At the Center for Architecture
“2013 Design Awards“
Opens 04.18.13
“Low Rise High Density“
Opens 04.25.13
“American Society of Landscape Architects New York Chapter Design Awards“
Through 04.20.13
“The Edgeless School: Design for Learning”
Through 05.25.13
“Building Connections 2012”
Through 06.15.13
The Oculus 2013 Editorial Calendar has been set. If you are an architect by training, or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, Oculus wants to hear from you! Projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. Please submit story ideas by the deadlines indicated in the calendar to Kristen Richards, Hon. AIA, Hon. ASLA: kristen@ArchNewsNow.com. Read the latest issue of Oculus, Spring 2013, which is now available online!
05.01.13 Call for Proposals: 2013-14 City of Dreams Pavilion Design Competition
05.20.13: Call for Applications: 2013 Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship
06.14.13 Call for Submissions: FAR ROC [For a Resilient Rockaway] Arverne East Design Competition – Phase 1 Deadline
10.07.13 Call for Submissions: FAR ROC [For a Resilient Rockaway] Arverne East Design Competition – Phase 2 Deadline
04.16.13: The United Nations Security Council Chamber was officially re-opened with a special ceremony. Located in the United Nations Conference Building and designed by Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg – with murals by Norwegian artist Per Krohg and Damask wallpaper designed by Norway’s Else Poulsson – it is considered “the most important room in the world.” Read UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks here. Read more about the opening on Archidose. Continue reading “Sighted”
Cornell Tech is seeking two experienced project managers. One will oversee the design and construction of key elements of its Roosevelt Island campus. For complete information, please visit: http://careers.hr.cornell.edu (Job# 19646). The second project manager will work closely with selected development partners to ensure delivery of its quality buildings on its Roosevelt Island campus. For complete information, visit: http://careers.hr.cornell.edu (Job# 19800). Cornell University is a recognized EEO/AA employer and educator.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: EXPERT PROFESSIONAL PLANNING, ARCHITECTURAL, AND ENGINEERING SERVICES TO PREPARE A MIDTOWN BUS MASTER PLAN ON AN “AS-NEEDED” BASIS
RFP #32797 may be obtained online at http://www.panynj.gov/business-opportunities/bid-proposal-advertisements.html?tabnum=6. Addenda to the RFP, if any, will be posted at this site. Monitor the advertisement on the web site to ensure your awareness of any changes. If you have any technical problems accessing the documents online, email askforbids@panynj.gov or call (201) 395-3405 for assistance. Email should include the RFP number, firm name, contact person, email/phone, mailing address. It is currently anticipated that proposals shall be due by 2:00 PM on April 15, 2013 or as otherwise indicated in the document. Proposals must have the RFP Number and full legal firm name clearly indicated on the outside package. Send Proposal(s) to: The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Attn: RFP Custodian, Procurement Department, 2 Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302.
Two weeks ago, 03.20-23.13, AIANY Board members, along with local and state leadership and staff, attended the 2013 AIA National Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. This issue includes some dispatches from Grassroots, including an advocacy update from Jill N. Lerner, FAIA, 2013 AIANY President; Rick Bell, FAIA, AIANY Executive Director on AIA National’s Repositioning efforts; Julie Engh, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, on AIANY member award winners Susannah C. Drake, AIA, and Jessica Sheridan, AIA, LEED AP; and Venesa Alicea, AIA, LEED AP BC+D’s take on the conference. AIA National also released a 2012 annual report during the event, which you can view here. We are all looking forward to the final Repositioning presentation at the 2013 AIA Convention 06.20-22.13 in Denver, CO.
I would also like to congratulate long-time e-Oculus contributing editor Murrye Bernard, Assoc. AIA, as she steps down from her role here to tackle a new venture (we will, of course, announce her new position soon in one of the sections she edited – Names in the News!). Please join me in wishing her good luck!
It was a busy and productive month for our advocacy team. It’s clear from the great results and our conversations with government officials that the voice of the architecture community is being heard. Following is an update of our efforts on your behalf.
We are pleased to report that on 03.06.13, the NYC Lobbying Commission released its final report and recommendations seeking to strengthen New York City’s lobbying laws. Since 2011, AIANY has worked with the Commission to clarify and modify the proposed mandates which would require architects presenting plans to any government body to register as lobbyists, which would have massive implications for architects and firms both large and small. In its final report, the Commission agreed with our position and incorporated our recommendations.
