eOCULUS 10.31.06

Editor's Note: Welcome back to everyone who attended the 2006 AIANYS Convention in Long Island and the NOMA Congress and Exposition in San Francisco. And, Happy Halloween!

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

Greenpiece: Environmental Highlights from the State Convention
By Jeremy Edmunds, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP

At the AIANYS President's Reception and AIANYS Design and Honor Awards presentation at the stunning Oheka Castle: AIANYS 2006 President's Award winner (and 2005 AIANY President) Susan Chin, FAIA; 2007 AIA National President RK Stewart, FAIA; and 1991 AIANY President Frances Halsband, FAIA.
Kristen RIchards

AIANYS 2006 Matthew W. Del Gaudio Service Award winner, Pei Cobb Freed Principal (and 2003 AIANY President) George Miller, FAIA, chats with SOM Consulting Partner David Childs, FAIA.
Kristen RIchards

Event: 2006 AIANYS Convention—Next Generation Housing: will we be ready?
Host: AIA New York State
Location: Garden City, Long Island, 10.19-10.21.06

I arrived at this year's AIA New York State Convention on the Long Island Rail Road without thinking about the environmental implications of my transportation mode. It wasn't until Bruce Fowle, FAIA, LEED AP, and Sudhir Jambhekar, AIA, of FXFOWLE Architects spoke the next day that I discovered my ride had generated less than 5% of the carbon monoxide that the same journey by car would have produced.

Today's buildings are insidious resource hogs using approximately 48% of the total annual energy consumed, and their designs are likely contributing to widespread obesity and increased depression rates. But we have the knowledge to build better, to reduce energy usage by simply orienting buildings to take advantage of the sun and adding low cost sealants and insulation, stated Dr. Richard J. Jackson and Daniel Nall, P.E., FAIA. We can live healthier, happier lives if we learn from our planning missteps and develop pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use communities around transit nodes to accommodate population growth.

Smog from congested highways and indoor off-gassing materials in airtight homes have at least one thing in common: they both contribute to the 25% increase in asthma-related hospitalizations documented since 1979, according to Karen Collins of Broan-NuTone. Confronting this requires substantially reducing both outdoor and indoor air pollution levels. This can only be done through sound urban planning, which includes efficient transit options, and by ensuring appropriate ventilation and reduced off-gassing of building materials.

Continues…

Emerging Designers Featured at AIANYS Convention
By Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA

A forum where architects and designers can discuss issues relevant to their work is needed in the emerging professional community. Two AIANY committees—the Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) and New Practices Committee—urged other NY-based chapters to follow their leads at the 2006 AIANYS Convention. Statewide, programs like Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation competition and the New Practices Roundtable series have potential to energize and unite emerging professionals, helping them to become more involved with each other, local AIA chapters, and the AIA at large.

One goal of the Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation competition, presented by Darris James, Assoc. AIA, and me at the convention, was community activism. In working with local non-profit organizations on Roosevelt Island, emerging designers were recognized on international and local levels, within and outside of the design community. Many entrants have had their submissions published, and have been invited to enter other competitions. One participant discovered an interest in infrastructure while researching NYC subways and is now involved in developing a transportation system in Italy. Another entrant joined her firm's team answering the RFP issued by the Trust for Public Land in July to develop Southpoint Park.

The New Practices program focuses on issues of starting a practice, finding clients, and managing a new firm. AIANY Chapter President Mark Strauss, FAIA, AICP, Martin Finio, AIA, (Partner of new practice Christoff:Finio Architecture), and William Menking, (Editor of The Architect's Newspaper) began the discussion by presenting the New Practices Roundtable series, co-sponsored by AIANY and The Architect's Newspaper. The panel's focus dissolved into a practical discussion about topics ranging from which computer programs to use and how to best charge a client, to how to get a project published.

Both ENYA and the New Practices Committee made a positive impact at the convention. In 2007, an exhibition of selected entries from the Southpoint competition, which won the AIA 2006 Emerging Professional Program of the Year award, will travel to different Chapters statewide. All entries are currently available for viewing online at the ENYA Competitions website. Participants at the New Practices panel have formed a newpracticeforum to generate further discussion. Click the link for more information. Also, if you would like to join the New Practices Committee, e-mail Amanda Jones, the AIANY Program Committees Coordinator.

NOMA Celebrates Design, Diversity
By Heather P. Philip-O'Neal, AIA, NOMA

"The Value of Good Design" speakers (l-r): Rod Henmi, AIA, Principal/Design Director, Michael Willis Architects; Allison Williams, FAIA, Principal/Design Director, Perkins + Will; Tim Culvahouse, FAIA, Editor, arcCA and Principal, Culvahouse Consulting Group.
Heather P. Phillip-O'Neal, AIA, NOMA

Tiana Robinson and Zenos Morris representing Gensler at the Exhibitor's Fair.
Michele Chin

Cornell students win award for their Student Competition entry.
Heather P. Phillip-O'Neal, AIA, NOMA

Event: 34th Annual National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Congress and Exposition
Host: San Francisco NOMA
Location: Argent Hotel, San Francisco, 10.12-15.06

Racial identity issues still hinder progress in the design field, according to Dr. Victoria Kaplan, author of Structural Inequality featuring stories of 20 black U.S.-based architects. This year's National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Congress and Exposition featured seminars such as "Socially Responsible and Ethical Architecture," led by Raphael Sperry, AIA, President of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, and "Bringing Cultural, Racial and Sexual Issues into the Design Studio" reinforcing the need for minority architects to stay active and visible in their communities.

Other seminars included "Don't Get Burned," which identified where many insurance claims originate, with negotiation tips and contract advice against using non-traditional agreements. "The Architect as Real Estate Developer" stressed wealth building through development and promoted the idea that architects should be part of the development team. The seminar also provided financial information on loans, tax credits, amortization, and profits earned over the life of a project.

Several "pioneers" of the profession offered personal views of their careers commenting on "being of color" in tape-recorded interviews at the conference, organized by president-elect Carlton Smith, AIA, 2007-2008. Among those interviewed were: Harold Williams, FAIA, of Los Angeles; William Stanley III, FAIA, and Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA, of Atlanta; James Washington, Jr., AIA, of New Orleans; Neil Hall of Miami; and Ron Garner of Chicago. Most of the interviewees were former NOMA presidents. Along with the "colorful" commentary were images of several projects designed and completed by these architects, setting a precedent that began over five decades ago.

NOMA's commitment to diversity was articulated in the luncheon forum on cultural identity and expression. Vice president, Steven Lewis, moderated the discussion with five women, who are educators, designers, public administrators, and corporate professionals, representing different aspects of the design profession. They included Allison Williams, FAIA, Principal and Design Director of Perkins + Will (San Francisco), and Desa Sealy Ruffin, President of Gotham Development (Baltimore) who shed insight on the link between architecture and individual background as important and inevitable.

Continues…

Jacobs vs. Moses: Final Matchup of Two Opponents
By Scott Jardine

Jacobs and Moses duked it out in the past, but both of their beliefs still resonate.
Courtesy CUNY Graduate Center

Event: Jacobs vs. Moses: How Stands the Debate Today?"
Speakers: Hilary Ballon, Professor & Director of Art Humanities, Department of Art History & Archaeology, Columbia University; Amanda Burden, Hon. AIANY, Chair, New York City Planning Commission & Director, Department of City Planning; Richard Kahan, President, The Urban Assembly & former president, New York State Development Corporation; Brad Lander, Director, Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development (PICCED) & Visiting Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute; Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic, The New York Times; Samuel Zipp, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, University of California at Irvine; Moderator Mike Wallace, Pulitzer Prize winning historian & co-author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898; Moderator Michael Sorkin, Director, Graduate Urban Design Program, City College of New York
Location: The CUNY Graduate Center, 10.11.06

Here stands the debate: Robert Moses, "Master Builder" who created civic projects on a massive scale, versus Jane Jacobs, "fearless civic advocate" who championed small, local communities. The two fought venomously. But who won?

Although the panel had no definitive answer, it is clear that Jacobs has been favored since her publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in 1961. While Amanda Burden, Hon. AIANY, perceives nostalgia for Moses-scale development in projects such as the Fresh Kills Park, waterfront development, the High Line, and Second Avenue subway ("Big cities need big projects'" she said), she added that such projects still need to be judged by Jacobs's rules of process, diversity, and complexity.

Yet, Moses has been credited with making NYC a "center of brain power"—look at Lincoln Center and the United Nations—even if he destroyed communities. Hilary Ballon categorized Moses as "forceful and prolific" but not exceptional for his time, an idealist aligned with progressive New Deal national policies.

"Do we need another Moses?" asked Richard Kahan. For Moses, issues were too often about power, not design—mirrored today in the World Trade Center development process. Nicolai Ouroussoff countered, stating that the obsession with the Moses vs. Jacobs debate distracts from the social roots of the argument. City planning and the creation of Historic or Business Districts can't solve everything after all.

In short, Moses will be remembered for what he built, and Jacobs for what she wrote. To hear the debate, audio is available online.

Scott Jardine is a writer and project architect at David Fratianne Architect.

