Breaking Ground
For decades it was merely a dream, but soon, the Syrian Cultural Garden becomes a reality. Part of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens
that wend along Rockefeller Park, the Syrian Garden is in progress on
Martin Luther King Boulevard across from the Indian Garden. Upon
completion, it will be the first of the Cultural Gardens representing an
Arab country.
About 80 years ago, Cleveland's Syrian community received a garden site on which to commemorate its culture and heritage. Plagued by lack of funding followed by waning interest, the plot of land sat undeveloped for many years. But around 2007, the notion of a Syrian Cultural Garden began to once again take shape, with members of Cleveland's Syrian community becoming involved in design and fundraising efforts.
Sponsored by the Syrian Cultural Gardens Association, in collaboration with the Syrian American Cultural Council, the garden will have at its focus a series of classically inspired arches designed by University of Damascus architecture students Raghda Helal and Nagham Nano. The Arches of Palmyra, the Amphitheater of Basra, the Syrian Arch and the Arabic Fountain all served as inspiration. The history of Syria will be displayed on several granite stones along the amphitheater, according to Layla George-Khouri, one of the founders of the garden committee. Damascene roses will surround the architectural feature.
"It's going to be beautiful," says Khouri, adding that the goal is to unveil the finished garden to the public in April of 2011.
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens date back to 1926, when the Shakespeare Garden (which later became known as the British Garden) was dedicated to honor the Bard. Through the years, many other ethnic groups have planted flowers and built monuments as a tribute to the land of their ancestors. Check out this link for detailed information about all of the gardens, as well as a map.
SOURCE: Layla George-Khouri
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
About 80 years ago, Cleveland's Syrian community received a garden site on which to commemorate its culture and heritage. Plagued by lack of funding followed by waning interest, the plot of land sat undeveloped for many years. But around 2007, the notion of a Syrian Cultural Garden began to once again take shape, with members of Cleveland's Syrian community becoming involved in design and fundraising efforts.
Sponsored by the Syrian Cultural Gardens Association, in collaboration with the Syrian American Cultural Council, the garden will have at its focus a series of classically inspired arches designed by University of Damascus architecture students Raghda Helal and Nagham Nano. The Arches of Palmyra, the Amphitheater of Basra, the Syrian Arch and the Arabic Fountain all served as inspiration. The history of Syria will be displayed on several granite stones along the amphitheater, according to Layla George-Khouri, one of the founders of the garden committee. Damascene roses will surround the architectural feature.
"It's going to be beautiful," says Khouri, adding that the goal is to unveil the finished garden to the public in April of 2011.
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens date back to 1926, when the Shakespeare Garden (which later became known as the British Garden) was dedicated to honor the Bard. Through the years, many other ethnic groups have planted flowers and built monuments as a tribute to the land of their ancestors. Check out this link for detailed information about all of the gardens, as well as a map.
SOURCE: Layla George-Khouri
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
It has always been a bit of an oxymoron: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (MOCA) housed in a building with as much contemporary flair as an old-fashioned Cracker Jack box. And while visitors still came to the Carnegie Avenue location to admire the museum's growing collection of contemporary art, many surely wondered why such a gem wasn't located in University Circle with other great museums, especially the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Turns out, MOCA was wondering the same thing. The museum had been planning for ten years to leave its Carnegie Avenue location for a permanent home that reflected the cutting-edge and forward-thinking image for which MOCA has been known. That vision will soon take shape at the corner of Euclid and Mayfield in University Circle.
The new museum building will be part of a long-planned project that will bring restaurants, stores and housing to that section of Euclid Avenue.
In addition to a comfortable place to exhibit and store the museum's collections, the new MOCA building will help the museum increase its educational and public programs.
Farshid Moussavi with Foreign Office Architects of London designed the building, which will rely on clean lines and sharp angles made from glass and black steel to create a structure that promises to be as intriguing as the art displayed inside. According to the MOCA website, "The lobby is designed as an urban living room, a place for visitors to mingle, eat, shop, attend events, over the course of hours, or for brief interludes in a busy day. The building itself is a learning environment, infused at each level with education offerings that range from low tech to high tech, from contemplative to interactive, from solitary to group encounters. This building is an opportunity to provide a 21st century model of an art museum that anticipates dramatic shifts in how we learn, how we see, and how we socialize."
Jill Snyder, director of MOCA, is pleased with the multipurpose design an aesthetic appeal of the new building. "FOA's design for our building is the perfect expression of our program--one that will not only enable us to operate at the highest level, but that will also be beautiful, intriguing and sensitive to our urban surroundings and community."
The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission reports that MOCA hopes to break ground on the new museum building in late fall. The project is estimated at $26 million.
SOURCE: Jill Snyder
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Turns out, MOCA was wondering the same thing. The museum had been planning for ten years to leave its Carnegie Avenue location for a permanent home that reflected the cutting-edge and forward-thinking image for which MOCA has been known. That vision will soon take shape at the corner of Euclid and Mayfield in University Circle.
The new museum building will be part of a long-planned project that will bring restaurants, stores and housing to that section of Euclid Avenue.
In addition to a comfortable place to exhibit and store the museum's collections, the new MOCA building will help the museum increase its educational and public programs.
Farshid Moussavi with Foreign Office Architects of London designed the building, which will rely on clean lines and sharp angles made from glass and black steel to create a structure that promises to be as intriguing as the art displayed inside. According to the MOCA website, "The lobby is designed as an urban living room, a place for visitors to mingle, eat, shop, attend events, over the course of hours, or for brief interludes in a busy day. The building itself is a learning environment, infused at each level with education offerings that range from low tech to high tech, from contemplative to interactive, from solitary to group encounters. This building is an opportunity to provide a 21st century model of an art museum that anticipates dramatic shifts in how we learn, how we see, and how we socialize."
Jill Snyder, director of MOCA, is pleased with the multipurpose design an aesthetic appeal of the new building. "FOA's design for our building is the perfect expression of our program--one that will not only enable us to operate at the highest level, but that will also be beautiful, intriguing and sensitive to our urban surroundings and community."
The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission reports that MOCA hopes to break ground on the new museum building in late fall. The project is estimated at $26 million.
SOURCE: Jill Snyder
WRITER: Diane DiPiero