Manzana mixed-use development coming to Phoenix Arts District
“With every project we take on, we aim to create a meaningful space that improves the community around it.”
—Lev Libeskind, Libeskind Design Studio
The planned Manzana mixed-use project in downtown Phoenix will continue the revitalization of the city’s historic Roosevelt Row Arts District.
A collaboration between the Phoenix office of Libeskind Studio Design and Phoenix-based Intersection Development, the eight-story, 105,000-square-foot building will include 68 residential units, 38 parking stalls and 10,000 square feet of retail and retail trade.
The firms envision that the Manzana campus will express the artistic and cultural spirit of the Roosevelt Row Arts District by integrating the area’s past with mid-century modern architectural inspiration and contemporary aesthetics. Libeskind and Intersection hope to name a general contractor and begin construction in early 2025.
“With every project we take on, we aim to create a meaningful space that enhances the community around it,” says Lev Libeskind, who runs the design firm.
“Honoring the urban context is crucial to making a building that everyone enjoys and recognizes as a respectful contribution to the neighborhood,” says Libeskind.
Sustainable elements will reduce the environmental impact. Manzana will feature a high-efficiency HVAC system, water-saving fixtures, a building management system, low-e glass and a heat-absorbing EIFS facade for better insulation. Green roofs will further improve insulation and mitigate the urban heat island effect.
Stylistically, key elements celebrate the area’s history, such as the brickwork of the adjacent Knights of Pythias building, completed in 1928, while Mexican wood elements honor Latino and indigenous legacies.
“The irregular yet symmetrical elements of the facade create an illusion of movement, playing with shadow patterns throughout the day and offering an ever-evolving visual experience,” says Libeskind.
Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari says, “This project marks a significant shift toward iconic and place-making architecture with the addition of renowned Libeskind Studio Design.”
Intersection has been involved in the development of the Arts District since 2017 and is also planning the Rainbow Road project, a 36-unit apartment complex inspired by game maker Nintendo’s Mario Kart courses. Construction of this project could begin in the first quarter of 2024.
Arizona Health’s planned headquarters will include the ASU School of Medicine and the Advance Medical Engineering School of Public Health Technology.
Image by SmithGroup, courtesy of Arizona State University
ASU plans integrative medicine school in downtown Phoenix
Arizona State University plans an Arizona Health building at a to-be-determined location on its downtown Phoenix campus. The cost of the project has not been announced and a start date has not yet been set.
The multi-story building, called a “learning health ecosystem” by the university, will include the ASU School of Medicine and the School of Advanced Medical Engineering for Public Health Technology.
The building will integrate clinical medicine, biomedical science and engineering. ASU has not named an architect and general contractor.
“We are focusing all of our energy and innovation on improving Arizona’s health outcomes,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a statement announcing the plans. “We must generate knowledge on a scale that impacts society. Our university charter drives us to take fundamental responsibility for the overall health of the communities we serve. This is an extension of that core belief.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a video statement: “At a time when Phoenix’s bioscience industry is booming and when the need for highly trained medical professionals is at an all-time high, it is critically important that ASU has chosen downtown Phoenix for its new venture.”
The 2006 municipal election established ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus, which has spawned countless construction projects and now has more than 12,000 students.
ASU Health was announced after the Arizona Board of Regents called for the expansion of related education in Arizona through a new medical school charged with serving the state’s health care needs.
“This is part of the most aggressive and comprehensive health care plan in Arizona history,” said Fred DuVal, chairman-elect of the Arizona Board of Regents.
“It will include significant growth and new investments from all three state universities, through significant collaborations with the private sector and with the support of our government partners,” Duval added.
These clinical partnerships include the alliance between ASU and the Mayo Clinic, which supports academic and research programs. “Our shared vision is that Arizona should play a leading role in advancing health care by developing a collaborative biotech ecosystem,” Mayo Clinic CEO Richard Gray said in a statement. .
“The ASU School of Medicine will produce a new kind of physician who is technologically enhanced with every tool imaginable and able to work with entire communities, not just individual patients,” Crow said. “It also means that Phoenix will jump to the forefront of physician development, physician-oriented research and public health-oriented research.”
