by Irwin Lowenstein
Ten years after launching ReThink Advisors, I knew it was time for a refresh. This website, along with new marketing materials and updated branding, announce a new phase of this decade-long journey that began by consulting and collaborating with Case Western Reserve University.
Serving as the University Architect – which is still ongoing – has provided ReThink Advisors the opportunity to collaborate with an important anchor institution to conceive, guide and execute numerous projects, from a comprehensive Campus Master Plan to the Health Education Campus in partnership with Cleveland Clinic, which is now taking shape. All of this work can be found under the projects tab.
Perhaps most important for me both personally and professionally has been coming to understand and getting deeply engaged with the EcoDistricts Protocol. This emerging approach to planning leverages major urban regeneration projects to achieve equitable growth. It is based on peer-reviewed research that has established a critical finding: community resilience is fundamentally an issue of social cohesion, which is impacted as much by economic opportunity and wellness as it is by the built environment.
To this end, I am excited to also be working with MetroHealth Systems, which has embarked on an ambitious $1 billion campus transformation plan, the largest self-funded county hospital project in the history of the United States. This transformative project will become the first hospital-led EcoDistrict planning process in the country, going beyond traditional development to create a new model for how a major anchor institution can improve the health, vibrancy and resilience of the surrounding neighborhoods. The data-driven Eco-District Protocol will guide resources where they are most impactful through a focused community engagement process.
Many more new and exciting projects are in the works, which I will be updating here regularly. In the meantime, please click through the website and let me know what you think.