AIA: The Latest Architecture and News

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To keep up with industry trends and important court decisions, every 10 years the AIA core set of contracts are reviewed and updated. The newly revised set of AIA contracts and forms were released April 2017. Major changes include a single Sustainable Project Exhibit that can be added to any AIA document to address the risks and responsibilities associated with sustainable projects; document title changes; new agreements containing a fill point to prompt the parties to discuss and insert an appropriate “termination fee” for terminations for convenience; and an added evaluation provision by the architect if the contractor proposes an alternative means and methods.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 11 recipients of the 2017 Small Project Awards. This is the 14th edition of the program, which was established to recognize "small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work and to promote excellence in small-project design."

This year the winners have been placed into three categories: 

• Category 1: small project construction, object, work of environmental art or architectural design element up to $150,000 in construction cost
• Category 2: small project construction, up to $1,500,000 in construction cost
• Category 3: small project construction, object, work of environmental art or architectural design under 5,000 square feet

This year’s winners include a wide variety of program types and sites. Continue after the break for the list and descriptions of the projects.

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Three exemplary housing projects have been awarded 2017 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards. Organized by The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Housing Knowledge Community, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the award is given to projects that “demonstrate that design matters… and offer examples of important developments in the housing industry.”

The prize is given to projects in four categories: Excellence in Affordable Housing Design; Creating Community Connection Award; Community-Informed Design Award; and Housing Accessibility - Alan J. Rothman Award (no projects were selected within this category this year). Read on for a brief description of each of the winners.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows has selected a team of three faculty members from Northeastern University’s School of Architecture and Resilient Cities Laboratory as the winner of the 2017 Latrobe Prize, for their study of “Future-Use Architecture.”

Awarded biennially for “a two-year program of research leading to significant advances in the architecture profession,” the Prize honors its winners with $100,000. This year’s winning study of “future-use architecture” focuses on the balance between flexible and fixed building systems to respond to unforeseeable circumstances and changes.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the election of William J. Bates, FAIA, as the 2018 First Vice President and 2019 President-elect. Currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors (since 2011), Bates has served terms as a vice president and the chair of the Board Community Committee from 2015-2016. He twice served as president of AIA Pennsylvania, in 1991 and 2010, and was president of AIA Pittsburgh in 1987.

As architects around the country gather for the 2017 AIA Convention in Orlando, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has decided to share some initial results from their 2016 nationwide Survey of Architectural Registration, specifically, the number of architects licensed in each state.

The data tracks both the number of resident licenses and reciprocal licenses (licenses for a particular state held by a resident of another state). The 2016 survey found that the number of architects working in the US has held steady, and that architects are working across state lines more than ever before. While the total number architects dropped slightly from the previous year (0.4 percent) to 109,748, the number out-of-state licenses grew a full 3 percent to 126,554.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have named the recipients of the 2017 Top Ten Awards, celebrating buildings that best exemplify the integration of great design, great performance and sustainable design excellence.

Now in its 21st year, the COTE Top Ten Awards program was established to honor projects that protect and enhance the environment through an integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology.

For recent architecture school graduates setting off on their careers for the first time, being referred to by the traditional title of “intern” can feel a little trivializing – as a full-time employee with a completed degree and real responsibilities, the title does little to capture a new hire’s true role within the firm.

Cognizant of this discrepancy, the AIA is now taking steps to eliminate the use of ‘intern,’ a term grandfathered in from the days of architectural apprenticeships and more linear paths through the architectural profession.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named the fourteen projects selected as recipients of the 2017 Housing Awards. Now in its 17th year, the AIA’s Housing Awards program was established to recognize "the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life." Projects are awarded in four categories: One/Two Family Custom Housing, One/Two Family Production Housing, Multifamily Housing and Special Housing.

The 2017 AIA Housing Award recipients include:

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association (ALA) have selected eight projects as recipients of the 2017 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards. Founded to “encourage and recognize excellence in the architectural design of libraries,” the award draws attention to the changing role of libraries in society, and how exemplary community spaces can change to reflect the needs of their surrounding residents.

The eight winners of the 2017 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards are:

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the addition of former First Lady Michelle Obama to the lineup of keynote speakers presenting at the 2017 AIA National Conference on Architecture in Orlando, Florida.

Obama will participate in Day 1 of the conference, on Thursday, April 27. Her event is billed by the AIA as “A Conversation with Former First Lady Michelle Obama,” where it is expected she will speak about the key initiatives she led during her time in the White House.

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Cast & Place has been announced as the winner of the 2017 City of Dreams competition to create a pavilion for New York City’s Governors Island. Held by not-for-profit arts organization FIGMENT, the AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee, and the Structural Engineers Association of New York, the competition called for a design to be the hub of FIGMENT’s free community arts festival during Summer 2017, based on questions of the future of New York, how design can confront environmental challenges, and how architecture can be built from recycled or borrowed material.

With these questions in mind, Cast & Place was conceptualized as a pavilion made entirely from waste. 300,000 recycled aluminum cans, cast into the cracks of dried clay, will form structural panels that assemble into shaded spaces for performance and play.

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The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 14 recipients for the 2017 AIA Young Architects Award. Now in its 24th year, the award was founded to honor young architects - licensed 10 years or fewer regardless of their age - who have “shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession early in their careers.”

AIA New York has announced the winners of their 2017 AIA New York Design Awards, highlighting the best new projects located in the Empire State or completed by AIA NY registered architects across categories of architecture, projects, interior design and urban planning.

Within the four categories, winning projects have been granted either an “Honor” or “Merit” distinction. Each project has been chosen for its “design quality, response to its context and community, program resolution, innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique.” The winners scale in scale from temporary exhibitions to large-scale urban interventions.

This year 22 of the 35 winners were New York City-located projects, including the grand prize winner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s striking Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University’s medical campus. Continue reading to see the full list of winners.

For the first event of our 2017 panel season "Displacements" the AIA-NY Global Dialogues Committee explores how designers are responding to the global refugee crisis through analysis, advocacy, documentation, and design. 

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named 178 AIA members to be elevated to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made “a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession.”

Update: Several new female speakers have since been added to the lineup, including Nora Demeter, Dr. Eve Edelstein, Elizabeth Diller, and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

A group of over 50 architects, firms and architecture students has spoken out at the lack of female representation among the keynote speakers selected for the 2017 AIA National Convention. Of the seven keynotes lectures to be given over the conference’s three days, just one will be led by a woman, and none by a female architect.

In a letter sent to the Architect’s Newspaper, the group calls for the AIA to reevaluate the conference program, and to consider selecting participants more “reflective of the diversity in architecture.” The letter also questions the organization’s dedication to upholding the values outlined in the diversity and inclusion statement listed on their website, suggesting the statement does not go far enough to promote the work of the organization’s diverse membership.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award for service to public architecture, and the 2017 Collaborative Achievement Award for distinguished achievements of those who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession.