Welcome to the Birmingham Chapter of AIA

2009 Sponsors – Thank You!
We would like to thank the following companies for renewing their sponsorships in 2009.
Your support is greatly appreciated!

We would also like to thank and welcome our new sponsors!
NEW Platinum Sponsors             Tucker-Jones Engineers
NEW Gold Sponsor                     BRESCO
                                                 Hallmark Builders
NEW Silver Sponsors        Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions
                                                   Civil Consultants, Inc.
                                                   KMAC Services
                                                   Masonry Arts
                                                   Old Castle Surfaces, Inc.
                                                   Sherwood Cox Photography

2009                         SAVE THE DATES
March 10th                  Architect panel for Sponsors
                                    O’Kafes
                                    9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
                                    Visit our Sponsorships page for more info
March 10th                   ACE Mentor Mega Networking Event
                                    Barking Kudu
                                    5:30 – 7:30 – Happy Hour Specials
March 19                      Emerging Professionals Site Visit
                                    Lakeshore Foundation Olympic and Paralympic Training Facility
                                    4:00 RSVP to danya@aiabham.org by March 18
March 24th                   1SDU -A Little Different Chapter Meeting
                                    Flower Stems
                                    Cahaba River Society
                                    11:30-1:00
                                    $15 member’s            $25 non-members            $10 interns
                                    Alabama Designers Craftsmen Art Exhibit
                                    Cocktails at 4:30 – 6:30
                                    $5 two drink tickets/appetizers
April 21st                      1SDU Greening Your Kitchen
                                    European Kitchens of Alabama
                                    $15 members            $10 Interns            $25 non members

The Smorgasbord by Danya Humaideh
“Coping With Transition”
If you’ve found yourself in between jobs right now, it is not your fault. Your next job opportunity is not just going to fall into your lap. You have to be proactive in your search. There are numerous job search websites, local temp agencies and local job placement agencies available to you. These agencies may not offer exactly what you are looking for but there may be something close. This job will hold you over until you find the job you want. Also, be willing to send your resume to as many firms as possible. Although they may not have something right now, eventually they will. When they do, they will have your resume on hand. You can also post your resume with the AIA Career Center. If you are struggling with your resume, the UAB School of Business and the Birmingham Chapter of the American Marketing Association are offering seminars on resume writing this month.
Helpful events to remember
Write-In Candidate: Resume and Cover Letter Development
            When – March 6, 2009, 11:30
            Where – Innovation Depot
            Cost - $15
            To register, go to http://www.uabama.com/lectures/
Job Search Strategies
            When – March 25, 2009, 5:30 – 7:00
            Where – UAB Business & Engineering Complex, 3rd Floor, Room 320
            Cost – FREE
            No RSVP required, No late entries or early departures, Seating is limited
Resume Writing
            When – April 6, 2009, 3:00 – 4:30
            Where – UAB Business & Engineering Complex, 1st Floor, Room 109
            Cost – FREE
            No RSVP required, No late entries or early departures, Seating is limited
Interview Preparation
            When – April 16, 2009, 3:00 – 4:30
            Where – UAB Business & Engineering Complex, 3rd Floor, Room 320
            Cost – FREE
            No RSVP required, No late entries or early departures, Seating is limited

2009 Design Award Jury TEASE
The entries have been submitted. Of course, we could not release the number because the deadline was yesterday at 5:00 and many arrived just in time and the newsletter was already out in web space.
Our jurors are incredible!
One juror is from a major national architectural magazine. Another is a national award winning Landscape Architect and Urban Planner and an international award winning architect.
Next deadline is April 8th – All work is due.
The event has been changed to June 11th, 2009 due to the venue.

ARCHITECTS vs. CONTRACTORS vs. ENGINEERS
This is a mega networking event to create awareness for ACE.
ACE – Architect Contractors & Engineers Mentoring Program
AIA – American Institute of Architects, Birmingham Chapter
ACEC – Alabama Council of Engineering Companies of Alabama
ABC – Associated Builders & Contractors
ASLA – American Society of Landscape Architects, Alabama
IIDA – International Interior Design Association
ASID –American Society of Interior Designers
SMPS – Society of Marketing Professional Services
DBIA – Design Build Institute of America
Yes, the MEGA NETWROKING EVENT is a competition! There will be three “donation buckets” One for ARCHITECTS, one for contractors and one for engineers. The bucket that collects the most money for ACE scholarships WINS the competition. And yes I have been running my mouth about how the ARCHITECTS are going to win that night! Please don’t let me down, the contractors and engineers will give AIA grief forever! And none of us want the contractors or engineers to have anything over us.
So, come network with all the professional organizations related to your industry, maybe learn about a potential project, raise awareness about ACE Mentor Program and have a great time.

