October 2010 – News – What’s New at AIANY and the Center for Architecture.

10.26.10

10.26.10: Have you visited the Podcast page lately? If not, be sure to check out videos of Heritage Ball Honorees Henry Cobb, FAIA, Clinton Climate Initiative: A Program of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and Vicki Match Suna, AIA, of the NYU Langone Medical Center. We have also posted interviews with Andrew Liang and Adam Yarinsky, FAIA, as a follow-up to the 06.28.10 “Thought Leadership: Leveraging Ideas to Build Business,” an event hosted by the AIANY Marketing and PR Committee.

– Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP

Note: Be sure to follow Tweets from e-Oculus and the Center for Architecture.

Liquid Wall Prototype Revolutionizes Curtain-Wall Design

Event: The Liquid Wall Prototype: A Case Study in Innovation
Location: Center for Architecture, 10.19.10
Speakers: Tristan Al-Haddad — Assistant Professor, School of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology; Peter Arbour, Assoc. AIA — Project Manager, RFR Consulting Engineers; Robert Del Vento, Jr. — Sales Manager, Coreslab Structures; Kelly Henry, LEED AP — Architecture Project Manager, Ductal by Lafarge; Frank Sciame, Hon. AIA — Chief Executive Officer, F.J.Sciame Construction Co.
Moderator: Nina Rappaport — Publications Director, Yale University
Organizers: Center for Architecture, in conjunction with “Innovate:Integrate — Building Better Together,” on view at the Center for Architecture through 01.15.11
Sponsors: Lead Sponsors: Coreslab Structures; Ductal by Lafarge; F. J. Sciame Construction Co.; Gensler; Georgia Institute of Technology, Digital Fabrication Laboratory; Lutron; Mancini·Duffy; MechoShade Systems; Oldcastle Building Envelope; Peter Arbour / RFR Consulting Engineers; Permasteelisa North America; Plaza Construction; Structure Tone; Syska Hennessy Group; Turner; Zetlin & De Chiara; Sponsors: Francis Cauffman Architects; Polytek; HeliOptix; STUDIOS Architecture; Trespa North America

The Liquid Wall.

Peter Arbour/RFR Consulting Engineers

This year’s presidential theme, defined by AIANY President Anthony Schirripa, FAIA, IIDA, is “Architect as Leader.” The concept celebrates the role of architects as innovators and champions of new breakthroughs in construction techniques. It requires vision, risk tolerance, and teamwork. The possibilities of this type of leadership can be seen in “Innovate:Integrate — Building Better Together,” an exhibition of building technology at the Center for Architecture, exploring the collaborative process of design and construction. “In searching for the right platform for an exhibition on leadership in the industry, my thoughts turned to the building process,” explained Schirripa.

The Liquid Wall Prototype, winner of an open competition for curtain-wall design and part of “Innovate:Integrate,” is a first large-scale prototype to be displayed at the Center. Conceived by a team of designers, manufacturers, and construction managers from RFR Consulting Engineers, Coreslab Structures, Ductal by Lafarge, F.J. Sciame Construction, and Georgia Institute of Technology, it represents a breakthrough in performative façade design. According to Peter Arbour, Assoc. AIA, project manager at RFR Consulting Engineers, who conceived the design of The Liquid Wall Prototype, the goal was to “design something that could be easily constructed, was economical, and easy to maintain.”

Conceived as a panelized system, the frame is made of two forms of Ductal, an ultra-high-performance concrete. Digital modeling and CNC milling created undulating flexible molds in which the concrete was set. Triple glazing reduces acoustic transmission while providing high thermal performance, natural day lighting, and transparency. The glazing, designed as replaceable, repairable panels, is installed directly into the concrete frame. Within spandrel cassette panels, non-freezing liquids flow and capture solar energy that is transmitted for use as radiant heat, domestic hot water production, and dehumidification of ventilation systems. The heat recovery systems are optimized to function in both winter and summer. Thermal performance is considered exceptional for this unified curtain wall system due to the elimination of metal units bridging the exterior and interior.

