Author: Emily Nemens

In this issue:
· AIANY, MoMA Tour New York Harbor
· AIA Formally Announces Switch to Architect
· Ayers Appointed Architect of the Capitol
· Candidates for AIA National Offices Answer Questions

AIANY, MoMA Tour New York Harbor
Guy Nordensen’s “On the Water” project keeps coming back to the AIA. First, it won the Latrobe Prize in 2007, giving Nordenson, Catherine Seavitt Studio, and Architecture Research Office $100,000 to research their ideas about how to mitigate sea level rise in NYC. Their final project “On the Water: Palisade Bay” won a 2010 AIANY Design Award in the Unbuilt category. Meanwhile, their research spawned another major initiative with the Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1: Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront. Last winter, five design teams were tasked to further investigate the effects of rising sea levels on New York Harbor, and offer potential solutions.

While being selected for the P.S.1 residency was a competitive process, once the teams were selected, each worked on a project in one of five zones. Zone 0, Lower Manhattan, was led by Architecture Research Office and dlandstudio. Zone 1, around Liberty State Park in New Jersey, was led by Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis Architects. Zone 2 looked at Kill Van Kull and Bayonne, and was led by Matthew Baird Architects. nARCHITECTS explored Zone 3, which ran from Sunset Park through Bay Ridge to Staten Island. Finally, Zone 4, looking at Gowanus Canal and Buttermilk Channel, was led by Kate Orff, ASLA, of SCAPE.

This Friday, 05.21.10, the teams will set sail on a boat chartered by the Center for Architecture and MoMA. While the group cruises from zone to zone, team leaders will talk about their projects in the context of the water itself. Tickets for this one-night-only event are available online through 05. 20.10. Visit AIANY’s calendar for more information.

The results of their residency are on view at the Museum of Modern Art through 10.11.10.

AIA Formally Announces Switch to Architect
On 05.11.10, the American Institute of Architects formally announced its new partnership with Hanley Wood. The five-year agreement will make Hanley Wood’s Architect magazine the official magazine of AIA National, replacing Architectural Record. In the contract, effective 01.01.11, Hanley Wood will be responsible for not only a magazine, but for leveraging print, online, the AIA convention, and digital platforms to better serve AIA membership. In addition to a print version of Architect, AIA members will receive online versions of residential architect, EcoHome, and Eco-Structure. Read more about the agreement here.

Ayers Appointed Architect of the Capitol
After serving as interim architect of the capitol for three years, on 05.12.10, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Stephen Ayers, AIA, to be Architect of the Capitol. Since 1876, the Architect of the Capitol has been responsible for maintaining and improving the U.S. Capitol and its grounds, including Congressional office buildings, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress. In his tenure, Ayers opened the new Capitol Visitor Center, and doubled the output of its recycling program. Read more about the appointment here, and see Ayers speak about his job at the AIA National Convention in Miami. He will be the keynote speaker on the pre-conference evening event, the 06.09.10 Citizen Architect Exchange.

Candidates for AIA National Offices Answer Questions
In preparation for AIA’s National Convention in Miami, 06.10-06.12.2010, where the AIA will hold its 2010 elections, AIA National Office candidates recently answered questions from emerging architects. What do they do to support young people entering the field? What advice can they give to interns starting down the road to licensure? The candidates also answered more general questions about their contributions to the organization and their opinions on the Institute’s Strategic Plan. Read their responses here.

In this issue:
· 04.20.2010 — Lobby Day Report

Lobby Day Report
By Emily Nemens, AIANY Communications Coordinator

(L-R): Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP; Susan Chin, FAIA; Margery Perlmutter, Esq., AIA; Venesa Alicea, Assoc. AIA; Ricardo Scofidio, AIA; Anthony Schirripa, FAIA, IIDA; and Rick Bell, FAIA.

