Month: July 2013

“Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.” Although the quote is by Rahm Emanuel regarding the financial crisis, don’t let partisan politics cloud the message’s potency. No doubt, those directly affected by Superstorm Sandy, which brought so much devastation to New York and the region, take this to heart.

In light of the disaster, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and its partners – developers of Arverne East in the Rockaways, Queens – took this message to heart, too. They rightly stopped the project in its tracks to rethink the entire plan, venturing to do things they couldn’t do before.

To solicit the best ideas for a path to an innovative and resilient scheme, the coalition, including HPD, L+M Development Partners, The Bluestone Organization, Triangle Equities, Enterprise Community Partners, and AIANY, held an ideas competition. On 07.18.13, the four finalist teams of the FAR ROC competition’s first phase were announced at the Center for Architecture. Continue reading “Do the FAR ROC-away”

Includes contributions from the following members of the AIANY Design for Aging Committee: Eric Cohen, AIA; Susan Wright, AIA; Gail Ressler; Meenakshi Varandani, AIA; Rich Rosen, AIA; and Lisa Morgenroth, Assoc. AIA

On Saturday, 05.18.13, a day-long charrette, BOOMING BOROUGHS: Redesigning Aging-in-Place in NYC, was held at the Center for Architecture, conducted by the AIANY Design for Aging Committee. Five design teams worked intensively to develop innovative ways to modify the existing housing stock of NYC to better accommodate the needs of seniors, and, by extension, better serve all population groups. One month later, the presentations on 06.20.13 focused on the five teams’ most important proposals. Continue reading “Designing for a Lifetime”

From the moment she took the podium, it was evident why Joy Bailey Bryant is so successful in her career as a cultural planner and outreach specialist. Bryant immediately announced that this 07.09.13 event, titled “Listen and They Will Build: Incorporating the Results of Community Engagement into Cultural Building Projects,” would be more of a conversation than a formal lecture, and that she was eager to hear thoughts and feedback from the audience. In her capacity as principal consultant with Lord Cultural Resources, she employs these tactics on a daily basis for community outreach and engagement when advising on cultural plans and institutions. In her presentation, Bryant outlined recommendations for successful engagement in cultural planning and illustrated her approach with two Lord projects: the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. Continue reading “Listen and They Will Build”

Entrepreneurship is inextricable from the practice of architecture, especially in New York City’s competitive business environment. And, as generations of designers seeking their professional niche have learned, entrepreneurship takes many forms. Traditional practice as a firm principal or managing partner is but one of many routes available to those with architectural training or experience. The speakers at the ninth and final “Leading Architecture in a Changing World” lecture series presented attendees with but a fraction of the myriad options available to the passionate and driven designer. Continue reading “An Open Dialogue on Architectural Entrepreneurship”

On a balmy, stormy Saturday morning, 40 Water Mill-bound pilgrims joined the ranks inching along the backed-up Montauk Highway in eastern Long Island. Only these pilgrims quickly peeled off into the easily visible, yet subtly hidden, Parrish Art Museum. And they were treated to an insightful tour of the museum, and more interestingly, to stories of the process and details behind the Herzog & de Meuron-designed building. Continue reading “Popping in on the Parrish”

On Monday, 07.15.13, AIANY’s Marketing & Communications Committee hosted a program called “On Camera! Marketing Your Message Using Photography, Video, and Documentary.” Conceived by committee member Debra Pickrel, Principal of Pickrel Communications, with support from myself and fellow co-chair John Fontillas, AIA, LEED AP, the program was Part 1 of a two-part series that focuses on the increasing popularity of interactive photography, videography, and documentary to convey a firm’s story and the cutting-edge trends for their use. Continue reading “On Camera!”