Cuba: Art, Preservation, Architecture, Sustainability, Transportation and Housing March 12 to 20th fly directly on AA Charter from Miami to Havana Trip Bonus: March 11 will include an orientation in Miami with special guest speakers! Where you ll stay: Havana Libre (Old Hilton Hotel in the center of town), in Old Havana: http://www.hotelsevilla-cuba.com/ Over 1,000 people, including Harvey Molotch, Douglas Kelbaugh, Dietrich Neumann, Dennis Judd, Peter Marcuse, Larry Muhammad, and Michael Brazely, have gone to Cuba with Professor John I. Gilderbloom, Director of the Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods: http://sun.louisville.edu We have been taking study groups from the United States since 1997 with 32 different programs and have spent a total of 480 days there. Several travel magazines and books, including Holiday Travel, Travel Smart, and Budget Travel, have praised our Cuba travel programs. Time Out: Havana and the Best of Cuba ranked it as the best educational option and the least bureaucratic way for a U.S. passport holder to travel to Cuba. These travel programs have also produced published scholarly articles on Cuba and travelers have testified to the U.S. Senate and State Department (private meeting) on lifting the embargo. Dr. Gilderbloom has been featured on CNN for his work in Cuba, served as a
technical advisor to National Geographic on issues in Old Havana, and won an honorary Architecture Diploma from Cuba s Union of National Architects and Engineers. He has written about Cuba in numerous books, articles and journals including an edited column that was ranked as one the best planning books. This Spring Break trip is a "people to people exchange" program during which Cubans and Americans share ideas on transportation, preservation, community development, housing, sun harvesting, ecology, environment, planning, architecture, community gardens, and green planning. We are working to either meet at the top Planning School in Havana or State Architecture School for participants to present their research (UAA/APA style presentation of 15 minutes). We are providing this afternoon of exchange of ideas so that students and faculty in academia and professional practice can qualify for additional travel funds to offset any costs. We are also providing continuing education credit for AIA, CNU, and APA members. Up to $500 of the trip counts to a Tax Deductible Donation to the University of Louisville. Finally, the deadline has been extended to December 15. Below you will find the cost breakdown and itinerary. It s a trip of a lifetime. John I. Gilderbloom Ph.D. 2013 Presidential Medal: Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Creative Activity Urban and Public Affairs, Professor Home of the Top Ranked (#14) Planning Program in the Country Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods Email: jigild01@louisville.edu http://sun.louisville.edu 502-852-8557 COST DETAIL Below are the costs with 10 rooms confirmed at the Havana Libre (formerly Hilton Hotel). It is rated a four star Hotel in the heart of Havana. Upon confirmation of the arrangements, I will immediately send you application forms which each participant must complete. Costs are divided into three parts: AIR $499 via American Airlines roundtrip from Miami to Havana
VISA $75 LAND ARRANGEMENTS $1,999 to $2,386 for students depends on number of people who sign up if we get 16 folks your costs fall to $1,999 if you are taking the class. Costs include U.S. Departure taxes and Cuban medical insurance Costs also now include Cuban departure taxes previously paid in Havana upon departure Costs do not include $20 charge per checked bag plus overweight charges Schedule: AA 9450 MIA/HAV AA 9451 HAV/MIA 12:50 PM-1:50 PM / Check-in by 9:50 am Concourse. D, 2 nd fl 2:50 PM-3:50 PMí VISA $75 per person (This visa is not applicable for any participant born in Cuba) AND LAND ARRANGEMENTS University of Louisville. Hotel Habana Libre http://www.hotelhabanalibre.com This is a four start hotel in the heart of Havana. The price is $2,595 for students not registered in the class; those who are registered get to go for $1,999 to $2,395 and we are hoping for a scholarship to reduce the cost even more along with financial aid package to cover the costs: includes Hotels, transfers, breakfast, lectures, bus, English speaking presentations by Cubans and Americans involved in Planning. Single room is $700 extra. IMPORTANT: DEPOSIT OF $200 PER PARTICIPANT IS DUE NO LATER THAN December 5 made out to UofL Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods, 426 West Bloom Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40208. FINAL PAYMENT VIA BANK TRANSFER IS DUE by January 15, 2016 INDIVIDUAL FEDEX DELIVERY OF TRAVEL PACKETS (WITH VISA, TICKETS, AND OTHER INFORAMTION) WILL BE CHARGED $25 PER PACKET. ITINERARY
March 12, Saturday: arrive in Miami, Florida Miami 4pm orientation talk with Dr. Gilderbloom at a selected Hotel with special guest speakers! We are trying to arrange for the most important urban thinkers, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, along with several other CNU leaders, to give a talk to our group at their studio. We are picking a Hotel like Red Roof Inn near the airport to stay overnight. March 13, Sunday 12:50pm: Charter departs Miami for Havana 9 must arrive for Visa and passport control by 10:00 a.m. 1:50pm: Arrive Havana Lunch Included After clearing customs, we will proceed by private motor coach to the Sevilla Hotel, our accommodation Upon arrival, we will enjoy a welcome cocktail reception at the hotel. http://www.hotelsevilla-cuba.com/ Afternoon: Walking tour of Habana Vieja (Old Havana)/Obisbo Street. This afternoon, we will become acquainted with Havana, one of the most architecturally alluring cities in the Western Hemisphere. View examples of colonial architecture around Havana s handsome main squares. Evening: Dinner Included March 14 Monday
