News – What’s New at AIANY and the Center for Architecture.

Architecture Week and the celebration of the AIA 150th Anniversary is done, the National Convention is done, the summer is beginning to creep in to New York… what is left to anticipate for 2007? The AIA New York State Convention which will be held here in New York City from October 4-6, 2007. “The Past as Prologue” is the theme, the Grand Hyatt Hotel is the venue. We hope you will all attend the CES programming, product showcase, Host Chapter Party, walking tours, and more. For more information visit the AIANYS website. Sponsorship and product showcase opportunities are still available.

Reminder if you have not yet sent a renewal payment for 2007 membership your benefits have been suspended. The AIA offers a myriad of traditional benefits which can be reviewed here. In addition, the chapter has been working to extend member benefits and has recently formed alliances with the Guggenheim Museum and Kaplan AEC for discounts to our members. Please contact Suzanne Mecs, or 212-358-6115 as soon as possible to renew and restore your membership.

New Architect Members: Alyssa Murphy, Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects | Bobby K. Young, AIA, Gabellini Sheppard Associates, LLP | Cornelia Wu, Gluckman Mayner Architects | Darren Frederick Schroeder, AIA, Mulvanny G2 Architecture | Frank Mazzarella, AIA, Amaya Y Mazzarella Arquitectos | JaeJun Ryu, AIA, Rothzeid Kaiserman Thomson Bee | John I. Kim, AIA, Resolution: 4 Architecture | June Lois Daniel, Terrence O’Neal Architect LLC | Kim Yao, Architecture Research Office | Liza Crespo | Pia Kim, Perkins Eastman/ LSGS | Rodney Crumrine, NBBJ | Stephen Cassell, AIA, Architecture Research Office | Tony Tai, Gensler

The following individuals have recently upgraded to Architect level membership: March W. Chadwick, AIA, March Chadwick Architecture | Anna Lira V. Luis, AIA, Atelier Lira Luis, LLC | Christopher S. Reynolds, AIA

New Associate Members: Sigilit Brunn, Assoc. AIA, | Serena H. Chen, Assoc. AIA, Beyer Blinder Belle: Architects & Planners | Ethan P. Cohen, Assoc. AIA, City College Architecture Center | Elon Danziger, Assoc. AIA, Silberstang Lasky Architects | Stella Fleshler, Assoc. AIA, CUH2A (P.C.) | Felipe Guerrero, Assoc. AIA, Hillier | Viraj S. Hankare, Assoc. AIA, Costas Kondylis and Partners | Nathaly Haratz, Assoc. AIA | Carolyn J. Hinger, AIA, R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects | Kishel John, Assoc. AIA, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP | Marta E. Karamuz, Assoc. AIA, Hillier | Jonathan Francis Kirk, Assoc. AIA, Wettling Architects | Steven Morales, Assoc. AIA | Sharmiette Josepha Robinson, Assoc. AIA, Archetype | John A. Rolka, Assoc. AIA, Frank Seta Associates | Kashifa Saleem, Assoc. AIA, | John Robert Savage, Assoc. AIA, C.A. Lorentz Architect & John Savage Interior Design

New International Associate Members: Emilio Barletta, Int’l Assoc. AIA, Emilio Barletta Architect | Fernando Soler, Int’l Assoc. AIA, Cosentini Associates

New Titanium Corporate Members: Ibex Construction: William R. Brody | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York: Monica Ramirez Montagut, Ph.D. | TRESPA: Aart-Jan van der Meijden, Darlene Byrne, Todd Kimmel

New Steel Corporate Members: Cosentini Associates: Robert Bazewicz | J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.: Tracy H. Levites | Onilda Cruz, Mohawk Industries

New Aluminum Corporate Members: Altamax Capital LLC : Robert F Geils | Jerome S. Gillman Consulting Architect, P.C.: Pamela Gillman | Lane Office Furniture: Greg Burke, Lauren Wichter Friedman | Metro Building Solutions Inc.: Dennis Italia | Oldcastle Glass: Edwin B. Hathaway, Susan Trimble | PPG Industries, Inc.: Mary Hosley, CSI, CCPR | Sustainable Design Collaborative: Jin Huang | Trojan Powder Coating: Carl Troiano | Vitra: Martin Feller |

