Murrye Bernard, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP – Contributing Editor – Page 39 – News – What’s New at AIANY and the Center for Architecture.

Oculus 2008 Editorial Calendar
If you are an architect by training or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, note that OCULUS editors are looking for writers for the Fall and Winter issues. The themes:

Fall OCULUS: Practice. Focus of this year’s Practice issue is on the architectural office — the culture and decision-making structure of NY-based practices, how the office’s design reflects the culture, along with the views of key players in the firm.

Winter OCULUS: Competing for Space. Explore the growing competition between expansionist institutions on limited sites and the interests of adjacent communities, many in residential areas with moderate-income families.

If you’re interested, please contact OCULUS editor-in-chief Kristen Richards. with a brief outline and full contact information.

Spring 2008: closed
Summer 2008: closed
Fall 2008: closed
08.01.08 Winter 2008-09: Competing for Space

04.30.08 Call for Entries: LONDON 2008
Arquitectum presents its eighth international contest, an exhibition hosted by the Architectural Association School of London. The theme calls for a movable architecture gallery that travels across the River Thames to connect the various art spaces and collect visitors along the river, especially in the South Bank. The exhibition space should adapt to the movement of the river, to the different requirements of an exhibition and the artist, and to the weather in London. Early registration deadline is 04.30.08; final registration ends 06.30.08.

05.30.08 Call for Entries: USGBC 2008 Natural Talent Design Competition
This competition — which provides an applied learning experience in the principles of integrated design, sustainability, innovation, and social consciousness — calls for a proposed design for the Empire Fulton Ferry Art Center & Middle School. Participants will compete in a local competition, then the first place winner will compete for a national award at GreenBuild Boston in November 2008. Awards include Green Building Scholarships as well as travel and registration to GreenBuild, where finalists’ entries will be displayed and where final judging will occur.

05.30.08 Call for Entries: NYC Green Building Competition
Launched by the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and Environmental Protection Agency Region 2, this national competition seeks projects and ideas that promote NYC as the pre-eminent cultural and sustainable urban epicenter. Design projects are encouraged that integrate whole-building principles, employ the tenets of green building construction and end-of-life considerations, anticipate post-occupancy concerns, and complement the community in which they reside.

06.01.08 Call for Entries: 2008 World Habitat Awards
Established in 1985, the World Habitat Awards seek to identify practical, innovative, and sustainable solutions to current housing issues, which are capable of being transferred or adapted for use elsewhere. A panel of international judges assesses entries and awards £10,000 to two winning projects at the annual United Nations global celebration of World Habitat Day. The competition is open to all individuals and organizations, including central and local governments, community-based groups, NGOs, research organizations, and the private sector from any country.

06.01.08 Call for Entries: AIA New Hampshire IDID Awards
The fourth Integrated Design/Integrated Development (IDID) Excellence in Sustainable Design and Development Awards program honors work that contributes to the creation of a sustainable world. Awards are to be presented to outstanding buildings; urban, regional, and rural planning; landscape design; interior design; historic preservation; renovation; and rehabilitation projects. Submissions will be accepted for projects by New England design professionals, or projects in New England by design professionals elsewhere.

06.02.08 Call for Entries: Best Private Plots 08
This competition highlights the garden as a place of innovation, creativity, and action. Award criteria includes: ideas, artistic and conceptual quality, use of plants and materials, relationship between inside and outside, organization of open space, and technical and ecological planning. This is an open competition; candidates can include: landscape architects, architects, garden owners, designers, florists, gardeners, artists, and nurseries. First prize: €7,000; second prize: €5,000; and third prize: €3,000.

06.05.08 Call for Entries: Schiphol Sound Barrier Design Contest
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is organizing an international competition for the design of a sound barrier, to be built parallel to Runway 18R-36L (Polderbaan). The aim is to achieve a reduction in ground noise by at least seven decibels. The barrier must present an innovative solution for the complex problem of ground noise produced by aircraft taking off. Design agencies, businesses, universities, and private persons are invited to enter. The winning design will be awarded a prize of €750,000, with €1,250,000 in prize money to be distributed in total.