ACE would like to invite all of the members of the above organizations to this MEGA NETWORKING EVENT at the Barking Kudu, March 10th, 5:30 – 7:30. Buy your own drinks (happy hour specials) and meet and greet with all the organizations related to your industry AND LEARN ABOUT THE ACE MENTORING PROGRAM. Feel free to volunteer to be a mentor while your work load is a little less busy! ACE helps Alabama high school students discover the many exciting and rewarding career opportunities available to them in the building design and construction industry. For more info, please visit the website http://www.acementor.org/

AIA Emerging Professionals Update
The AIA Birmingham Emerging Professionals visited the construction site of the new Samford University Field House. Thanks to Davis Architects for giving us the grand tour and Wyatt Construction for allowing us the opportunity to visit. Click here for more photos. Our next visit will be Thursday, March 19 at 4:00. We will be touring the Lakeshore Foundation Olympic and Paralympic Training Facility. Please RSVP to danya@aiabham.org to attend. No hardhat necessary.

If there is anyone in your office who is not receiving e-mails from AIA, please send their names and e-mail addresses to danya@aiabham.org.

Support Your Locals Meeting – March 24 – 1SDU
What a fun way to earn a SDU continuing education! Great downtown venue, learn about protecting our local river and FREE art show.
Plan on arriving early or staying late to meet Alabama Designers Craftsmen and see some TRUE craftsmanship. Please consider consulting our local artist when you have a client request for a commissioned piece or a unique request. They are your local resource for TRUE ALABAMA CRAFTSMANSHIP.
Flower Stems is a unique venue architects will appreciate. Street parking or across the street from the AIA office or be earth friendly and walk/car pool.
Cahaba River Society will present a low impact development education for development and local government professionals. This presentation is effective for engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, land planning, real estate, development, and building contracting firms as well as for local government staff and officials involved in the review and approval of development projects
We will serve cocktails in the evening for those who cannot attend the lunch meeting, but would like to see the art exhibit.
11:30-1:00 1SDU $15 member’s $25 non-members $10 interns
Alabama Designers Craftsmen Art Exhibit
Cocktails at 4:30 – 6:30
$5 two drink tickets/appetizers
RSVP by MARCH 20th

AIA Birmingham Grass Roots Presentation
AIA Birmingham presented at the 2009 AIA National Grass Roots in Washington D.C.
Trevor Matchett, AIA Birmingham Immediate Past President and Fred Yeager, AIA Birmingham 2009 President presented a seminar on non dues revenue. It was held on Saturday morning (the a.m. everyone is ready to go home or hung over) and in a very hard to find location and there were 80 people who attended. Several people said it was the best session they attended during Grass Roots.
Thank you Trevor and Fred for a job well done and for representing so well!

FREE LEED PREP COURSE BY CHARLES KIBERT, Phd. P.E.
Be one of the first 150 people to register for the GREEN EXPO, May 12 & 13th at the BJCC and attend a FREE LEED prep course presented by the author of the book himself, Charles Kibert, Ph.d. Very limited space and time too, do not procrastinate on this opportunity.
The Green Building Focus Conference & EXPO will include a seminar that introduces the soon to be available residential green building standard developed by the International Code Council and the National Association of Homebuilders. The first and only true consensus-based standard for residential green building will also be the first to be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is currently pending ANSI review. The seminar looks at the history, intent, organization and application of the standard.
The speakers for the conference are people you will want to hear speak and you have no travel expenses for this conference! They will all be HERE IN BIRMINGHAM.
Green Building Focus is also pleased to announce that Ryan Gravel will be speaking in the plenary session. Ryan Gravel is the mastermind behind Atlanta’s Beltline system. The idea of turning existing railroad tracks into a streetcar or trolley line that will encircle Atlanta was born in 1999, in Ryan Gravel's graduate thesis at Georgia Tech. Now it has become the mass transit darling of the region's 25-year transportation plan. It came out on top in a 2003 study of possible transit routes, beating out bus lanes on I-285, commuter train service to Gainesville, and any new MARTA train line. Now the region is ready to invest over $680 million in the Belt Line and another intown transit route called the C-Loop because it forms a "C" linking Emory University, Lindbergh Center, downtown Atlanta and the Gallery at South DeKalb, formerly South DeKalb Mall. The plan also includes a ribbon of green around the railroad tracks for walking and biking trails.

