eOCULUS 03.21.06

Editor's Note: As we await the Port Authority's counterproposal at Ground Zero, I wonder if any decision will be made by April Fool's Day? What do you think? E-mail eoculus@aiany.org.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

Event: "An Evening with Will Alsop: Old Town—Strategies for Urban Regeneration"
Organizers: AIANY Housing Committee, AIANY International Committee, and AIANY Planning and Urban Design Committee
Speaker: Will Alsop
Location: Center for Architecture, 03.02.06

Located near Manchester and Leeds, Barnsley became a market town in 1249. Since the mines closed, the town has fallen into a state of economic and spiritual depression. By filming a series of visioning workshops, Will Alsop discovered that civic leaders are interested in revitalization and that residents want to return to a sense of community, have free parking, a wall, a canal, and even a theater in which Kenneth Branagh would be happy to perform. Alsop's advice to urban planners for successful rethinking is: "Get them drunk. Get them to draw and dream. The ideas come from the process."

Alsop, one of the most debated architects and urban thinkers today, enjoys speaking to his peers about his visions for an urban generation as much as he likes listening to local townspeople talk about how they want to see their towns and cities regenerated. Barnsley, which Alsop re-branded "a Tuscan Hill town," is in desperate need of regeneration.

In his introduction, Jim McCullar, FAIA, co-chair of the AIA NY Housing Committee, praised Alsop's "avant-garde and strikingly different buildings that often don't look like buildings as most are a riot of color, suspended pods, spindly supports, non-contextual to the extreme, and they break all the rules as they revitalize urban environments." Alsop guides his practice under the principle that "architecture is both vehicle and symbol of social change and renewal." So to those of you who might be pondering this year's Chapter theme, "Architecture as Public Policy," may we suggest a holiday in Barnsley, a Tuscan Hill town.

Event: "The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park"
Organizers: Skyscraper Museum Green Teams Lecture
Speakers: Richard A. Cook, AIA, and Robert F. Fox, AIA—partners, Cook + Fox Architects
Location: Donnell Library Auditorium, NYPL, 03.07.06

From microbiologist René Dubos to biomimicry theorist Janine Benyus, Richard Cook, AIA, derives inspiration from many sources, but it wasn't until he visited Cambodia and experienced the contrast between the beauties and the challenges of developing nations that he realized the urgency of counteracting global climate change. Presenting detailed correlations among dramatic rises in CO₂ levels, global temperatures, natural disasters, and flooding patterns as reflective ice caps melt into heat-retaining water, Cook searches for that moment when architecture will reduce buildings' energy and resource footprint. The question is no longer whether to make this change, but how.

One strategy pursued by Cook and Robert Fox, AIA, for the Bank of America Tower is to use freely available resources such as sunlight, wind, gravity, and rain. Multiple water conservation methods are feasible, including rainwater collection, reuse of treated graywater and condensates, and waterless urinals using a low-specific-gravity trapping liquid. Along with collecting drainage water for heating and cooling, the 80-foot-deep cellar helps solve drainage problems in neighboring buildings as well. The tower has its own power cogeneration plant, cutting mid-day use of Con Ed's least efficient peak plants. Floor-to-ceiling low-emission fritted glass and transparent partitions bring daylight—and productivity gains—to every worker in the building.

The tower is expected to receive a platinum LEED rating, with additional guidance for tenants to attain LEED-rated status on their own. Since primary tenant Bank of America's annual labor investments far outweigh its energy costs, designing with human biophilia in mind creates corporate incentives by making workers healthier and more productive. The real challenge, Fox and Cook acknowledge, is motivating developers, whose initial green investments bring energy-cost savings to tenants, not themselves.

Bill Millard is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in Oculus, Icon, Content, and other publications.

