This story first appeared in The Daily Illini.
(Rendering Courtesy of Joseph Altshuler)
A group of architecture students and their professor created a plan to transform the Rose Bowl Tavern’s parking lot in downtown Urbana into a permanent programming and gathering space. Joseph Altshuler, professor in FAA, and graduate student studying architecture Jake Rhoades, presented their vision to the Urbana City Council.
The City of Urbana commissioned a Public Realm Study in 2022 and 2023 and found the parking lot — which occasionally hosts live performances — was a prime opportunity for improvement. This spring, Altshuler began teaching a seminar consisting of 10 undergraduate and graduate students, themed on upgrading the Rose Bowl parking lot.
Students Zoya Chaudary, Logan Fisher, Alex Hoeft, Michael Cachur, Ben Kanwischer, Ryan Vozza, Jake Rhoades, Moritz Lahme, Jhordan Tate and Wesley Heywood comprised the planning team.
The complete plan includes models for transforming the alleyways and entrances that lead to the lot, replacing some of the concrete with softer rubber materials and vegetation and installing a permanent stage. The layout would also include shading and communal seating.
Programming would occur in the plaza throughout the day, including offerings like movie nights, workshops, political debates and live music. The space would also function as a place for social gathering, even when programming is not present.
“The idea here is to take something that is very minimally used, and weave it into the fabric of Urbana,” Rhoades said at the Urbana City Council meeting. “By expanding the boundaries beyond what the Rose Bowl is using, we can turn it from a painted surface into something that truly is incorporated into the local architecture.”
At the meeting, councilmembers and Mayor DeShawn Williams responded with enthusiasm for the students’ ideas.
“It’s really nice to see this collaboration between the University and the community outside of the campus,” said councilmember Jaya Kolisetty. “It’s great to see great ideas come to the table so we can think about where we want to go as a city.”
Members of the council also questioned how neighboring businesses would react to the proposal. Specifically, James Quisenberry expressed concern over public reaction to the potential loss of parking spaces should the plan be implemented.
Altshuler emphasized that, as of now, the plan is simply an idea, but the team would consider the loss of parking and other interests of local businesses if they were to move forward. In an incremental approach to implementation, the parking lot may also be modified with paint and design that facilitate programming, without removing parking spaces.
“I think the next stage of this project is to explore and implement some … temporary interventions that start to literally and figuratively sketch out some of the students’ ideas onto that parking lot without actually ripping out the asphalt,” Altshuler said.
Through the project, the students involved had a unique experience in applying architectural concepts to real-world problems. Altshuler said the benefits are a two-way street.
“I think the city has a lot of everyday responsibilities of keeping things working, and they don’t always have the time or resources for idea making,” Altshuler said. “I think that’s something that, as a research university and as a school of architecture here, that we can offer.”
Councilmember Christopher Evans expressed gratitude for Urbana’s proximity to this “idea making,” saying he believed arts and recreation to be major economic drivers.
“This is the luxury of having a world-class research university right next to our town … you have access to this brilliance,” Evans said.
Avery Paterson is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a senior news reporter for The Daily Illini.