all photos by Rick Bell
l–r: Saundra Stevens, Hon. AIA, Ray Cox, Stuart Weir, and Amy Sabin

Portland City Hall (1Whidden & Lewis,
1895; renovation by SERA, 1998), and
the Portland Building (Michael Graves,
1982)

Ira C. Keller Fountain (Lawrence
Halprin & Associates, 1970)

New housing and open space
at Tanner Springs Park

Portland Streetcar 007 in Pearl District en route to Riverplace

Bicycle rack at Ecotrust Building
(renovated by Holst Architecture,
2001)

Kim Jackson, Brenda Henderson,
and Jim Dinegar of AIA National
staff at Pittock Mansion during
CACE Picnic

Brad Cloepfil, AIA, makes a point
at the Allied Works Architecture
studio in Portland

Portland CACE Study
by Rick Bell, FAIA

Conclave Convocation
Earl Blumenauer, before becoming a Member of Congress, was Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Portland, Oregon. He addressed the 130 attendees at the AIA's annual CACE (Council of Architectural Component Executives) Conference in Portland on Thursday, August 11, exhorting those present to "shape policy rather than react to circumstances" and to "make sure that the design community has its place at the table." Disparaging the region's notoriously rainy climate, he noted that, in Portland, "the design elements do work, they take a bit of the edge off."

Portland
Portland was notable for the degree to which low- and medium-income housing has been constructed downtown, which also has the impact of reducing transportation costs since, as Blumenauer put it, "people are here to begin with." The number of in-town residents provides a base for retail and restaurants and a sense of security, along with a rich, dynamic mixture which has helped make Portland a vibrant 24-hour city. Increased density downtown, evident in neighborhoods close to the city center and further afield – such as the burgeoning quarter surrounding Tanner Springs Park – testify to what was called "restoration of historic population levels." With unparalleled green guidelines and free public transit, Portland provides exemplary indications of how a city can control sprawl and overcome a variety of urban challenges, including overcast skies. A tour of the city's green development, starting at the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center (Ecotrust Building) by HORST Architects, was led by members of AIA Portland's Committee on the Environment. Other organized and random walkabouts showcased projects as diverse as the $40 million North Building extension to Pietro Belluschi's Portland Art Museum by Ann Beha Architects of Boston in collaboration with SERA Architects; the Wieden + Kennedy Building in the Pearl District, the first project by Brad Cloepfil, AIA, of Allied Works Architects; Powell's Bookstore on West Burnside; the Portland Building by Michael Graves, FAIA; and the Ira Keller Fountain by San Francisco architect Lawrence Halprin.

CACE Conference
The annual conference brought together the staff leaders of AIA components from Seattle to Miami. Over three uncharacteristically sunny days, the key issues pertaining to the future of the AIA, broad themes such as "One AIA," and detailed information including nomenclature for AIA Contract Documents were thrashed out. Some 35 programs included the representative baker's dozen below:

• AIA National Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer search update by Gene Hopkins, FAIA (AIA 2004 President)
• AIA National Overview by Doug Steidl, FAIA (AIA President) and Kate Schwennsen, FAIA (AIA President-elect)
• Component partnership initiatives by Paul W. Welch, Jr., Hon. AIA (AIA California Council)
• CAN-SPAM legislation by Jay A. Stephens, Esq. (AIA National, General Counsel)
• CACE and Component Relations by Brenda Henderson, Hon. AIA (AIA National, Component Relations)
• Accounting and budgeting by Anne Swager, Hon. AIA, (AIA Pittsburgh)
• Sponsorship suggestions by Heather Baugus (AIA Memphis), Sonia Riggs (AIA Colorado/AIA Denver), and Sandra Migani Wall, PhD (AIA Toledo)
• Media opportunities by Margie O'Driscoll (AIA San Francisco)
• Membership issues by Paula Clements (AIA Dallas), Nancy Jenner (Boston Society of Architects, and Carol Madden (AIA National)
• Centers for Architecture by Marga Rose Hancock, Hon. AIA (AIA Seattle), Nancy Jenner (BSA), John W. Braymer. Ph.D., Hon. AIA (Virginia Society of Architects), and Rick Bell, FAIA (AIA New York)
• Curbside consulting and problem solving, organized by Libby O'Malley (AIA San Diego)
• Host Chapter Party at AIA Portland storefront organized by Saundra Stevens, Hon. AIA, component staff, and board members
• Pittock Mansion Tour, providing extraordinary views of downtown Portland, Mt. Hood, and the Williamette River

The CACE Business Meeting included reports from the various Resource Networks (Alliances, Continuing Education, Diversity, Documents, Membership, and Public Affairs), and from CACE President Elizabeth Mitchell (AIA Utah & Salt Lake City) and immediate past president, Saundra Stevens, Hon. AIA (AIA Oregon/AIA Portland). Candidate speeches were brief, and elections were held resulting in the announcement of the 2006 CACE Executive Committee consisting of: President David Crawford (AIA North Carolina); President-Elect Bonnie Larson Staiger (AIA North Dakota); Vice President for Resource Development Anne Swager (AIA Pittsburgh); Secretary Rick Bell (AIA New York); and board members Margie O'Driscoll (AIA San Francisco), Randy Lavigne (AIA Nevada/AIA Las Vegas), and Bill Babcock, Hon. AIA (AIA Wisconsin). Sponsors and patrons of the conference included: the American Institute of Architects; The AIA Trust; CNA/Victor O. Schinnerer and Company; McGraw-Hill Construction; Reed Business Information and Architectural Press (a Division of Elsevier); Kaplan AEC Education; TMA Resources, Inc.; A/E Plans LLC; CertainTeed Corporation; M/C Communications LLC; Ron Blank Associates; and the Society of Design Administrators, animating a CACE Marketplace which effectively brought people, products, and services together.

AIA150
Planning for the AIA150 sesquicentennial celebrations noted that the AIA was founded in New York in 1857, and that numerous special activities would consequently occur in our city. The Blueprint for America, calling for "legacy projects," was described by Norman Koonce, FAIA, Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer along with Robin Lee and David Downey from AIA National. Components were challenged to start planning now for both celebration and community involvement, in activities ranging from town hall meetings to physical planning for housing and open space. In the CACE response to the AIA National suggestions, Janet Pike (AIA Kentucky) spoke of the need to support non-staffed components, while your correspondent addressed component ideas both large and small, citing Jane Jacobs as the Sacagawea of the built environment – Lewis & Clark, charged by President Jefferson to get to Portland the hard way 200 years ago, couldn't have done it alone. An open forum concerning AIA component ideas and initiatives was facilitated by CACE president-elect David Crawford. Anticipating the degree of involvement of elected officials in AIA150, Rep. Blumenauer concluded with a call for political activism by architects: "No one should run for elected office in your community without your involvement in bringing your issues to the table – this isn't partisan – you have to hold people accountable."

photos by Amy Hitchcoff Measuring the street

Architectural Design Intensive: Exploring the Built Environment
The Center for Architecture Foundation hosted a one week course, August 1-5, for high school students to develop a sound understanding of urban planning, land use, and architectural form and history. Through exercises in visual analysis, drawing, and model making, participants explored concepts of line, color, form, shape, and space. They visited the Museum of Modern Art and explored Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park, the South Street Seaport, and Chinatown to study/analyze architectural forms. Students began to develop a visual literacy and ability to look at and understand the built environment. Their final project was to design a sculptural form to be placed somewhere in New York City. Solutions ranged from a water park for East Harlem to a radial ball of light with viewing platform for Prospect Park, and a mixed-use gallery space spelling the designer's name for Central Park. The Foundation thanks USM Modular Furniture for providing scholarships to qualified students.

Beyer Blinder Belle Beyer Blinder Belle: Archbishop Desmond Tutu Education Center

Beyer Blinder Belle: Archbishop Desmond Tutu Education Center/Chelsea Square Renewal
Scheduled to open its doors to the community in 2007, construction has begun on the $23 million Archbishop Desmond Tutu Education Center at The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) in Chelsea, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners. Located on the GTS's historic campus known as the Close (Charles Coolidge Haight, 1883-1902), with shaded grounds and Gothic Revival buildings, the Tutu Center will be fashioned from three 19th-century buildings on Tenth Avenue (between W. 20 & 21 Sts.), including Hoffman Hall. Upon completion, GTS will have a new home for two existing programs, the Center for Christian Spirituality and the Center for Jewish-Christian Studies and Relations, and two new programs: Center for Peace and Reconciliation and the Center for Continuing Education.

