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E-News
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Senator Valesky Named 2009 AIANYS Legislator of the Year
Senator David Valesky has been named the 2009 AIANYS Legislator of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in advancing the legislative priorities of AIANYS. Senator Valesky received the award for his sponsorship of the "Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit," which was recently signed into law. The award was presented at the AIA Central New York Celebration of Architecture on November 7, 2009 at Syracuse University.
In announcing the award, Edward C. Farrell, Executive Director noted, "Senator Valesky has demonstrated proven leadership in securing the enactment of this critical legislation, which was a top priority of AIANYS. The rehabilitation of existing historic properties is in line with AIA's strategy for sustainable design and construction. We commend him for his dedication and are honored to present him with this award."
"It's an honor to be recognized with this award from AIANYS," said Senator Valesky. "I applaud their efforts to encourage economic redevelopment adaptive re-use and look forward to continuing to work together with them on other important issues."
The new law provides tax credits for the redevelopment of qualified residential and commercial properties in distressed communities. There is currently a large inventory of vacant, underutilized and deteriorating historic properties, many of which are located in upstate urban areas.
Julia Hafftka-Marshall, AIA, President of AIA Central New York added, "We are proud that Senator Valesky has taken the lead on this important issue. Central New York will certainly enjoy the benefits that this enhanced tax credit will bring to rehabilitation projects. In a way, this program will act as stimulus for economic activity upstate."
Pictured (left to right): Senator David Valesky received the 2009 AIANYS Legislator of the Year Award from Julia Hafftka-Marshall, AIA, President, AIA Central New York and Edward C. Farrell, Executive Director, AIANYS.
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AIANYS, New York City Bar and Albany Law School Sponsor the 2nd Annual Building in the 21st Century Program
AIANYS, New York City Bar and Albany Law School sponsored a symposium, "Building in the 21st Century: Better, Cheaper, Faster and Sustainable" on November 20, 2009 at Albany Law School. Over 50 people attended the event. Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch was the keynote speaker. The purpose of the event was to continue the conversation started at the event last year and look at every aspect of putting together a public project.
Georges Korsun, Ph.D., Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, LLP began the discussion with an overview of the economics of construction and the built environment.
Next the state issues in land use planning were discussed by: Mark Ginsberg, Curtis + Ginsberg Architects; Jonathan Martin, Ph.D., Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and Pratt Institute; Patricia Salkin, Esq., Albany Law School; and Diana Saltel, Chief Planner and Land Use Planning Department Manager, Holtzmacher, McLendon + Murrell P.C. Topics included smart growth and the need for a statewide land use plan.
Mary Ann Crotty, President, Macro Associates; Russell Davidson, AIA, KG+D Architects, New York Regional Director; Robert Flieger, Senior Manager, Capital Projects Consulting, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, LLP; Joseph Hogan, Vice President, Association of General Contractors; Howard Rosen, Esq., Peckar & Abramson; Michael J. Squarzini, P.E., LEED AP, Senior Principal, Thornton Tomasetti; Brig. Gen. Norman Thorpe (USAF, Retired), Editor, ABA Model Code for Public Infrastructure Procurement were all featured on a panel that discussed modernizing public construction procurement. The panel discussed how New York is one of only 6 states in the country that does not allow design build and why that needs to change from the perspective of the architects, engineers and contractors.
Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch then gave an overview of what the New York state government has done to try to solve the current financial crisis. He warned that the course that the government has been on will not be sustainable and significant changes will need to be made.
Kenneth Bond, Esq., Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, LLP; Joseph Branca, Managing Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Jeffrey Hyman, Managing Director, Stone & Youngberg LLC; and Kenneth Lind, Esq., Nixon Peabody, LLP were all on a panel that discussed modernizing public finance. They discussed how there needs to be a market for bonds or else none of the ideas discussed earlier in the day can be put into place and also how New York needs to modernize their finance laws.
"When the conditions that led to today's public bidding laws in New York State originated, architects drew with graphite and ink on linen and blueprints were actually blue. Today's means of producing design are far advanced, but the laws which govern public construction severely limits the availability of these advancements. Consequently, taxpayers in New York State often pay more for lower quality buildings than the private sector and much of the rest of the country and world," said Burton Roslyn, AIA, President.
Edward C. Farrell, Executive Director noted: "Faced with the statutory impediments of having to replace the Champlain Bridge in a timely manner, coupled with growing deficits at the state and local levels, we cannot afford to miss this opportunity to improve our project delivery system."
  Photo 1: Over 50 people attended the program.
Photo 2: A panel of experts discussed modernizing public construction procurement.
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Dean of University at Buffalo, School of Architecture Speaks at Public Policy Forum 
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government held a public policy forum, Design Excellence + New Civic Architecture in New York on November 17, 2009.
The featured speaker was Brian Carter, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo. The respondent was John C. Egan, Commissioner, New York State Office of General Services.
Dean Carter discussed ways to advance the design agenda of architecture in New York state. He believes there should be a design excellence program established in New York. He referenced the GSA Design Excellence Program and how it operates including the architect selection process and peer reviews. Dean Carter also showed examples of design excellence with images of the San Francisco Federal Building, Sandra Day O'Connor Court House in Phoenix and Point Roberts Border Crossing.
Commissioner Egan added his perspective as a public official involved in overseeing the construction of major projects in New York State, including the Empire State Plaza, the Albany International Airport terminal and others. He stressed the greatest thing architecture can do is give back to the community.
Pictured (left to right): Dean Brian Carter and Edward Farrell, Executive Director at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
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AIANYS Leadership Meets with DASNY
Burton Roslyn, AIA, President, Russell Davidson, AIA, New York Regional Director and Michael DeChiara, Esq., Legal Counsel, and Edward Farrell, Executive Director held a meeting with DASNY to discuss a variety of issues. In 2007, AIANYS compiled the responses from our members on a survey on DASNY and shared the results with them.
Topics discussed at this meeting included integrated project delivery, procurement of design consultants, payments to design consultants, project budget control and sustainability and a continuation of the work on DASNY's professional services contract language.
AIANYS and DASNY plan on meeting again in early 2010.
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Tools and Techniques for Sustainable Daylighting in January in New York City
AIANYS and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center will present Tools and Techniques for Sustainable Daylighting January 13 and 14, 2010 at the Center for Light and Space, 5 Penn Plaza, 25th Floor in New York City. The registration fee is $100.00 per day. You can take one day or both days. The continuing education credit is 6 LUs/HSW/SD for each day completed.
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Governor Paterson Signs Legislation to Access Federal Funding for Clean Energy
During the special legislative session, Governor Paterson signed legislation that will allow New York municipalities to access $454 million in federal funding for clean energy. Last month, the federal government announced the Recovery Through Retrofit program which commits money from the Department of Energy to fund Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bond pilot programs. A PACE bond is a small municipal bond whose proceeds are given to commercial and residential property owners to finance energy retrofits. The municipalities in New York now must put together the pilot program.
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AIANYS PAC Events
By donating to the NYS Architects Political Action Committee (NYSAPAC), you have helped to fund the opportunity for AIANYS to support the following events this Fall: Edward Farrell, Executive Director, along with several board members from AIA Buffalo/Western New York, attended a fundraiser for Assemblyman Sam Hoyt; Edward Farrell, attended the Friends of Senator Neil Breslin event; and Shanntina Moore, Assoc. AIA, Associate Director attended the Supporters of Antoine Thompson event.
It is essential for AIANYS to be represented at these events and raise our profile among the top decision makers in the state! This is our chance to deliver our message personally. But we need your support in order to continue to do this. If you would like to donate to or have questions about the PAC fund, please contact Edward Farrell, Executive Director at efarrell@aianys.org or 518-449-3334.
Pictured (left to right): Bob Stark, AIA, Paul McDonnell, AIA (both AIA Buffalo/Western New York Board Members), Bonnie Foit Albert, RA, Kelly Hayes McAlonie, AIA, AIANYS Board Member, Edward Farrell and Assemblyman Sam Hoyt.
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Looking for Ideas for Continuing Education Programs? Resources Are Available and Easily Accessible to All AIANYS Chapters and Members
It is that time of year again that chapter committees, firms and members sit down and try to answer the question, what do we do for education programs for the upcoming year? There are several resources you might consider as part of your planning process for 2010. It's never too early to plan, so now is the time to put them in place for next year.