Designed for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2004 Venice Biennale, the stadium design explores the potential of an urban stadium to accommodate throngs of people and disappear when not in use. The structure employs a kinetic seating bowl, lifted 30 floors above street level, comprised of a series of transforming seating and support elements, many constructed to fold into the adjacent high-rise buildings in a dense urban center.
Courtesy of Studio Gang Architects

"Minus Space." Site specific installation at the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle. Materials: Jute geotextile fabric, wire, Plexiglas, and 1 mil plastic sheeting. August 2005.
Courtesy of Lead Pencil Studio

Event: Emerging Voices 2006
Organizers: The Architectural League of New York
Speakers: Jeanne Gang, AIA—principal and founder, Studio Gang Architects; Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo—Lead Pencil Studio
Location: Urban Center, 03.09.06

The work of Studio Gang and Lead Pencil Studio differs drastically in tone and mission sharing in "an impressive level of intensity and obsessiveness," as described by introducer and jury member Adam Yarinsky, AIA, of Architecture Research Office.

Chicago-based Jeanne Gang's self-referred "compressed scale" projects—her 2003 stone tile installation at the National Building Museum and proposals for various small-scale public projects—reveal her ability to push materials in use, structure, and form. Her "provocative scale" projects, including a study of integrating athletic stadiums into the city community theater built in 2004, an environmental center, and a residential highrise currently in planning, indicate her probing concepts and meticulous research at every level of design.

Lead Pencil Studio tells a story of a much different practice: the firm has only two practitioners (compared to Gang's 18), and their work consistently straddles the boundary between art and architecture. Installations such as Stairway (2003) and Minus Space (2005) show an obsession with site, space, and material. Their architecture, which includes commercial studio interiors and a ground-up house, is straightforward and simple but a clear extension of their experimental installations.

Jaffer Kolb is a freelance writer and an assistant editor at The Architect's Newspaper.

Event: Kelo and its Consequences
Organizers: The Graduate Center, The City University of New York
Speakers: Scott Bullock—Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice, Counsel to Susette Kelo in her Supreme Court case; Michael Doff—Columbia University School of Law, Author: No Litmus Test: Law and Politics in the 21st Century; Moderator Harvey Shapiro—Contributing Editor, Institutional Investor
Location: The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 03.14.06

Kelo vs. City of New London is a Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city in awarding the private property of homeowners to developers for the purpose of creating beachfront hotels. This ruling has expanded the use of Eminent Domain (ED) in two profound ways. First, ED is expanded such that "public use" is defined as that which spurs economic development and generates more taxes and jobs. Second, the right of ED, a right granted to government (elected) officials in the 5th Amendment, is expanded such that it can be facilitated by private agencies.

These two expansions of the 5th Amendment ensures that the future of public space is guaranteed only where there is a market interest and that, where such space exists, it is developed and allocated by private agencies. That private property is in jeopardy if it is deemed underdeveloped is alarming. That public space is determined by commercial purposes threatens the nature of public space for the purpose of civic assembly and democratic voice.

Event: The Secrets of Theater Design: Building Type Basics for Performing Arts Facilities
Organizers: Urban Center Books Program
Speakers: Hugh Hardy, FAIA—founder, H³ Hardy Collaboration Architecture; Joshua Dachs—Principal, Fisher Dachs Associates; J. Christopher Jaffe—Principal Design Consultant, Jaffe Holden Acoustics; Jack Martin—Senior Associate, H³ Hardy Collaboration Architecture; Richard Pilbrow—Chairman, Theatre Projects Consultants; Moderator Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA—Building Type Basics series founder and editor
Location: Urban Center, 03.07.06

Instead of simply parading an objective catalogue of projects, Hugh Hardy, FAIA, offers a perspective on performing arts facilities design in his Building Type Basics for Performing Arts Facilities, the latest in the Building Type Basics series published by Wiley Publishing. While presenting an overview of the history of theater design, Hardy argued that successful theater design centers on the idea of a collective experience. Whether a theater is a large commercial venue, civic auditorium, small-scale flexible space for teaching, or non-profit space, a theater must increase audience anticipation and present the performer as larger-than-life. Simultaneously, the performer needs to be able to connect with the audience as a group that is experiencing a production together.