Based on the success of this prototype, designed in a mere four months, “the opportunities for design and constructability are limitless,” said Frank Sciame, Hon, AIA, CEO of F.J. Sciame Construction Co. Although there is a buzz about The Liquid Wall being offered as a manufactured product, it is spurring a regime of testing in curtain-wall design. After the success of this project, Arbour said we can expect “a revolution in the design of building envelopes.”

“Innovate:Integrate” is on view at the Center for Architecture through 01.15.11.

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

Race to the Bottom: Universities Take the Lead in Carbon Reduction

Event: Getting to 30%: Carbon Reduction Success Stories from NYC’s Mayoral Challenge
Location: Center for Architecture, 10.18.10
Speakers: Laurie Kerr — Senior Policy Advisor, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability; Thomas Goldsmith — Director of Environment & Energy Conservation, & Bernadette Lavin — Executive Director of Conference & Auxiliary Services, St. John’s University; Andy Ryan — Senior Director of Engineering and Maintenance, Weill Cornell Medical College; Cecil Scheib — Director of Energy and Sustainability, New York University; Natale DiDonato — Director of Energy Services, Luthin Associates, Inc.
Organizer: AIANY Committee on the Environment

In 2007, as part of PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg challenged the city’s universities to reduce carbon emissions 30% by 2030. Seventeen schools have answered the call so far.

From St. John’s University, Thomas Goldsmith and Bernadette Lavin discussed the importance of operations and finance working together. St. John’s has currently achieved a 14% reduction through building management systems (BMS), energy-efficient construction, lighting retrofits, and water-saving measures. But those initiatives were only possible because of a detailed Management & Verification plan, which accurately predicted future savings and allowed the university to secure a loan.

“A lot of the things we’ve done so far to save energy are not pure rocket science,” said Andy Ryan from Weill Cornell Medical College. “They are basic things that could be done in any new building or any renovation project.” But at Weill Cornell, those basic things — BMS, exhaust heat recovery, variable-speed fans — are crucial, because medical and lab facilities are so energy-intensive. Ryan also noted that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), helped provide funding for all of the universities represented on the panel.

More than the technical or financial aspects, New York University’s Cecil Scheib emphasized the social implications of green initiatives. “Learning to save energy is not only about building operators or the architects having a plan,” he said. “For a building to be a living organism, it has to have users realize what’s going on. They play a part.” He said that because NYU students clearly understand how energy usage affects operating costs — i.e. tuition — they are willing to support initiatives even when it requires some adjustments to their habits.

In the end, said Natale DiDonato of Luthin Associates, the mayor’s challenge only catalyzed carbon-reducing initiatives that were already beginning to develop. “The motivation is coming from a lot of different directions,” he said: “Competing for students, looking good compared to the other universities, and you’ve got all these engineers waiting in the wings to get some new toys… So the mayor’s challenge, from that standpoint, really gave everybody some focus.”

Carl Yost is the marketing and publicity coordinator for Gabellini Sheppard Associates. He has written for Forbes.com, Architectural Record, and The Architect’s Newspaper, among other publications.

Young Firms Publish Monographs

Event: First Monographs: Young Design Firms and the Experience of Publishing
Location: Center for Architecture, 09.29.10
Speakers: Andy Bernheimer, AIA — Founding Partner, Della Valle Bernheimer; Stephan Jaklitsch, AIA — Principal, Stephan Jaklitsch Architects; Stella Betts — Partner, Leven Betts Studio
Moderator: Kevin Lippert, Publisher, Princeton Architectural Press
Organizers: AIANY Marketing & Public Relations Committee; AIANY Oculus Committee
Sponsor: Group C

(L-R):Think/Make, by Della Valle Bernheimer; Stephan Jaklitsch: Habits Patterns & Algorithms 1998-2008, by Stephan Jaklitsch, AIA; Leven Betts: Pattern Recognition, by Leven Betts Studio

(L-R): Courtesy Princeton Architectural Press; Courtesy Oro Editions;Courtesy Princeton Architectural Press

While myriad firms vie for recognition and status in an increasingly competitive market, some young practices are investing in their reputation by publishing their first monograph. Self-publication can be daunting, but the consortium of young firms that are publishing may have found the secret to success: do it early and, perhaps, often.