Ask - Don't miss a chance obtain feedback or ask a question
Ask every chance you get what member interests are. For Chapters, it could be a simple questionnaire on an index card that asks the question: What would you like to have us schedule? Can you give us a one or two descriptive sentence on what the session might look like? The other way it could be done is to simply have a list of topics and an open ended option. AIA is now using Core Areas that consists of Building Performance, Design, Leadership and Practice. Meetings are also always good resources for program ideas. Pass the cards out at the beginning of the meeting and ask for them at the end. If you are doing a program, add it to the bottom of the evaluation form.
Take advantage of the meetings you attend in the course of a day. You may wish to ask the architect sitting next to you what programs they might have taken lately that has helped them on a specific design issue. Two excellent resources for members are on the AIA website. The first is Planning Your Continuing Education Curriculum that provides you with continuing education frameworks and select courses according to your interests. The link is: http://www.aia.org/education/ces/AIAS076194. The second is the CES Survival Guide and Mandatory Continuing Education that will answer many of the questions you have on AIA and NYS Continuing Education. Both of these can be found at: http://www.aia.org/education/index.htm.
AIANYS Convention - Resource for CE Program Ideas
There are at least 30 different education seminars offered at the annual AIANYS Convention. In 2009, there were over 60 sessions provided by AIANYS and its partners. While there is no guarantee the programs will be available to your Chapter or firm, if there is a session that is of interest please do ask for the contact person or presenter. The topics themselves could be added to your list as ideas for other sessions. As part of the planning process for 2010 we will be asking each presenter if we can publish their session contact information and have it available to registrants. The 2010 Convention is in Buffalo October 14-16, 2010. Plan now to attend and earn 12 LUs. AIA Speaker and Core Area Database - Up-to-Date Information Easily Accessible
The online course directory sponsored by AIA has close to 1,000 different courses and seminars that are searchable by Course Title, Level, Core Area, Web Based Live or Web Based Pre-Recorded. The course details have the provider name and contact information, the learning objectives, HSW or Not and the course developers. You can also see where the course has been given. While the database is a work in progress, it is tied into the AIA CES Provider Program so it is updated as sessions are approved by AIA. The link to the database is: http://sparky.occe.ou.edu/ouaia/search/CourseSearch/index.cfm. Website Resources
The local components in New York post many of their education events on their websites: http://www.aianys.org/chapter/chapter_info.htm. Please be sure and take a look at what may be available. The Institute has a number of resources on their education page. Go to: http://www.aia.org/education/index.htm.
If a session is not on the transcript, contact the CE Provider that offered the session. Speaker's Registry Your Chapter or firm can find knowledgable, qualified speakers on topics ranging from land use, sustainability, and green architecture to affordable housing and public health. By using the following link, you can find a speaker or register as a speaker: http://speakers.aia.org/. |
Business Review Article on Office of the Professions License Fee Increase
The Capital District Business Review featured an article about architects and engineers paying the higher licensing fees in New York. Both Edward Farrell, Executive Director and David Pacheco, AIA, AIANYS Board Member, both stressed why this increase was needed and the benefits. Read the full article here: http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/10/05/focus1.html?b=1254715200%5E2190861&t=printable.
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Looking for AIANYS Members Who Serve on Local Boards
Do you serve on a local board in your town or city? AIANYS is compiling a list of members who serve on boards in their community (zoning boards, planning boards, etc.). If you are currently serving on a board, please send an email with your information to Heidi Benjamin at hbenjamin@aianys.org.
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AIANYS Allied Membership Application Now Available Online
The AIANYS Allied Membership application is now available online! Allied Membership allows corporations and individuals not otherwise eligible for AIANYS membership to participate in some services. There are many benefits when you become an allied member including visibility on the AIANYS website, access to all AIANYS publications and discounts on AIANYS events. The new application allows you to submit the application and payment all online. Here is the application form: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Onsite/Welcome.aspx?e=595c258a-ef44-488d-b1c4-cc6bb3bcf41d.
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North Country Architecture Firm Named Business of the Year
Bernier, Carr & Associates was recently named the "Business of the Year" by the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. Bernard H. Brown, Jr., AIA, Chief Executive Officer is a member of AIANYS. The architecture, engineering, land surveying and construction management firm was founded in 1970 and now employs 117 people.