When performing arts companies move into new spaces, it is telling that performers are excited to inhabit old theater buildings and upset when assigned to contemporary buildings, according to Richard Pilbrow. Appropriating an analogy from dancer Elizabeth Streb, Joshua Dachs stated, "Contemporary architecture is the enemy of theater." There is no formula to meet all forms of performance, yet current trends in theater design incorporate flexibility to accommodate many types of entertainment (Radio City Music Hall now has boxing matches, for example).

By critically analyzing current unsuccessful theaters, minor adjustments can be made to improve and reinvent the experience of attending a performance. A prime example, according to Dachs, is a recent "Mostly Mozart" festival at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. With 42 rows in the orchestra, the audience usually has a difficult time connecting with performers. In this instance, the musicians were placed in the middle of the audience while some of the attendees were placed on stage. Audience members could read music over the musicians' shoulders, and during breaks musicians were able to chat with the audience. Through innovative thinking, a new, successful experience was achieved in a typically ineffective theater.

Event: "Is It Trash or Is It Treasure? An Urban Archaeologist Reflects on Historical Debris;" Downtown Third Thursdays
Organizers: Alliance for Downtown New York
Speakers: Joan H. Geismar, PhD—urban archeologist
Location: Seamen's Church Institute, 03.16.06

A self-proclaimed "garbage-ologist," Geismar explained that an archaeological site at 175 Water Street—which yielded over 310,000 tabulated artifacts—was fertile ground for exploration since it had been "reclaimed" from the East River with garbage landfill in the early 18th century. The original owners were "water lot grantees," meaning they were responsible for creating landmass, streets, and other infrastructure themselves. Many of the objects she uncovered in the landfill evidenced the diversity of New York City's population at that time.

In a lecture that revealed the relationship among archaeology, planning, and construction in New York City, Geismar used the 1981 excavation of a downtown Manhattan block as a case study in the realities of urban historical exploration. She explained the details surrounding her discovery of a 92-foot ship beneath the Water Street site—one that now supports a 32-story building. The site was the fourth major dig that resulted from issuance of the City Environmental Quality Review act, which required all building construction needing a variance to undergo a review, including archaeological assessment.

Geismar issued a cautionary tale, referencing her historical study against our culture's treatment of trash, saying that current segregation of garbage and recycling would skew future generations' views of today's New Yorkers. Closing with a photo of the Fresh Kills Landfill—the depository for a portion of the boat found on the site, as well as destroyed emergency vehicles from 9/11—Geismar noted "the record goes on."

"Convergenze parallele" is an audiovisual installation. Airborne dust particles, created by natural air movements and viewer interaction, pass through a beam of light and are tracked, visualized, and sonified in real-time by a custom software system.
Ernesto Klar, MFA candidate in Design and Technology at Parsons the New School for Design (Instructor: Christopher Kirwan)

Event: 2006 IESNY Student Design Competition Exhibition and Keynote Lecture: "Illusions by Light."
Organizers: IESNY
Sponsors: Professional Lighting Design Magazine, ELDA+, Osram/Sylvania, Louis Poulsen Lighting, Lutron Electronics and Enterprise Lighting Sales, and contributions from Con Edison and Nulux
Speaker: Dr. Ing. Heinrich Kramer—Professor, founding member, ELDA+
Location: Center for Architecture, 03.08.06

For the sixth year, the Illuminating Engineering Society New York Section (IESNY) invited design students to participate in a citywide lighting competition. Students were asked to construct a three-dimensional study on how light can reveal, create, or transform the unseen—a topic explored in the keynote address given by Prof. Dr. Ing Heinrich Kramer, Germany-based lighting designer and professor. The competition allowed students to explore light as an art form, demonstrate light as a stimulus, and prove light is a valuable medium.