Jay Bond

Two weeks ago, AIANY sent representatives to AIA New York State’s Architects in Albany Lobby Day. AIANY’s new Policy Director, Jay Bond, organized a group of Chapter leadership and NYC-based practitioners, including 2010 President Anthony Schirripa, FAIA, IIDA; President-elect Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP; Director of Legislative Affairs Margery Perlmutter, Esq., AIA,; and Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA. The Manhattan Chapter was joined by President of AIA Queens, Laura Heim, AIA; AIANYS Regional Director Susan Chin, FAIA; AIA New York State Associate Director Venesa Alicea, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP; Ricardo Scofidio, AIA, founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro; and Regional Directors Russell Davidson, AIA and Terrence O’Neal, AIA.

It was a busy day in Albany: appointments started with NYS Senator Liz Krueger of the 26th District, and stretched throughout the day with meetings in the offices of NYS Assembly Member Deborah Glick of the 66th District; Mark Furnish, Chief Counsel to NYS Senator Thomas Duane of the 29th District; NYS Assembly Member Cathy Nolan of the 37th District; NYS Assembly Majority Leader Ronald Canestrari of the 106th District; and NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of the 64th District. The New York Chapter arrived in Albany ready to talk to their legislators about AIANYS’s agenda: lobbying for Alternative Project Delivery, including design-build, advocating for a revision in the non-design professional ownership rules, and promoting the design and construction of green schools.

“This trip to Albany was important, ” explained Rick Bell, FAIA, Executive Director of AIANY, “because together with AIA colleagues from around the state, we pushed for two very important issues: Statute of Repose and interdisciplinary firm ownership. The lack of both puts New York architects and designers at a competitive disadvantage with our colleagues in other states. We seemed to get more traction on these issues than ever before, with a positive meeting with senior staff in the office of New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver capping the day’s efforts.”

The Chapter also shared with New York legislators two lists of bills: ones that it would like to see advanced (including Design Liability Reform, Qualification Based Selection of Professional Design Services, Good Samaritan Act, Smart Growth, and the Historic Preservation Tax Credit), and those that the Chapter opposes (including Professional Certification, Prohibition; Criminal Prosecution for Building and Fire Code Violations, Construction Threshold, and Damages for Delay). (Read the AIANYS Legislative Program here) The Chapter emphasized its concerns over our state’s lack of a statute of repose. Currently, 48 states and the District of Columbia have some sort of statute of repose for design professionals, while architects in New York have to maintain their insurance into retirement. (Although there is a three-year statute of limitations on actions brought by an owner or client, architects are answerable for an indefinite period after project completion to third party claims) AIANY advocates a 10-year limitation on third party claims recognizing that the design professional has no control over a property after construction is complete.

All of the legislation mentioned are in various states of progress in the Senate and the Assembly, and it’s not clear how far they will get before the session ends in June. As we move forward, the Chapter will look to AIA New York State and Eric Goshow, AIA, the Chair of the Government Affairs Standing Committee, for guidance on how best to use our local resources to move all these priorities forward. “For me our visit to Albany was a great success even before we had our first meeting because we were able to have more of our members motivated and involved in the process,” explained Bond. “Sometimes this is the toughest obstacle to overcome and I know, from what I experienced in Albany, we have a group of individuals committed to moving the discussion forward on issues that architects care about.”

Event: The New Domino
Location: Center for Architecture, 04.22.10
Speaker: Rafael Viñoly, FAIA — Rafael Viñoly Architects
Organizer: Center for Architecture; with Rafael Viñoly Architects; Community Preservation Corporation

Rafael Viñoly, FAIA

Emily Nemens

Interview:
[podcast]http://www.e-oculuspodcast.com/podcasts/AIA_podcast_episode0012.mp3[/podcast]

Synopsis:
e-Oculus reporter Jacqueline Pezzillo, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, interviews distinguished architect Rafael Viñoly, FAIA after his presentation at the Center for Architecture.

Related Links:
“A New Domino Effect in Williamsburg,” by Jacqueline Pezzillo, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, e-Oculus, 05.04.10.