New Center for Architecture Professional Members: Michael Casolari, Integrated Building Controls | Sheril Kern, HumanScale Corp. | Thomas Henry Kieren, Custom Corporate Photography | Carmen Rainieri, FAI Construction Consultants | Louise Silver, RCDD | Fusayo Yokota, Fu. Design

New Center for Architecture Public Members: Gautam Gidwani, Habitations Design | Catherine M. Perebinossoff

New Center for Architecture Student Members: William A. Arbizu, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation | Lara A. Delaney, AIAS at Pratt Institute, School of Architecture | Mingda Liu, New York School of Interior Design | Lesley Claire Merz

New Corresponding Member: David L. Dinhofer, AIA, BLDG Management Co., Inc.

Reinstated Members: Carol K. Chang, AIA, Gluckman Mayner Architects | Melissa Cicetti, AIA, Gluckman Mayner Architects | Richard Clarke, AIA, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP | Mark Collins | James H Counts, Jr., AIA, Gluckman Mayner Architects | Anne Reilly Fahim, AIA, Anne Fahim Architectural Services, PC | Safwat B. Fahim, AIA, Archronica Architects P.C. | Ely Fretz, Assoc. AIA, Brennan Beer Gorman Architects (BBG-BBGM) | Alec K. Galli, AIA, Alec Klee Galli Architects | Scott Habjan, AIA, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP | Elliott Kaufman, Elliott Kaufman Photography | Stephen Killcoyne, AIA, Stickley | Amanda Lehman, Assoc. AIA, Cook + Fox Architects, LLP | Omar C. Mitchell, Assoc. AIA, Stephen B. Jacobs Group, PC | Frank Uccellini, AIA, Stantec | Perry G. Whidden, AIA, Gluckman Mayner Architects

Members Transferred in from Another Chapter, Welcome to New York! Mark S. Boekenheide, AIA, The Related Companies, Inc. | Kimberly Brown, AIA | Benjamin Caldwell, AIA, Holzman Moss Architecture LLP | Elizabeth J. Derr, Assoc. AIA, Murdock Young Architects | Marta E. Karamuz, Assoc. AIA, Hillier | Sung W. Kim, AIA, Rafael Vinoly Architects P.C. | Matthew M. Konar, AIA, Redtop Architects | Anthony Machado, Assoc. AIA | Joseph S. Pagac, Assoc. AIA, Joseph Pagac Design

Members Transferred out to another Chapter, Good luck in your new Locale! Andrew Charles Deibel, AIA | Matthew Edwin Hufft, AIA, Hufft Projects LLC | James G. Kendrick, AIA, Cannon Design | Bethany Lundell, Assoc. AIA, Rafael Vinoly Architects P.C. | Chang-Hyun Park, AIA | Shaun S. Shih, AIA, DMJM Harris | Martin Siefering, AIA, Perkins Eastman | Rex Wong, Assoc. AIA

The Chapter mourns the passing of: Charles Vogelstein, AIA, Oppenheimer Brady Vogelstein

Event: Powerhouse: New Housing New York — Panel Discussion with Finalist Teams
Location: Center for Architecture, 04.16.07
Speakers: Richard Cook, AIA — Cook+Fox; Sam Marks — WHEDCO; Colin Cathcart, AIA — Kiss+Cathcart; Robert Rogers, AIA — Rogers Marvel; Alexander Taylor — BRP Development
Moderators: Holly Leicht & Lance Jay Brown, FAIA
Organizers: AIANY; New Housing New York Steering Committee; NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development; additional support: AIANY Housing Committee
Sponsors: National Endowment for the Arts; Enterprise Community Partners; AIANY Housing Committee

New Housing New York finalist teams (l-r): BRP Bluestone Rogers Marvel; The Legacy Collaborative; WHEDCo Durst Cook+Fox.

Courtesy AIANY

The New Housing New York (NHNY) Legacy competition asked architects and developers to push the limits of their design and practice modes. To what extent could interdisciplinary teams collaborate in greater depth, spend less, build greener, inspire the community, and set a replicable precedent at this 60,000-square-foot site in the Bronx? The fruits of the competition lie not only in the winning design by Phipps Rose Dattner Grimshaw, but in the plurality of sustainable, urban, affordable proposals generated by the five finalist teams.

