Sunday September 7th, 7:00-9:00 pm: Opening Public Presentation by Prof. Philip Bess at the Northampton Senior Center on Conz Street.

Design Northampton Week (DNW) is an opportunity for everyone in Northampton who cares about the City's future to come together and work toward a common vision. Graduate students from Notre Dame University, under the guidance of Professor Philip Bess, will work with us to deepen our understanding of design and planning issues and develop creative solutions to some of the most important long-term planning issues that we face. Design Northampton Week will run from Sunday, September 7 (opening presentation at 7 PM at the new Senior Center on Conz Street) through Saturday, September 13 (closing session at 4 PM at the Senior Center). Between those dates, there will be continuous opportunities for citizens to interact with each other and the design team to create this vision at the new A.P.E. Gallery Space on Main Street. Everyone is invited.

After Design Northampton Week, the students will continue working through the fall semester at Notre Dame to produce a fully illustrated report similar to the one they did last year for Cooperstown, New York. That report is available at http://architecture.nd.edu/inside_the_school/cooperstown_studio.shtml. The final report on Northampton will be presented to the city in December.

"Design Northampton Week," the Notre Dame Urban Design Studio project, is rapidly approaching! It begins on September 7, 2008 (see preliminary schedule below). The Northampton Design Forum has been hard at work this summer organizing the event and raising the money needed to cover expenses for the group. So far, more than $9,000 has been donated by over 50 individuals and businesses. The Design Forum is now ramping up its fundraising to raise another $7,000 to cover the costs of the project. We thank those of you who have donated and hope that we will get many more contributions, in any amount, from as many people as possible. Tax-deductible contribution checks to support Design Northampton Week should be made out to A.P.E. Ltd, our sponsoring organization. Please write "Notre Dame Design" on the memo line of the check. Checks should be sent to:

A.P.E. Ltd.

126 Main Street

Northampton, MA 01060

Please include your email address with your check so that we can continue to update you on progress, and indicate if you want your contribution to be anonymous.

7:00-9:00 pm: Opening Public Presentation by Prof. Philip Bess at the Northampton Senior Center on Conz Street. Attending this event or watching the video of it is very important to understanding what will occur during the week.

9/8 (Monday) A.P.E.Gallery
Studio Open Hours: 9:00 am - Noon; 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm., 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Morning: Meetings of design team with invited stakeholders in A.P.E. Gallery. Afternoon: 1- 5 PM meetings with invited participants continue; drop-in meetings begin.
Evening: 7 - 9 PM, drop-in meetings continue.

9/9 (Tuesday) A.P.E. Gallery
Studio Open Hours: 9:00 am - Noon; 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
Morning: 9:30 - 12 noon: Open citizen meetings with Design Team.
Afternoon: Design sessions begin.
7:30-9:00 pm: First public "in-process" presentation and feedback session

9/10 (Wednesday) A.P.E. Gallery
Studio Open Hours 9:00 am - Noon; 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
All Day: Design sessions continue.
1:30 - 2:30 pm: Mid-day public presentation and feedback session (as required).
7:30-9:00 pm: Second public "in-process" presentation and feedback session

9/11 (Thursday) Design Team A.P.E. Gallery
Studio Open Hours: 9:00 am - Noon; 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
All Day: Design sessions continue.
1:30 - 2:30 pm: Mid-day public presentation and feedback session (as required).
7:30-9:00 pm: Third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session

9/12 (Friday) Design Team A.P.E. Gallery
Studio Open Hours 9:00 am - Noon; 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
Morning: Design sessions continue.
Afternoon: Design session continue.
7:30-9:00 pm: Fourth public "in-process" presentation and feedback session (as required)

9/13 (Saturday) No Studio Open Hours (intensive preparation for final presentation).
4:00-6:00 pm: Final Presentation and feedback session by Design Team at Northampton Senior Center for final comments and questions about work produced during the week. Feedback will provide the basis and direction for continued work over subsequent weeks.

9/14 (Sunday) Morning Design Team returns to Notre Dame

Follow-up Events

10/15 (Wednesday) 9:00 am - Noon: Mid-semester project review at Notre Dame, w/invited jurors and NDF guests

12/13 (Saturday) 2:30 - 5:00 pm Return of Design Team for public presentation of final proposal