Give Feedback on the Repositioning Initiative at ArchEx

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Two people talking
© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

In addition to educational sessions, architectural tours, special events, and the cutting-edge vendors you’ll find at ArchEx, AIA national is sending Kyle McAdams to interview you on behalf of its repositioning project. The year-long process is exploring the perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, needs, and value of architects. The data will be used to inform the development of a comprehensive plan to advance the position of architects and bolster the national dialogue about their role in society.

The design and marketing firm Pentagram and the association consultant firm LaPlaca Cohen have been hired to help with the effort, which began in March 2012. In CEO Robert Ivy’s words, their research will “filter up through the organization. They’re not telling us what to do. What they’re really doing is active listening.” Their findings will offer a new way to communicate about architecture and the AIA’s role within the profession. Once this message is synthesized, the two firms will investigate what communications channels would best serve to disseminate these messages to target audiences. Their findings will be announced at the 2013 AIA Grassroots conference.

ArchEx is the Society’s annual conference and expo — now celebrating its 25th year — and it takes place Nov. 7–9, 2012, in Richmond. Online registration for ArchEx is open through Oct. 30; register by Sept. 26 to secure the Early Bird rates.

AIA Partners on Trade Mission to India

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Architectural Model
© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

The AIA is partnering with the US Department of Commerce to conduct the first Architecture Trade Mission to India.

India has a quickly expanding economy that offers many opportunities for US firms to export their architectural services. Conducting the mission through US Department of Commerce will allow participants to meet with Indian state and local government officials, pre-screened potential buyers and agents, as well as partake in networking events. This mission will focus on five key areas: Master Planning, Mixed Used Development, Health Care, Airports and Educational Institutions.

The rapid growth of the Indian economy has created a pressing need for infrastructure development. India is seeking to invest $1 trillion in its infrastructure during 2012-2017. The country requires significant outside expertise to meet its ambitious targets.

Trade mission participants will visit the cities of Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore.

• Chennai, the rapidly developing capital of the Tamil Nadu state off the Bay of Bengal, is the second largest port city in India and home to over 8.9 million people. Its economy is expected to grow to 2.5 its current size by 2025, approximately $100 billion in growth.

• Kolkata is the historic capital of the state of West Bengal on the Hooghly River, ranking third in economic output to Mumbai and New Delhi. After a period of decline from 1970 to the mid-nineties, the increasing density of the city is creating demand for new high-rise residential projects, resorts and commercial complexes as well as a need for restoration of many historic heritage sites.

• Bangalore, the capital of the Karnataka state, is known as “India’s Silicon Valley”, a leading service industry city with the second largest population in the country. A large metro rail expansion and growing job market is expected to attract a sharp increase in residents and a potential real estate boom.

Find out more about the application process and the mission>>

AIA Digital Practice Documents Open for Comment

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Document swirl
© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

Make sure your voice is heard. AIA Contract Documents® is in the process of updating its industry standard Digital Practice documents for use on construction projects involving BIM and other forms of digital data. Drafts of the updated documents are now available for public review and comment. Reviewers can comment through a short survey with the option to provide section-by-section comments, if they so desire. The public comment period will end Sept. 24. The updated draft documents are:

AIA Document E203™-2012, Building Information Modeling and Digital Data Exhibit

AIA Document G201™-2012, Project Digital Data Protocol Form

AIA Document G202™-2012, Project Building Information Modeling Protocol Form

Share your comments>>

Legislative Relationships Survey

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The Institute is initiating a first-ever survey to collect key relationship information relative to architects and lawmakers to help organize and strengthen state and federal advocacy efforts.  While every state grapples with different legislative issues, one common thread to success is a unified voice – at both the grassroots and grass-tops (personal relationship) levels.  Once compiled, the AIA State and Local Relations team will provide reports to each state component to use in building their efforts to (1) stave off encroachments into architectural practice by other groups, (2) protect qualifications-based selection (3) maintain and refine appropriate project delivery methods and (4) advance the business interests of the architectural profession.

To complete the 3-minute survey, click here. After you log in using your AIA account username and password, you will click on the “Learn More” button under “Legislator Survey.” Your home address should already be entered for you.  Confirm that the address is correct then click “Search” to find your elected officials.  From there you will be able to enter relationship information with an easy drop-down menu for each of your government representatives.  If you’ve forgotten your password, don’t fret, you can easily click “forgot my password” and the password will be immediately sent to your email address to complete your log in. This type of initiative is what many of you have requested from our National Component so please take a few minutes of your valuable time for this survey

LumenHAUS Honored at National Convention

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Virginia Tech’s LumenHAUS was honored for their 2012 Institute Honors Award during the 63rd Annual Honors and Awards Celebration session at the AIA National Convention and Design Exposition on Friday, May 18, 2012.

