Author: Murrye Bernard, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP - Contributing Editor

In this issue:
·CES Events Free for Members
·AIANY Welcomes New Director of Programs
·AIAS Finalists Rest Their Chairs in D.C.
·Builders Scrap Construction Carbon
·Standard 189 Now Open for Public Comment
·Website Launches for Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

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CES Events Free for Members
The AIANY Membership Services Committee is pleased to announce that AIA Members may now attend CES programs FREE! Beginning June 1, for a 6-month trial basis, AIANY is offering CES programs free to members while the non-member rate will be raised to $20. Visit the AIANY calendar to see what the organization has been planning to help you fulfill your Continuing Education needs.

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AIANY Welcomes New Director of Programs
AIANY welcomes Beth Stryker as its new Director of Programs at the Center for Architecture. In addition to her work as Director of Programs, Beth will oversee the development of the Public Information Exchange (PIE), a permanent, interactive, multimedia installation on planning and architectural projects and urban issues across the five boroughs.

Beth received her MArch from Princeton University, and is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program. Her work has been exhibited at the Wexner Center for the Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Walker Art Center, among others. She is a past NYFA fellow, and was previously a principal in Utensil Art + Design studio.

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AIAS Finalists Rest Their Chairs in D.C.

Six finalists in the 2007 Chair Affair, sponsored by the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) and managed by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), will be displayed at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., July 18-23. The finalists were selected from a record 176 entries, submitted by teams or individuals representing 56 universities and colleges.

The Chair Affair competition challenges architecture students to design chairs using corrugated board and glue. The winning chair, designed by a group of Cornell University students, provides public seating and could easily be visualized in an airport setting. The other five finalists cover a wide range of designs that demonstrate corrugated versatility. The winners can be viewed on the competition website.

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Builders Scrap Construction Carbon
Architecture and design firm Mithun, along with landscape architects at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas, is making it easier for developers, builders, architects, and land planners to measure the carbon output of construction projects. In April, the two groups launched BuildCarbonNeutral.com, an online carbon calculator that tallies the amount of carbon dioxide released when transporting building materials to the construction site, and the amount of carbon released due to ecosystem degradation at the site. The carbon emissions associated with the construction process of a new building represents 13-18% of a building’s total embodied carbon, according to the United Environmental Programme. For landscape projects, the construction process accounts for 100% of the project’s embodied carbon.

Constructing new buildings and sites with the least possible environmental impact involves three important steps: reduce, renew, and offset. Offsetting means calculating the project’s carbon footprint so it can be balanced by funding resources or activities like renewable energy and land protection — resources that benefit and protect the planet. By using the calculator, designers can see how they might reduce their carbon footprint throughout site selection and design development, and the amount of carbon offsets their clients would need to purchase in order to negate the construction process.

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Standard 189 Now Open for Public Comment
Standard 189, a proposed new standard that will provide minimum guidelines for green building practices, is nearly complete and has been released for public review and comment. Comments will be accepted through July 9, 2007 online. The standard is being developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and USGBC, and will be the first of its kind in the United States.

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Website Launches for Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth
San Francisco-based architect Richard Gage, AIA, founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, announced the official launch of the group’s website. Gage, along with dozens of other architecture and engineering professionals, have signed a petition that questions official reports about the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) Twin Towers and Building 7 on 9/11 and calls for a new investigation. Gage, who suspects that the towers may have been destroyed with explosives rather than plane impact and fire, says he expects the website to also serve as a vehicle for ongoing research into the causes of the destruction of all 3 WTC high-rise buildings that day.

Gage’s presentation includes several different lines of evidence for his case, from analyses of the collapse to over 100 reports by first responders and the media of explosions at the scene. Gage also extensively covers the findings of chemical and physical evidence from Utah-based physicist Dr. Steven Jones, a physics professor formerly from Brigham Young University whose demolition hypothesis led to his appearance on MSNBC and many news articles. Jones’s continuing chemical and physical analysis of the WTC steel and dust has revealed what he claims is the signature of thermate, a high-performance incendiary cutter charge. Gage describes a key piece of evidence in support of Dr. Jones’s theory — the reports by a number of individuals, including the structural engineer of the WTC and the FDNY, of molten metal “flowing like lava” in the rubble pile during the weeks following 9/11.

The new website features a full presentation by Gage, both as a PowerPoint and a video, along with a discussion forum, the recently leaked WTC North Tower blueprints, ongoing publication of technical articles, and a broad range of multi-media offerings.