A record breaking 90 design students representing Barnard College, The Cooper Union, New York School of Interior Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York University, Parsons the New School for Design, and Pratt Institute migrated to the Center for Architecture to set-up and display their illuminated objects. For one night the Center was transformed—glowing with bounced, reflected, and captured light.

The first place winner Ernesto Klar, a sculpture major from Parsons, received $3,000 plus a trip to attend the Fall 2006 European Lighting Designers' Association (ELDA+) workshop. To view all winning submissions visit IESNY.

Randy Sabedra is President of the Illuminating Engineering Society of the New York Section (IESNY).

Event: Benefit and Silent Auction for The Partnership for the Homeless Furnish a Future program
Organizers: The Partnership for the Homeless Furnish a Future
Speakers: Arnold Cohen—President and CEO, The Partnership for the Homeless; Roderick N. Shade—founder, Roderick N. Shade, Inc.; Chris Madden—host, HGTV's Interiors by Design
Location: JC Penny Experience, One Times Square, 03.07.06

Serving approximately 2,000 families each year, Furnish a Future is New York City's only furniture bank for homeless individuals and families who are leaving shelters and moving into permanent housing. Located in Brooklyn, Furnish a Future is currently re-organizing its warehouse, and an IIDA committee is assisting The Partnership for the Homeless and Chris Madden with this endeavor. Basic supplies such as paint, tools, and fabrics are needed to renovate the warehouse to make clients feel welcome and significant when selecting furniture for their new homes.

Furnish a Future is always in need of furniture, and designers should donate (and encourage clients to donate) old furniture to help build a better future. More information is available online.

Anne Lefferson is an interior designer at Blair Design Associates and member of the IIDA committee currently assisting Furnish a Future with their warehouse in Brooklyn.

Event: At the Parsons Table: Michael Graves in Conversation with Deal Paul Goldberger
Organizers: Parsons the New School for Design
Speakers: Michael Graves, FAIA—principal, Michael Graves & Associates; Paul Goldberger, Hon, AIA—Dean, Parsons the New School for Design
Location: Parsons the New School for Design, 03.08.06

From the iconic teakettle to the ever-expanding line of Target products, from the Portland Building to the Nashville Federal Courthouse currently under construction, Michael Graves's simple and whimsical designs continue to infiltrate pop culture. With an interest in the threshold between high art and the mass market, recently Graves is venturing into the realm of medical equipment.

Bound to a wheelchair, Graves plans on using himself as a guinea pig for his new universal designs. Critical of the inconveniences created by poor design, he is searching for simple and affordable solutions to ease mobility for those who are differently-abled. Instead of having to strap ones legs into a properly aligned position, for example, a small curve in the seat at thigh level would keep them in place without extra effort. Uncomplicated adjustments like this can be made to wheelchairs and many other medical devices that will improve their quality dramatically.

EDITOR'S SOAPBOX

There have been many movements in architectural history that have demonstrated the effects of large, inhuman buildings on society. None of them have been positive. I think it is time to return to what really matters: people who inhabit dense microcosmic communities.

Perhaps this is because architectural projects are becoming so grandiose they are overpowering communities. Some New York City examples include: the latest RFP for Governor's Island calling for "visionary" submissions; Ground Zero where the number of starchitects involved seems endless; the Hudson Yards development including the Javits Center's double expansion. Buildings are expanding and overshadowing people. The conversation between architecture and society is stymied.

IN THE NEWS

City Planning Releases New Zoning Handbook
Called the ultimate guide to NYC Zoning, the new 140-page illustrated guide to zoning is written in concise user-friendly English. It is the first revision of the handbook in 16 years, and its release coincides with the most far-reaching revision of the City's zoning since 1961. It details recent changes to zoning including mixed-use districts and new contextual zoning districts. It clearly describes new special districts, such as Hudson Yards, with enhanced inclusionary zoning to help promote construction of affordable housing. The $24 handbook is on sale at the Department of City Planning (DCP) bookstore at 22 Reade Street and may be ordered online.