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AIANY Hosting Procrastinators' Days December 3-5, 2009
AIA New York is holding Procrastinators' Days December 3, 4, 5, 2009 at the Center for Architecture for those who are short on AIA CES credits for 2009. The times are as follows: Thursday, December 3: 8 AM-7:30 PM; Friday, December 4: 8 AM-5 PM; Saturday, December 5: 11 AM-5 PM.
With 36 HSW AIA/CES registered educational sessions from which to choose, Procrastinators' Days is an opportunity for members and non-members to fulfill their Continuing Education requirements in a short time, while also meeting with professional affiliates in the field to exchange information and learn about new practices or materials in the building industry. Architects can obtain 22 HSW/CES credits over a 3 day period. For more information and to register, go to http://aiany.org/procrastinators.
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2009 Heritage Ball Awards
AIA New York and the Center for Architecture Foundation recently presented the 2009 Heritage Ball Awards to celebrate the dedication to creating vital and sustainable communities that value design excellence. Diller Scofidio + Renfro received the President's Award. Robert Silman, PE, Hon. AIA received the AIA New York Chapter Award. Commissioner Adrian Benepe received the Center for Architecture Award and The Make It Right Foundation received the Center for Architecture Foundation Award.
Pictured: (left to right): Jaime Endreny, Executive Director, the Center for Architecture Foundation; Honoree Charles Renfro, AIA; Sherida Paulsen, FAIA, President, AIANY; Honoree Ric Scofidio, AIA; Honoree Liz Diller; Roberta Washington, FAIA, President, the Center for Architecture Foundation; Honoree Robert Silman, PE, Hon. AIA; Dinner Chair Laurie Beckelman, Hon. AIA; Honoree Comm. Adrian Benepe, and Rick Bell, FAIA, Executive Director, AIANY. Photo by Sam Lahoz.
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AIA Hosting Integrated Design Webinar December 1, 2009
Integrated design and project-delivery processes are critical to the creation of next-generation, high-performance buildings. AIA is hosting a free webinar December 1, 2009 from 2 PM to 3:30 PM that will explore how these processes help design teams collaborate more strategically to set and reach energy goals.
AIA members must successfully complete 18 LUs each year. At least 4 LUs must be in sustainable design (SD) topics. This free live Web seminar qualifies for 1.5 AIA/CES LUs (HSW/SD), helping AIA members toward fulfillment of the 2009 SD education requirement.
"The 2030 Commitment: Setting and Achieving Energy Goals with Integrated Design" will
-Explain the differences between integrated design and traditional design processes
-Present an integrated design and project-delivery roadmap through the design process
-Show the benefits of integrated design in core, early decisions such as building form and orientation
-Explore integrated-design characteristics and their implications for energy performance
This Web seminar is offered at no cost to AIA members, but advance registration is required. Go to http://online.krm.com/iebms/reg/reg_p1_form.aspx?oc=10&ct=00350571&eventid=16188
to register.
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AIA Holding Young Designers Challenge on Facebook
AIA is hosting its first ever design competition on Facebook, Young Designers Challenge. The competition is open to all AIAS members, all Associate AIA members and all AIA young architect members, licensed 10 years or less. Submit an unbuilt building project that addresses one of America's most pressing design needs. These needs include: sustainability, public infrastructure and affordable housing. Entries should include a project brief (500 words maximum) and up to 4 images by December 11, 2009. The winner will be announced in AIArchitect in January.
For more information, go to AIA's design competition Facebook event page.
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Special Discount for AIANYS Members on the Architects in Albany Book
The Historic Albany Foundation and Mount Ida Press have just released a new book, "Architects in Albany".They are offering all AIANYS members a 10% discount if you order the book by January 1, 2010. This book profiles 36 designers and their firms who played major roles in creating Albany's distinctive skyline and its handsome streetscapes.
For more information or to order a copy, contact Mount Ida Press at 518-426-5935 or email info@mountidapress.com. |
AIANYS Welcomes New Corporate Allied Member
AIANYS welcomes a new corporate allied member:
Architectural Grille
Vimarie Tilelli, Anthony Giumenta, Stephen Giumenta
42 Second Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215, Phone: (718) 832-1200, Email: info@archgrille.com, Website: www.archgrille.com
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AIANYS Office Closed November 26 and 27
AIANYS office will be closed November 26 and 27 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!
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