In this issue:
· First-time AIA and Associate Members to Attend Convention Free
· Wicks Law Overhaul Increases Threshold
· Sweets Network Available on AIA’s Soloso
· Passing: David Todd, FAIA, FCSI

First-time AIA and Associate Members to Attend Convention Free
The Boston Society of Architects (BSA) will host the AIA National Convention and Exhibition, May 15-17, for the first time in 16 years. To encourage local designers to participate, the BSA invites first-time AIA and Associate AIA members who join by April 30 to attend the convention at no cost. Complimentary registration includes most continuing-education programs, expo education programs, general sessions, and business meetings. Download an application on the BSA website or contact Membership Director Karin Broadhurst via e-mail or call 617-951-1433 x228.

Wicks Law Overhaul Increases Threshold
New York lawmakers have reformed a decades-old law that drove up local property taxes by requiring state and local governments to pay for multiple construction contracts on most public works projects. Dating back to 1921, this is the first time Wicks Law has been adjusted for inflation since the 1960s. It required governments with construction projects valued at $50,000 or more to divide the job into several contracts. The law, which was intended to protect subcontractors from billing fraud, drove up construction costs, which were then passed on to taxpayers. The new threshold for triggering the law is $3 million in NYC, $1.5 million in downstate suburbs, and $500,000 in upstate New York. For more information go to the New York State Division of the Budget.

Sweets Network Available on AIA’s Soloso
McGraw-Hill Construction announced that information on 80,000 building products from its Sweets Network will be integrated directly into Soloso, the AIA’s online resource for solutions, products, and trends. AIA members will be able to link directly to detailed information, download product catalogs, CAD details, 3-D models, and specifications. McGraw-Hill Construction will provide AIA with regular updates as building product manufacturers change or add information on the Sweets Network.

Passing: David Todd, FAIA, FCSI
After a long career as an architect and landmark preservationist in New York, David F.M. Todd, FAIA, FCSI, passed away on March 31 at the age of 93.

Todd received his architectural degree at the University of Michigan and began a career in NY following his return from the Pacific after WWII, joining the firm of Harrison, Ballard & Allen. He became a name partner in 1957, first as Ballard, Todd & Snibbe, then Ballard Todd Associates, and finally sole name partner in 1967 when Ballard left to become head of the New York City Planning Commission.

Todd’s architectural work included a range of projects, from Manhattan Plaza (co-designed with Robert Cabrera), to the Polo Grounds Houses in upper Manhattan. He did extensive work for schools and universities, including the master plan for the State University of New York, and buildings for Princeton, SUNY New Paltz, Lehman College, and the Collegiate School.

Following his architectural career, he became the chairman of the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission where he sought to balance the competing interests of design, history, community, efficacy, fairness, and forward planning and development. He was closely involved in the designation of Manhattan’s Upper West Side as a historic district.

Todd was committed to public housing, and was a board and committee member of housing and community organizations throughout his life, including the Leake & Watts Children’s Home (Chairman, 1984-1988), the Settlement Housing Fund, West Side Day Nursery, St. Margaret’s House (Section 202 Housing for the Elderly), the Community Service Society, Community Planning Board Number 8, the West Side Day Nursery, and Exploring the Metropolis Foundation. He received the Andrew Thomas/Pioneer in Housing Award from AIANY in 1986.

Todd was also the AIANY Chapter President in 1969-70, during the time of the Vietnam War, the Chicago Convention, and campus uprisings, including striking architectural students at Columbia University. He met with them on campus, and organized a delegation to Washington to meet with top housing officials to press for more public housing.

A memorial service will be held on May 9, at 5 pm. Individuals interested in attending are invited to contact his son, Greg Todd, by e-mail, or call 212-246-5151.

The New York chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS-NY) will recognize excellence in marketing, public, development, and media sectors with its 12th Annual Honor Awards on Tuesday, 04.29.08. Those being honored at the event are: David Burney, FAIA, commissioner, NYC Department of Design and Construction, who will receive the Public Sector Award; Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties, the Developer Award; Lockhart Steele, president and founder of Curbed.com, the Media Honor Award; Maxinne Rhea Leighton, Assoc. AIA, principal of business development and director of marketing at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, the Marketing Champion Award; Judy Pullar, vice president and director of business development of Cannon Design, the Marketing Achievement Award; and Kirsten Sibilia, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, director of marketing and communication at FXFOWLE Architects (and OCULUS Committee chair), the Marketing Mentor Award…

The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced six recipients of its 2008 awards in architecture: Richard Meier, FAIA, won the Gold Medal for Architecture given “for an entire body of work”; Peter Zumthor, Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, given “to an architect of any nationality who has made a significant contribution to architecture as an art”; Neil Denari, AIA, and Jim Jennings, Academy Awards in Architecture that recognize American architects whose works are characterized by a strong personal direction; James Carpenter and Kenneth Frampton, Academy Awards in Architecture that acknowledge American designers who explore ideas in architecture through any medium of expression…

Daniel Jacoby, AIA, LEED AP, has joined the FXFOWLE Architects as Design Director in the Interiors Studio…

If you’re interested, please contact OCULUS editor-in-chief Kristen Richards. with a brief outline and full contact information.