Two-thirds of a forbidding stonewall on Tenth Avenue will be replaced by a century-old wrought-iron fence previously used at another portal. Just beyond this entrance will be a garden, designed by Quennell Rothschild & Partners, which will stretch 100 feet along Tenth Avenue and serve as an open invitation to the community to visit the Tutu Center and the Seminary. Exteriors are being preserved, cleaned, and renovated, and historic interior plaster moldings, trim, and mantelpieces are being meticulously preserved. In addition to a new double-height glass-and-steel lobby, the project includes conference and break-out rooms, 59 guest rooms, and a new kitchen for Hoffman Hall's vaulted, oak-wainscoted (and architecturally renowned) dining room. (This past April, GTS and Walter B. Melvin Architects received the NY Landmarks Conservancy Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award for the slate roof restoration and replicating the original copper cupola of Hoffman Hall.)

Mancini•Duffy Mancini•Duffy: Wachovia Securities

Mancini•Duffy: Wachovia Securities HQ, Seagram Building
Interior architecture firm Mancini•Duffy is completing design work on the New York headquarters for Wachovia Securities, the corporate and investment banking unit of the nation's fourth largest banking company. Upon completion, Wachovia will occupy 176,500 square feet on five floors in the landmarked Seagram Building (Mies van der Rohe, 1958) at 375 Park Ave. Because of the building's transparency, any interior element visible from the outside must meet standards outlined by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, presenting a number of challenges. The luminous ceilings are required to be retained or identically replaced; to install the ductwork for a stand-alone air-conditioning system, the designers developed a plan to limit the extent of the replacement. To meet the requirements for 24/7 and emergency power and cooling, the HQ will have two new generators, one on the mechanical floor, the other on the roof, and three rooftop chillers. Landmarks approval for their installation required a detailed mock-up to ensure that no equipment would be visible from street-level.

There are also significant restrictions on alterations to the lobby – and the 53rd Street entrance will be Wachovia's entrance. Mancini•Duffy has designed one of two reception desks – the other located in the Park Avenue lobby – to match Philip Johnson's original (Johnson approved the design and location shortly before his death). The project is slated for completion later this year.

Craig Dugan/Hedrich Blessing HOK: Winrock International HQ

HOK Garners LEED Gold: Winrock International HQ, Little Rock, AK
Winrock International's mission is to increase economic opportunity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment. This made it a perfect client for the New York office of HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) to incorporate sustainable design in the non-profit organization's new, 24,275-square-foot headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is the second building (and the first office building) in Arkansas to achieve LEED Gold.

The building design is reminiscent of the "dogtrot" house, with a breezeway connecting the main structure to a smaller conference area and more offices. This allows air to move between the two buildings. A sweeping, gull-wing roof with a large overhang protects the building from excessive sun and drains rainwater into a cistern used for irrigating the grounds. Other environmentally friendly elements include expanses of glass and skylights that are the primary sources for ambient interior light and provide a view of the Arkansas River; a coating on the metal roof to reduce heat absorption and the building's cooling load in the summer; limited use of paving comprised of materials that allow rain water to soak into the ground; and vans for long distance commuters and two Toyota Prius hybrid cars for in-town transportation needs. More than 77% of construction waste was diverted away from landfills by recycling. Horne Rose, LLC of New York managed the project including the Little Rock services of Cromwell Architects Engineers, and landscape design by Larson Burns & Smith.

Gensler Gensler: Fannie Mae Urbana Technology Center

Gensler: Fannie Mae Urbana Technology Center Earns LEED – the first of its kind
Gensler has added a new building type to its portfolio of environmentally sustainable projects with the recently-opened Fannie Mae Urbana Technology Center (UTC) in Maryland. It is the first such facility to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – and undoubtedly will serve as model for future "green" data centers. The firm provided architecture, interior design, and LEED coordination services for the 247,000-square-foot facility that includes operations and command center functions and workspace for 250 employees.

To improve indoor environmental quality, daylight is incorporated into 75% of the occupied interior spaces, with building overhangs and roller shades to block solar glare. By placing workstations at the perimeter and offices with transparent fronts around the building core, 90% of the employees have outside views, and natural daylighting has reduced building energy consumption by 7%. All mechanical, electrical, and computer systems selected for the facility are rated for maximum energy efficiency, and lighting has been reduced by 50% while maintaining a high level of security.

