Author: Emily Nemens

In this issue:
· AIANY, ASHRAE, Urban Green Council Launch Energy Code Training
· AIA Documents Available Online

AIANY, ASHRAE, Urban Green Council Launch Energy Code Training
As the NYC Department of Buildings begins to audit design submissions for energy efficiency, with plans to begin inspecting buildings for energy use in 2010, AIANY, ASHRAE, and Urban Green Council are launching a training series, “Energy Code: It’s the Law.” Organized at the behest of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning, as part of its PlaNYC Greater Greener New York initiative, the training series brings in LEED-accredited professionals to talk about how to design energy efficient buildings, from lighting design to filing applications. The first round, five morning sessions between 10.26 and 11.03, sold out in just a few days, but more sessions in December and January — plus an online, on-demand webinar — are in the works.

AIA Documents Available Online
On 10.20.09, AIA launched the “Contract Documents on Demand” service. Usable with both PCs and Macs, it allows customers to buy, download, electronically fill out and print forms that previously were only available offline. Sixteen of AIA’s most popular documents can be downloaded, but the entire list is still available for sale at the AIANY office, 536 LaGuardia Place.

In this issue:
· Licensing Registration Fee Increase Goes into Effect
· AIA Supports Draft of New Energy Bill

Licensing Registration Fee Increase Goes into Effect
In August Governor Paterson signed legislation that approved a 15% increase in professional licensing registration fees, including the architecture profession. Applying to all professionals, except physicians, under the Education Law’s Title VIII list, the three-year registration fee increased from $210 to $242 as of 09.25.09. For re-registering architects, the new fee will be $242 plus the $45 continuing education fee, for a total of $287. For new registrants, there is the $242 registration fee and a $135 license fee, for a total of $377. The increase, the first in 20 years, will assist the Office of Professions to maintain the safety and wellbeing of New Yorkers. More information is available at the Office of Professions website, http://www.op.nysed.gov/.

AIA Supports Draft of New Energy Bill
A draft of the Kerry-Boxer climate bill was unveiled late last month, and quickly won the support of AIA’s national leadership. Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer have put forth the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, which includes two provisions relevant to the AIA’s priorities to lessen the environmental impact of the built environment. The bill encourages green retrofits and strengthens green energy codes. While the bill has to go through revision in committee and be combined with a house version of the bill, it represents some of the strongest environmental legislation in U.S. history. To read more about AIA’s campaign to “walk the walk” of carbon neutrality, visit their website.

In this issue:
· Preview: Architecture Week

Every year, the Center for Architecture hosts a week-long celebration of the best in architecture and design. This year’s programs include two exhibition openings, an international design competition jury, and presentations by Heritage Ball honorees Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Robert Silman, Adrian Benepe, and the Make it Right Foundation. The week culminates in the Heritage Ball, a black-tie event on 10.08.09 to support the many initiatives of AIANY, the Center for Architecture, and the Center for Architecture Foundation.

All programs take place at the Center for Architecture, are open to the public; admission is free unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit the Architecture Week website.

Monday, 10.05.09, 9-11AM
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Recipient of the AIA New York President’s Award
Design, the Arts and Everything Else
Join the principals of Diller Scofidio + Renfro for a conversation about the High Line, Alice Tully Hall, and other notable projects.

Monday, 10.05.09, 6-8PM
Robert Silman, PE, Hon. AIA
Recipient of the AIA New York Chapter Award
Technology and Values in Architectural Form
Structural Engineer Robert Silman will converse with historian and architecture critic Kenneth Frampton of Columbia University to explore the relationship between technology and architecture and the effect this relationship has on the development of architectural form.

Tuesday, 10.06.09, 9-11AM
Commissioner Adrian Benepe
Recipient of the Center for Architecture Award
Parks, Play and People
Custodian of 2.5 million trees, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe has emerged as a design catalyst in the Bloomberg Administration. Hear him speak about parks for people.

Tuesday, 10.06.09, 6-8PM
Exhibition Opening: Context/Contrast: New Architecture in Historic Districts
“Context/Contrast” asks how the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s charge of ensuring “appropriate” new architecture in historic districts has allowed neighborhoods to evolve without endangering the essential character that contributes to their public value and makes them worth protecting.

Wednesday, 10.07.09, 6-7PM
Exhibition Opening: New York Now
AIANY and the Center for Architecture take over the West 4th Street subway station with an exhibition that presents the scope and quality of work being done by Chapter members in NYC today. (Exhibition may be viewed 10.01-31.09 in W. 4th St. Subway Station’s South End, Reception at the Village Trattoria, 135 West 3rd St)

Thursday, 10.08.09, 9-11AM
Make It Right Foundation
Recipient of the Center for Architecture Foundation Award
Make It Right: From Concept to Community
A talk and presentation by Make It Right Executive Director Tom Darden will trace the genesis and evolution of Make It Right’s work to provide green, affordable, storm-resistant family homes for residents of New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. Special emphasis will be placed upon the involved architects and their groundbreaking designs.