Event: New Practices New York: WORK AC
Location: Häfele Showroom, 05.10.07
Speakers: Amale Andraos and Dan Wood, AIA — principals, WORK AC
Organizers: AIANY, in association with The Architect’s Newspaper and Häfele America Co.
Sponsor: Häfele America Co.

WORK AC partners Amale Andraos and Dan Wood, AIA, have maintained a sense of humor in their approach to running a young practice. Andraos joked that many of their early projects were either “competitions or cancelled,” including a residential tower in Beirut and a large housing project in Los Angeles. When they founded the firm in 2002, “we didn’t start with big ideas about form,” explained Andraos. “Our biggest rule was to say yes to everything.” Their first project was a design for an urban doghouse that integrated a treadmill surrounded by three flat screens that play videos, allowing the urban dog to experience chasing cars or butterflies.

These days they can afford to break their own rule and say no, as they now have completed high-profile projects such as the new headquarters for Diane von Furstenberg Studio in the Meatpacking District. The design combines two historic buildings, preserving their landmarked façades. The design approach, Andraos explained, was to be “highly specific about one element and generic about others.” To bring light through the depth of the buildings to the offices, they designed a “Stairdelier” — a cross between a stair and chandelier. A heliostat mirror focuses sunlight on guardrails laced with Swarovski crystals, distributing light throughout the building and providing a unifying focal point for the design.

The sixth and final lecture and exhibition showcasing the winners of the 2006 AIANY New Practices Showcase with Zakrzewski Hyde Architects will be 07.12.07 at 6:00pm.

Murrye Bernard, Assoc. AIA, is designer with TEK Architects in New York City and Director of Forward, the quarterly publication of AIA’s National Associates Committee.

In this issue:
·Passings: Denis Glen Kuhn, FAIA, & Giorgio Cavaglieri, FAIA

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Passings: Denis Glen Kuhn, FAIA, & Giorgio Cavaglieri, FAIA
By Rick Bell, FAIA, Executive Director AIANY

Fuori di te nessuno lo ricordava
Non ho fatto ricerche: ora è inutile.
Dopo di te sono rimasto il solo
per cui egli è esistito. Ma è possibile,
lo sai, amare un-ombra, ombre noi stessi.

And no one remembered him except you.
I asked no questions; and now it’s useless.
I’m the only one after you
for whom he ever existed.
But it’s possible, you know, to love a shadow,
we ourselves being shadows.

From Tuo fratello morì giovane:
Eugenio Montale (1975 Nobel Laureate)

The obituaries for Giorgio Cavaglieri, FAIA, and Denis Kuhn, FAIA, were side-by-side in the New York Times Friday, May 18. Written by different writers, the intersecting lines of their lives were not noted in the parallel newsprint columns. Both were presidents of the AIA New York Chapter (Giorgio in 1970, Denis in 1989). Both cared passionately about the adaptive re-use of the architectural legacies found throughout our City, our cities. Both labored together and separately over projects in New York City and elsewhere, including the historic Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.

Not mentioned in either obituary were their mutual respect and affection, and the fact that for over 15 years, Denis worked with Giorgio. Many called Denis “Giorgio’s right arm” at the time. Noted in Giorgio’s Times obituary was his fall, the tumble at age 93 “when he badly injured his right arm” and “then learned to paint watercolors with his left hand, fulfilling his first ambition to be a painter.” Giorgio painted his friends and colleagues, as did Denis in a different way, using words calmly and adroitly to diffuse tension and foster common purpose.

Outside Our Saviour Church in Manhasset where Denis was eulogized by friends and family on May 18, Stanton Eckstut, FAIA, his partner at Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, said that Denis resisted entreaties to slow down or take it easy, to not travel so much or not be so fully engaged in the life of the firm. Denis reportedly shrugged and asked what else would he do, what else was more important to do? Giorgio, too, kept his practice active until he was 93 years old. Two exemplary architects and leaders of the architectural profession, lost, sadly, at the same time.

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In conversation, by note and by e-mail, their colleagues have sent remembrances. e-Oculus can be the vehicle for sharing these memories with others, starting with the following thoughts by Carl Galioto, FAIA, Nathan Jerry Maltz, AIA, LeAnn Shelton, Esq., AIA, Linda Yowell, FAIA, and Sarelle Weisberg, FAIA. Other remembrances are welcome and can be sent to e-Oculus.