P.S. 1's Got the BEATFUSE!

Matter is stretched thin to embrace the expanse of P.S. 1's triangular courtyard, projecting a kinetic penumbra of moiré.
Rendering courtesy of OBRA OBRA Architects, led by Pablo Castro and Jennifer Lee, have won the seventh annual MoMA/P.S. 1 Young Architects Program. BEATFUSE! features seven curved, interconnected shells made of plywood and polypropylene mesh that will ripple throughout the P.S. 1 courtyard and serve as a venue for Warm Up, the popular summertime music series. Three outdoor spaces: a caldarium, a tepidarium, and a frigidarium, offer climactic comfort and variety. The installation will be unveiled June 22 and on view through September 2006. All five finalists' designs, including NY-based Contemporary Architecture Practice, will also be on view in an exhibition at MoMA.

Construction Begins on Avalon Riverview North in Queens West

Avalon Riverview North
Courtesy of Perkins Eastman Architects Last week, ground was broken on Avalon Riverview North, the last residential building to be constructed under Phase One of Queens West, a subsidiary of Empire State Development Corp. (ESD), in Long Island City. Designed by Perkins Eastman Architects, the building will flank its sister apartment tower, Avalon Riverview, and City Lights, designe by Cesar Pelli, FAIA. The $175 million, 39-story glass structure will contain 602 upscale, market-rate rental apartments and 2,750 square feet of retail space. Construction is expected to be completed by fall 2008.

Historic Queens Celebrates New Cemetery Center

The Center at Maple Grove
Courtesy of Peter Gisolfi Associates Construction has begun on The Center at Maple Grove, a three-level 18,000-square-foot structure that will be a new gateway to the sacred, rural landscape of the Maple Grove Cemetery, a 170-year-old cemetery on 65 acres in Kew Gardens. Designed by Peter Gisolfi Associates, The Center will serve as a place for celebration, education, reflection, and remembrance. The building will have geothermal heating and cooling using ground water, and will be LEED-certified. In addition to architects, landscape architects, engineers, and contractors, a feng shui consultant is part of this team.

NASCAR Races to Charlotte

NASCAR Hall of Fame
Courtesy of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Charlotte, NC, will house the new NASCAR Hall of Fame, thanks to Yvonne Szeto, AIA, Design Partner at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. The $107.5 million facility honoring drivers and other supporting cast members captures two fundamental characteristics of the sport—speed and spectacle. Szeto's visit to Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama served as inspiration: "Its 33-degree banking of the track and long sinuous curves was expressive of a kind of frozen speed."

Eco-Friendliness Comes to Williamsburg

Roebling Residence
Courtesy of Lifeform

N7 lofts
Courtesy of Lifeform Lifeform, an architecture and design-build firm headed by Rafi Elbaz, Assoc. AIA, has begun two sustainable upscale residential projects in Williamsburg. The Roebling Residence combines two bi-level villas with a common roof deck that insulates in summer and winter and can be used for recreation. N7 consists of nine unique lofts composed of eco-friendly materials such as concrete aerated walls, Dura board partitions, low emission glass, and a common roof deck. Both projects are scheduled for completion in 2007.

Japanese Danish Bakeries Come to U.S.

Andersen Bakery
Courtesy of Richard Bloch Architect New York-based Richard Bloch, AIA, has been selected to design the first Andersen Bakery store in the U.S., to be located in the Crocker Galleria in San Francisco. Bloch designs retail bakeries, cafes, and other food venues for the Japan-based company, but he has designed a new look for the American stores featuring solid rift sawn white oak floors. The 500-square-foot bakery is expected to open this summer.

