venture fund and has served as a model for other university programs over the years. Since its inception, the Wolverine Venture Fund has invested in more than 18 companies in a wide range of innovative industries such as information technology, life sciences and alternative energy. The Fund currently has active investments in 12 firms and boasts a rich portfolio of growing companies across emerging industries. Read the rest of the story here.

U-M researchers develop new approach to eliminating software deadlock

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 10, 2008

Gadara. It’s the latest buzzword at the University of Michigan. Excerpt: Software deadlocks are the Catch-22s of the computer world. These common bugs can freeze the machine when different parts of a program end up in an endless cycle of waiting for one another as they access shared data. University of Michigan researchers developed a new way around this problem with a controller that can anticipate and prevent situations that might cause deadlock. Their controller is called Gadara. It's a plug-in that operates using feedback techniques similar to those that give us cruise control in cars and thermostats in heating systems. "This is a totally different approach to what people had done before for deadlock," said Stéphane Lafortune, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Gadara developer. "Previously, engineers would try to identify potential deadlocks through testing or program analysis and then go back and rewrite the program. The bug fixes were manual, and not automatic. Gadara automates the process." Read the rest of the story here.

Film on local principal celebrates hands-on tact

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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December 10, 2008

One of Ann Arbor’s best educators is standing and delivering in a new documentary. Excerpt: In a new film about his life, Ann Arbor educator Joseph Dulin is portrayed as part drill sergeant, part psychiatrist, part motivational speaker and part Wal-Mart greeter in the halls of Roberto Clemente Student Development Center. The documentary film "Bridging the Gap" shows many scenes where troubled students and worried parents enter the principal's office. After Dulin is done with his pep talk, they are hugging and crying. There were two advance screenings of documentary about the 73-year-old Dulin Friday at the Music Hall Center in Detroit. The movie will be released later this winter when the film festivals get under way. Dulin's been principal at Clemente - an alternative Ann Arbor public school for at-risk eighth- through 12th-graders - for more than 30 years. The filmmakers followed him for three school years. Read the rest of the story here.

The New News

By Amy Whitesall

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Economic Development

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December 10, 2008

The first shot has been fired, across the paper-and-ink bow of local daily newspapers! The web-based Ypsilanti Citizen and Ann Arbor Chronicle offer on-the-spot local news that's as fresh as ten minutes ago. Are they just spunky online upstarts or the shape of things to come?

Businesses plan to innovate with Ann Arbor Region Success Strategy

By Newsroom

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General

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December 10, 2008

A large group of prominent Ann Arbor locals have transformation on the mind.Dozens of leaders (in excess of 70) from local businesses, governments, non-profits and other institutions are working on the new Ann Arbor Region Success Strategy. The idea is to change Ann Arbor into a center of innovation in the mold of Silicon Valley or Research Triangle Park.But doesn't the Ann Arbor area already enjoy that reputation? Global economic powerhouse Google set up its AdWords headquarters here. Local start-up HealthMedia just sold itself for a huge chunk of change to Johnson & Johnson, which plans to grow it even more here. This is still the home of one of the top research universities in the world – the University of Michigan.Yes and no, according to Jeff Irwin, chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and one of six co-chairs of the initiative."There is more we can do and we can build on the things we have," Irwin says. "We can also build on our opportunities to make sure Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County is the place where innovation happens."The strategy is rolling out a plan to increase job opportunities for locals residents and students, pump up demand for local products and services, create new revenues for local arts, culture and social needs. And of course it wants to help make the local community richer.It plans to do that by growing and grooming the next generation of local leaders, locating capital for start-ups, creating synergies to make the local K-12 education systems world-class and marketing the area's distinct culture.Some of 70 local leaders will be presenting the plan to local groups over the next few weeks with the idea of getting everyone on the same page about moving the area forward. Source: Jeff Irwin, chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and one of six co-chairs of the Ann Arbor Region Success StrategyWriter: Jon Zemke