Giorgio & Denis (Carl Galioto, FAIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)
Giorgio brought creativity, passion, intensity and professionalism into every effort within each project. He carried himself into client meetings with a sense of dignify and greater purpose that helped me to realize that the ideals that I developed in school were not sophomoric dreams that needed to be discarded once in the real world, but could be the fundamental principles of practice. I don’t believe that Giorgio believed that he had a small practice — just a compact one that projected large and important ideas about the rethinking and rebirth of significant historical buildings, and the importance of the relationship between people and their multi-generational, pan-historical urban fabric. It was a very rich and lively vision.

Denis brought humor, stability, pragmatism, and a sense of craft to the work. We needed the humor as there was Giorgio, Denis, five staff, and a receptionist working in a carefully designed space of under 1,000 square feet. At that early stage in my career, Denis was a model of competence and confidence and I admired his ability to seemingly always know the right answer. Even then, Denis was devoted to the AIA as he labored on editions of Oculus. Typical of Giorgio, he sincerely wished the people who worked for him great professional success as they moved and only saw the larger picture of our profession and his adopted city that he loved.

Giorgio (Nathan Jerry Maltz, AIA)
Giorgio Cavaglieri’s spirit was indomitable. At the age of 90 he was still operating his architectural office, and expressed disappointment that some potential clients were concerned about his being able to perform the work. He remained active in the New York region, sketching, painting, designing, and attending many events sponsored by the professional organizations of which he was a member.

Several years ago he suffered an embolism that partially paralyzed his right hand — he was right-handed. Somewhat chagrined, but undaunted, he embarked upon a new “career” of painting watercolors left-handed! He completed numerous lively portraits in his Central Park West apartment, many of his professional colleagues and friends.

His memory will live with us for a long time to come.

A few thoughts on Denis (LeAnn Shelton, Esq., AIA, Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn)
Punta Patilla is the northernmost point of the Dominican Republic. They say it is the first place that Christopher Columbus landed when he came to the New World. The site is almost indescribable — an expanse of ocean running into beaches framed by morning glory-covered dunes, mangrove trees, rolling hills and lush ravines. The program for the site, an eco-resort, was incidental. It was the perfect place for an architect, steeped in historic preservation, to spend his last moments, completing his life and career, imagining a place that would preserve paradise.

Giorgio’s Relevance Today (Linda Yowell, FAIA, Linda Yowell Architects)
“Architects, as professionals responsible for shaping the environment must utilize their skills to reduce pollution through conservation of energy and through design planning” (“Architects Urge Pollution Fight,” New York Times, April 25, 1971). A widely-held belief in 2007 — but daring in 1971, when Giorgio Cavaglieri, then AIANY President, made this statement at a press conference to promote energy conservation goals. The 1971 list of recommendations is remarkably similar to those included in Mayor Bloomberg’s 2030 sustainability plan, including calling for “the massive reduction of private cars from selected areas of the city.”

Giorgio led the way in adaptive reuse of buildings, perhaps the ultimate act of conservation. He respected the work of earlier generations but was not a historicist. By simply believing that good design, elegance, quality and respect for others were timeless, Giorgio Cavaglieri was always ahead of his time.

About Giorgio (Sarelle Weisberg, FAIA)
1. At one of the first AIA National Conventions I attended — it was in Kansas City — Giorgio invited me to go “on his arm” to the big party and I had such a fantastic evening! He knew everyone and they greeted him with great warmth. At that time he was an honored guest speaker at many conventions, discussing with and educating architects on adaptive reuse. He had submitted a proposal for the abandoned train station in Kansas City, which he showed me, but they didn’t move ahead with it, with him. I was in Kansas City last summer and that building now has a museum and a “destination” restaurant. (yes, adaptively reused — but not by Giorgio)

2. He did a wonderful restoration of the New York Public Library Fifth Avenue Periodical Room as the first major rehab/upgrade of that building’s major spaces. He told me at the time, when I complimented him in the space: “Every architect should have one client like that;” the Readers’ Digest people paid for the project and there was no budget limitation for Giorgio!

3. Just a year ago he painted my portrait — a watercolor — done with his good, left hand, in about an hour, in front of his glorious view-window. I regret I didn’t stop in more often, as I so often passed his building. His spirit was extraordinary, in light of the late tragedy of his fall.

4. Did you know, Giorgio did many Modern small projects? I know about several libraries in New York City neighborhoods. Also, by some odd serendipity, Denis Kuhn worked for a number of years for Giorgio before moving on to Cooper Eckstut. I doubt you want to mention that weird coincidence: that their obits were side-by-side in the Times — a generation apart.

