Name That Downtown Architecture

Be the first to Name That Downtown Architecture AND name the President, V-President, Treasurer and Secretary – Come to the August Procrastination Seminar FREE 5 LU/HSW!!! Where is it? Look from 1st Ave North 19th Street to 4th Ave North 22nd Street.

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August Procrastination Seminar 5 LU/HSW
Make your reservations now for the August 23rd Procrastination Seminar.
Alagasco Midtown Business Center | 20 South 20th Street
Members $20 per LU/HSW  | Non-Members $30 per LU/HSW 
Sign up for as many as you need.  Sign up for a minimum of 3 Sessions and lunch is included.  Less than three sessions and chapter meeting/lunch is $15.

8:30                Registration
9:00 – 10:00     I Can Get What I Want from Masonry Construction, Butch Wyatt
10:15 – 11:15   Concrete Parking Lots, Mike Zaldo
11:30 – 12:45   Lunch/Chapter Meeting
1:00 – 2:00       Pre-cast Concrete Options, Castone Company
2:15 – 3:15       Segmental Retaining Walls 123, John Stewart
3:30 – 4:30       Reinforcement for Concrete Masonry, Butch Wyatt

Click here for registration form (word file) (pdf file)

Intern Site Visit & Lunch!
August 10th at 11:30
Hugh Brown with Gewin Tucker & Associates, Inc. will give a brief overview of major lamp classifications, their brief distinctive characteristics and nomenclature.
Click here for more info.

AIA 12th Annual Golf Tournament

Sign up for the AIA golf tournament by September 11th.  The proceeds will go to YWCA and Pathways, two local non profit (women/children) organizations.  You will have a great time “working” and playing golf, receive a great goodie bag (best fitting AIA hat),
win great door prizes and support two charities!!! 
Click here to print the registration form

FREE LUNCH for ARCHITECTS

Aquatic Gardens would like the opportunity to treat any member to a very informal lunch and learn. You even get to pick the restaurant! They understand everyone is very busy but this gives you a chance to sit down, relax a bit and allows Aquatic Gardens the opportunity to inform you on what Aquatic Gardens are all about and what they can do to help you in any projects you may have. All you have to do is call the office at 995-9466 or Debbie Monson’s cell phone 337-1203 to schedule a date and time.

Regional Greenspace Project and Brownfield Redevelopment Task Force
Thursday August 17th, 2006
Birmingham Botanical Gardens 2612 Lane Park Road Ireland Room
Garden Center Building, Upper Level

9:30 AM Coffee & Networking | 10:00 AM-12:00 Noon: Program & Presentations

On August 17th, a special joint meeting of the Regional Greenspace Project and the Brownfield Redevelopment Task Force will be held at The Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The meeting agenda will include the following:

• Phase I  Report: Gateway to Greenspace
• Phase II Overview: Region 2020’s Public Engagement Agenda
• Presentation: The City of Tarrant’s Redevelopment Initiatives; A shining example of Brownfield to Greenspace and Collaborative Partnership at Work.

Please reply as soon as possible: Seating is limited and we are expecting a number of out of town guests who have a growing interest in the Greater Birmingham Region’s progressive developments.

Bob Wilkerson, Senior Planner/ Project manager (205) 264-8429 bwilkerson@rpcgb.org

Who’s On Top – New York Architects vs. Engineers
In addition to our exhibitions and openings, one of the more lively events of the season was held not at the Center for Architecture, but at an East Village bar.  On July 13, the leadership of the chapter was invited to debate the Institution of Civil Engineers UK, (‘ICE’), at the 11th Street Bar and argue the motion:  “Architects Should Lead the Design of Public Infrastructure Projects.”   Subtitled, “Who’s on Top,” the debate combined serious content with dry wit, bad jokes and large quantities of beer. Collin Barratt, a Civil Engineer who has worked on major infrastructure projects around the world, moderated the discourse.  The ICE team was comprised of Ed Plotkin, former Commissioner of Public Works for Westchester County and Mel Febesh, Chairman of Urban Foundation/Engineering.  As President of the AIA New York Chapter, I represented the AIA with Rick Bell, our Executive Director.