Stella Betts, a partner at Leven Betts Studio, fondly recalls the process of conceiving and executing Leven Betts: Pattern Recognition (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008), published 10 years after the firm was founded. The monograph was published as one of 11 Princeton Architectural Press monographs of young firms partially funded by a Graham Foundation grant. Betts refers to the exercise of compiling the monograph as a gift, noting that the process was unlike preparing content for a magazine feature — it involved arduous editing and refinement of materials. Both Betts and her partner, David Levin, AIA, spent a year sketching and diagramming old projects and looking for patterns in their work to best frame the theme of the book.

Stephan Jaklitsch, AIA, principal of Stephan Jaklitsch Architects, had a similar experience. He spent a year gathering, digitizing, and even re-designing projects, focusing on the design process for his monograph. Jaklitsch views Stephan Jaklitsch: Habits Patterns & Algorithms 1998-2008 (Oro Editions, 2008) as the “first threshold” in framing the direction of his firm and publicizing his ideas.

The critical selection of projects to include in a monograph is crucial to achieving a clear theme. Think/Make (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009), Della Valle Bernheimer’s monograph, includes only 10 projects. While the target audience of architectural monographs may seem specific, in the case of Founding Partner Andy Bernheimer, AIA, the monograph is meant to appeal to a broad scope of readers. “Our audience is colleagues, clients, students, our parents,” he said.

Perhaps the most challenging task for each of the three firms was the writing process. Bernheimer is grateful for his publisher’s editors saying, “‘We’re not writers.’ Editors are invaluable.” The consensus among the panelists was that the efforts to produce their first monographs, although time-consuming and taxing, was well worth it and they would consider the process in the future with a more focused lens. The achievement of a first monograph for these young firms has added credibility to their work and garnered them status in the industry.

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

Kappe & Gang Draw from Nature

Event: Checkerboard Conversations: Ray Kappe: California Modern Master, Forty Years of Modular Evolution and Studio Gang Architects
Location: Center for Architecture, 09.30.10 & 10.14.10
Speakers: Ray Kappe, FAIA — Principal, Kappe Architects/Planners & Original Founder, Southern California Institute of Architecture; Jeanne Gang, FAIA, LEED AP — Principal & Founder, Studio Gang Architects; Suzanne Stephens — Deputy Editor, Architectural Record
Organizer: Checkerboard Film Foundation; Center for Architecture; AIANY Architectural Dialogues Committee

LivingHome by Kappe Architects/Planners (left); Aqua Tower by Studio Gang Architects.

Courtesy of LivingHomes (left); Tom Piper (right).

The work of Ray Kappe, FAIA, and Jeanne Gang, FAIA, seems to exist at opposite ends of the architectural spectrum. Kappe is known for designing warm but modern West coast homes, while Studio Gang’s 82-story Aqua Tower is turning heads in Chicago. However, these designers both draw inspiration from the natural environment.

Kappe holds the double legacy of being a pioneering Los Angeles architect and founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC). “I always thought it was important to have as much glass as possible so we can have that connection with the outdoors,” he explained. One of his most notable designs — his own home — exhibits this philosophy. The Pacific Palisades home features seven split-levels that cascade along a hillside. Modular in design, it is comprised of concrete core units connected by laminated Douglas fir beams, a theme that has continued throughout his work. Kappe “retired” 20 years ago, but he has never stopped working, most recently joining forces with LivingHomes to design prefabricated, zero-energy homes.

Studio Gang, on the other hand, has become synonymous with sleek skyscrapers. The Aqua Tower, which contains a hotel, apartments, and condos, features unconventional surface topography that disappears under the occasional “pool” of glass. The result is a “vertical landscape that responds to views of specific sites and landmarks,” explained Gang. No two of the thin (nine-inch-thick) floor plates are alike, and they cantilever several feet to create balconies. The sinuous nature of the building allows people to see others on balconies, fostering a sense of community.

In the Studio Gang film, architecture critic Blair Kamin commented that the Aqua Tower “becomes like built nature.” In fact, much of Studio Gang’s work deals not with soaring towers but with the horizontal landscape. For example, they are designing a transformation of Chicago’s Northerly Island into parkland, including natural habitats for fish and birds and space for “urban camping.” Both Kappe’s and Gang’s work proves that seeking inspiration in nature enriches the built environment.

Murrye Bernard, LEED AP, is a freelance architectural writer and a contributing editor to e-Oculus.

OHNY Turns Eight

The eighth annual openhousenewyork weekend took place 10.09-10.10, opening doors to architectural sites around the city.

One of the most sought after sites at OHNY was the tour of the undeveloped portions of the High Line.

Bill Millard

(L-R): The Centurion by Pei Partnership Architects; courtyard at the Centurion; Islamic Cultural Center of New York by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and Arup’s Sound Lab.

(L-R): Bill Millard; Linda G. Miller; Bill Millard

(L-R): Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, designed by Lyn Rice Architects; exhibition at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center; Tenri Cultural Institute by Marble Fairbanks Architects; Fashion 26-A Wyndham Garden Hotel by Michael Graves, FAIA; and the Brotherhood Synagogue by Silberstang Lasky Architects.

Ernesto Martinez

AIANY New Practices New York award winners toured their offices. SOFTlab showcased their work, including CHROMAesthesiae (left two images), as did LEONG LEONG. The AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) gave tours of the High Bridge in the Bronx as it related to their HB:BX Building Cultural Infrastructure competition (right).

Bill Millard (Soft Lab); LEONG LEONG; Jessica Sheridan (ENYA)

City of Delight

Century Grille and Central Park Grill in Buffalo.

Rick Bell, FAIA

The AIA New York State/ American Society of Landscape Architects Convention took place, this year, in Buffalo, the Queen City, as it is called by Lauren Belfer in City of Light. In her novel, published in 1999 by the Dial Press, issues of infrastructure, energy, urban dynamism, and passion come together in a metropolis defined by its architecture, urbanity, and extraordinary civic intelligence. That was the impression that visitors from downstate, and elsewhere, came away with after the most successful state convention in history.

Thanks are due to AIA New York State President-Elect David Businelli, AIA, and AIA New York State Past-President, Burt Roslyn, AIA, as well as AIANYS staff led by Executive Director Ed Farrell, along with Georgi Ann Bailly and Marthanne Gershman, for keeping the convention animated and exciting. Many service and design awards were conferred, as can be seen from the AIA Buffalo/ Western New York website. These included, among many others, the Educator’s Award to Kenneth Frampton, Assoc. AIA, of Columbia University, the Kideney Medal to Leevi Kiil, FAIA, and Honorary AIANYS status to Suzanne Howell Mecs, the Membership Director of AIA New York. Burt Roslyn, FAIA, received the Matthew W. DelGaudio Award; Stanley Stark, FAIA, received the President’s Award; and Mark Behm, Assoc. AIA, received the Associates Award. Firm of the Year honors went to FXFOWLE Architects.

Apart from these awards, and those received for superlative designs from firms statewide, the convention was given character and substance by the presence of the city of Buffalo itself. Many got to see the Richardson Asylum, Burnham’s Ellicott Square Building — site of the host chapter party, Wright’s Martin House, and the new Eleanor and Wilson Greathatch Pavilion, adjacent to it, by Toshiko Mori, FAIA. Others appreciated the enduring charms of the nightlife of Chippewa Street (“Been There” t-shirts abounded), and the home-style culinary delights of the Century Grill, Taste of Soul, Washington Square Bar, and Central Park Grille. Buffalo architects Ron Battaglia FAIA, Dennis Andrejko FAIA, Kelly Hayes McAlonie, AIA, and Robert Traynham Coles, FAIA, also made all convention-goers feel right at home. The City of Light was lit up for the AIA.

Leave the West Behind

Thirty of the 200 projects that are part of the “MADE IN NEW YORK” exhibition in the West 4th Street subway station in NYC are currently exhibited at the Zodchestvo 2010 Architectural Festival in Moscow, under the banner “NEW YORK NOW: The Architecture of Social Responsibility.” Pictured: Zuccotti Park by Cooper Robertson; Frank Sinatra School of the Arts by Ennead Architects; Flushing Meadows Natatorium & Rink by Handel Architects/ Hom & Goldman; St. Agnes Branch Library by Helpern Architects; and St. Hilda & St. Hughes School by Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects.

Anya Bokov

In Moscow, at the Manejh conference center in the former Tsarist cavalry training pavilion, 30 architectural projects from NYC (See Names in the News) were displayed during the Zodchestvo 2010 Architectural Festival of the Union of Architects of Russia (UAR). The exhibition, organized by AIANY, was a result of an invitation from UAR President Andrey Bokov to the AIA to be part of the annual design gathering, the Russian equivalent of the annual AIA Convention. Many recall that Bokov was a speaker at the AIA Convention in Miami this past June, and an exhibition of recent Russian design work, organized by Brian Spencer, FAIA, hung in the convention center’s halls. Here, then, was a chance to reciprocate, and the exhibition, called “NEW YORK NOW: The Architecture of Social Responsibility,” was culled from the 200 projects currently on display in the south passageways at the West 4th Street Subway Station a kilometer from the Center for Architecture on LaGuardia Place.

Projects in the show included a recycling barge transfer station by Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA, and the NYPL library renovation at St. Agnes Branch Library by Helpern Architects. A recreation center by Belmont Freeman, FAIA, accompanied the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts by Ennead Architects, and a courthouse in Allentown, PA, by Ricci Greene Architects.

The exhibition was facilitated by overall festival director Yuri Avvakumov and festival designer Egor Sopolov, and benefited from the strategic advice of Moscow-based architect Anya Bokov, who has worked in New York and Boston. Curators-of-record were Vladimir Belogolovsky and this writer, with major assistance from AIANY staff members Rosamond Fletcher, Suchi Paul, Jeremy Chance, and Cynthia Kracauer, AIA. Concurrent with the AIANY “MADE IN NEW YORK” subway show, the Zodchestvo installation shows that the Chapter promotes the value of architecture and of the work of AIANY members worldwide. As they say in Moscow, Architecture Matters!

In this issue:
· Moynihan Gains Momentum — Phase I Begins
· BPC Parks Conservancy Conserves Energy at its New Maintenance Facility
· Autobahn Alley Deals Volkswagens
· Curtain Wall Animates Science, Health, and Technology
· New England Lighthouse is Restored
· Austin Arthouse Reopens

Moynihan Gains Momentum — Phase I Begins

Moynihan Station.

Empire State Development

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the opening of the original Penn Station, a ceremonial ground breaking ceremony took place on the steps of the Farley Post Office building, the future home of Moynihan Station. The first phase of the project, “Moynihan Moving Forward,” will include the expansion and enhancement of the 33rd Street Connector between Penn Station and the West End Concourse, which lies under the grand staircase of the Farley building. The project will also extend and widen the West End Concourse to serve nine of Pennsylvania Station’s 11 platforms, and add new vertical access points, passenger circulation space, and entrances into the West End Concourse through the 31st and 33rd Street corners of the Farley building. The first phase of construction is expected to be complete by 2016. In March 2010, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which has been working on the new station since the 1990s, was contracted by the Moynihan Station Development Corporation to start design work on the first phase.