In this issue:
·Mayor Overhauls Building Codes
·AIA Members Receive Discount off Guggenheim Memberships
·AIANY Cruises NYC Waterways
·Survey Reveals Professional Growth
·Passing: Gregory Clement III, FAIA

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Mayor Overhauls Building Codes
Mayor Bloomberg and Buildings Commissioner Patricia J. Lancaster, FAIA, submitted a landmark modernization of the City Building Code, the first since 1968, to the City Council for review and consideration. Fulfilling a promise made during the 2001 campaign, the Mayor’s proposal overhauls all aspects of the City’s construction codes, including the Building Code, setting new standards and rules that emphasize safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The proposal, to be called the NYC Construction Codes, draws on suggestions and input from hundreds of stakeholders the administration brought together for this effort, and is intended to simplify construction standards and foster long-term, environmentally-friendly growth.

The proposed Codes recognize electronic submissions and digital documents and will be organized according to the International Code Council format. To ensure the Codes never become dated, the proposed law will be tied to the national three-year revision cycle to take advantage of innovations in new materials and technology. The Department of Buildings (DOB) will also allow longer license durations. A cost study by the DOB has identified new code provisions for significant construction cost savings.

The Codes seeks to facilitate sustainable building by providing fee rebates for green design, requiring more efficient heating and cooling systems, requiring white roofs, and encouraging water conserving plumbing systems. The proposed Codes are available on the Buildings section of the New York City website. The website includes section-by-section documents that summarize each chapter and note key changes from the current Codes.

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AIA Members Receive Discount off Guggenheim Memberships
AIANY is pleased to announce a partnership with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. AIA Members can redeem a 15% discount on memberships up to and including the Supporting Associate level by using the discount code “AIA” during online purchases and phone purchases (212-432-3535) or by showing the AIA Membership Card at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum membership desk.

The Guggenheim Foundation promotes an understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, and other manifestations of visual culture, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods. The Foundation realizes this mission through exhibitions, educational programs, research initiatives, publications, and its unique network of museums and cultural partnerships. For more information, visit the website.

Guggenheim members receive free admission to all Guggenheim museums, invitations to exclusive exhibition previews, 10% discount at the museum store and café, a free subscription to Guggenheim magazine, and more!

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AIANY Cruises NYC Waterways
AIANY with NY Waterway Tours is launching the first cruise dedicated to the landmarks and skyline of NYC. The tour kicks off May 25 and will run every Thursday and Sunday at noon through the end of October. “Certified” tour guides will provide facts about numerous structures, and a visual presentation will play on flat-screen monitors to further enhance the experience. Bar service will be available on-board and a food menu will be offered by the “Original” NY Milkshake Company, located at Pier 78. Click here for schedules and to purchase tickets.

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Survey Reveals Professional Growth
The 2007 Survey of Registered Architects by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) indicates that there are currently 112,650 registered architects in the U.S., reflecting a 4.5% increase over last year. More than 3,800 initial licenses were granted to architects, an increase of 34.5% over last year.

The survey also reveals that there are 109,546 reciprocal (out-of-state) architects and 222,196 total registrations. This means, on average, an architect is registered in at least two different jurisdictions. CA has the most resident architects (16,894) and the highest number of total registrations (21,852). In comparison, NY has 8,356 resident architects and a total of 14,124 registrations.

The Council’s Quality Assurance division collects data for the survey from its 54 member boards, which includes all 50 states, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. NCARB makes this information available annually as a service to the profession.

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Passing: Gregory Clement III, FAIA
Gregory Clement III, FAIA, died at home surrounded by family and friends on April 11, 2007. He was 56 and battled melanoma for nearly two years. Gregory served as a Managing Partner at Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects since 1993, overseeing numerous international and award-winning projects such as the Rodin Museum and the New Songdo City Master Plan, both in South Korea. He led the firm in its role as Executive Architect in the renovation and expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, working in tandem with Yoshio Taniguchi, Hon. FAIA.

Respected for his architectural contributions, Gregory was also admired for his personal relationships with clients and colleagues, his mentoring of young architects, and his warmth and integrity. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 2005, and he actively participated in the AIA Large Firm Roundtable. He took part in student juries at Yale University, Princeton University, and Columbia University, among others. With his free time, he pursued painting and collage art, as well as golf.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Gregory and Elizabeth Clement Melanoma Research Fund, Abramson Cancer Center of The University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104. A memorial will be held June 1, 2007 at 4pm, the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 2 East 90th St. at Fifth Avenue.