Spring 2008: closed
Summer 2008: closed
Fall 2008: closed
08.01.08 Winter 2008-09: Competing for Space

04.30.08 Call for Entries: In Building Bike Parking Facility Design Competition
The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the support of Google Inc. and Transportation Alternatives, is hosting an international design competition for new bicycle parking for NYC. This facility will serve as a place to secure bikes in residential or commercial buildings and need not incorporate a standard rack fixture. The first-place winner will then work with Google to install the facility, if feasible, at its NYC headquarters, and receive a $5,000 prize from DOT.

05.02.08 Call for Applications: AIAS/AIA COTE Summer Research Fellowship
The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) is sponsoring a $1,500 Summer Research Fellowship for one AIAS student member to engage in 40-60 hours of research and project work from June-August 2008. The selected student will conduct research about water using past “Top Ten Measure and Metrics” winning projects. The work will likely include contact with architecture firms, consultants, and building owners. Applicants must be AIAS members in good standing at time of application and should be currently enrolled as students or be a recent graduates (graduated within one year of time of application deadline).

05.05.08 Request for Qualifications (pdf): City of Newark Planning
The City of Newark Division of Planning & Community Development seeks consulting architects and planners for tasks including the Citywide Master Plan, Waterfront Planning, Zoning Ordinance Revisions, Neighborhood Planning, Urban Design, Transportation Planning, Community Engagement, and Project Review for Landmarks and Historic Preservation and Central Planning Board. Factors include experience in the field, knowledge of the city agency and subject matter. Minority-owned, women-owned, and locally-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to submit.

05.10.08 Call for Proposals: Living Room
Artists are invited by the Flux Factory to play with the notion of belonging to a home and claiming a space as one’s own. The project will bring artists into domestic locations in NYC to create site specific works. The locations will range from volunteers’ living rooms to private, historical sites, which openhousenewyork will help facilitate access. Works will be on view during OHNY Weekend on 10.04-05.08.

05.16.08 Call for Entries: One Good Chair
Designers are invited to contribute their vision for a new kind of eco-chair that focuses on form. What kind of shapes can minimize resources while maximizing comfort and enjoyment? How can design integrate ecology and ergonomics? A cash prize of $4,500 will be awarded to one designer or shared among two to five designers, subject to the judges’ discretion. The award is intended to support the fabrication of a prototype.

05.23.08 Call for Entries: Robin Hood Gardens International Ideas Competition
Robin Hood Gardens (RHG), the 1970s housing development in east London designed by Alison and Peter Smithson, is currently being considered for demolition and redevelopment to accommodate increased numbers of homes on the site. Designers are invited to consider all reasonable options for retaining it while allowing for further development. The winner and finalists will be published in a special feature in Building Design magazine.

05.26.08 Call for Entries: Lord & Taylor Rose Contest
Each spring Lord & Taylor unveils a “Rose” which adorns the store’s bags, boxes and gift cards, direct mail, and Fifth Avenue windows. This year, the company invites independent artists to create the Rose for the Spring Rose Campaign of 2009. The top 60 submissions will be posted online for public voting. The Grand Prize winner will be announced online on 07.02.08 and will receive a $10,000 cash prize and national and international press.

05.30.08 Call for Entries: USGBC NY 2008 Tote Bag Competition & 2008 Photo
Competition
The NY Chapter of the US Green Building Council announces two design competitions — a tote bag design and a photography competition. First place winner of the tote bag design competition will receive a Haworth Zody Chair. The photography competition calls for original photos of NYC green buildings or green features to be used on the USGBC NY’s new website, and/or other promotional materials. The Grand Prize winner will receive a cash prize of $500, and two honorable mentions will receive $250.

Exhibition Announcements

Productive Public Space.