AROUND THE AIA + THE CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE

Firms Box for Design Students
Now in its seventh year, the SpecSimple.com Box-a-Thon has evolved into an event that creates a "second life" for unused brochures, fabrics, and finish cards. Over the years, thousands of pounds of materials have been donated by some of New York's busiest design firms. The materials are delivered to New York area design schools, with the help of local furniture dealers. As a result, talented students have a much richer set of resources to choose from during the year. "They're all on board," said Suzanne Swift, President of SpecSimple.com, creator of the annual Design Literature and Sample Box-a-thon. "The AIA, AIA New York Chapter, ASID, and IIDA have joined us to support design students and the environment."

Manufacturers, reps, and others are invited to sponsor each packed box starting at $25 a box. All money raised goes to scholarships for design students to help maintain their schools' libraries. Firms who collect the most money from their "Box-a-Thon" sponsors are eligible to win prizes.

Event: Architects-in-Training Course, "Starting a Design Firm"
Organizers: Emerging NY Architects Committee (ENYA)
Sponsors: ENYA and John Wiley & Sons
Speaker: Peter Piven, FAIA
Location: Center for Architecture, 03.14.06

A well-seasoned professional, educator, and keen observer of architectural practice, Peter Piven, FAIA, organized his presentation into lists of 10, as if he were a sage David Letterman of professional practice—complete with humorous anecdotes. "10 reasons why to start one's own firm" extended from design control to the satisfaction of building a business; "10 steps toward starting a firm" included defining one's abilities to securing capital; "10 models for starting a firm" spanned the ever-popular "house for mom" to the spin-off firm. Other lists pertained to getting and keeping work, organizing a firm, and financially supporting it.

Ultimately, dialogue is the touchstone of successful practice. Piven placed particular emphasis on what he referred to as "active listening," advising his audience to remember, "A satisfied client is the best marketing," and "Be good to your people, they are your most important asset." When questioned about means of getting and maintaining work, Piven replied, "Strong relations trump everything."

Gregory Haley, AIA, AICP is an architect at Grimshaw Architects PC, New York and has taught architectural design studios at NYIT School of Architecture.

Design Challenge Takes to the River
By Genna Weinstein, Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction

The Center for Architecture Foundation, through its partnership with the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction (UASDC), has kicked off its one-month after school Studio@The Center program. Ninth graders from UASDC are designing a new East River waterfront and market building. Expanding on the skills they learned in their Learning By Design:NY residency, students analyzed the site, produced sketches and renderings of their ideas, and are now constructing models. With support from both the Department of City Planning and a group of five dedicated architectural and planning advisors, students develop their visual literacy, teamwork, and presentation skills. Using the Foundation's workshop as an open studio, students explore current trends in waterfront development and attempt to solve a real-life design challenge. The program will culminate in a formal critique at the Center on March 30.

This program is funded by UASDC, Center for Architecture Foundation, and a grant from the American Architectural Foundation.

Students Eye the Center: Esto and the New Eyes on the City Workshop
By Brian Kaplan, AIA, LEED AP

Event: FamilyDay@theCenter: New Eyes on the City
Organizers: Center for Architecture Foundation
Sponsors: Dawson Publications and IBEX Construction
Location: Center for Architecture, 03.04.06

The Center for Architecture Foundation's stable of digital cameras provided new perspectives in the small hands of its visitors. Guided by Erica Stoller, Esto director, and David Sundberg and Albert Vecerka, two of the photographers exhibited in the ESTO NOW: Photographers Eye New York exhibition at the Center, the workshop began with an overview of the context and vision behind the images of the projects selected for the show.

With their minds suitably expanded to view their surroundings in new ways, the children, digital cameras in hand, photographed the Center's engaging spaces. With instruction and encouragement from the Esto team, the children sought out interesting compositions and details. Several hundred prints resulted from the exercise that were then used to reinterpret the images in collages and three-dimensional works.

Brian Kaplan, AIA, LEED AP, is an associate at Mancini-Duffy who occasionally participates in the Foundation's programs.