In this issue:
· AIANY is in the “News”
· Coming in May: The Bilbao Effect

AIANY is in the “News”
On 04.15.10, NY1 reporter Jeanine Ramirez paid a visit to “The New Domino” exhibition at the Center for Architecture. The project for the historic Domino Sugar refinery site on the Brooklyn waterfront, which is currently being reviewed by the City Planning Commission as part of the ULURP process, will be presented by the lead architect, Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, at the Center for Architecture on 04.22.10 , less than a week before the City Planning public hearing on 04.28.10. See the NY1 coverage here, on the AIANY’s new news page! Visit “News” to stay up-to-date with Chapter and Center headlines, and read the latest press releases from the Center for Architecture!

Coming in May: The Bilbao Effect
It’s been six years since Oren Safdie debuted his architecture-themed play, “Private Jokes, Public Places,” at the Center for Architecture. The playwright is back in NYC, and has begun rehearsing for “The Bilbao Effect,” the next installment in his architecture trilogy. In this fast, funny play, architect Erhardt Shlaminger is under fire for his mega-development on Staten Island. (More than a few parallels can be drawn to Brooklyn’s controversial Atlantic Yards development.) Could irresponsible architecture have driven a resident to suicide? What is the role of design in our 21st-century cities? It is up to the AIA to decide, as designers, critics, and residents hash out the role and responsibility of new buildings in NYC.

The showcase play will convert the Center for Architecture into a 99-seat theater, with showings Wednesday-Saturday, 05.12-06.05.10. Tickets are $18, and can be purchased in advance at Theatermania. Stay tuned for a podcast interview with the playwright in an upcoming of e-Oculus, and get your tickets for “The Bilbao Effect” today!

In this issue:

· AIA NYS Convention 10.14-16
· Legislative Update — AIA, AIANYS, & AIANY
· Materials Library Survey needs your input

AIA NYS Convention October 14-16

Planning is underway for the 2010 AIA New York State convention, taking place 10.14-16.10 in Buffalo, NY, in conjunction with the ASLA Upstate New York. This year’s theme is “Creating the Fabric of Our Culture.” The call for presentations is now open, with AIANYS accepting proposals through 05.03. There will be 30-, 60-, and 90-minute sessions, and presenters and their firms are listed online and onsite. For submission details and to download an editable submission template, visit http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs043/1011137626014/archive/1103212929895.html.

Legislative Update — AIA, AIANYS, & AIANY

In addition to Carolyn Maloney’s recent visit to the Center for Architecture (see “Congresswoman Maloney Talks Transit,” by Linda G. Miller, in this issue), there has been recent activity at the state and national level. AIANYS is gearing up for Lobby Day 2010 on 04.20. AIANY will be represented in Albany by Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA; AIANY’s new Policy Director, Jay Bond; AIANY President Tony Schirripa, FAIA, IIDA; President-elect Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP, and Margery Perlmutter, AIA, Director for Legislative Affairs.

On a national level, AIA celebrated the adoption of changes in the retainage rule for architects and engineers. Previously, 10% of a fee on federal projects could be held until the project was complete and deemed satisfactory. With the new rule, the retainage is discretionary, and “should not be held over beyond the satisfactory completion of the instant contract.”

In other AIA legislative news, since the Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference in February, Congress has made progress on two of the five items on AIA’s Legislative Blueprint. (http://www.aia.org/advocacy/federal/AIAB081324). Both the House and Senate have passed legislation on small business lending provisions and infrastructure/community building, and the two bodies are working out the differences in their laws. AIA has also set up a website explaining the recent health care legislation and its impact on the profession: http://www.aia.org/advocacy/federal/AIAB082567.

Materials Library Survey needs your input

Building & Design Resources, a group of resource consultants for architects, interior designers, and related professionals, is conducting a survey in conjunction with the Boston Society of Architects to answer questions about the value of physical libraries vs. accessing information on the web. To take the survey (which will take five to10 minutes) click here. Results will be published in the BSA newsletter and also be made available to AIANY.