China Divvies Up its Future
By Aileen Iverson, RA

Courtesy People's Architecture

Event: 3×3 A Perspective on China: China Transition
Speakers: John Friedmann (US), Professor emeritus, UCLA School of Public Affairs & Honorary Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia; Dr. Fulong Wu (China), Professor of East Asian Planning and Development & Director of the Urban China Research Centre, Cardiff University
Organizers: Center for Architecture; People's Architecture
Location: Center for Architecture, 10.18.06

In China, urban land belongs to the state and rural land belongs to its villagers collectively. Urbanity grows via rural acquisition, so as cities grow, ownership transfers from the villager to the state. The speed in which cities are expanding is straining the bureaucracy; governments are acting like corporations, sacrificing regulatory controls to entrepreneurial profit. Cities are becoming factories, sites of industrial production.

Populating the city-factories are "renter-peasants," renting self-constructed dormitories on former farmland to "temporary" migrants, the labor force powering the building industry. In an occidental parody, the bourgeoisie and super-rich, including high-ranking communist party members, celebrity developers, and others with access to the excesses of rampant corruption, retreat into gated McMansion suburbia. As property values have doubled and tripled in less than three years, China seems to embrace urbanism as a political policy following socialism. All of the development is occurring on leased land—or "partial commodities"—owned by the government-corporation. Urbanism thus formed is a series of segregated, homogenous enclaves where civic space is undesirable and not generating revenue. By these post-communist society standards, separate enclaves are preferred to social interaction.

Aileen Iverson, RA, is an architect practicing in New York.

New and Old Clash on Roosevelt Island Developments
By Carolyn Sponza, AIA

The Octagon, one of several new buildings on Roosevelt Island.
Courtesy Becker + Becker Architects & Developers

Event: Roosevelt Island: Market Oriented Housing 1975–2006
Speakers: Judith A. Calogero, Commissioner, NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHR) & Former CEO, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation; Judith Berdy, President, Roosevelt Island Historical Society; John M. Johansen, FAIA, & Ashok Bhavnani, AIA, Johansen & Bhavnani, Architects; Alfreda Radzicki, AIA, Gruzen Samton Architects; Bruce Redman Becker, AIA, AICP, Becker + Becker Architects & Developers; Moderator: James McCullar, FAIA
Organizers: Housing and Planning and Urban Design Committees, AIA New York Chapter, in conjunction with Congress of International Modern Architects
Sponsors: Hudson Companies, Inc.; Becker + Becker Architects & Developers
Location: Center for Architecture, 10.23.06

Descriptions of the original planning efforts and a recent wave of new construction were brought into sharp contrast at this discussion, which included the planners, architects, and government officials instrumental in shaping the urban fabric of Roosevelt Island over the past 40 years. New construction was largely described in terms of technical constraints, right-of-ways, height limitations, and development subsidies. One can't help but wonder if this is the inevitable legacy of any second generation building program, or merely the reality of today's competitive, privatized development market.

"Community" was a frequently repeated word. The original government-led planning and construction efforts of the early 1970s attempted to "build a community versus a development," said Ashok Bhavnani, AIA, the architect responsible for two of the original residential buildings on the island. This vision, the longevity of residents, the mix of new and historic buildings, and a variety of planned and unplanned gathering spaces contribute to the continued community feel.

However, the island's population has increased almost 15% in the past year, leaving observers to wonder if this small-town feel can be sustained. Five hundred new rental units have opened in the Octagon—a restored and expanded former lunatic asylum, designed and developed by Becker + Becker Architects & Developers (with a David Rockwell-designed lobby). Four buildings of the nine-building Riverwalk Place, developed by The Related Companies and The Hudson Companies, have opened straddling the subway station. And there is room to grow, according to Division of Housing and Community Renewal Commissioner Judith Calogero; Roosevelt Island is operating at roughly half of the 20,000 residents envisioned by the original 1968 master plan.

On the flip side, a new commercial hub (complete with Starbucks) may draw retail attention away from existing Main Street businesses. Two adjacent residential buildings have been fully leased by area medical centers for their employees, bringing into question the longevity of new residents. Bruce Redman Becker, AIA, AICP, noted that the current building climate on Roosevelt Island is a mixture of politics and market, which may not be so different from the original drivers that helped shape the island into a community a generation ago.