THE MEASURE

OK, so despite previous problems with the last survey, here is a second attempt. Since this is still a testing period, please take the time to submit your response one more time (Flash required). The results will be tallied in the next issue of e-Oculus. Thank you!

OF INTEREST

A new ingredient marks this year's Emerging Voices Lecture Series, hosted by the Architectural League of New York. After each lecture, a podcast is posted online featuring a ±10 minute interview with the speakers by architectural journalist Andrew Blum. Whether or not you made it to the lecture, these interviews compliment the series and are accessible any time.

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Two New York firms have received 2006 AIA Housing Awards: noroof architects for their Slot House project in Brooklyn, and Resolution: 4 Architecture for The Modern Modular, a prefabricated home concept. Mark Ginsberg, FAIA, was a juror…Llonch + Vidalle Architecture and TEN Arquitectos are two finalists named in the West End Pedestrian Bridge competition in Pittsburgh…New Jersey Institute of Technology President Robert A. Altenkirch has received The Donald T. Dust Recognition Award from the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee for the school's restoration of a Victorian castle on its grounds…

Stuart Glass has been appointed Director of Sales and Business Development at Material ConneXion…Nicole Migeon has been named principal at Robert D. Henry Architects…

The New York Times is repositioning staff in their Dining, House & Home, and Real Estate Sections, among others. Trish Hall will oversee these sections; Barbara Graustark will move on to a new, as-yet-undefined position. Trip Gabriel will oversee the Sunday and Thursday style sections in a single department. Michael Cannell is leaving the paper to take a position at Real Simple magazine…

Six finalists have been short listed for their design excellence, philosophy, and related experience for the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) expansion. Finalists include three New York-based firms: Reiser + Umemoto Rur Architecture, SHoP Architects, and Studio MDA…

NEW DEADLINES

The International Association Cities and Ports has issued a call for papers in six different categories for its 2006 convention: "Urban territories, Port territories, what future in common?" planned for November in Sydney, Australia.

Riea.ch is selecting authors for both the Riea Book Series and the Riea Concept Series. Book proposals should emphasize new research in the field of architecture.

The Society of Registered American Architects/ New York Council is now accepting submissions in 15 categories for their annual design awards. For more information, email: info@sarany.org

The United States Green Building Council Northern California Chapter and the City of San Francisco's Communities of Opportunity Initiative announce the 2006 Emerging Green Builders Design Competition for the Eugene Coleman Cultural Center + Community Plaza, in Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco. Participants will compete to be one of five local finalists; the top winner will move on to compete for a national award.

The Ed Bacon Foundation has announced "IMAGINING PENN CENTER: A National Student Design Competition to Plan New Life for Philadelphia's Central Civic Space." This ideas competition for one of Philadelphia's primary Centre City civic spaces is open to United States planning and design students.

DEADLINES

Oculus 2006 Editorial Calendar
Ideas/Submissions Deadlines (projects can be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based). Contact: Kristen Richards kristen@ArchNewsNow.com.
June 20: Fall: Infrastructure New York
September 20: Winter: The Business of Practice

The 2006 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards have a revised schedule:
More information is available on the website
April 14: Entry forms and fees due
May 5: Submission deadline
May 8: Public symposium and award announcements
June 28: Luncheon honoring Design Awards recipients
June 29: Exhibition opens at the Center for Architecture

ON VIEW

At the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place:

About Town: Exhibit Announcements

About Town: Ongoing and Upcoming

Through 04.19.06
Bad Design Darts and Other Methods for Community-Led Improvement/The Municipal Art Society

04.10.06—04.28.06
The METROPOLIS View: 25 Years Through the Lens/The Art Directors Club; Phone: (212) 643-1440

eCALENDAR
eCalendar now includes the information that used to be found in eOculus' Around the Center, Around the AIA, and Around Town sections. Click the above link to go to to eCalendar on the Web.