The landscape irrigation design uses water from captured rain and evaporator cooling towers, saving an estimated 13,000 gallons of water daily. To limit vehicular traffic, Fannie Mae provides a shuttle service from its Washington, DC, headquarters, along with bicycle storage areas and changing rooms, and priority carpool parking. A synthetic white rubber roof contributes to the reduction of the heat island effect. Other sustainable strategies, from supplying 100% of the building's electric power from a utility that uses a renewable resource for generating electricity to recycling construction waste at the project's end, reduced overall energy consumption by 20%.

Brad Feinknopf
Rafael Viñoly Architects: David L. Lawrence Convention Center

Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, and Richard Meier, FAIA, are the only U.S. architects invited to participate in the 6th International Biennial of Architecture and Design in São Paulo, Brazil, October 22 – December 11, 2005. This year's theme is "Living in the City – Architecture, Reality, Utopia," and is organized by the by The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo and the Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil (IAB). The exhibit will feature Rafael Viñoly Architect's David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, and Richard Meier & Partner's 165 Charles Street Tower in the West Village.

CLOSES: August 28, 2005
23rd Annual Art Commission Awards for Excellence in Design
Galleries: Lecture Hall and a sidewalk installation

Featuring Art Commission Design Award-winning projects from 2004. Established in 1898, the Art Commission of the City of New York 's mandate is to review works of art, architecture and landscape architecture on City-owned property for aesthetic merit.

Organized by:
Art Commission of the City of New York

Sponsored by:
Amir Ben-Zion
Unifrax

CLOSES: September 3, 2005
Value Meal: Design and (over)Eating
Galleries: Judith and Walter Hunt Gallery, Mezzanine Gallery

Curators: Aric Chen and Laetitia Wolff/futureflair

Exhibition Underwriter:

Additional Sponsorship Provided by:
ArcXchange
The Roy and Niuta Titus Foundation
Designtex
Brayton International

"Crave Aid," IDEO, San Francisco, CA

© George Cserna
Claremont Gardens 1974, Edelman and Salzman / Architects

Through September 10, 2005
Policy and Design for Housing: Lessons of the Urban Development Corporation 1968–1975
Galleries: Kohn Pedersen Fox Gallery, HLW Gallery, South Gallery

Organizational Contributors: AIA New York Chapter; The Architectural League; CCNY School of Architecture; The Graduate Center, CUNY; Pratt Graduate Center for Planning; Syracuse University School of Architecture; and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Lead Sponsors:
Deutsche Bank
Related Apartment Preservation LLC

Additional Sponsorship provided by:
Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York; Community Preservation Corporation; GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Corp.; JPMorgan Chase; M&T Bank; The Moinian Group; The Vinmont Foundation; and Wachovia

photograph: David S. Allee
katul katul, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Queens Family Courthouse. Architects: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners/ Gruzen Samton

EXTENDED to September 24, 2005
City Art: New York's Percent for Art Program
Galleries: Gerald D. Hines Gallery, Public Resource Center

See Michael Kimmelman's 08/19/2005 piece in The New York Times on the Percent for Art Program

Underwritten by:

Sponsored by:
Fund for the City of New York
Furthermore: A Program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Gruzen Samton LLP
Richard Dattner & Partners Architects

Ken Smith Landscape Architect: Posthumous landscape design for Louis I. Kahn's Trenton Jewish Community Center

Through September 2
"If I Owned the Trenton Bath House…"

Historic and contemporary photographs and statements by architects, art historians, and journalists, about the modest structure designed by architect Louis I. Kahn.

Art's Garage, 326 4th Street, Ewing, NJ (Mon.–Fri. 2:00–6:00pm)

Contact: Susan G. Solomon: ssolomon@curatorialresources.com

Annie Nyborg
"Kit of Parts" by LifeForm, New York City (Rafi Elbaz, Nanna Wulfing, Julia Tate)

Through October 5
Common Ground: First Step, Step Two

Two full-scale prototypes (Kit of Parts and The Ordering of Things) for new transitional housing units developed from Common Ground Community's First Step Housing Competition, and currently under construction at the Andrews House; panel discussions Sept. 7, 14, & 26; co-sponsored by the Architectural League, Municipal Art Society, and Common Ground.

The Urban Center Galleries, 457 Madison Ave. @ 51 St.

Through November 6
The First Forty Years: Celebrating Architecture: The Spector Group

A multimedia retrospective traces the firm's projects from proposal and client presentation through to three-dimensional realization.

Nassau County Museum of Art, One Museum Dr., Roslyn, NY

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