Month: January 2009

01.13.09

01.13.09

Happy New Year! This year begins on a sour note with the state of the economy and architecture firms struggling to stay afloat. The AIANY Chapter is making an effort to help ease woes. Check out “AIANY, Center for Architecture Foundation Address Economic Woes” about its most recent initiative, Not Business As Usual, and be sure to participate in the ongoing discussion about how the architecture community can support itself in these times. Also, be sure to check the e-Oculus Classifieds for the latest job postings, and the New Deadlines section for the latest grant opportunities and competitions (including the Open Call for exhibition designers at the Center for Architecture!).

– Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP

CLICK ON BLOG CENTRAL: AIANY BLOG: The AIANY Chapter’s Blog Central features opinion pieces on architectural issues relevant to NY-based designers, firms, and projects, along with spotlights on debates and discussions at the Center for Architecture and AIANY. It is an informal discussion board. To become a regular contributor to Blog Central, please e-mail e-Oculus. Pen names are welcome.

AIANY, Center for Architecture Foundation Address Economic Woes

Event: Not Business As Usual
Location: Center for Architecture, 01.07.09
Organizers: AIANY; Center for Architecture Foundation

Not Business As Usual forum at the Center for Architecture.

Kristen Richards

As the economy takes a turn for the worse, AIANY and the Center for Architecture Foundation are taking the lead in bringing the architecture and design community together. “Not Business As Usual” initiative aims to create professional and community-based opportunities.

Regular lunchtime forums will cull ideas and progress reports will provide updates on developments in five themes: resume development and presentation skills; training programs; volunteer opportunities; advocacy; and employment listings. Now that two general meetings have taken place, attended by both employed and unemployed designers and professionals in related fields, each session will be devoted more specifically to efforts in each of the categories. A website co-developed by AIANY and The Architect’s Newspaper called “Exchange Place” will go live in the next couple of weeks that will post updates from the meetings and offer comprehensive free classified listings for people seeking jobs, space to rent, and collaborative opportunities

To participate in the forums check the AIANY calendar for upcoming meetings, or e-mail Suzanne Mecs, the AIANY Director of Membership, to get involved. To read about the first Not Business As Usual session, see “AIANY Reaches Out to Troubled Firms, Designers,” the Editor’s Soapbox in the 12.23.08 issue of e-Oculus.

DCP’s New Balancing Act on Bike Parking

Event: NYC Department of City Planning’s Bike Parking Zoning Amendment
Location: Center for Architecture, 01.09.09
Speakers: Howard Slatkin — Deputy Director, Strategic Planning, NYC Department of City Planning (DCP); Stephen Johnson — Project Manager, NYC DCP
Introductions: Ernest Hutton, FAICP, Assoc. AIA — Principal, Hutton Associates; James Wright, AIA — Associate Principal, Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects
Organizers: AIANY Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; AIANY Planning and Urban Design Committee; AIANY Housing Committee

Bike racks outside of the Center for Architecture.

Courtesy AIANY

“The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man,” novelist Iris Murdoch wrote in The Red and the Green (1965). “Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.” Because some of our fellow citizens are not so pure in heart, however, we New Yorkers need safe places to store our bikes. The shortage of reliable bike parking, according to a series of studies by the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP), is a major reason why cycling, despite its obvious benefits environmentally and otherwise, hasn’t broadly displaced other transportation modes for routine commuting and errands as well as occasional recreation. Consequently, DCP is proposing a zoning text amendment that would require bike storage in new residential, commercial, and community facilities. In a recent presentation, DCP’s Howard Slatkin and Stephen Johnson outlined the proposal.

The amendment balances two policy goals: mainstreaming urban cycling by reducing the theft risk for riders, and easing compliance for property owners. While requiring Class 1 (indoor, secure, and accessible) space for half the units in multi-family residences over 10 units, one bike space per 7,500 square feet of floor area for offices, one per 10,000 square feet for most commercial uses, and one per 10 vehicle spaces in public garages, it offers developers an incentive by exempting the bike space from floor-area calculations.

Smaller buildings can waive the requirement, as can buildings with infrastructure conditions not conducive to bike storage. Buildings zoned for manufacturing and certain other uses have no requirements, but can take advantage of the floor-area exemption if they provide bike space. Universities get the exemption for one space per 5,000 square feet, and half of these can be outdoor (Class 2) spaces. The proposal leaves storage plans open, specifying 15 square feet of space for each bike stored horizontally but also accepting 6 square feet for vertical hanging designs. To keep bike parking (or ostensible “bike parking” masking other uses) from becoming a loophole for FAR calculations, it sets maximums for the floor-area exclusions; to allow owners to offset the costs of building racks, hangers, or other facilities, it is silent on the topic of fees, neither prohibiting nor specifying charges to users.

