AIA Selects Four Projects for National Healthcare Design Awards
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) has announced four recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The awards program highlights the “best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research” that exhibit “conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital”.
The AIA National Healthcare Design Award recipients are:
2012 CAE Educational Facility Design Awards Announced
The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has selected 15 educational and cultural facilities for this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards. The 15 winners represent the best of emerging trends and ideas, “honor excellence in planning and design, and disseminate knowledge about best practices in educational and community facilities,” according to the AIA’s press release.
See the complete list of winners, after the break…
AIA selects the 2012 Recipients of the Small Project Awards
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the eleven recipients of the 2012 Small Project Awards. Now in its ninth year, the AIA Small Project Awards Program emphasizes the excellence of small-project design and strives to raise public awareness of the value and design excellence that architects bring to projects, no matter the limits of size and scope.
The award recipients are categorized into three groups; category 1) a small project construction, object, work of environmental art or architectural design element up to $150,000 2) a small project construction, up to $1,500,000 and 3) a small project construction up to $1,500,000 which does not rely on external infrastructure as its primary power source.
The 2012 Small Project Award winners are:
2012 Disaster Response Grant Recipients
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Architecture for Humanity have announced the five recipients of the 2012 Disaster Response Plan Grant. Awards totaling $10,000 will help each group implement their locally driven preparedness project in the second half of the year.
The Disaster Grant Program is part of the Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Program, which coordinates the organizations’ advocacy, education and training to help architects make effective contributions to communities preparing for, responding to and rebuilding after disaster.
The 2012 grant recipients are:
AIA Home Design Trend Survey Q1/2012
The AIA’s Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2012 reports an optimistic outlook for residential architectural firms. Key aspects of the survey attempt to illustrate the trending situations compared with previous quarterly surveys. Perhaps the most enlightening aspect prevalent throughout the majority of the survey topics is that growth is beginning to shake off the declines of the housing downturn. More details after the break.
Budget cuts threaten the U.S. Capitol
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and 10 other groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders warning that cuts to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC)’s budget could lead to further deterioration of the U.S. Capitol and wind up costing taxpayers more in the long run.
“There is little disagreement that the federal government, including Congress, must live within its means and be judicious in its consideration of short and long term expenditures,” the letter states. “However, the AOC’s FY2013 budget is focused primarily on needed maintenance and repair projects that are designed to keep the buildings of the Capitol complex – some of them nearly two centuries old – in proper working order.”
Continue reading for more.
Eliminating Obstacles for Architects in Government Contracts
Today, Krueck+Sexton Architects principle Thomas Jacobs, AIA, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce in an effort to urge Congress to eliminate two impediments facing small architecture firms as they compete for government contracts. Jacobs argues that high design-build fees and lengthy “final teams lists” are prohibiting small firms from competing.
Continue after the break to read more.
Walk around the city with the new AIA Broadcastr App
If you happen to be wandering around Los Angeles, New York City or Washington D.C. this weekend, download the pilot AIA Broadcastr App and transform yourself into a multimedia tourist. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is forming a partnership with Broadcastr to create an app that offers in-depth building information, exclusive interviews with architects and a vast library of narratives from local professionals that reveal the stories and facts behind buildings of architectural significance based on your location.
“Imagine standing in front of one of the world’s great buildings and listening to the architect tell you about her inspiration,” said Andy Hunter, CEO of Broadcastr. “We are thrilled that our partnership with AIA makes that possible.”
The AIA Broadcastr is available on Apple and Android. Let us know your thoughts if you try it out!
Reference: AIA Broadcastr, Forbes
2012 AIA Housing Awards for Architecture
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the 10 recipients of the 2012 Housing Awards. The AIA’s Housing Awards Program, now in its 12th year, was established to recognize the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit and a valuable national resource.
Continue after the break to view the 2012 recipients.
The Indicator: AIA2012 and the Pastoral Ideal
In the haze of Los Angeles it was impossible to feel the sunshine of optimism that emanated from the 2012 AIA Convention in Washington DC.
I should have been there because, as you have probably noticed, I could use a dose of that sunshine. I have not been able to conjure any feelings of optimism since 2008.
It’s not that I am morally or ethically opposed to optimism. I just require valid evidence for having it. Perhaps I am simply one of those unhappy individuals who tend to view optimism with suspicion. In the face of real problems, mere optimism somehow seems too simplistic.
Video: Gehry Residence, 2012 AIA Twenty-five Year Award Recipient
The AIA sat down with famed architect Frank Gehry - recipient of the 2012 Twenty-five Year Award - to discuss his eccentric Santa Monica home that has enormously influenced both theory and practice over the last 25 to 35 years. In the late 1970s, Frank Gehry transformed an existing Dutch colonial home in a quiet Southern California neighborhood into a controversial symbol of deconstructivism by surrounding it with an unconventional new addition. As the AIA describes, “The exposed structure, chaotic fusion of disparate materials, and aggressive juxtaposition of old and new communicate a sense of real-time formal evolution and conflict, as if the building were dynamically, violently creating itself with found objects.”
Towards the end of the video, Gehry advises students to “learn to be yourself and be curious about what is going on around you and respond to it.”
