I was lucky to be a part of the viewing audience for the proposals for the Kress building aquired by the Arts Altoona group. I was able to go around and ask each design team a few questions about their ideas and what where some ideas they tried to incorporate for their concepts. I was very impressed with the desire to perserve the original facade and architectural elements while incorporating modern technologies such as solar power. Some of the designs would definitely make the building pop as a historical icon by incorporating a smoke stack element. Very fitting for a city that is very much a train centric environment. Still, other designs focused on light and integrating elements such as space and flow making the space interactive with the community and opening up to maker spaces. All in all I approve of what I’m seeing and know that whatever design (or elements of designs) are brought together will truly make this a unique and historic venture. If you didn’t get go or would like to view some of the designs, here’s an album I created with plenty of photos to look in detail.