DCP referred the amendment to community boards, borough boards, and borough presidents last November 17 for review and comment. Developer support is widespread, according to the New York Post — perhaps in part because the requirement applies only to new construction, enlargements of 50% or more, and conversions to residential use. Access and parking in existing buildings remain obstacles and are not addressed in the amendment. City Council is expected to consider it this spring after a City Planning Commission hearing.

Promoting biking (particularly bike commuting) strikes green-urbanism proponents as a healthy, low-cost no-brainer: the reduction in motor-vehicle use cuts carbon emissions, personal expenses, obesity, congestion, and bloodshed in the streets. Biking advocates view DCP’s proposal as a glass half full: Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, commented that it “is an investment in the future. We need to match it with bicycle access to the office buildings of today, which still account for 85% of buildings in 2030.” The city still needs many more measures — beginning with the 200 miles of new bike lane construction targeted for 2009 under PlaNYC, as well as addressing safety questions involving law enforcement and driver behavior — before it can claim a bike-friendly environment resembling places like Portland, Boulder, Copenhagen, and Bogotá.

NYC’s cyclist population is expanding, and DCP statistics cite a 35% rise in bike commuting in the past year alone, but the urban-cycling demographic skews toward younger people and those with a taste for risk. As former Bogotá Parks Commissioner Guillermo Peñalosa stressed in a keynote address to last summer’s “Toward Carfree Cities” conference in Portland, the practical metric for a city’s bike-friendliness is whether 80-year-old grandmothers and eight-year-old kids feel safe riding there. By this standard, NYC has quite a way to go, but city agencies appear committed to pedaling forward.

Bill Millard is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in OCULUS, Icon, Content, The Architect’s Newspaper, and other publications.

Finnish Architect Channels Aalto’s Musical Experiences

Event: “Belonging Together”
Location: Center for Architecture, 01.07.09
Speakers: Juha Leiviskä, Hon. FAIA — architect (Finland)
Organizers: AIANY; Consulate General of Finland

Best known for his church designs, the work of Finnish architect Juha Leiviskä, Hon. FAIA, creates a sense of experience throughout his work, featuring progression and deliberateness in the design of entry, circulation, and visual corridors. Recipient of the Carlsberg Prize, awarded to an architect “contributing to the creation of works of lasting architectural and social value,” Leiviskä’s prime concern in his work, ultimately, are the users of his buildings.

Leiviskä has a high regard for precedent, stating it is “important to be connected to history and tradition if our work is to be important in the future.” He attributes his esteem for nature and the environment to Alvar Aalto, who believed that nature is mutually supportive of architecture. The influence of Aalto can be seen throughout Leiviskä’s oeuvre. The transitions from outside to indoors via terraces and gardens are what he calls, “musical experiences.”

Leiviskä’s career is indelibly marked by his design of places of worship throughout Finland, such as Myyrmäki Church, St. Thomas’ Church and Parish Center, Kirkkonummi Parish Center, and Männistö Church. Each embodies his design language integrating both natural and artificial light, with his signature lamps suspended within each space of worship. The buildings are functional, the white interiors free of any ornament and “unnecessary detail.” Ultimately, he strives to achieve a harmony through Finnish Modernism by incorporating nature and the environment.

Jacqueline Pezzillo, LEED AP is the communications manager at Davis Brody Bond Aedas and a regular contributor to e-Oculus.

What About PlaNYC?

After seeing PlaNYC take off in 2008, I have been wondering if many of the initiatives will carry through in 2009. How will the changing economy affect the greening of the city? If one million people do not move to the city, will plans change? These questions are not new; they have been asked since PlaNYC’s launch (See Sustaining NYC with 20/30 Vision?, by Carolyn Sponza, e-Oculus, 12.04.07; NYNV Extols PlaNYC, by Kate Soto, e-Oculus, 05.15.07; and Mayor-Proposed PlaNYC is Short-Sighted, my Editor’s Soapbox, e-Oculus, 05.01.07).

PlaNYC was a tall order. Over the course of last year, two major aspects of the plan did not garner the support that was needed. Congestion pricing failed to pass government approval, and NYC lost the potential for Federal funding that could have helped the MTA’s budget problems. We may all pay significantly in increased fares this year if solutions such as those outlined in the Ravitch Commission Report do not pass (nota bene: in a public hearing on December 16, the New York Building Congress endorsed the report. Click here to read the testimony. Also, see Commission Delivers Ravitching Report, my Editor’s Soapbox, e-Oculus, 12.09.08, to read more about the report in general).

