FBC 201: Placemaking with Form-Based Codes – Northern Virginia October 29-30

FBC 201: Placemaking with Form-Based Codes

Tuesday, October 29th & Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

Leesburg Town Hall
25 West Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176

Eligible for 16 AICP CM

This two-day course provides an in-depth understanding of how to guide good urban form through a regulatory framework. Participants learn to create form-based codes by drawing upon an area’s best urban elements to conceptualize the elements that shape public space and community character. Instructors delve into the basics of urban form, combining lecture and case studies with “hands-on” participatory exercises in the essential tasks of coding.

The course uses presentations and interactive discussions to enhance participants’ knowledge of urban design at the scale of the building and building types, the street and street types, the block and the neighborhood. Participants work together to apply theory and practice as they create a vision and regulatory elements of plan for an illustrative area.  Instructors and panelists discuss unexpected design challenges, and explore design possibilities for greenfield sites, redevelopment areas, already built-out communities and regional plans.

Click the tabs above to see agenda and instructors.

The Leesburg Colonial Inn

19 South King Street

Leesburg, VA 20175

Hampton Inn & Suites Leesburg

117 Fort Evans Road NE

Leesburg, VA 20176

Homewood Suites by Hilton

115 Fort Evans Road NE

Leesburg, VA 20176

The following is a final agenda.

8:30 – 9:00 AM                    Light Breakfast and Registration

9:00 – 9:30 AM                    Welcome / Course Highlights / Introductory Discussion — Tyler Quinn-Smith

Topics covered:  An introduction to FBCI and the course; participants’ objectives and desired takeaways; coding issues in your community.

9:30 – 10:30 AM                    Urban Form Basics: Streets & Other Urban Places — Geoff Ferrell

Topics covered:  Street-Space, the core concept of form-based coding and the fundamental contrast with conventional zoning.  Also, the network, context, and types of streets; the elements of street cross-sections; overcoming barriers to complete streets; and resources for creating great streets.

10:30 – 10:45 AM                  Break

10:45 – 11:30 AM                   Urban Form Basics: Private Building Principles & Types — Mike Weich

Topics covered: The role of buildings to form the public realm and frame and protect the private realm; the palette of building types that make up a city and how they work.

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM             Urban Form Basics: The Urban Block — Geoff Ferrell
Topics covered: The structure of the urban block and how it organizes public space vs. private space, (buildings, streets, rear service). How urban blocks define the physical structure of the places we inhabit

12:15 – 1:15 PM                       Lunch on Your Own 

1:15 – 2:00 PM                       Small-Scale Urban Design Examples — Geoff Ferrell & Mike Weich 

Topics covered: Built examples of projects at the scale of street, block, building.

2:00 – 2:45 PM                      Urban Form Basics: The Urban Neighborhood — Geoff Ferrell

Topics covered: The role of neighborhoods in healthy communities; the neighborhood as the basic building block of towns and cities; and the mix of uses and hierarchy, function and location of appropriate streets.

2:45 – 3:30 PM                        Large-Scale Urban Design Examples — Geoff Ferrell & Mike Weich

Topics covered: Examples of larger scale projects and how the design principles in form-based codes are applied to real projects.  Q&A.

3:30 – 3:45 PM                        Break

3:45 – 5:45 PM                        Exercise: Part One – Learning How to Look: Understanding Community Character                                                         & Context — All Instructors

5:45 PM                                     End of Day One

DAY TWO

8:30 – 9:00 AM                       Light Breakfast

9:00 – 9:30 AM                       Instructor led Discussion on Exercise Part One — All Instructors

Topics covered: Participants will share their notes and insights from the exercise.

9:30 – 10:30 AM                     FBCs : Creativity and Constraints — Geoff Ferrell

Topics covered:  What a code constrains and what it doesn’t; creativity in the “street wall;” FBCs and design guidelines; architectural creativity under a form-based code. Mistakes made, lessons learned.

10:30 – 10:45 AM                    Break

10:45 AM – 12:45 PM           Exercise: Part Two – Selecting and Writing Regulations — All Instructors

12:45 – 1:45 PM                      Lunch on Your Own

1:45 – 2:30 PM                        Instructor Comments on Exercise Part Two

2:30 – 3:30 PM                       A Virginia Perspective on Form-Based Coding — Geoff Ferrell, Moderator

                                                    Panelists: Susan Berry Hill, Town of Leesburg

                                                                         Adam Shellenberger, Fauquier County

                                                                         Jennifer Smith, Arlington County                    

Topics covered: Form-based codes have gained positive momentum in Virginia as a legitimate alternative to Euclidian zoning. Guest speakers will share their experiences with form-based coding in Leesburg, Fauquier County, and Arlington County.

3:30 – 3:45 PM                         Break

3:45 – 4:30 PM                         Roundtable Discussion and Q & A — All Instructors

Topics covered:  Broad theme of sustainability. How form-based codes are used to promote walkable, mixed-use urbanism. Energy policy, resiliency and return on investment for local governments. Local questions and concerns.  “Parking Lot” issues identified throughout the class. Looking ahead to FBC 301.

4:30 PM                                     End of Course

FBCI draws upon national experts, including urban designers and planners with broad experience in all aspects of form-based coding.

To see all FBCI instructors, please visit our website, www.formbasedcodes.org