Richard Cook, AIA, of Cook+Fox, discussed the undulating “oxbow” design his team devised in order to endow the long, narrow site with a sense of public/private circulation. He identified an inherent tension between an adaptable urban housing template and a response to the specific site conditions. The result draws upon his firm’s increasing use of sustainable design strategies to maximize natural light and ventilation while minimizing solar gain.

The 13-story slab proposed by Kiss + Cathcart with Magnusson Architecture and Planning expressed the concept of a “green building” with live vegetation growing on a planted façade. Articulated bands of “townhouses in the sky” would afford residents a clear view of the passing seasons, while a single-loaded corridor scheme would allow cross-ventilation and a more open feeling. Ground-level retail space would cluster near the northern side of the site, while health and recreation facilities would be grouped at the southern side.

Robert Rogers, AIA, of Rogers Marvel Architects, outlined the “thematic condition of health” that permeates his team’s proposal, from cultural enrichment to physical health and financial security. Together with Alexander Taylor of BRP Development, he articulated the desire to “land on the street with consequential community facilities” such as dance and exercise studios and a food co-op. Concave slabs clad in modular brick and masonry panels would create a complementary pattern of open and enclosed space. A co-generation plant, meandering gardens, and a carefully planned ventilation system would conserve resources and boost the quality of life.

Noting that the city possesses few remaining land parcels to offer for future new housing developments, Sam Marks, a director at the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCO, which teamed with Cook+Fox), wondered whether a future competition could focus on retrofitting existing buildings. Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, defined the replicability of the NHNY exercise as a question of continued collaboration: “Can you replicate the act of will that it takes to bring this kind of event about?”

Powerhouse: New Housing New York is on view at the Center for Architecture through 06.16.07. See On View: At the Center for Architecture for more information.

Gideon Fink Shapiro is a writer and researcher at Gabellini Sheppard Associates, and contributes to several design publications.

Event: Crown Hall — A Study in a Building’s Sustainable Evolution
Location: Center for Architecture, 04.26.07
Speaker: Nico Kienzl — Director, Atelier Ten, NY Office
Organizers: AIANY Committee on the Environment; AIANY Historic Buildings Committee

Crown Hall at IIT in Chicago.

Courtesy AIANY

Mies van der Rohe’s S.R. Crown Hall is much more than a symbol of Modern architectural aesthetics. After evaluating the building, monitoring temperature and humidity, and studying original drawings, Atelier Ten realized that Mies’s design helped foster a sustainable environment — before sustainability was topical. It was renovations in the 1970s and 80s that decreased the quality and effectiveness of the interior.

The landscaping originally called for many more trees along the south and west façades to prevent the sun from penetrating the building. A whole row of trees was cut down to make room for a widened driveway in the 1970s. Mies’s design called for zoned radiant floors. As the controls began to wear, the building channeled all of the zones into one lever with one control. When first constructed, students could adjust blinds and operate vents to prevent glare and control natural airflow. Now in disrepair, neither is possible. Furthermore, when the air conditioning system was installed in the late 70s, the same diffusers for heat were used. The narrow shape does not disperse the cool air; instead it pushes it directly downward. Students located below the diffusers are cold, while their neighbors are warm.

Recently, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) hired Atelier Ten to explore how the comfort problems in the building could be improved without altering the building’s appearance. Replanting trees, rezoning the radiant floors, and fixing the operability of the vents and blinds could restore the success of Mies’s design. With a few extra moves, such as replacing the diffusers to spread out cool air and installing new lights similar to those that Mies intended, much of the work did not require innovation and 50% of the building’s energy was saved.

The most substantial difference between 1956, when Crown Hall was completed, and now, is the number of students (up to 350 from 200) and the use of computers by every student. The uniform light created by the original sandblasted glass along the bottom half of the building and clear glass along the top is perfect for hand drawing at a drafting table. Unfortunately, it creates glare on computer screens. Atelier Ten saw an opportunity to improve the sustainability of the building. Installing double-pane, acid-etched glass coated with an energy-efficient sealant saved more energy. By incorporating daylight controls, and zoning lighting so inner lights turn off when the building is not in use, students’ comfort would be improved and the glow of the building at night would be preserved (of utmost importance to preservationists). Ultimately, Atelier Ten hopes to improve comfort, reduce energy consumption, and restore Crown Hall’s original architectural details, according to Nico Kienzi, the director of the NY Office.