Courtesy Van Alen Institute

Through 04.25.08
Productive Public Space: Exploring Hybridities in Informal Settlements
During their New York Prize Fellowship term at the Van Alen Institute, Chelina Odbert and Jennifer Toy organized a series of roundtables with a wide range of design and environmental professionals to explore the significance of public space in informal settlements. Odbert and Toy also commissioned a group of artists and graphic designers to create a poster series, to be reproduced and distributed throughout Nairobi, NYC, and other cities as part of an awareness campaign this summer. The originals, which range in media from woodcut to newsprint and silkscreen, are on view.

Van Alen Institute
30 West 22nd Street

Jersey City’s Hudson & Manhattan Powerhouse Transformation.

Keith Lang

04.22-28.08
Thesis 2008: SVA Interior Design
Students at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) are trying to enhance life around the city, and their designs are on view to start the discussion. Projects include the transformation of the Jersey City Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse into a contemporary sculpture center, a new culinary institute for Tribeca, and an artist colony as 21st-century urban lodge. Works of 17 students graduating from SVA are on view. The curators are Neville Lewis (National Arts Club Gold Medal and Interior Design Hall of Fame) and Anthony Lee, design director at Gary Lee Partners.

The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South

Courtesy Columbia University

Through 04.28.08
Italian Mosaic and Terrazzo Workers in New York City
The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University presents an exhibition on the unknown history of mosaic and terrazzo workers, a chapter in the story of Italian immigration to NY and America. The decoration of many of NYC’s buildings came from the hands of skilled Italians — the palatial homes of Vanderbilts and Goulds, and public buildings such as Christ Church, the Metropolitan Club, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Building. Gold leaf and jewel-toned glass mosaics were a hallmark of these Italian immigrants, as were the inlaid, polished marble floors (known as Venetian mosaic and terrazzo).

The Italian Academy at Columbia University
1161 Amsterdam Avenue

Courtesy Parsons The New School for Design

04.23-05.02.08
Parsons Integrated Design Curriculum Displays Theses
Thesis work by students in the Parsons Integrated Design Curriculum (IDC), a self-directed art and design interdisciplinary degree program, is on view. The work presented has undergone a comprehensive, year-long process involving research and prototyping, and culminates in a final project.

Parsons The New School for Design
66 5th Avenue

In this issue:
· RMJM Hillier and Harvard GSD Address Architect Shortage
· 9th Annual Save-a-Sample! Box-A-Thon
· Passing: Norbert N. Turkel, AIA
· Passing: Ralph Rapson, FAIA

RMJM Hillier and Harvard GSD Address Architect Shortage
Despite the current building boom, many recent graduates from architecture and engineering schools are choosing to pursue more lucrative careers in high-tech and management consulting, according to the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). RMJM Hillier and Harvard University Graduate School of Design announced the launch of a $2 million program to tackle a global shortage of architects.

RMJM’s $1.5 million donation, matched by another $500,000 from the Harvard GSD, establishes the “RMJM Program for Research and Education in Integrated Design Practice,” which aims to stem the “brain drain” in the design and construction industry. It is the largest cash donation received by the GSD since a donation from the Aga Khan in 1999. The program is intended to encourage more architects to enter the profession by training them to integrate business management principles and knowledge of advanced technologies with design skills, thereby improving project delivery, client satisfaction, and the bottom line.

9th Annual Save-a-Sample! Box-A-Thon
Pack up your old, discontinued fabrics, finish samples, and/or binders, and donate them to SpecSimple.com’s 9th Annual Save-a-Sample! Box-A-Thon, April 15-17. Materials will be donated to design schools around NYC. In addition to collecting literature and samples, Save-a-Sample! also raises money to fund design school scholarships. To participate in Save-a-Sample!, the organization requests that firms refer a minimum of five potential sponsors to contact on their behalf. Sponsors will be asked to pledge $25 per box. There are prizes for the top five firms to sign up sponsors. Firms’ participation will be formally recognized by the sponsors’ NY chapters: SMPS, AIA, ASID, IIDA, and USGBC.