In addition, recently it was announced that Bloomberg’s plan to create or preserve 165,000 units of low- and moderate-income family housing by 2013 has been pushed back a year. 82,500 units of the 500,000 have been financed, and funding is badly needed. This is just one of the reasons that some major construction projects are stalling in the city.

One of the problems with PlaNYC is that it depends on both funding for initiatives that have not been attempted before in the city (if not elsewhere) and government buy-in. Asking people to open their pockets to green the city may be asking too much this year, and we will see who the most forward-thinking officials are. Education and community outreach is not a priority of PlaNYC, so part of its potential failure could be because of a lack in maintenance required by the general public.

But there is a chance yet for PlaNYC and the greening of the city. The new building code, going into effect in July, is much more conducive to sustainable design as it incorporates ideas from the International Building Code. AIA members are now required to fulfill sustainability continuing education hours. And this year, the Green Building Certification Institute, taking over the administration of LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, may require all LEED APs to fulfill continuing education hours, as well. Finally, there is a new administration in the White House, and President-elect Obama has been promising energy reform, updated urban policy, and improved transportation and community development. There is still hope…

In this issue:
· It’s a Village Mitzvah!
· BMW Inspires Affordable Housing at Harvard
· Plans Approved for Residential Addition to Washington Hilton
· A Vacation in Prefab, West Virginia
· Century City Enters 21st Century
· Elementary, Middle School Goes Green in Germany

It’s a Village Mitzvah!

Village Temple.

Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership

Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (LHSA+DP) recently completed the renovation of the Village Temple in Greenwich Village. Lee Skolnick, FAIA, a member of the congregation, was initially asked to assist in assessing the renovation and expansion, but ended up donating much of his own time to designing the building’s new façade. Rendered in a sandstone-colored stucco finish with a pattern of bronze reveals allude to traditional mortar joints. Bronze and stainless steel signage, new glass doors, a state-of-the-art video message board, and a glass entry canopy complete the project. Translucent graphics depicting the “Tree of Life” appear on glass doors, windows, and the adjacent storefront. Additional renovation plans include a warmer, more welcoming foyer, a more functional and attractive social hall, and a sanctuary anteroom.

BMW Inspires Affordable Housing at Harvard

GINA by BMW.

RMJM

RMJM is funding and participating in a project with designers from Munich-based BMW and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) to develop a new affordable housing prototype. Futuristic housing concepts incorporate “elastic skin” technology. The inspiration for the program came from a team at BMW Group Design Munich who created the “GINA Light Visionary Model,” a car that has a surface made of elastic fabric rather than sheet metal, which means the surface can move, weighs less, and uses less energy to fabricate. Also, GINA stands for “geometry and function in N” implying an infinite number of adaptations — a concept that will hopefully be expanded on by GSD students.

Plans Approved for Residential Addition to Washington Hilton

Washington Hilton Hotel.

Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners

The Washington, DC Historic Preservation and Review Board (HPRB) approved Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners’ (BBB) design for an 11-story residential addition to the Washington Hilton Hotel. The mid-century Modern Expressionist building was designated a landmark by the HPRB in July 2008. Designed by William B. Tabler, FAIA, in 1965, the 1100-room hotel occupies a five-acre site on Connecticut Avenue. Due to the oddly shaped site and building height limitations, 50% of the Hilton’s program is below grade, including a column-free ballroom, conference facilities, and service areas. The addition is part of a larger redevelopment project, including a major renovation and rehabilitation of the hotel. BBB’s design for the new residential building echoes the sculptural quality of the Hilton, respecting its height and scale. Shared elements include curved façades and a repetitive modular aesthetic. The glass façade of the addition is an intentional contrast to the grid-work of concrete that defines the existing, while its semicircular form responds to the hotel’s geometry, creating two primary open spaces — the interior hotel courtyard and south facing residential terrace.

A Vacation in Prefab, West Virginia

lostrivermodern.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Secluded in a steeply sloped wooded site in Long River, WV, sits a 64-by-16-foot prefab cabin available for rent. NYC-based Resolution: 4 Architecture (res4), a firm specializing in maximizing light and space in urban settings and the creators of the original Dwell (magazine) Home, designed lostrivermodern. Pairing the efficiencies of modular construction with the Usonian tradition of intimate, organic design, the firm strives to prove that modern prefab can be both spectacular and affordable. The cabin features a master bedroom, bath, and living space on the upper level, with a second bedroom, bath, and media room downstairs. Lostrivermodern is the first res4 home available for guests.

