News:
15 minutes: boost your business and the economy
The AIA database of Stalled Projects has drawn significant attention from the media and investors. What’s missing? YOUR projects! Take 15 minutes; shake the dust off one or more projects that has been sitting on your shelf due to lack of financing, and contribute to this important effort. Getting your unbuilt work on this directory gives you national exposure to investors and the media – and that’s good for your business. As a bonus, this effort is an important part of the AIA’s national advocacy efforts to get the financial markets working again. It is quick, easy and you just might find someone interested in getting your project moving forward! Just click on: http://www.aia.org/stalledprojects/index.htm
Eco-Structure | AIA Announces 2012 Sustainable Communities
The AIA has announced seven communities for its 2012 Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) program, which provides multidisciplinary teams of professionals to help residents and local decision-makers create visions for more sustainable local environments. According to AIA Design Assistance Director Erin Simmons, professionals from over 35 disciplines have participated in the program. Those include experts in land-use planning, historic preservation, economic development, sustainable development, housing, governance, transportation, and real estate development. Since 2005, the program has provided guidance to 54 communities in 34 states.
ARCHITECT Video Series | This week featuring Bob Berkebile, FAIA of BNIM
An ongoing discussion about the ways technology, the economy and other factors are transforming architects relationships with their jobs. Weekly, different thought leaders in and around the profession will share their insights about the future of the architecture workplace.
This week’s video features Bob Berkebile, FAIA of BNIM. Click here to check out the video.
The Kansas City Star | Five design teams vie to build a pavilion for Nelson-Atkins
Proposals by five teams of architects and designers have been named finalists in a competition to build a temporary pavilion on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
A selection review committee of museum staffers chose the finalists from 15 entries. A jury headed by museum director and CEO Julián Zugazagoitia, and including the Bloch Building’s design architect Steven Holl, will consider the five proposals in the coming week and announce a winner in early February.
The winning pavilion would be built to coincide with the opening of the Nelson’s major exhibit, “Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851-1939,” which is scheduled to open April 14.
Click here for the entire article from The Kansas City Star.
AIA Launches “Issues and Advocacy” Web Page
The Government and Community Relations team recently launched a completely redesigned Issues and Advocacy web page, a one-stop source for advocacy resources and information, including daily updates about AIA efforts at the local, state, and federal level.
AIA | Architecture Billings Index Positive for Second Straight Month
After showing struggling business conditions for most of 2011, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has now reached positive terrain in consecutive months. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the December ABI score was 52.0, following the exact same mark in November. This score reflects an overall increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 64.0, down just a point from a reading of 65.0 the previous month.
FOR AIA Kansas City Members Only | KU Architecture and Construction Pilot Survey
This survey is intended to gauge familiarity with and attitudes toward specific materials/construction types in the discipline of architecture, with a concentration on rammed earth construction. Please follow the link below to access the online survey. The survey is expected to take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AIAKC
The Department of Architecture at the University of Kansas supports the practice of protection for human subjects participating in research. The following information is provided for you to decide whether you wish to participate in the present study. You should be aware that even if you agree to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time without penalty. We are conducting this study to better understand rammed earth construction. This will entail your completion of a questionnaire.
The content of the questionnaires should cause no more discomfort than you would experience in your everyday life. Although participation may not benefit you directly, we believe that the information obtained from this study will help us gain a better understanding of attitudes toward rammed earth. Your participation is solicited, although strictly voluntary. Your name will not be associated in any way with the research findings. If you would like additional information concerning this study before or after it is completed, please feel free to contact me by phone or mail.
Completion of the survey indicates your willingness to participate in this project and that you are over the age of eighteen. If you have any additional questions about your rights as a research participant, you may call (785) 864-7429 or (785) 864-7385 or write the Human Subjects Committee Lawrence Campus (HSCL), University of Kansas, 2385 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7563, email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
The deadline in January 31.
Call for Entries | SMPS Kansas City’s 2012 Excellence Awards
Calling all A/E/C marketers!Every two years Kansas City’s A/E/C marketing elite come together for an evening of celebration to award the most creative and effective marketing materials. These coveted awards bring recognition to the firms that successfully promote the professional services of their firms in the Kansas City area. The 2012 SMPS Kansas City Excellence Awards will recognize excellence by marketing professionals and celebrate winners in the following nine categories of exemplary work.
• Marketer of the Year
• Advertising
• Annual Report/Brochure
• Corporate Identity
• Newsletter
• Website
• Specific Project Marketing
• Direct Mail
• The Shoestring Award
Marketing materials designed, published, and distributed to promote services and firms in the A/E/C industry between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 may be submitted in any of the entry categories. Each piece may only be entered once. Work produced prior to January 1, 2010 or previous winning entries will not be considered.
All entries will be showcased at the 2012 SMPS Kansas City Excellence Awards ceremony on April 5, 2012 at AIA Kansas City (1801 McGee, Suite 100, Kansas City, Missouri). The outstanding winner in each category will be recognized for their exemplary work. Winners will receive general notification by email prior to the ceremony. Placement will be announced and awards presented at the Awards ceremony.
Detailed submittal instructions can be found online at http://www.smpskc.org
AIA Kansas City Member Firm Wins 6 National AIA IDP Awards
BRR Architecture, Inc. has recently been recognized with both the AIA 2011-2014 IDP Firm Award and the AIA 2011-2014 IDP Outstanding Firm Award. Granted annually to firms that engage with and enhance the internship process, these two awards bestow a three-year recognition to organizations that embrace and support the Intern Development Program (IDP) and the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®).
The IDP Firm Award was awarded to BRR’s regional offices in Phoenix, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Bentonville and Atlanta. The award celebrates firms that demonstrate a dedication to the architectural field and its future. The primary intention of the IDP award program is to encourage firms to be more active in the internship process by creating knowledge resources for emerging professionals and students. Of the nine IDP Firm Awards given this year, 5 went to BRR’s regional offices.
Additionally, BRR’s headquarters in Merriam, KS was the recipient of The IDP Outstanding Firm Award, an award that was given to only 6 firms nationally. In addition to satisfying the five categories necessary for qualification for the IDP Firm Award, IDP Outstanding Firm Award recipients show an unsurpassed and proactive approach to the development of the intern experience. BRR’s unique program includes an internal professional development program which operates both the firm’s Intern Development Program (IDP) and their AIA/CES Registered Provider Program. Such a streamlined process has allowed this exceptional program to provide Interns with a clear path for success as they embark on becoming Registered Architects.
Architect | Results of first Women in Architecture survey
Forty-eight percent of the 700 women who answered questions in The Architects’ Journal’s first Women in Architecture survey thought they would be paid more if they were male. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they thought the profession was too male heavy, and 11 percent reported they experienced sexual discrimination in the workplace at least once a week. Zaha-Hadid was overwhelmingly voted the woman who has made the most significant lasting contribution to the profession, though responses to her career were divisive, including the comment that “She has achieved fantastic things over the course of her career, but at what cost? Sacrificing family for your career is not being a role model.”