The Institute Honors Awards program recognizes achievements for a broad range of architectural activity to elevate the general quality of architecture practice, establish a standard of excellence against which all architects can measure performance, and inform the public of the breadth and value of architecture practice.

Call for Entries: 2013 Institute Honor Awards

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© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

The American Institute of Architects celebrates outstanding architectural work that elevates the quality of architecture practice; sets standards against which all architects can measure performance; and informs the public of its breadth and value.

For more than 60 years, the Institute Honor Awards have recognized projects of all sizes, budgets, styles, and building types—from public to residential, from large firms to sole practitioners.

The 2013 Institute Honor Awards program is now accepting online entries of projects that have been

  • completed since January 1, 2006 (except for Regional & Urban Design projects, which may be incomplete, and the Twenty-five Year Award, which will honor projects completed 1978–1988)
  • designed by an architect licensed in the United States or in one of its territories at the time of the project’s completion
  • submitted by an architect who was a member of the design team, whether or not serving as the head of the team

All awards entries are submitted online.

Architecture Both new buildings and renovations/restorations are eligible. An entry must have been designed by an architect licensed in the United States or in one of its territories at the time of the project’s completion.

Interior Architecture Focusing attention on the broad diversity of interior architecture, and acknowledging outstanding building interiors created by architects licensed in the United States.

Regional & Urban Design Distinguished achievement that involves the expanding role of the architect in urban design, city planning, and community development.

Twenty-five Year Award Recognition of architectural design of enduring significance, and conferred on a project that has stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years.

Submissions are due prior to 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Aug. 24, 2012.

Visit Institute Honors and Awardsto learn more.

 

Dreiling Elected 2013 First Vice President and 2014 President-Elect

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Virginia member Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, was elected 2013 AIA first vice president/2014 president. During more than 18 years of national AIA service, Dreiling has held numerous leadership positions including AIA secretary (2011-12), national vice president (2000), and national board membership (1997-98 and 2000). She is a past member of the board of trustees of the American Architectural Foundation and a past president of both the Virginia Society, AIA and AIA Blue Ridge.

Dreiling currently serves as executive director of the Virginia Center for Architecture, a Richmond-based non-profit that develops the public understanding of architecture through a broad array of outreach programs. She has worked in several not-for-profit settings including the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and at AIA National. From 2000-2009, her positions at AIA National included managing director of component relations, vice president of strategic initiatives, and relationships and team vice president, AIA Community.

Dreiling believes architects are at a turning point as a profession. “While it may be tempting to focus on today, we must place a preponderance of our attention to the future—on where society, technology and this future will be in five, 10, or more years,” she said. “We can step forward to envision and advance a new reality: a reality in which we hold not only the capability, but also confidence, to be the architects of change, the architects of community, the architects of culture.”

Dreiling’s private practice architectural career includes work with The Plum Studio, and The Dreiling Partnership Architects, both Roanoke, Va.,-based firms that she headed. She received her bachelor of architecture degree from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

Students Call for Pro Bono Work in Exchange for Loan Relief

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The American Institute of Architects and the American Institute of Architecture Students recently called for Congress to pass legislation that includes architecture school graduates in the same programs that offer other graduates loan debt assistance if they donate their services to their communities and elsewhere.

The AIA/AIAS initiative comes as both President Obama this past weekend and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney today urged Congress to head off a scheduled increase in student loan interest rates this July.

Also today, the AIAS released a survey of almost 600 architect school graduates showing that graduating architecture students carry a much higher amount of undergraduate student debt – $40,000 on average – than the national student loan debt average of $25,000. AIAS members will visit Capitol Hill in July to lobby lawmakers on these issues.

“There are numerous opportunities for young talented architects to use their skills to help rebuild our nation’s communities,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA. “Yet, more and more young architects are leaving the profession because they cannot afford to remain; this brain-drain will have major implications for our communities and the construction industry in the years ahead.”

“The AIA and AIAS are not asking for a handout; rather, we want Congress to provide the ability of architecture graduates to use their talents in underserved communities in exchange for debt assistance, just as Congress has provided for doctors, lawyers, teachers and others,” said Potter.