Spectacle on 42nd Street
By Linda G. Miller

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the many spectacles in the city.
Courtesy Rockwell Group

Event: Celebrating Spectacle
Speakers: David Rockwell, founder & CEO, Rockwell Group, & co-author of SPECTACLE; Simon Doonan, creative director, Barneys New York & author of Confessions of a Window Dresser: Tales from the Life of Fashion & Wacky Chicks: Life Lessons from Fearlessly Inappropriate and Fabulously Eccentric Women; Julie Taymor, award-winning theater and film director, writer, producer, editor & costume designer; Moderator John Hockenberry, Emmy award-winning journalist & author & contributing editor for WIRED & Metropolis
Organizers: The New York Public Library, as part of the LIVE from the NYPL series
Location: The New York Public Library, 10.20.06

Spectacles are big, bold, and brief. The Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert that attracts 25,000 innovators in art and technology; the Brussels Flower Carpet that fills a plaza with begonias; India's Holi Festival where people spray colored water on each other; a NASCAR race; and New York's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade transform and immerse us, and perhaps even change us. If you are one of those who "hungers for the deep sense of ritual," as David Rockwell, states, or someone who rues at missing Woodstock, the recently published, SPECTACLE (Phaidon 2006), by Rockwell and designer Bruce Mao, lists the where's and when's of international events you might want to experience.

SPECTACLE is a two-dimensional exploration of over 60 three-dimensional international manmade events, and contains interviews with 18 cultural personalities about what constitutes a spectacle. Interviewees include director and costume designer, Julie Taymor; creative director at Barneys New York, Simon Doonan; and Robert Venturi, FAIA, and Denise Scott Brown, FRIBA.

On the night of the "Celebrating Spectacle" panel discussion, the restored Celeste Bartos Forum, with its 30-foot-high, elliptical glass dome and cast iron arches—one of the New York Public Library's gems—was illuminated with colorful and vibrant photos from SPECTACLE. The panel reminded me of an issue of OCULUS magazine about the "secret lives of architects." But with the publication of this book, Rockwell's passion for spectacles is no secret. By capturing the visual and visceral in book form, he and Mau have given a sense of permanence to the ephemeral.

EDITOR'S SOAPBOX: Ruins Reloaded

When I experience a ruin I feel its symbolic presence. There is nostalgia for the people, time, and place in which the building thrived. Years of use and neglect can be read in the deterioration of materials. Both the remaining structure and its absent appendages reflect a charisma that is not present in new buildings.

Currently there are several organizations and communities trying to revive ruins throughout the city. The High Line, Harlem Stage, and the High Bridge are three relics in the process of being reworked and reconstructed, and were the subjects of the panel discussion, "Re-using Ruins: Preserving New York's Industrial Heritage," at the Urban Center (part of the Urban Center Books program organized by the Municipal Art Society). Roger Panetta, history professor at Marymount College of Fordham University, posed the question that has lingered with me since: Why now?

I think the movement to revitalize ruins is due to new construction trends. Developers want to build icons, not communities. Large-scale, mixed-use buildings are being planned citywide. The idea seems to be that if they build it, new communities will come. Gone are the days when buildings fulfilled the needs of an existing community.

The three projects highlighted by the panel show how this trend is reversible, or at least not inevitable—all we need to do is look in our back yards. The High Line is creating much needed parkland and linking several different neighborhoods. The Harlem Stage, occupying the 135th Street Gatehouse, will provide performance space rejuvenating a community that suffered with the New Croton Aqueduct's dereliction. And the High Bridge has the potential to serve as it did when it opened—as work of art and a feat of engineering attracting tourists, Manhattanites, and Bronx dwellers alike.

I hope these projects will cue developers to heed the staying power of the ruins. As Joshua David, co-founder of Friends of the High Line, put it, "Community is the connector." Longevity is only possible with community support and compassion.

eON THE SCENE

Event: 2006 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards
Location: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 10.18.06

Who wasn't at the seventh annual Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards? Design world notables, patrons, and sponsors dined in a huge tent on the museum's lawn for a gala (read high-ticket) black-tie dinner—with a dash of whimsy supplied by chandeliers and place-card holders made of Slinkies, designed by David Stark Design and Production. For the (in)famous After-Party, hundreds of the hipper-than-hip gathered in the museum's basement to watch the awards presentation via live video feed from the star-studded tent.

New Yorkers were well represented as presenters, finalists, and winners; speeches were thoughtful—and refreshingly short. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by Milton Glaser (2004 winner) to Paolo Soleri, who warned that "theology and materialism are our greatest threats to producing ignoble things—it is up to design to change things." After accepting the Design Mind award from Richard Meier, FAIA, MoMA's Paola Antonelli said she felt a bit like she was "preaching to the converted," but that it was a nice change from trying to convince newspapers to hire design critics instead of dance critics. NYC Dept. of City Planning Director Amanda Burden, Hon. AIANY, offered the Architecture award to Thom Mayne, FAIA, who sent his thanks from Paris via Blythe Alison-Mayne, who quipped: "If Thom were here, he'd say it's all due to his wife." Other NYC winners included Michael Gabellini, FAIA, for Interior Design, and 2×4 for Communications Design.