BPC Parks Conservancy Conserves Energy at its New Maintenance Facility

Battery Park City Maintenance Facility.

Dattner Architects

The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy now boasts a new high performance, 40,500-square-foot maintenance facility, designed by Dattner Architects, that consolidates its extensive maintenance activities, houses the organization’s educational and art workshops, and provides office and meeting spaces for the organization’s 100+ employees. The four-story facility, set in the base of the Visionaire, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, is the only project Battery Park City (BPC) has built for its own use. It serves as an example of sustainable design integration, using a combination of low-tech, passive strategies and high-tech equipment to reduce the energy costs by 35% and water consumption by 47%. In addition to exceeding BPC’s sustainable guidelines, the project has also achieved a LEED Platinum rating for Commercial Interiors. A double-glazed exterior wall acts as a ventilated “circulation spine,” providing insulation in the summer and heat in the winter. The atrium is capped with louvered skylights to bring in natural light. In addition, the facility includes geothermal heating and cooling, radiant heating panels, recycled denim insulation, and bamboo millwork.

Autobahn Alley Deals Volkswagens

Volkswagen Group of America dealership.

The Spector Group

The Spector Group has been named executive architect for the Volkswagen Group of America’s new, full-service dealership on 11th Avenue, aka Autobahn Alley. Located in a space formerly occupied by Potamkin General Motors, the design team, which includes Volkswagen’s design/brand architect Novi, MI-based Cityscape Architects, and Audi’s design/brand architect CR Studio, will transform the 260,000-square-foot facility to fit the national image of its dealerships. Volkswagen will occupy six floors, the roof, and a portion of the cellar. Plans call for blending the existing and a new façade with the interior design. Flexibility will be a key component of the design scheme. The project is now underway and is slated for completion in mid to late 2012.

Curtain Wall Animates Science, Health, and Technology

Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York School of Science, Health, and Technology.

Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, celebrated its 40th anniversary with the official opening of the five-story, 194,000-square-foot School of Science, Health, and Technology building, designed by Ennead Architects. The school occupies the top four floors of the facility and contains 16 flexibly designed teaching and research labs, 13 general classrooms, five computer labs, a 350-seat dining hall, faculty dining room, and kitchen. The glazed curtain wall provides natural light to the lobby and main corridor while open stairs animate the façade. In addition, wide corridors with seating alcoves encourage student and faculty interaction and the interdisciplinary mingling. This is the first new building of the college’s master plan, completed by Ennead Architects (formerly Polshek Partnership) in 1995. Roberta Washington Architects is the associate architect for both the master plan and the new building.

New England Lighthouse is Restored

Block Island’s North Light.

Walter Sedovic Architects

After being dark in recent years, Block Island’s North Light on a bluff in Rhode Island has been restored by Walter Sedovic Architects. Recognized as an active aid to navigation by the U.S. Coast Guard, it was constructed in 1867 from local granite and cast iron. Exposure to salt-laden winds led to the deterioration of the lighthouse’s iron lantern. Restoration efforts involved intensive evaluations, logistics, and cooperative efforts to undertake this project within the confines of an environmentally sensitive site — shifting dunes, nesting habitat for migratory endangered birds, proximity to the sea, and fresh water ponds. The project also includes solar and wind clean-energy production, material salvage and recycling (the original corroded elements of cast iron were melted down at a foundry to be recast in new molded components), the use of local labor, and community education programs about sustainability.

Austin Arthouse Reopens

Arthouse.

