News & Events _ Cleveland Arts Prize

NEWS & EVENTS:

“Celebrating Great Design”
Cleveland Arts Prize Fund Raising Event

For Immediate Release

The Cleveland Arts Prize has scheduled a fundraiser titled “Celebrating Great Design”, on April 11, 2007. Celebrating Great Design will provide the opportunity to visit two remarkable buildings, located in close proximity in Cleveland Heights. The first stop on the tour is Nottingham and Spirks’ Innovation Center in the former Christian Science Church. The second stop is Kathleen and Dennis Barrie’s renovated historic carriage house in Herrick Mews. Nottingham and Spirk are the 2006 winners of the Cleveland Arts Prize for Design. Kathleen Barrie is the recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize for Distinguished Service in 1997.

Both buildings are extraordinary. Nottingham and Spirk’s Innovation Center is housed in a neoclassical Walker and Weeks building, constructed as a Christian Science Church which opened for worship in 1931. It was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome with an 80 foot-high rotunda and a 30-foot diameter oculus in the center. It also served as the prototype for Severence Hall. A goal of the renovation was to maintain the character yet incorporate amenities such as 1200 electrical outlets. The exterior was cleaned. The original light fixtures were rewired and restored. “The entire building is a visual spectacle. The exterior, which looks like a Roman temple, has been washed free of the soot. To the untrained eye, it looks as if it was just built. The interior remodeling made room for many modern features, such as keyless door entry and 42 miles of internet wiring.” Plain Dealer, 9/8/2005. “This building will be a metaphor for combining the past architectural heritage with an inspirational environment for creating future projects,” said John Nottingham.

The Barrie’s Cleveland Heights Landmark carriage house dates from 1890 and was built by Myron T. Herrick, who held the positions of mayor of Cleveland, governor of Ohio and two time United States Ambassador to France. The Barrie’s home is one of a cluster of four outbuildings, originally servicing four larger homes, now destroyed. All four preserved outbuildings and are known as Herrick Mews. The Barrie’s house is on the National Register of Historic Homes.

The event will begin at 6:00PM with timed tickets to tour Nottingham and Spirk’s Innovation Center. Ticket holders will move through the Center in groups of 20, led by a guide. Tickets are available for 6:00PM, 6:30PM, 7:00PM and 7:30PM. Following the tour, a short walk brings you to the Barrie’s historic carriage house, where refreshments will be served.

Ticket information is available on the website of the Cleveland Arts Prize, www.clevelandartsprize.org. For more information, please email me through info at clevelandartsprize.org .

Contact:
Marcie Bergman
Executive Director
Cleveland Arts Prize
Marcie321@sbcglobal.net

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In the spring of 2003, working with City Architecture, Nottingham•Spirk began to renovate the First Church of Christ Scientist (1931). The building was a prototype for Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra, but as of late summer 2005 has been repurposed as the new Nottingham•Spirk headquarters.

Nottingham•Spirk online:
http://www.ns-design.com/landmark.html