This year, Cooper-Hewitt also inaugurated the first ever People's Design Award—a month-long, online poll. Nominations ranged from the zipper, the mousetrap, and the Eames chair, to Chicago's Millennium Park, the Empire State Building, and the "I Love NY" logo. The winner was NYC-based Marianne Cusato for her Katrina Cottage. In her pithy acceptance she said, "This award validates that we can do better."

For National Design Awards details and profiles of winners and finalists, click on link above. (For two interesting/amusing takes on the program and the event, check out BusinessWeek's offerings: "Design's Night of Glamour" and "Our Man in a Tux," by BW's Innovation & Design editors.)

IN THE NEWS

Bronx Zoo Goes Green

The new Jose E. Serrano Center for Global Conservation is designed to seemingly grow out of its natural surroundings.
Courtesy FXFOWLE Architects The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) broke ground on the JosÈ E. Serrano Center for Global Conservation on the 4.5-acre C.V. Starr Campus at its Bronx Zoo headquarters. The FXFOWLE Architects-designed three-story building will unite a number of diverse programs currently scattered across the zoo's campus. Inspired by concepts of synergy, natural integration, and office integration, the center will maintain the aesthetic qualities of the zoo while merging with its natural surroundings. Expecting to be a model of sustainability, the project is pursuing a LEED Gold rating.

Cooper Union Demos then Constructs New Building

View north from the Bowery.
Courtesy The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Grand staircase rising from the lobby.
Courtesy The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Making way for The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art's new nine-story academic laboratory building designed by Morphosis in association with Gruzen Samton, F.J. Sciame Construction is in the process of demolishing the Hewitt Building on Cooper Square. Described as a vertical piazza contained within a semi-transparent, rectangular enclosure, the new sustainable and technologically sophisticated facility will be the city's first green academic building. Ground breaking is expected to take place in Spring 2007. The new building received a Project Merit in the 2006 AIANY Design Awards.

Cooking (In) Light

To take advantage of the light, Susan Doban, AIA, designed the roof of the Culinary Arts Center to appear as if it soars.
Susan Doban Architect A former auto repair shop has been transformed into a sleek, state-of-the-art Culinary Arts Center for Monroe College in New Rochelle. Designed by Brooklyn-based architect, Susan Doban, AIA, her fourth project for the college, the original one-story building was given an industrial facelift inspired by stainless-steel kitchen equipment. Doban took advantage of light and views of the courtyard by adding a window running the full length of the building. The curtain wall façade with aluminum sun shades integrates climate control and distinguishes the building aesthetically.

CEU Courses Now Online
Twenty new online courses have been developed by Kaplan AEC Education, providers of exam preparation for the architecture, engineering, and contracting industries. Topics covered include: sustainable design; cost control in the design phase; principles of concrete; lighting design; and risk management. Approved by the AIA, the one- to two-hour online-only courses include a standard reading assignment and test, as well as shorter quizzes and interactive exercises. Courses cost $35 per credit hour. Visit the website for more information.

To save you some time, e-Oculus contacted the NY State Board for Architecture to find out which courses are available for NY State credit. They are: Comfort Climate and Design; Conditions of the Contract for Construction; Construction Cost Control (no HSW); Design Quality Management and Control; Earthquake Design; Electric Machines and Surge Protection; Electrical Systems; Introduction to Mold; Lighting Design; Practical Guide to Feng Shui (no HSW); Principles of Concrete; Statics Basics; Structural System Basics; Sustainable Design. These courses meet all three required criteria as approved NY State sponsors administer them, they cover acceptable subject areas, and they are given in an approved format.

Air Flows in Dubai

Every floor of O-14 has already been sold to future tenants.
Reiser + Umemoto, RUR Architecture O-14, a 22-story commercial tower perched on a two-story podium, designed by New York-based Reiser + Umemoto, RUR Architecture in collaboration with developer Shabah Lutfi, is slated to break ground in December 2006. Sited along a waterfront esplanade in Dubai, the 300,000-square-foot building will be sheathed in a thick concrete shell with over 1,000 openings that create a lace-like effect on the building's façade. The perforations will act as a sunscreen open to light, air, and views, and will modulate depending on structural requirements, views, sun exposure, and luminosity. A space nearly one meter deep between the shell and the main enclosure will create a chimney effect throughout the building for efficient cooling and heating. The concrete shell also provides an efficient structure freeing the core from lateral forces creating efficient, column-free interior spaces.