On 03.21.13, we made our annual lobbying trip to Washington, DC, to meet with our elected representatives in Congress. This year, we met with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, and staff from the offices of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Congressman Charles Rangel, and Congressman Jerrold Nadler, as well as Congresswoman Nita Lowey. We were pleased to have the chance to discuss our legislative priorities for architects locally and nationally. All of the issues we discussed were met with support and encouragement, despite the difficulty of achieving positive results in such a divided congress. Continue reading “From the Desk of the President: Advocacy Update”
This year’s Grassroots was all about “Repositioning.” Presentations and discussions, largely on Capitol Hill, were about the future of the Institute and the profession. The Groundhog Day, heard-it-all-before, déjà vu was countered by a fresh sense of purpose and need for results. With only 70 days until June and the AIA Convention, those attending the Repositioning sessions were asking for an action plan, not a regurgitation of other efforts, such as the much-maligned AIM – “Aligning the Institute for the Millennium.”
Enthusiasm prevailed and naysayers were few. In the back rows of the Hyatt Capitol Hill Regency Ballroom, as Ray Rhinehart, Ph.D., Hon. AIA, was being introduced as the Oz-like wizard behind the screen, the master of the teleprompter, and the one who is truly in-the-know, someone was quietly singing under his breath:
They tried to make me go to repo but I said ‘no, no, no’
Yes I’ve been black but when I come back you’ll know know know
I ain’t got the time and if my daddy thinks I’m fine
He’s tried to make me go to repo but I won’t go go go.
I’d rather be at home with Ray
I ain’t got seventy days
Cause there’s nothing
There’s nothing you can teach me….
Despite the catchy tune, we all learned a lot from the conversation between the AIA’s New York City-based consultants Arthur Cohen of LaPlaca Cohen, and Michael Bierut of Pentagram. The presentations, subsequent discussions, and summary by “Uncle Sugar” (or was that “Repo Man”) Robert Ivy, FAIA, are all easily found on the AIA’s website.
The following morning at the breakfast sessions, one of the most cogent comments came from Abby Suckle, FAIA, who serves on both the AIANY and AIA NYS Boards. She noted: “Centers for Architecture accomplish exactly what the Repositioning sets out to do – engage with the general public, put architects in the public eye as world-changing idealists, and show elected officials that we know our business and our public policy, too.”
So, AIANY and the 25 other AIA Chapters now operating architecture centers have a head-start on Repositioning. We’ve been moving in the right direction for nearly 10 years, ever since the Center opened in October 2003. But there is more to do: they tried to make us go to repo, and we said, yes, yes, yes.
Continue reading “Rhetorically Speaking: Go to Repo”
During the Leadership Celebration at Grassroots, the AIA honored two AIANY members for outstanding contributions to the profession at a young age. Susannah C. Drake, AIA, ASLA, was recognized as a 2013 AIA Young Architect Award winner, and Jessica Sheridan, AIA, LEED AP, was honored as a 2013 AIA Associates Award winner. Continue reading “New Yorkers Earn National AIA Recognition at 2013 Grassroots”
This year at the AIA Grassroots Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, AIANY was well-represented among Emerging Professional Leadership with AIANY members holding positions on local, state, and national levels. Local Associate members were represented by AIANY Associate Director Jessica Sheridan, AIA, LEED AP, and AIA NYS Associate members by AIA NYS Associate Director Julie Engh, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP. At the national level, the NYS Young Architect Regional Director, who is our representative to the Young Architects Forum, is Illya Azaroff, AIA, and I am the Advocacy Director for the National Associates Committee. Continue reading “New York’s Emerging Professionals are Leaders at 2013 Grassroots”
It has always been critical for architects to stay abreast of technological advancements. In past eras, technological changes impacted building systems or typologies, both of which were still reliant upon the laws of physics. The profession could comprehend the ramifications of these changes quite easily, since they merely modified the literal building blocks of edifices. Today, architects have, of course, incorporated digital technology in their practices. But as a means to an end: the physicality of a building. In a rapidly digitizing world, where lightning-fast advancements take no physical form, what is an architect to do? Continue reading “Digital Strategy: Beyond the Flat-Screen TV”