Thursday, 10.08.09, 6-9PM
Heritage Ball
Architects, designers, friends, and industry professionals join together for the annual AIANY and Center for Architecture Foundation black-tie event, which celebrates the tradition of design excellence. This year, with Dinner Chair Laurie Beckelman, Hon. AIA, we honor Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Robert Silman, PE, Hon. AIA, Commissioner Adrian Benepe, and the Make It Right Foundation. Tickets start at $750, with half tables from $5,000, and can be purchased at aiany.org/heritageball.

Thursday, 10.08.09, Evening
Announcement: Stage I Jury of urbanSHED International Design Competition
urbanSHED, a competition sponsored by the NYC Department of Buildings and AIANY, challenges the global design community to rethink New York’s sidewalk shed with a mind for safety, sustainability, and pedestrian experience. The three finalist teams, who will continue on to the second phase of the competition, and several honorable mention awards, will be announced at the Heritage Ball.

Thursday, 10.08.09, 9PM-2AM
Party@theCenter
This Heritage Ball after-party, which features music, drinks, and dancing, packs the Center for Architecture late into the night. Guests must be 21 years or older to attend. Tickets are $25 in advance, $40 at the door, and can be purchased at aiany.org/partyatthecenter.

Saturday, 10.10.09 & Sunday, 10.11.09, 11AM-3PM
7th Annual openhousenewyork Weekend & Family Festival
The Center for Architecture will serve as headquarters for openhousenewyork. Families are invited to drop in and enjoy family-friendly activities offered by the Center for Architecture Foundation, openhousenewyork, and other participating OHNY sites. On Sunday, the AIANY Emerging NY Architects Committee (ENYA) will also be hosting tours of their international design ideas competition site, Highbridge, Bronx. View the full openhousenewyork schedule at http://www.ohny.org.

In this issue:
· AIANY Wins at AIANYS
· New NAAB for 2011
· Get Involved with AIA National

AIANY Wins at AIANYS
Six AIANY members won state honors in 2009. Abby Suckle, FAIA, 2009 AIANY Secretary, will receive the Fellow’s Award. Venesa Alicea, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, 2009 AIANY Associate Director, won one of two AIANYS Intern Associate Awards. Pei Cobb Freed + Partners was granted the 2009 Firm Award. Anthony Vidler, Dean of Cooper Union (who will be speaking at the Deans’ Roundtable at the Center for Architecture, 09.17.09), will receive the AIANYS Education Award, Leevi Kiil, FAIA, will be given the President’s Award, and Russell A. Davidson, AIA, will receive the Matthew W. Del Guadio Service Award. All the awards will be presented during the AIANYS Mainstreets Convention, in Rochester, NY, 09.24-26.09. The Honor Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday, 09.25.09, at the Dryden Theater. The last day to register for the AIANYS Mainstreets convention is 09.16.09.

New NAAB for 2011
It’s been two years in the making, and it will be two more years until the accreditations go into effect, but the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) has a new set of Conditions of Accreditation. The AIA, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the American Institute of Architectural Students (AIAS) weighed in on the new rules, which will go into effect 04.01.10, and will be applied to programs from 2011 to 2016. There are some major changes to what qualifies as an accredited architecture program, including that students have not just the understanding of, but the ability to build sustainably. Applied research is a new student performance criterion, and there is an emphasis on bringing collaboration and leadership into curriculum. Read more here.

Get Involved with AIA National
There are a number of opportunities to have your voice heard at the national level without ever having to leave your desk. On 09.16.09, from 2-3 PM, AIA National is hosting the last of three interactive webinars on its 2010-2015 strategic plan. George H. Miller, FAIA, 2010 president-elect, and Clark Manus, FAIA, 2010 first vice president-elect, will host the event. AIA is seeking feedback from its constituents on its draft plan for the next five years, and hopes to make the adoption process as transparent and inclusive as possible. Sign up here.

AIA National’s Advocacy team announced that the Board Advocacy Committee’s comment period is now open on this year’s outstanding position statements. Last year the board plowed through 43 statements, and set the language of 38. The remaining five open position statements needed further evaluation and review: Research and Development; Architectural Practice and Title Regulations; Energy and the Built Environment; Sustainable Architectural Practice; and Sustainable Rating Systems. A sixth position statement, on Interoperability, is also open for comment. The AIA encourages its members to weigh in on these issues, as they will become “binding on all AIA official activity, including component activities and on AIA members acting in an official capacity on behalf of the AIA.” Read these sunset reviews and comment here.