Vanke Center Rests Ashore

The Vanke Center's "sea scribble" garden.
Steven Holl Architects The winning design in an invited competition for the Vanke Center, a sustainable, mixed-use project for one of China's largest property developers, will be a 60,000-square-meter floating horizontal skyscraper. Designed by New York-based Steven Holl Architects, the complex, situated in Shenzhen on the South China Sea, will contain a conference center, hotel, serviced apartments, and offices. The project consists of intersecting buildings hovering over a "sea scribble" garden. The intention is to appear as if the buildings were once floating on high seas and now remain propped on glass and coral-like legs. Scheduled to break ground in April 2007, the Center incorporates sustainable elements: the floating buildings create a flexible, shaded landscape area underneath allowing sea and land breezes to permeate; a geothermal-cooled waterscape produces a comfortable microclimate; and moveable façade screens made of special composites protect the inner glass against high solar heat and typhoons.

AROUND THE AIA + THE CENTER

Huson Jackson, architectural partner of Josep Lluís Sert, passed away on October 1, 2006, at the age of 93. Jackson was one of the first generation American architects to study under the modern European masters Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, who brought the International Style to North America in the 1930s.

Sert, Jackson & Associates practiced from 1958 to 1981. Their commissions included many university and institutional buildings for clients such as Harvard, Boston University, MIT, Princeton, and the University of Guelph in Ontario. They designed the Fondation Maeght Modern Art Museum in St. Paul de Vence, France, the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, Spain, and worked as collaborating architects with Le Corbusier on the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in Cambridge, MA. A number of residential housing projects, including one of Roosevelt Island's original apartment buildings, were also designed by the firm.

Jackson began his architectural studies at Washington University in St. Louis, but graduated from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in 1939. One of his first professional experiences was in the workshop of the renowned designers Ray and Charles Eames. He later worked for Boston architects Carl Koch and Joseph Richardson, before opening his own New York firm in 1946 with Harold and Judith Edelman, FAIA, and Seymour Howard.

During this period, Jackson also taught architecture at Columbia University and Pratt Institute, and wrote a guidebook to New York City buildings, titled New York Architecture 1650–1952. In 1953, Jackson was appointed as a professor of architecture at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, a position that he maintained until 1970.

THE MEASURE

OF INTEREST

MTV wants more young people to use clean energy. Think MTV and the Campus Climate Challenge consists of more than 30 leading youth organizations leveraging students to organize on college campuses and high schools across the U.S. and Canada to win 100% Clean Energy policies at their schools. Given regular "Break the Addiction" assignments, schools become eligible for prizes—such as $1,000 grants, $5,000 to throw a party, or an MTV eco-renovation of a student hangout space. 350 campuses are currently involved; New York City schools include: Pace University, Long Island University Brooklyn Campus, New York University, and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Click the link for more information, or to sign up your school.

NAMES IN THE NEWS

AIANYS has announced the winners of its 2006 Design Awards. Nabbing the highest Honor Awards were Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center (Gabellini Sheppard Associates and SLCE Architects) and the Floating Box House, in Austin, TX (Peter L. Gluck and Partners)…

NY-based projects receiving Merit Awards were: The Morgan Library & Museum (Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners); NYCT West 8th Street Station Rehabilitation, Brooklyn (Daniel Frankfurt and Acconci Studio); Clinton Cove Park Pier 96 Boathouse (Dattner Architects); Cooper Square (Desai/Chia Architecture); Bronx Row Houses (Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects); Brooklyn Museum Entry Pavilion and Plaza (Polshek Partnership Architects); Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Henry A. Wallace Visitor & Education Center, Hyde Park, NY (R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects)…

Projects out-of-state receiving Merit Awards were: Martha's Vineyard House in Chilmark, MA (Architecture Research Office/ARO); Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT (Belmont Freeman Architects); Temecula Border Patrol Station, Murrieta, CA (Garrison Architects); Holland Performing Arts Center, Omaha, NE (Polshek Partnership Architects and HDR Architecture); West Virginia State Capitol Dome Restoration, Charleston, WV (Swanke Hayden Connell Architects); Inn at Price Tower and Copper Restaurant + Bar, Bartlesville, OK (Wendy Evans Joseph Architecture and Ambler Architects)…

Receiving citations were: the Sedgwick Houses Entrances in the Bronx (Edelman Sultan Knox Wood); 505 Greenwich Street (Handel Architects); Taipei Truth Lutheran Church Reconstruction, Taipei, Taiwan (J. J. Pan & Partners); TEDA International Convention Center, Tianjin, People's Republic of China (Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects and Tianjin Architects & Consulting Engineers); Montauk Residence in Montauk, NY (Pentagram Architecture); University of Michigan Biomedical Science Research Building in Ann Arbor, MI (Polshek Partnership Architects); Blackman New York Plumbing Showroom (Shelton, Mindel & Associates); 7 World Trade Center (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill); State Street Streetscape, Schenectady, NY (Synthesis and Urban Designers); West Harlem Master Plan (W Architecture and Landscape Architecture).