Passing: Norbert N. Turkel, AIA
Norbert N. Turkel, AIA, passed away on March 8. Founding partner of Turkel Collaborative Architects in Manhattan, Turkel was responsible for large-scale commercial, institutional, religious, and residential architectural projects. During the 1970s, he was a leader in addressing community planning issues in Riverdale, where he lived for 40 years. Following chairmanship of the Land Use Committee, he served two terms as Chairman of Community Board 14, working to develop the concept of Natural Area Districts, initially applied to Riverdale. As architectural advisor, Community School Board 10 provided Turkel with the opportunity to influence planning for new school sitings and aesthetics. In 1961, Turkel became a faculty member of Pratt Institute School of Architecture, and taught there for more than 40 years, earning the Service Award in 1996.

Passing: Ralph Rapson, FAIA
Ralph Rapson, FAIA, one of the oldest practicing architects and dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design for 30 years, passed away March 29 at the age of 93. As principal of Ralph Rapson and Associates, his Modernist ideals spanned many sectors; projects included the original Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, 1963. Rapson preferred to think of himself as an architect, furniture designer, educator, and artist. “The word architects is a term that may be too limiting when speaking about Ralph Rapson,” states his firm’s website.

As Rapson was planning on attending this year’s AIA Convention in Boston, colleagues are encouraging all professionals to go in his honor, to celebrate his life and commitment to the profession.

The AIA New York Chapter/ Boston Society of Architects The 2008 Building Type Award winners include, in the category of Sustainable Design, Honor: 100 VE — Unilever London Headquarters, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; The New York Times Building, Renzo Piano Building Workshop in association with FXFOWLE Architects (Base Building Architecture) and Gensler (Interior Architecture); Inland Steel Building Restoration, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and The Queens Botanical Garden Visitor & Administration Center, BKSK Architects… Sustainable Design, Merit: Harvard University Library Services Building, Leers Weinzapfel Associates and Samuel Anderson Architects; Sarah Lawrence College, Monika A. and Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Visual Arts Center, Polshek Partnership Architects; and Linked Hybrid, Steven Holl Architects…

In the category of Urban Design, Honor: 55 Water Street Plaza, Rogers Marvel Architects; and Hudson Square RISE, Zakrzewski + Hyde Architects… Urban Design, Merit: Long Island Rail Road East Side Access and 50th Street Ventilation Facility, DMJM HARRIS — subconsultant to the joint venture group of PB, STV, and Parsons Transportation Group; Pentagon Reservation: Perimeter Security & Pedestrian Plaza, Rogers Marvel Architects and Ritter Architects; Musiskwartier, Robert A.M. Stern Architects; and Unified New Orleans Plan (District 3 and District 4), Frederic Schwartz Architects…

In the category of Educational Facility Design, Honor: Fleet Library at the Rhode Island School of Design, Office dA; Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Lyn Rice Architects; Syracuse University, The Warehouse, Gluckman Mayner Architects; Sarah Lawrence College, Monika A. and Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Visual Arts Center, Polshek Partnership Architects; and Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center, Architecture Research Office… Educational Facility Design, Merit: Grant Recital Hall, Brian Healy Architects; New York University Department of Philosophy, Steven Holl Architects; Josai School of Management, Studio SUMO; and The New York Hall of Science Preschool Teaching Park, BKSK Architects…

New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects 2007 Award winners include, in the category of Landscape Architectural Design, Honor Award: Keene State College Science Center Courtyard, Dirtworks; American Society of Landscape Architects’ Headquarters’ Green Roof, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; and Townhouse Garden in the West Village, Sawyer/Berson Architecture and Landscape Architect… Merit Award: Beach House, Dirtworks; Dune Side Residence and Tupelo Groves, Edmund Hollander Landscape Architect Design; and Westshore Park and Library Green, Thomas Balsley Associates…

In the category of Planning, Analysis, Research, and Communication, Honor Award: Brooklyn Bridge Park 2005 Master Plan, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; South Waterfront Greenway Development Plan, Thomas Balsley Associates; and Bird-Safe Building Guidelines, SCAPE… Merit Award: Times Square Bowtie Streetscape Project, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners… In the category of Un-Built Projects, Merit Award: Reconstruction Strategies for Brownstone Brooklyn, dLandstudio; and Allegria Master Plan, EDAW…. For a complete listing of winners including project images, please click here.