The survey also found that architecture students face a large amount of hidden costs that are not part of the listed tuition fees of a program. Specifically, the survey showed that architecture students spend more than $1,000 annually on materials for models and project submissions.  Textbooks amount to another $800 per year, and technology spending accounts for an additional $1,500 per year. Thus, over the course of a 4 year Bachelor’s program, most students will spend an additional $13,200 in related school costs, with a six-year Master’s course of study leading to $19,800 in these types of expenses.

“The current trends in the pursuit of Architecture as a career, and the realities of the current economy and the anticipated progression of the recovery, demanded that the AIAS look at our members’ perception and expectations for the future,” said AIAS President Nick Mancusi, Associate AIA. “In order to remain relevant, our organization and the profession as a whole needs to be aware of the next generation’s concerns and offer information and resources to support those capable and willing citizens as they graduate and engage with their community.”

Architects Oppose Effort to Repeal Energy Reduction Law

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On April 25, 2012, the American Institute of Architects announced its opposition to a House proposal to eliminate Section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.

AIA EVP and Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, had this to say:

“The AIA is opposed to efforts to weaken or eliminate Sec. 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. According to the DOE’s Energy Information Administration, buildings account for almost 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, more than both the transportation and industry sectors.

“Requiring significant energy reduction targets in new and renovated federal buildings demonstrates to the private sector that the federal government is leading by example.

  • It is helping spur the development of new materials, construction techniques, and technologies to make buildings more energy efficient. And it is showing that significant energy reductions are both practical and cost-effective.
  • Architects and their allied professionals are already succeeding in making federal facilities meet Sec. 433, including NREL’s new Research Support Facilities (RSF) in Colorado, which opened in 2010.
  • The result is better energy performance for federal agencies and lower overall costs for taxpayers. More importantly, private sector owners are increasingly adopting these technologies and strategies for their buildings.

Weakening or repealing Sec. 433 with no deliberation or discussion will dramatically harm the federal government’s ability to design and build facilities that use less energy and protect the environment.”

Governor Proclaims April 8-14 Virginia Architecture Week

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Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell issued a proclamation recognizing April 8–14, 2012 as Virginia Architecture Week.  Each year in April, to commemorate Architecture Week, components of the American Institute of Architects and the Virginia Center for Architecture present a series of activities highlighting the importance of the built environment in our lives.

On Thursday, April 12, the Virginia Center for Architecture debuts a new exhibition about the Washington Monument with an Opening Reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibition, Someday in the Park with George, explore the history of the Monument and its grounds, from funding shortages and political disagreements that left the Monument unfinished for nearly 50 years, to the numerous planning and design challenges posed by the site. It also highlights the results of the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds, which poses new solutions for the unfinished grounds. The exhibition will be on view from April 12 through June 24, 2012.  The Center also hosts Is Architecture School Right for You? on Saturday, April 14 from 1–2:30 p.m. to help high-school students learn more about a career in design and the admissions process to architecture school. There is no charge for either event. To attend the Opening Reception or Is Architecture School Right for You?, call (804) 644-3041, ext. 100, or email aliguori@aiava.org.

Of course, components have organized activities celebrating Virginia Architecture Week throughout the state. Below is just a sampling of events, with links for more information.

Activities in the Richmond region kick off on April 9 with a film competition and a special lecture by Jorge Silvetti at the Virginia Historical Society. The lecture called An Evening with Jorge Silvetti features world-renowned, international architect Jorge Silvetti of Machado & Silvetti Associates presenting preliminary design ideas to restore a nationally significant historic landmark, the Menokin House. To learn more about these events and other Richmond-area Architecture Week programs, visit http://aiaric.org/.

In the Hampton Roads region, Architecture Barbie rings in Architecture Week with an event aimed at second- through eighth-grade students on April 14 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. and a Downtown Norfolk Firm Crawl on April 20 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. To find out about these, and other Hampton-area events, visit http://aiahr.com/calendar.html.

In the Northern Virginia area, the AIA Northern Virginia Chapter celebrates architecture with their popular walking tour of Alexandria, an exhibit and lecture highlighting award-winning architecture and a Dress for Success Clothing Drive. For more information, visit http://aianova.org/.

In the Roanoke region, AIA Blue Ridge Chapter offers the Roanoke Parklet Experiment and the Kidstruction: The Big City events. The Parklet Experiment transforms automobile infrastructure in to temporary public spaces, and Kidstruction engages children in building activities, allowing them to take on the role of an architect. To discover more about events in the Blue Ridge region, visit http://aiablueridge.org/

To find out what’s going on around the country, visit http://www.aia.org/about/AIAB093325.