CLASSIFIEDS

Would you like to get your message featured in eOCULUS? Spotlight your firm, product, or event as a marquee sponsor of eOCULUS, the electronic newsletter of the AIA New York Chapter. Sponsors receive a banner ad prominently placed above the table of contents. Your message will reach over 5,000 architects and decision-makers in the building industry via e-mail every two weeks (and countless others who access the newsletter directly from the AIA New York web site). For more information about sponsorship, contact Dan Hillman: dhillman@aiany.org or 212.358.6114.

NBBJ designs and develops projects in various market sectors such as healthcare and Commercial with offices all over the world. As we expand, we pursue the most talented staff to gain and maintain recognition for outstanding design quality.

Current New York opportunities:
Intermediate Technical Architect
Project Architect (Healthcare)
Project Architect (Corporate / Commercial)
Senior Interior Designer (Healthcare)
Senior Medical Planner
Senior Project Manager

New York City Economic Development Corporation ("NYCEDC") is seeking proposals for the provision of full-service urban design and planning services for various projects upon assignment. Services to be provided include urban design, site planning, graphics and renderings, existing conditions analysis, infrastructure analysis, market analysis and public outreach.

Detailed submission guidelines and requirements are outlined in the RFP, available as of Monday, March 6, 2006. RFP is available for in-person pick-up between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, from NYCEDC, 110 William Street, 6th floor, New York, NY (between Fulton & John streets). For more information, and to request or download a copy of the RFP, call (212) 312-3969 or visit www.nycedc.com/RFP. RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, 2006. Please submit five sets of your proposal to: NYCEDC, 110 William Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10038, Attention: Dominic Domingo, Agency Chief Contracting Officer.

Small NYC architecture firm with 14 employees seeking to fill two positions with talented, motivated individuals with architecture degree; minimum 1 year experience for team member; minimum 5 years experience for Project Architect/Manager for commercial, institutional and residential projects. Contact Mark at mb@ronnetteriley.com.

Perkins Eastman seeks experienced Proposal Coordinator with 5-7 years experience in A/E industry for proposal development, coordinating specific market sector initiatives, information management for large, internationally recognized design firm. Qualifications: excellence in writing/editing, organization, communications, and some graphics. Required: Quark Xpress, Photoshop, InDesign, Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Competitive salary, 401(k), EOE, benefits package. Fax resume/cover letter/salary requirements to 212-353-7676 or e-mail d.carbone@perkinseastman.com. Only resumes w/ salary requirements considered. No phone calls or agencies, please. www.perkinseastman.com

The AIA Contract Documents program
provides proven, consistent, and effective standard form contracts to the building design and construction industry. The program directs its efforts toward improving existing documents and developing new ones. In late 2005 the AIA introduced six new contract documents. These included two new agreements and four new scopes of service documents for use with owner-architect agreements.

Paper Documents
The AIA New York Chapter is a full-service distributor of AIA Contract Documents, which are the most widely used standard form contracts in the building industry. These comprehensive contracts have been prepared by the AIA with the input of contractors, attorneys, architects, and engineers. Typically, industry professionals and home/property owners use these documents to support agreements relating to design and construction services. Anyone may purchase and use the AIA Contract Documents. AIA Members receive a 10% discount. For a full list and order form, see www.aiany.org/documents/list.pdf or call 212.358.6113 with your fax number.

Electronic Format Documents
The new AIA Contract Documents software is completely redesigned, based on Microsoft Word, and is easier to use than Word itself. Enter project and document information once and reuse it automatically. E-mail documents as Word or PDF attachments. Print "clean copy" final documents with all changes captured in a special report. Go to www.aia.org/docssoftwaretraining for Contract Documents Software Training and www.aia.org/docs_purchase to download the AIA Contract Documents software.

If you already have the software, Version 2.0.5: Software Update is now available.

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03.21.06