Arthouse at the Jones Center, a contemporary art space in downtown Austin, TX, has reopened after an extensive $4.3 million renovation and expansion project designed by Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis Architects (LTL). Formerly a 1920s movie palace and a department store in the 1950s, the building now intertwines historical features with contemporary additions. The original Queen Theater’s large stucco murals, for example, are now visible, along with the original wooden ceiling; steel trusses and a sculptural plaster awning reference the former department store. The usable space of the building has been expanded from 7,000 to 20,830 square feet, as the previously inaccessible second floor now contains a large column-free gallery. In addition, the building has been reconfigured to house an entry lounge, galleries, a dedicated video/film gallery, a 90-seat community/screening room, two studios, a public mezzanine lounge, and a rooftop event space. The exterior skin of the building is perforated with 177 custom laminated glass units, which are clustered to selectively allow light into the building. Illuminated by LED lights at night, the blocks animate the public face of the building.

In this issue:
· AIA Accepting Designs for Decades
· Feedback Request: Key Terms Clarification Text Amendment
· AIA’s “50 to 50” Outlines Ways to Achieve the 2030 Challenge
· AIA Wins 2010 International Association for Public Participation
· eCalendar

AIA Accepting Designs for Decades
AIANY is helping AIA National facilitate its “Design for Decades” initiative. Modeled after “MADE IN NEW YORK” (on view in the West 4th Street Subway Station through 10.31.10), “Design for Decades” includes an open call for global architecture projects completed by AIA members. AIA will host a virtual exhibition, and projects may be featured in other venues in the future, including AIA headquarters, the national convention, and at local components’ spaces. According to AIA President George Miller, FAIA, “The purpose of this undertaking is to feature works of all scales and types that represent the scope and quality of work being done by AIA members.” There is a $25 entry fee, and submissions are open through Friday, 11.12.10.

Key Terms Clarification Text Amendment — Give us your feedback
By Jay Bond, AIANY Policy Director

We are in the middle of the 60-day public review period for the Key Terms Clarification Text Amendment, a set of technical changes to the NYC Zoning Resolution designed to preserve the original intent of the zoning regulations and to clarify the meaning and usage of key terms within the regulations.

The key terms include “development” and “building” as they are defined in the Zoning Resolution. The use of the term “development” will be clarified to mean only a new building or a new use of open land. The definition of “building” will be revised to differentiate one building from another in a way that corresponds to the intent of the City Planning Commission, the Building Code, and to a layperson’s common understanding of what differentiates two buildings that touch. The full text of the amendment can be found here.

AIANY would appreciate your feedback on the proposed changes. Comment on our blog , or e-mail jbond@aiany.org with your feedback. Also, please join the AIANY Planning and Urban Design Committee on 11.19.10 from 8-10am for a conversation on the Text Amendment.

AIA’s “50 to 50” Outlines Ways to Achieve the 2030 Challenge
At this year’s AIANYS Convention, Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, LEED AP, and Dennis A. Andrejko, FAIA, discussed the environmental, economic, and cultural issues around sustainability at a session called, “Architectural Design in a Green Culture: Meeting the 2030 Challenge.” Having adopted a goal to reach net-zero impact by the year 2030, the AIA has developed a set of guidelines to reduce the use and emissions of fossil fuels in buildings. The “50 to 50” reference book outlines strategies to reduce the environmental impact by 50% immediately and 100% by 2030. The 218-page document addresses 50 different issues, from active solar systems to windows and openings, and includes both established techniques and emerging trends; it encourages integrated approaches to reducing carbon emissions throughout the built environment. Click the link to download the document.

AIA Wins 2010 International Association for Public Participation
The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) has announced that AIA is its 2010 Organization of the Year. The AIA was recognized for its public participation program, including its extensive design assistance programs, and the Center for Communities by Design, which began in 1967 with the Regional and Urban Design Assistance Team. More than 1,000 professionals have contributed to the AIA’s public service work across the country.

eCALENDAR
eCalendar includes an interactive listing of architectural events around NYC. Click the link to go to to eCalendar on the Web.