Century City Enters 21st Century

Century City.

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

It’s been nearly 50 years since Pei Cobb Freed & Partners worked on the Century City Apartments in Los Angeles, and now they are designing a $2 billion mixed-use project on the 5.75-acre site of the Century Plaza Hotel for Next Century Associates. The project will feature two 50-story towers rising from a grand plaza with a 240-room Hyatt Hotel, 163 hotel residences, 130 luxury residential condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, 106,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants, a spa and fitness center, and one of the largest ballrooms in Los Angeles. The design emphasizes pedestrian connectivity and sustainable design, and was inspired by the City of Los Angeles’ greening goals. The project is consistent with the Century City Specific Plan and will be LEED-Silver certified with green roofs and building materials. Ken Smith has signed on as landscape architect.

Elementary, Middle School Goes Green in Germany

Middle school lobby in the Elementary and Middle School Complex, Bavaria, Germany.

Mitchell/Giurgola Architects

Mitchell/Giurgola Architects has completed a new American elementary and middle school located on 17 acres in Bavaria, Germany. The complex is at the core of a planned community composed of a chapel, child development center, and a youth center, and will accommodate 1,400 students in 200,000 gross square feet. The two schools essentially function as separate entities — each will have its own gymnasium, information/media center, and technology centers — but share common spaces such as a multipurpose room, which includes the auditorium and cafeteria.

The sloped site influenced the design as three classroom bars rotate and step down the landscape in one-story increments, linking the school to the child development center and the youth center at its ends. The elementary gym and multipurpose room interrupt the bars, defining the entries. The media centers are also located at the entrances to provide easy access and to showcase their cutting-edge programs. The project also features a “green” roof. The classroom wings have ribbon windows to maximize daylighting. Adjustable sunscreens with solar sensors are installed on the south, east, and west exposures. The building is naturally ventilated with operable windows and utilizes radiant heating. Baurconsult, Architekten+Ingenieure served as the architect of record.

In this issue:
· AIANY Announces 2009 Board of Directors
· Architects Urged to Join Community Boards
· Center for Architecture Exhibition Designers Shortlist — Open Call!
· AIANY, ENYA Launch ARE Boot Camp
· AIA Helps Architects Navigate the Economy
· Now is the Time to Declare Candidacy for AIA Offices
· AIA 2009 National Convention Launches New Website, Early Bird Rates

AIANY Announces 2009 Board of Directors
President: Sherida E. Paulsen, FAIA
President Elect: Anthony P. Schirripa, AIA, IIDA
Vice President, Design Excellence: Illya Azaroff, AIA
Vice President, Professional Development: Joseph J. Aliotta, AIA, LEED AP
Vice President, Public Outreach: Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP
Secretary: Abby P. Suckle, FAIA, LEED AP
Treasurer: Kenneth Ricci, FAIA
Director, Publications: Kirsten Sibilia, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP
Director, Educational Affairs: Robin Guenther, FAIA, LEED AP
Director, Programs and Strategic Planning: Lance Jay Brown, FAIA
Director, Legislative Affairs: Michael Kwartler, FAIA
Director, Industry Affairs: Carl Galioto, FAIA
Director, Development Affairs: Marcy Stanley
Associate Director: Venesa Alicea, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP
Public Director: Margery H. Perlmutter, AIA
Public Director, Educational Affairs: Urs Gauchat, AIA
Immediate Past President: James McCullar, FAIA
Alternate Director, Design Excellence: Lori P. Mazor, AIA
Alternate Director, Professional Development: Gerard Geier II, FAIA, LEED AP
Alternate Director, Public Outreach: Ernest Hutton, Jr., Assoc. AIA, FAICP
Ex-officio/Executive Director: Rick Bell, FAIA
Ex-officio/Legal Counsel: Michael S. Zetlin, Esq.

Architects Urged to Join Community Boards
Architects, designers, and planners are urgently needed on every community board in the city. Design professionals are essential community board members as they bring what is often the only subject-specific trained mind and voice to the debate about the suitability of proposed projects in their neighborhoods. David Helpern, FAIA, a relatively new member of Community Board 8, will be hosting a breakfast in his office with Margery Perlmutter, AIA, on Friday, 01.23.09 at 8am at 21 East 4th Street to answer questions for those thinking of applying. RSVP to Susan Garrett at s.garrett@helpern.com.

Applications are taken through February and decisions are made in March (though in some boroughs they may accept applications into May).

