The Campaign for UB
Big Projects Studio—A Catalyst for Conversation
The Big Projects Studio focused on the schematic development of a large-scale plan for the city of Buffalo, which considers the full removal of both the NY-198 (Scajaquada Expressway) and NY-33 (Kensington Expressway), and the resulting design and development opportunities in connection with the Olmsted Park System and GBNRTC’s “Region Central” plan.
Published October 22, 2024
By Darra Kubera
As an architecture student, involvement in a studio is much more than a “class.” It is a chance to push the boundaries of architecture through a specialized environment, emphasizing innovation, critical thinking, and collaboration. At the graduate level, students take ownership of their projects while receiving mentorship and guidance from faculty members and community partners. In the case of the Big Projects Studio, this concept was challenged even further.
In the Spring 2024 semester, 17 graduate students opted to participate in the inaugural Big Projects Studio. The idea for this studio stemmed from Korydon Smith, chair and professor in the Department of Architecture, and Greg Delaney, clinical associate professor in the Department of Architecture, who wanted students and a select group of leading firms to work together to deepen their collective understanding of the social, economic, aesthetic, environmental, and other impacts of big projects (such as transit hubs, sporting arenas, healthcare districts, and more). The studio leveraged collaborative relationships to create new knowledge, aiming to uncover wisdom from already-completed projects (rather than on competition-phase, design-phase, bid-phase, or active construction projects).
Our school is a key path of entry and support for both students and the profession as a whole. Our programs uniquely integrate research and design with specialized knowledge and skills in ecology and sustainability; inclusive design and social justice; material science; and urban planning. Our faculty and students are guided by a culture of experimentation, a core belief in learning by doing, and a spirit of public service and inclusion.
Through the philanthropic support of CannonDesign’s Buffalo office and Gensler’s NYC office, this vision became a reality. Students worked on an extra-large scale, comprehensive project framed through real-world parameters—exploring Frederick Law Olmsted’s parks and parkways system in Buffalo, which was the first of its kind in North America and one of Olmsted’s largest bodies of work. The studio set out to investigate what a restored and renewed vision for the Olmsted park system could look like in a future where both the NY-198 Scajaquada Expressway and NY-33 Kensington Expressway were removed in their entirety, reclaiming this space for the people. Working hand-in-hand with CannonDesign and Gensler, students received access to professional feedback on a weekly basis throughout the semester. A departure from a typical studio where critique sessions only happen at midterm and final reviews, students were able to unlock opportunities—fostering a high level of discourse while gaining a sense of professional practice and public engagement.
“Architecture is all about collaboration, and in this class, we tried to foster an environment where students worked as a real team—choosing concepts, developing presentations, and refining graphics together,” says Hanga Gyorgyi from CannonDesign. “It was rewarding to see how this collaborative approach resulted in a cohesive final presentation… a great opportunity to emphasize the importance of experimentation in design, encouraging them to push their creative limits.”
Venturing beyond the conventional studio further, the students travelled to Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Boston, Providence, and ultimately New York City—where their midterm review was held in-person at the Gensler offices. “I'm a huge advocate for travel, and experiential learning is a big part of what I do and what I value in education,” says Delaney, “We study architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture on screens all day, every day. The more you can get out into the world and see sites firsthand, engage with real people, see how they behave in space, touch materials, look at details closely, and see it all in context—that’s how you come to understand our profession not just in isolation, as published photographs might show, but in its full reality. The more we can get our students out into the world, the better.”
Big Projects Studio — led by Greg Delaney.
The project was designed to simulate the experience of working for an architecture firm—student teams were built around certain aspects of the project, but those teams changed throughout the semester just as a firm would adjust the teams based on the nuances of the project at any given time. For the first time, students were allowed to engage in authentic processes and interactions as if they were practicing architects. This included meeting with various community organizations, who have been working diligently on many issues pertaining to this corridor—from the restoration of our waterways and ecosystems to planning for a safer, healthier future for neighborhood residents. As part of the process, students also studied many master plans issued by these organizations which influenced their final vision for the project.
Representatives from these community organizations were invited to join the studio’s final review, held at CannonDesign’s office in downtown Buffalo. This included leaders from the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, the East Side Parkways Coalition, Restore Our Community Coalition, the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council, and the Scajaquada Corridor Coalition. This was in addition to the School of Architecture and Planning’s Dean Julia Czerniak, Korydon Smith, chair and professor in the Department of Architecture, and representatives from CannonDesign and Gensler. This distinguished list of attendees highlights the importance of this studio’s topic.
When asked about her experience with the studio, Katarina Voss (MArch ’25, BS Arch ’23) felt it was a rewarding and exciting challenge, saying “As the name suggests, it was a huge project to tackle across the scales of city, park, district, neighborhood, and block all at once. There was a large sense of responsibility, not only to get all your drawings done, but to design something that could impact a large community. I think we could all feel the importance of the studio, outside of the University, in the city of Buffalo, and I certainly left feeling passionately about the need for a better plan to address the damage caused by the highways. With CannonDesign and Gensler as collaborators with our class, we were able to devise an architectural and urban design response that was supported by practicing architects. The process required all 17 students to be on board with changes, deadlines, presentations, and meetings—just like we will in practice.”
The final product of the studio is a framework for the possibilities of the enhancement, restoration, and improvement of the city of Buffalo—serving as a true catalyst for conversation.
The final product of the studio is a framework for the possibilities of the enhancement, restoration, and improvement of the city of Buffalo—serving as a true catalyst for conversation. More than simply improving the parks system, these plans extend all the way to downtown—offering new social infrastructure anchored by development opportunities. The project covers three zones along the current paths of the NY-198 and NY-33:
- Black Rock and Buffalo State University (at the western end of the Scajaquada Creek).
- Glenny Park (at the juncture of the two highways, envisioning a new park from a restored Humboldt Parkway for the East Side—one that relates to many surrounding neighborhoods and anchors, including several schools and the Erie County Medical Center).
- The Fruit Belt (reconnecting the neighborhood to its formal commercial strip of Genesee Street and better connecting these areas to downtown).
"Our Gensler NY office was proud to participate," said Eric Brill, principal, Gensler. "We worked closely with Greg Delaney to mentor the students as they developed a master plan and urban-scaled designs reconnecting neighborhoods, creating opportunities for economic development, restoring access to the Scajaquada Creek, and revisioning access to parks, previously divided by 20th-century highway planning."
“It’s always a pleasure to return to where your love of architecture began,” said Mark Nowaczyk from CannonDesign. “As a UB graduate, I remember the jump to the professional world feeling like it would be a giant leap. The Big Projects Studio was a chance to share, mentor and engage with students at the beginning of their professional journey and to make the next step feel not so scary or intimidating. I enjoyed our studio visits to help curate and guide the internal conversations and development of work, and I particularly enjoyed hosting the students in our office during the final review to put a cap on the experience…as they set their sights on their future.”
Planning has begun for the second iteration of Big Projects Studio, set for the Spring 2025 semester.