Stephen Yablon Architect’s Skyfilter was awarded second place in an international competition sponsored by the Royal Institute of British Architects for the $13M corporate headquarters for a real estate development firm in northern England… The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has awarded Susan S. Szenasy, editor-in-chief of Metropolis magazine, its Patron’s Prize, as well as a Presidential Commendation for her advocacy of design excellence… ASID also honored James D. Lothrop, Jr., AIA, with the Fellowship Award… Terrence E. O’Neal, AIA, has been elected to a 3-year term (2008-2010) as AIA New York State New York Regional Director…

David Beer, FAIA, has joined Perkins Eastman as Principal specializing in hospitality, residential, office, and retail design; he was formerly principal and a founding partner at Brennan Beer Gorman Architects and Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Interiors… Kenneth Lill, AIA, President and Founder of KAL Architecture, has joined his practice with Mancini Duffy… Spacesmith announced that Michel Franck, AIA, has joined the firm as Managing Principal… Material ConneXion announced the promotion of Michele Caniato to President; and that it is establishing its fourth international licensee in Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea…

If you’re interested, please contact OCULUS editor-in-chief Kristen Richards. with a brief outline and full contact information.

Spring 2008: closed
Summer 2008: closed
Fall 2008: closed
08.01.08 Winter 2008-09: Competing for Space

04.05.08 Call for Submissions: FIGMENT Governors Island Mini Golf Course
This summer, FIGMENT, a non-profit art project held on Governors Island, is working with the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation to install a nine-hole mini golf course on the island. Combining recreation with a participatory art project designed and built by local artists, the course will be free and open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays while the island is open from May 31 to early autumn. The theme is “City of Dreams” and designs will be judged on creativity, structural integrity, playability, feasibility, adherence to theme, and budget. There is also a call for participation in the festival as whole, with a 04.10.08 deadline. Anyone can contribute an art installation, performance, activity, or other project.

04.07.08 Call for Nominations: America’s Best Restroom Award VII
Presented by Cintas Facility Services, the award is open to any restroom that is free of charge and open to the public. Nominators are not required to have a
professional relationship with the business or facility that manages the facility, but nominations based on personal experience are encouraged. Past champions have boasted bathrooms with breathtaking skyline views, unique décor and sparkling stalls. The 2008 winner will receive a plaque of recognition and a coveted place on the America’s Best Restroom “Hall of Fame” section of the program’s website.

04.07.08 Call for Entries: Ho Chi Minh City Design Competition
The Investment & Construction Authority for the Thu Thiem New Urban Area of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, announces an open international design competition. The focus is on the “Central Plaza, Crescent Park, and Saigon River Pedestrian Bridge.” The Competition is in two stages. The first stage is open to international professional design firms and teams (registration from host country required). Six firms will be shortlisted for the second stage and be paid U.S.$20,000 to continue with the work. One winning team will be selected from the shortlist.

04.07.08 Request for Qualifications: New Orleans Riverfront: Reinventing the Crescent
The New Orleans Building Corporation (NOBC) has issued a Request for Qualifications for phase one of the redevelopment of the New Orleans Riverfront.
The team selected through this RFQ process will be tasked with implementing the first phase of the NOBC’s recently finalized concept plan for the development of the Riverfront — Reinventing the Crescent. The document is the product of a team of architects and urban designers selected by the NOBC to provide New Orleans with a world-class riverfront plan. This is a two-part selection process; in the second part, up to four finalists will be selected and interviewed.

04.16.08 Call for Submissions: New York Designs: Threshold
The Architectural League of NY created the New York Designs juried lecture series in 2003 to provide a forum for the presentation of innovative and accomplished work built in NYC. This year’s theme, ‘Threshold,’ focuses on projects whose design mediates distinct conditions, literally or conceptually. To be considered for presentation in the lecture series, individuals and firms are invited to submit one work that was recently built in NYC. There are no limitations in terms of project type, program, size, or budget.

04.18.08 Call for Proposals: The New York Prize Fellowship in Sustainable Cities and the Social Sciences
The Van Alen Institute seeks proposals from scholars and practitioners in the social sciences and related fields for NY-based projects on the topic of sustainable cities. Proposals are welcome in a range of formats — such as workshops, roundtables, installations, and symposia — with a strong curatorial impulse that brings together social scientists and spatial practitioners in architecture, design, and related disciplines for debate and dialogue. Fellowship awards include project support up to $10,000, work and gallery space at the Institute, publication in Public Practice, stipend, and a range of project production, research, and programming resources.