For more information, visit the following websites:
Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr.: http://bronxboropres.nyc.gov/en/gv/community/index.htm

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz:
http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/pages/Community_Board/getinvolved.htm

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer: http://www.mbpo.org

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall: http://www.queensbp.org/content_web/CB/cb_new.shtml

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro: http://www.statenislandusa.com/

Center for Architecture Exhibition Designers Shortlist — Open Call!
As part of a new program, architects with experience in exhibition design may apply to design upcoming exhibitions at the Center for Architecture. As a Center for Architecture Exhibition Designer, designers will work with curators, graphic designers, and the Center staff to create exciting, immersive, and interactive exhibitions for the general public and design professionals. The submission deadline is 02.06.09. Submit an expression of interest, qualifications, and a pdf portfolio to Jonah Stern, Exhibitions Coordinator, jstern@aiany.org. Submissions will be reviewed by Rick Bell, FAIA, Executive Director; Cynthia Kracauer, AIA, Managing Director; Rosamond Fletcher, Director of Exhibitions; and members of the Exhibitions Committee. Shortlisted firms will be asked to submit a hardcopy portfolio, which will be displayed in the Center’s library.

AIANY, ENYA Launch ARE Boot Camp
AIANY and the Emerging NY Architects Committee (ENYA) announce the ARE Boot Camp. This is a pilot program of seven Saturday courses designed to jump-start ARE preparation for interns and associates. Registration is open and the first course starts 02.07.09. Visit: http://www.aiany.org/are for details.

AIA Helps Architects Navigate the Economy
Visit the Navigating the Economy page on AIA National’s website, and under the “Gain Financial Leverage” subhead you will find links to FedBizOps, a site for federal RFP opportunities, and RFP/DB, a proprietary source for private sector work. The site features the latest on practicing abroad, including: a checklist of tips put together by the International Practice Knowledge Community; “Opportunities Overseas,” a podcast presented by Department of Commerce Senior International Trade Specialist Mark Wells speaking with AIArchitect Executive Editor Doug Gordon, Hon. AIA; podcasts and Webinars with AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA; member-to-member tips, and more.

Now is the Time to Declare Candidacy for AIA Offices
Elections for the AIA’s next first vice president/president-elect, vice presidents, and treasurer will be held in April at the AIA 2009 National Convention and Expo in San Francisco. The deadline for declaring candidacy is 5:00 p.m., 02.27.09. AIA members interested in declaring their candidacy should contact AIA General Counsel Jay Stephens or Senior Director, Governance Administration Pam Day, Hon. AIA.

AIA 2009 National Convention Launches New Website, Early Bird Rates
Register online for the AIA 2009 National Convention and Design Expo to take place 04.30-05.02.09 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. New web features this year include an interactive convention guide and enhanced seminar schedule that allows attendees to design their convention curriculum using new keyword and drilldown search options. Themed “Diversity: Practice in a Complex World,” more than 350 continuing-education opportunities will be offered with over 70 tours. Register on or before 02.17.09 to take advantage of early-bird rates. (This year, the AIA is offering an additional 5% discount to all AIA members who register by 02.17.09 using the promo code, “MEMBER.”).

Record Reports on Recession

Architectural Record launched the “Recession Reports,” a section of its website devoted to the economic downturn and how it’s affecting the design industry. The section reports on layoffs, architectural billings, and related initiatives; updates on stalled projects; and includes an open forum on its blog for architects to comment on how the recession has impacted them.

The 2009 recipients of the AIA Institute Honor Awards include the following projects by NY-based firms: Basilica of the Assumption by John G. Waite Associates, Architects; The New York Times Building by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and FXFOWLE Architects; and the Salt Point House by Thomas Phifer & Partners; 2009 Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture: The Heckscher Foundation for Children by Christoff:Finio Architecture; School of American Ballet by Diller Scofidio + Renfro; and the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center by Lyn Rice Architects; 2009 Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design: Foshan Donghuali Master Plan by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and Orange County Great Park by TEN Arquitectos…

The all-American shortlist to design the new £275 million U.S. embassy in London includes NY-based firms Richard Meier and Partners; Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects; Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Perkins+Will; and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; the jury includes New Yorkers Frances Halsband, FAIA, and James Carpenter… Four design teams have been shortlisted for the National Eisenhower Memorial, including NY-based Rogers Marvel Architects…

James G. Rogers, III, FAIA, one of the founding partners of Butler Rogers Baskett Architects, has established James G. Rogers Architects (JGRA) in South Norwalk, CT… Fred Rodriguez, RA, has joined The Switzer Group as a Senior Designer… Dale Alan Greenwald is a new associate principal at Cannon Design…