AIANYS has announced its Honor Award Recipients. Giorgio Cavaglieri, FAIA, AIANY, received the James William Kideney Gold Medal Award, the highest award that AIANYS can bestow on one of its members recognizing a lifetime of notable contributions by an architect to the profession, the professional society, and the community…

George Miller, FAIA, AIANY, received the Matthew W. Del Gaudio Service Award for outstanding and significant service through promotion of the architecture profession… Susan Chin, FAIA, AIANY, received the President's Award for outstanding contributions to the profession in education, industry, or government through professional competence in non-traditional areas of architectural practice demonstrating lasting influence and raising professional standards… Dattner Architects, AIANY, received the AIANYS Firm Award for notable achievements in design, community service, education, and service to the profession and the AIA…

Jeremy Edmunds, Assoc. AIA, and Dirk Schneider, AIA, received the AIANYS Intern-Associate Award for their notable contributions and accomplishments… the Community Development Award went to Reshaping Rochester! Planning for the Public Realm for its substantial and positive impact on the built environment… the Legislator of the Year Award recognizing outstanding legislative contributions to the profession by a NY State legislator went to Senator Kemp Hannon, 6th District, Nassau, NY…

Honorary AIANYS Membership awarded to a person outside of the architecture profession went to Jerry Ludwig, Hon. AIANYS, Rochester, Raymond Mellon, Esq., Hon. AIANYS, NYC, and David Thurm, Hon. AIANYS, NYC… 2006 President's Citations conferred by the President of AIANYS for outstanding contributions to the profession were awarded to Ronald Battaglia, FAIA, Buffalo, and The Trust for Public Land, NYC.

The 2007 AIANYS Officers have been appointed. Ed Randall, former executive director of the NY State Council of Mayors, has been named Executive Director of AIA New York State (AIANYS)… Orlando Maione, AIA, AIA Long Island Chapter, has been elected 2008 AIANYS President… Dennis Andrejko, AIA, AIA Buffalo/Western New York, has been named Regional Director of AIANYS… Jeffrey Dyer, AIA, AIA Eastern New York, will serve as AIANYS Secretary… Burton Roslyn, AIA, AIA Long Island, will serve as Vice-President: Government Affairs… Edward D'Amore, AIA, AIA Westchester/Mid-Hudson, will serve as Vice President of Communications and Public Relations… Vasso Kampiti, Assoc. AIA, AIANY, will serve as the Associate Director.

Robert Silman, P.E., Hon. AIANY, will receive a Landmarks Lion Award, granted annually by The Historic Districts Council, the advocate group for New York City's designated historic districts and neighborhoods… Elizabeth Stribling, head of real estate firm Stribling & Associates, has been awarded the Citizens Union Civic Leadership Award for her work in strengthening and improving the fabric of civic life in New York.

JRS Architect announces its purchase of Manhattan-based design firm Soffes Wood… Edward Cohen, AIA, has joined SBLM Architects as Director of Facilities and Transportation Projects, focusing on marketing, managing, and design… FXFOWLE has named Carl Hauser, AIA, and John J. Loughran, AIA, AICP, PP, LEED, as the firm's newest Senior Associates… Stanley Ethan Wong has been named administrative director of R.M.Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects.

The Boston Society of Architects has recognized two New York City architects in its 2006 Unbuilt Architecture Awards program—Johannes M. P. Knoops, FAAR, Assoc. AIA, has received an Honor Award for Design for his project "Precious Memories Floating on a Mystic Horizon"; and Peter Marino, FAIA, has received a Design Award for a residential tower project at 105 W. 57th Street.

The Agnes Irwin School's new Science & Art Center, designed by Peter Gisolfi Associates, has received the top William W. Caudill Citation for K-12 school design, given by the 2006 American School & University Architectural Portfolio. Other New York firms also receiving recognition for their projects were: Cannon Design (Boston University, Fitness and Recreation Center and Agganis Arena- Post-secondary Citation); Urbahn Architects (Stony Brook University, Heavy Engineering Building- Post-Secondary); and STV with Arquitectonica (High School for Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture, Ozone Park, NY—Works in Progress).

SIGHTED

NEW DEADLINES

ON VIEW

At the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place:

Gallery Hours
Monday–Friday: 9:00am–8:00pm
Saturday: 11:00am–5:00pm
Sunday: CLOSED

About Town: Exhibition Announcements

Lucio Fontana, Courtesy Italian Cultural Institute

Through 12.08.06
Lucio Fontana: alle radici dello Spazialismo

Featuring a selection of oils and drawings by the Italian artist Lucio Fontana, this exhibition places emphasis on his involvement in architecture and design, with reference to his exploration in the Spatialist movement. This show is mounted in tandem with Lucio Fontana Venice/New York, an ongoing exhibition of the artist's work at the Guggenheim Museum.