Other speakers for the conference are people you will want to hear speak (and you have no travel expenses for this conference)! They will all be HERE IN BIRMINGHAM.
Speaker Panel
*Charles J. Kibert, Ph.d., P.E.
Professor and Director, Powell Center for Construction & Environment, College of Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida.
*Karan Grover
Karan Grover & Associates, Vadodara, India
*Kathy O. Roper, CFM, MCR, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow
Associate Professor, Building Construction Program, Georgia Institute of Technology
*Llewellyn Van Wyk
Research Group Leader, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa
*Dominic Sims
Chief Operating Officer, International Code Council, Washington, DC.
AIA Members are eligible to attend the Green Building Focus Conference & EXPO at a discounted rate of $395.
Register online at www.greenbuildingfocus.com/register

AIA Birmingham Public Service Announcement – MEDIA BLITZ!
I heard a rumor it will be in a March Magazine
AIA Birmingham is working on an architect awareness campaign/media blitz. Our goal is to promote the value and need for architects. Architects create livable communities, beautiful spaces and reduce carbon emissions/footprints.
We will be sending out different PSA’s to various print media. This is our first Public Service Announcement. We will need your help finding these PSA’s when they are printed (I might overlook a magazine).
If you are the first person to see this PSA in a magazine and let the AIA office know Magazine Title – Month/Edition - Page number- YOU win two tickets to AIA 2009 Design Awards ($200 value).

FYI….CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
For those of you who use paper contract documents, you should know that after May 31, 2009, certain versions of some documents will no longer be available for sale. If you use the AIA Contract Document Software, all updates are available to you through your software. Listed below are the documents that will expire after May 31. For more information on the new AIA Contract Documents, visit www.aiacontractdocuments.org.

A101–1997	A775ID–2003	B205–2004	B611INT–2002
A105/205–1993	B141–1997	B206–2004	B621INT–2002
A107–1997	B151–1997	B209–2005	C141–1997
A111–1997	B155–1993	B210–2004	C801–1993
A114–2001	B171ID–2003	B211–2004	G605–2000
A175ID–2003	B175ID–2003	B214–2004	G606–2000
A201–1997	B175ID–2003	B252–2005	G607–2000
A275ID–2003	B203–2005	B253–2005	G714–2001
A401–1997	B204–2004	B431–1993	G805–2001

GRCA Green Home and Garden Expo
by Viki Jackson Pate
Kick off spring with the 2009 Clover Crawl Green Home and Garden Expo at Vulcan Park and Museum, near downtown Birmingham, on Saturday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free event, made possible by the Green Resource Center for Alabama will show you the latest trends in green products and services for your home, office and garden. Come enjoy music, food, activities for the kids and beautiful views of the city from the park. Start spring cleaning by bringing electronics for recycling. Learn how to be more energy efficient, create healthier homes, offices and landscapes to reduce your impact on the environment. Exhibits will feature information, resources, products and services about energy, water, waste and recycling, homebuilding and remodeling, food and clothing, transportation, yard and garden, recreation and leisure, household products and practices, education and lifestyle. Little changes can make a big difference.

The Green Resource Center for Alabama is a non-profit organization committed to providing people and businesses common-sense ways to go green by reducing energy and water usage, reducing waste and recycling. The Center is housed in a green building in downtown Homewood and hosts a variety of events and programs throughout the year. For more information about the Clover Crawl expo or if you are a vendor interested in participating, please call 205-257-2401. Or visit the website at www.greenalabama.org.

ASLA AL-MS Twin States Conference 2009
Understanding our environment. Changing our behaviors. Utilizing and Protecting our resources.

ADAPTIVE CONSERVATION:a regional approach
will be held April 15 - April 18, 2009, at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Learn more: visit www.alabamaasla.org.