9:00 am Noon: Program Session: Havana s Historic Preservation and Walking Tour of the Capitolo Area (new city) Departures: Hotel Lobby The program will be held in the Convent of Santa Clara, which is a striking example of how this historically important building has been restored with attention to both historic preservation and present-day needs. Anais Nin once lived and wrote here. Speaker: Isabella Rigol (Invited) Formerly Director of Restoration and Preservation for Old Havana Professor of Planning, University of Havana Prof. Rigol was in charge of unprecedented historic preservation effort in historic Old Havana. Noon 2:30 pm: Lunch Included /Free Time to Explore Havana either on your own to conduct research on urban planning, preservation or art. 2:30 pm 4: 00 pm: Program Session: Model City of Havana Departures: Hotel Lobby We will meet back at the hotel and proceed to the Maqueta de la Havana. The Model City shows every building, street, and tree in Havana and is a wonderful planning guide. Here, the group will take part in a workshop with Miguel Coyulla and exchange ideas on planning issues in Havana concerning buildings, transportation, commercial development, tourist development, and recreational uses. Speaker: Miguel Coyulla (to be confirmed/invited) Development Expert, Urban Planner 4:30 6:00 pm: Presentation of Planning, Architecture, Preservation, Housing and Transportation Ideas by U.S. Citizens Evening : Dinner at the Hotel Naçional included Departures: Hotel Lobby March 15 Tuesday 9:00 am 10:15 am: Program Session: Globalization of Cuba Location: Habana Libre Speakers: Nicola Cecchi Presidente (invited) Cristobal Investment & Financial Services And Eduardo Luis Rodriguez (invited) Architect & Planner
Sr. Cecchi is considered a leading player in commercial development and, as a lawyer, puts together many international commercial investment deals. (invited) Sr. Rodriguez is the author of Havana Guide: Modern Architecture 1925 to 1965 which has won wide acclaim as the best book on building design in Cuba. He is considered the leading architecture critic in Cuba and edits a Cuban journal on architecture. He has lectured at Harvard and other leading schools.(invited) 10:30 am Noon: A walking/bus tour of commercial developments with Sr. Cecchi and Sr. Rodriguez. Afternoon: Free Afternoon Time to Explore on Own Suggestions: Plaza de Armas Art Fair Cigar Factory Tour Santa Maria Beach (departures at 12:00nn) Evening: Dinner at Paladar Havana Included Departures: at 5:30 p.m. Hotel Lobby Historic Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro (El Morro) Sunset Cannon Ceremony March 16 Wednesday 9:00 am 10:30 am: Program Session: Hotel and Office Development in Havana Location: Havana Libre Speaker: José Choy Architect (invited) Sr. Choy has been called Cuba s greatest living commercial architect, and is considered to be the Frank Gehry of Cuba. He has created some of Cuba s most highly acclaimed hotels, office buildings and homes in the past 15 years. After he speaks, he will take us on a personal visit to a shopping mall he designed as well as his bank building on Avenida 5 in Miramar. 10:30 am Noon: Santería Museum & the artist Salvador We will visit his studio and outdoor sculpture garden. He is the subject of a PBS documentary.
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 pm: Lunch Includedat La Ferminia (Miramar) This is an outdoor luncheon with a beautiful garden and musicians. Late Afternoon: Miramar We will spend the afternoon in the Havana suburb of Miramar. Before the revolution, wealthy Habaneros used to live in the grand houses that characterize Miramar. It is still an exclusive district, but many of the mansions have been converted into offices for foreign companies and embassies that line the main thoroughfare, Avenida 5. Speaker: Isabella Leone (to be confirmed) Sra. Leone has helped build houses for poor people under the sponsorship of the Lutheran Church; previously she was a Professor of Planning at the University of Havana. We will also visit newer hotels in Miramar. Evening: Dinner Paladar Elite Included March 17, Thursday: Rural Cuba Farming land and water Las Terrazas (bring your swim suit) 9:00 am 3:00 pm: Las Terrazas, Lunch Included 3:00 pm 5:00 pm: Alamar This is a Soviet Designed Housing Community designed to the inch and its located in the suburbs of Havana We will return to Havana and meet with residents of Alamar. Evening: Evening on Your Own March 18 Friday 9:00 am 10:30 am: Demographic and Social Changes in Havana Location: Speaker: Ruben Bancroft (and graduate students) Former Dean of Engineering, Planning, Architecture and Urban Studies University of Havana ( to be confirmed) Dean Bancroft has sponsored numerous international conferences on development in Havana. He will address the demographic, social and economic make-up of the Cuban people.
11:00 am Noon: Visit to neighborhood school Mid-Afternoon: Meeting and Reception at the U.S. Interests Section (arranged on their own) March 19, Saturday Morning: Visit Jaimanitis and Jose Fuster outdoor art enterprise Lunch at Fuster s Included Free afternoon Evening: Dinner at El Aljibe Included followed by Tropicana Night Club Show, Included as well. March 20 Sunday Bus departure from Havana Libre to airport 2:50pm: Depart Cuba for Miami, USA 3:50pm Arrive Miami