04.21.08 Request for Proposals: Hudson Yards Park and Boulevard
The NYC Department of Design and Construction and the Hudson Yards Development Corporation has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design of the four-acre Hudson Park and Boulevard and the creation of a streetscape plan for the Hudson Yards area on Manhattan’s West Side. The RFP is a two-stage process. In the first stage, respondents will submit material presenting their ability to provide design services outlined in the RFP. These materials will be evaluated by a Selection Committee to determine a shortlist that will participate in the second stage of the RFP. In the second stage, respondents on the short list will participate in a design competition for the park and streetscape plan.

04.25.08 Call for Entries: AIA NY State 2008 Design Awards
These awards honor works of architecture located anywhere in the world by AIA New York State members and works of architecture located in New York State completed since 01.01.03. This year’s categories are: Residential (Small Projects, less than 5,000 square feet, Large Projects, greater than 5,000 square feet), Institutional, Commercial/Industrial (Small Projects, less than 5,000 square feet, Large Projects, greater than 5,000 square feet), Mixed Use, International, Urban Planning Design, Historic Preservation/Adaptive Reuse, Interiors, and Unbuilt (recognizes commissioned architectural design work by practicing emerging young architects licensed 10 years or less, not yet built or complete).

04.25.08 Call for Ideas: Reinventing Grand Army Plaza
To stur Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza’s rebirth, the Design Trust for Public Space, in partnership with the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, has launched an international ideas competition to generate new visions for every aspect of the plaza’s design. The jury will award three cash prizes. First prize is $5,000; second: $2,000; and third: $1,000. In addition, winners and top entries will be exhibited in a fall 2008 outdoor exhibition at Grand Army Plaza.

04.30.08 Call for Entries: CityRacks Design Competition
The NYC Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the support of Google Inc. and Transportation Alternatives, has launched an international design competition for new bicycle parking. The purpose is to develop functional, well-designed sidewalk racks and to generate new concepts for bicycle parking inside commercial and residential buildings. The city intends to use the winning sidewalk rack as its new standard for bicycle parking.

05.16.08 Call for Entries: New Practices New York 2008
This is the second juried portfolio competition and exhibition in a new biennial tradition sponsored by the AIANY New Practices Committee. It serves as a platform to recognize and promote new, innovative, and emerging architecture firms within NYC. On 04.02.08, there will be an information session for entrants at the Center for Architecture. For more information, click here. On 04.08.08, there will be a mixer for architects and designers interested or engaged in New Practice. The event, New Practices in the Mix, will be hosted by Poliform. For more information, click here.

Exhibition Announcements

Courtesy Columbia University

Through 05.02.08
Ant Farm: Radical Hardware
Established in 1968, Ant Farm was a collaborative art and design group with a revolutionary vision of a nomadic lifestyle. This exhibition presents an early period of Ant Farm’s architectural projects and environmental media strategies. Videos, 35 mm slides, collages, and other archival documents related to Truckstop Network, Osmic Accelerator, The House of the Century and other projects will track Ant Farm’s prescient and critical engagement with the spaces and apparatuses of the “videosphere” and other emerging image technologies.

Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, Buell Hall, Columbia University
116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, NYC

Courtesy Exit Art

Through 05.03.08
E.P.A.
E.P.A. (Environmental Performance Actions) is a large-scale program dealing with current environmental concerns and the way artists respond to them. This group exhibition surveys recent performance work from around the world and consists of videos, photographs, texts, related ephemera, and a film program documenting recent performances. The goal is to draw attention to climate change, watersheds, urbanization, and, ultimately, human survival.

Exit Art
475 10th Avenue, NYC

Through 05.23.08
Outside / Inside
Photography exhibition features 12 alumni from the School of the International Center of Photography (ICP) representing an international group of emerging photographic artists, whose work explores dichotomies and nuance in the built environment. Artists include: Charles Atherton, Marla Caplan, Ray Klimek, Tim Lehmacher, Matthew Monteith, Noemi Nin Pflüger, Catherine Kunkemueller, Jeff Luckey, Mauro Restiffe, Stuart O’Sullivan, Ryan Thatcher, and Cory Treadway.