I had the honor of opening the debate and defining the reasons why architects should take the lead in the design of public infrastructure projects.  I described why architects rather than civil engineers have the requisite talents and skills to be on top, including:

• The Right Education
• The Right Kind of Thinking
• The Ability to Imagine
• The Capacity for Passion
• The Willingness to Skip Lunch

I suggested that it begins with education.  Engineering is traditionally taught deductively. The instructor introduces a topic by lecturing on general principles, then uses the principles to derive models, gives students practice in similar derivations, and finally tests their ability on exams. Conversely, architects are taught inductively. Inductive teaching and learning encompasses a range of instructional methods that are all learner-centered, meaning that they impose more responsibility on students for their own learning.  Because inductive teaching is viewed as a way of encouraging students to problem solve and think creatively, many other disciplines, including engineering schools, are just beginning to explore ways to foster more learner-centered techniques.

I declared that, “Infrastructure projects require inductive thinking.”  To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, “The Engineer sees things that are; and asks why? The Architect dreams things that never were; and asks why not.”   As such, when you think of the great infrastructure projects in history, it is often the design vision that provides the inspiration, not the underlying engineering. 

I pointed out that Hoover Dam was a great example.  Most people think of it as a magnificent feat of engineering prowess. What most people don’t know is that the original design was so ponderous and unattractive that public officials insisted that an architect was needed to redesign and oversee the project. The problem was that each component of the project was designed as separate functional units, without consideration for the whole. In 1933, architect Gordon B. Kaufmann FAIA was given the commission to rework the dam and make it coherent and cohesive. Because of the architect’s redesign, the power of the form is appropriately reflected in the magnificence of the facade. Indeed, as an icon of modernism, the Hoover Dam helped to usher in a new era. 

I also ascertained that infrastructure projects require imagination. The architect says: “Make no small plans, because they have no power to move man’s mind.”  The engineer says: “Value engineering will allow us to cut this and cut that, until there is nothing.” I declared that for a change, instead of Value Engineering, maybe we should be talking about “Value Architecture,” and the value of design.

Since infrastructure projects are built to serve the public and are generally built to last for decades, maybe centuries, I concluded by stating that they should reflect the highest degree of design input and talent.  What does it take to achieve lasting excellence?  Einstein believed that “lasting excellences” required a “genuine desire and passion for greatness.” This does not come from a rational deductive view of the world or settling for the easy answer.  It requires a thirst and a passion that doesn’t stop at the end of the work-day.  Passion empowers a person to think differently and take initiatives for improving the quality of life for the public good.  In the end, it all comes down to the willingness to do anything that is required, including skipping meals and working into the wee hours of the morning to achieve lasting greatness.  Architects have that passion.

Alas, despite the clarity of my remarks, the AIA lost the debate by a slim margin.  Unfortunately for the design community, the room was packed with engineers, who voted for their own.  Still, I was gladdened by a note from Colin Barratt, the following day.  “By all accounts, everyone enjoyed the occasion. Reflecting on all that was said and debated it appears that, Engineers afford functionality and purpose, Architects harmonize for our well being. When quality leadership from either profession "Is on Top," greatness is achieved."
Mark Strauss, AICP, FAIA, is the 2006 AIA New York Chapter President and is a Principal at FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS, PC.

Kids Kozy Kottages – Auction for the American Lung Association 

The American Institute of Architects Birmingham Chapter partnered with the American Lung Association and raised over $23,000.00.  The Garrison Barrett Group, FORMWORKS Architects, Inc., Giattina Fisher Aycock, Gresham Smith and Partners,  CLA and WilliamsBlackstock each designed a kids kozy cottage.  The playhouses were on display at the Riverchase Galleria and were auctioned at the Wynfrey Hotel.  The Garrison Barrett Group received the “Kids Choice Award” for favorite playhouse and auctioned for $5300.00.  Congratulations to The Garrison Barrett Group!!