Learn more about the Gehry Residence here on ArchDaily!
via AIA National
AIA 2012: Architects of Healing
After three days of inspirational keynote sessions, informative seminars, exclusive tours, invaluable networking opportunities and an impressive expo, the American Institute of Architects concluded the 2012 National Convention with a special tribute to the architects responsible for the post-9/11 memorials and rebuilding efforts. These “Architects of Healing” tirelessly worked together to transform the darkness of grief brought on by the 9/11 attacks into the triumph of hope in the wounded areas of Shanksville, Pennsylvania; the Pentagon; and the World Trade Center site.
AIA2012: An Optimistic Future
AIA President Jeff Potter welcomed everyone this morning by restating his promise that the 2012 convention would inspire all who attend. With a consistent theme focusing on the architects commitment to service, President Potter welcomed Shaun Donovan – the 15th United States Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – as today’s keynote speaker. However, before Secretary Donovan took the stage, the 2012 AIA Vice President and 2013 President-elect Mickey Jacob invited the crowd to come, stay and explore the mile-high city of Denver for the 2013 National Convention.
AIA 2012: Opening Discussions
Thousands of architects crammed into the grand ballroom of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center this morning to kick-off the 2012 National Convention hosted by the American Institute of Architects. Invigorating speeches, led by AIA President Jeff Potter, urged architects to re-envision the profession and question the role of today’s architect. Although the economic downturn has caused many hardships, it presents a unique opportunity for architects to reshape the profession.
Infographic: The AIA History
Today, over 17,000 architects and designers, contractors and project managers, magazines and bloggers (including us) will converge on the Capital for the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) 144th National Convention, Design Connects. So let’s take a moment to reflect on this Association’s long history, intertwined with our nation’s history, and look at how it’s evolved to become both a vital resource for working/emerging architects and the voice of the architecture profession today.
Looking Back, Moving Forward: What the 2012 National Convention says about Architecture Today
According to its Web Site, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) aims to be two things for the architecture profession: a resource and a voice.
There’s no doubt that as a resource, the AIA plays its part well. But what does it mean to be a “voice”? Can an association speak for a profession? And, if so, what is it saying?
Today, over 17,000 architects and designers, contractors and project managers, magazines and bloggers (including us) will converge on the Capital for the AIA’s 144th National Convention, Design Connects. Over the course of three days, connections will be made, conversations had, and three keynote speakers present.
If the AIA represents how we conceptualize and communicate architecture, then let’s take a closer look at those speakers who will be its living mouthpieces: a famed historian, a member of the Obama administration, and the architects who participated in the 9/11 Memorials. The past, the present, the future. Taken together, they tell a story – of where we’ve been, yes, but, more importantly, where we’re going.
AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition
One week from today, ArchDaily will be joining you at the AIA 2012 National Convention! Knowledge, inspiration and connection are the three primary reasons architects are attending this year’s convention. In just three days (May 17-19), you can fulfill your annual Learning Units with nearly 200 education sessions, gain insight on the latest products and technologies at the Design Expo, and expand your professional network with the opportunity of meeting thousands of architects from around the country. Also, with AIA DC as your host, you will have the opportunity to explore the highlights of our nation’s capitol with a number of exclusive tours.
Continue after the break to learn more!
AIA Oppose Effort to Repeal Energy Reduction Law for Federal Buildings
Last week, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) released a press release stating their opposition to a House proposal to eliminate Section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. Basically, Section 433 is designed to free federal buildings from consuming fossil fuel-generated energy by 2030. Not surprisingly, the proposal is backed by the American Gas Association and the Federal Performance Contracting Coalition (FPCC), which includes members such as Chevron, Ameresco, Honeywell, and many more alike. However, as reported by Martin C. Pedersen on MetropolisMag.com, the surprising fact is that some of the FPCC members are participating in the 2030 challenge and many are considered prominent in the field of energy efficiency.
Continue reading after the break for AIA EVP and Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy’s response.
Pro Bono Work in Exchange for Loan Relief?
Just as NPR reported yesterday that the Nation’s student loan debt has exceeded one trillion dollars, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) called for Congress to pass legislation that will allow architecture school graduates loan debt assistance through pro bono work. This news comes as both President Obama this past weekend and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney yesterday urged Congress to head off a scheduled increase in student loan interest rates this July.
Continue reading for more.
AIA Selects the 2012 COTE Top Ten Green Projects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions. Now in its 16th year, the COTE Top Ten Green Projects program is one of the profession’s best known recognition program for sustainable design excellence.
The highlighted projects are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and technology. They have made a positive contribution to their communities, improved comfort for building occupants and reduced environmental impacts through strategies such as reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems, low-impact and regenerative site development, energy and water conservation, use of sustainable or renewable construction materials, and design that improves indoor air quality.
All the projects will be honored at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition, next month in Washington, D.C. Continue after the break to review the top ten green projects.
International Green Construction Code Announced with Widespread Support
Late last month the AIA announced that it is in support of the International Green Construction Code (lgCC) which will be a guide and model that helps architects and builders design buildings that conserve energy and move to a sustainable design strategy. The AIA is part of a long list of supporters which include ASHRAE, the US Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society. For architecture and engineering, this is a step in the right direction. This provides designers with a tool that makes responsible design less cryptic by offering solutions for energy saving strategies.
More on this after the break.