Gensler New York’s Rockefeller Center Office
By appointment: 212-492-1433
1 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC

In this issue:
· Domino Sugar Factory: Back to Scratch
· Buildings Department Cracks Down on Elevator Violations
· AIANY Policy Update: Congestion Pricing
· IALD Position Statement: Banning the Incandescent Bulb
· Overseas Building Operations to Benefit from Local Architect
· Passing: Margaret J. DeLaCour

Domino Sugar Factory: Back to Scratch
The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) reviewed the design for the redevelopment of the Domino Sugar Factory on the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, waterfront, and sent architects Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners back to the drawing board. The design consists of a 5-story, rectangular glass addition, which the LPC felt was not appropriate for the factory, citing that it was “too tall.” Many of the commissioners felt that it needed to be more industrial and “visionary.”

Buildings Department Cracks Down on Elevator Violations
Beginning 03.05.08, 10 residential buildings with chronically defective elevators were publicly listed on the Department of Building’s website as part of a shame campaign to force building owners to return their elevators to service. The 10 worst offenders will be pursued under the department’s Elevator Enforcement Program, an aggressive enforcement agenda to ensure safe and reliable elevator service. The program also includes legislation with significant daily penalties for elevator violations. New Yorkers are encouraged to call 311 to report non-compliant conditions or 911 to report emergencies at construction sites.

AIANY Policy Update: Congestion Pricing
By Laura Manville, AIANY Policy Coordinator

With the resignation of Governor Spitzer and political change in the air, there is a need to make AIANY’s voice heard in Albany on policies that matter to architects, including congestion pricing. The AIANY Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has worked hard to investigate all of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC transportation initiatives, and now offers a report that addresses the effects of congestion pricing on planning and design issues in the city. The Chapter has adopted their expert opinion as official policy.

If you feel strongly about the need for a congestion mitigation strategy in NYC, do act, as your voice as a design professional and AIA member can make a difference.

To read the Committee’s report and congestion pricing position statements, click the link or e-mail Laura Manville, AIA NY Policy Coordinator.

To e-mail Christine Quinn, Speaker of the NY City Council, click here.
To e-mail Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the NY State Assembly, click here.
To e-mail new Governor David Paterson, click here.
To e-mail State Senator Malcolm Smith, click here.

Sample text:
As a practicing architect (/urban planner/designer) and member of the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter, I want to express my strong support for congestion pricing. Our Chapter has stated that “The elegance of the concept of congestion pricing is that it simultaneously discourages inefficient use of the road and bridge network, encourages more efficient modes of transportation, reduces energy use and air pollution from vehicular use, and provides a reliable mechanism to fund improvements to the mass transit system…. this concept is the key to providing a comprehensive transportation strategy, which addresses current limitations as well as growth for the City.”

Please support this sound example of forward thinking transportation planning that will simultaneously sustain our city’s growth and the quality of urban spaces for its residents.

IALD Position Statement: Banning the Incandescent Bulb
Enlightened folks from Australia to California and across Europe want to ban the incandescent lamp. The recently enacted U.S. energy legislation will phase out certain types of incandescent bulbs. While the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) strongly supports the technologies and appropriate regulation to minimize the energy use of lighting systems, the organization believes that “incandescent bans” must be carefully conceived or they won’t work. There are several points connected to the phasing out of incandescent lamps that should be addressed. Click here to read the full position statement.

Overseas Building Operations to Benefit from Local Architect
Barbara Nadel, FAIA, was recently named the AIA Representative to the U.S. Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Panel. The Advisory Panel provides the Director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations with the latest methods, concepts, best practices and ideas to ensure that safe, secure, and functional facilities are provided for U.S. diplomatic missions worldwide. Nadel is principal of Barbara Nadel Architect in NYC, and is the author of Building Security: Handbook for Architectural Planning and Design, for which she received the 2005 Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement. She was 2001 AIA National Vice President and served twice as AIA New York Regional Director. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Soloso, AIA’s eKnowledge website.

Passing: Margaret J. DeLaCour
Margaret J. DeLaCour, 63, of Brooklyn Heights and Glen Cove, NY, passed away on 02.18.08. In her long career, she served in a number of senior level positions in NYC government, at the Department of Environmental Protection, the NYC Water Board, and the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office. Additionally, she served on a number of nonprofit boards, including The Junior League of Brooklyn, Colony South Brooklyn, Grace Church School, and the Planting Field Arboretum of Oyster Bay. She and her husband, architect Wids DeLaCour, AIA, also supported numerous organizations dedicated to providing educational and outdoor opportunities for NYC children. The family prefers in lieu of flowers that contributions be made to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225, or to the Planting Field Arboretum, Planting Field Foundation, PO Box 660, Oyster Bay, NY 11771.