Italian Cultural Institute; 686 Park Avenue

Park Avenue, April 1957
Photographer: Arthur Rothstein, Courtesy The LOOK Collection

Through 01.03.07
Willing To Be Lucky: Ambitious New Yorkers in the Pages of LOOK Magazine

Drawn from the photographs from LOOK, one of the 20th century's most influential pictorial magazines, this exhibition features individuals—both celebrities and ordinary people—who, in pursuing their dreams, were offbeat enough to land them in the pages of the magazine.

The Museum of the City of New York; 1220 Fifth Avenue

(l): Isamu Noguchi working on "Mu" for the garden of Shin Banraisha, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. (r): Faculty Room of Shin Banraisha, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, 1998. Photograph by Michio Noguchi
Courtesy The Noguchi Museum

11.01.06 through 04.01.07
Shin Banraisha: A Cultural Memory

This exhibition tells the story of the creation and dismantling of Shin Banraisha (New Welcoming Space), a site-specific work created by Isamu Noguchi in 1951-1952 for Keio University in Tokyo. A composition of artifacts, furniture, and deconstructed architectural elements from the original installation is on display along with the photographs.

Noguchi Museum; 9-01 33rd Road, Long Island City

"lights on" by Mary Ellen Carroll
Courtesy The Precipice Alliance

11.01.06 through Spring 2007
INDESTRUCTIBLE LANGUAGE

This large-scale art installation by artist Mary Ellen Carroll will feature 8-foot-high illuminated letters with the phrase "IT IS GREEN THINKS NATURE EVEN IN THE DARK". To be mounted in the windows of the former American Can Factory Buildings (site of the future CANCO Lofts) in Jersey City, this installation is sponsored by The Precipice Alliance, a group intent on increasing awareness of the global effects of climate change.

American Can Company; 50 Dey Street; Jersey City, New Jersey

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 Gemma Shusterman: gshusterman@aiany.org or 212.358.6114.

Since the 1950s, Bill "Willy" Jacobs and Bill Jacobs Jr. of E-Z Tilt Windows have supplied Manhattan with Marvin Windows and Doors. Call E-Z Tilt at (718) 627-0001 or visit www.eztilt.com to discover Marvin Signature Services for high performing, customized solutions to your most ambitious designs.

Full-time Lecturer position; three-year contract with option for renewal. We seek an architect to teach a sequence of studio courses and to direct an undergraduate architecture program. The architecture major at Smith consists of the architecture studio sequence combined with courses drawn from the other two academic wings of the Art Department: art and architectural history, and studio art. M. Arch. Or equivalent degree preferred. Teaching experience required. Start date: September, 2007. Send letter, CV, visual materials, and names and addresses of three references to Chair, Architecture Search Committee, Dept. of Art, Smith College, 22 Elm Street, Northampton, MA 01063. Review of applications to begin on Monday 30 October and continue until the position is filled. Smith College is an equal opportunity employer encouraging excellence through diversity.

ARCHITECTS/INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS
Global Design Firm expanding its New York Office seeks creative, highly motivated individuals, with architectural degree, architectural license desired, proficient with CADD systems, hand sketching, and electronic documentation. Strong oral and written communication skills a must. Travel may be required.

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER and PROJECT MANAGER
Seasoned Professionals, 7-20 years experience, extensive client and construction field experience in commercial and retail work to manage development and completion of ongoing, fast-paced projects for national clients. Oversee Project Architects, interface with client and client construction manager, responsible for scheduling and budgeting.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
Professionals with 2-15 years experience in commercial and retail work to perform architectural design and development through construction documents, including coordination of specifications and construction team documents, client interface and construction administration. Registered Architect preferred.

Stimulating team oriented office environment. Excellent opportunities for advancement. Competitive salary and benefits, with generous bonus potential. Send Resumes to resume@wpa-works.com and indicate position sought in Cover Letter.

Architects Wanted
CFA is a referral registry for architects, seeks resumes from qualified individuals for project or full-time placement.

Our clients, NYC's most desired architectural practices, have requests at all levels for design and production:

CFA has been building consulting careers for 22 years. Our project and permanent positions offer great opportunities for career path development.

As an architect working on a consulting basis, you benefit by working on a per-project basis, setting your own fees and schedule, while building your portfolio and experience, for a greater long-term career purpose.

We have openings at New York's most desired practices, and have successfully matched over 5000 people, since 1984, with firms that share likeminded design sensibilities such as yours.

Contact:
Consulting For Architects, Inc./Attn: Recruiters
236 5 Avenue
New York, NY 10001

DRAFTER, ARCHITECTURAL
Full-time position in an Architectural firm; BS in Architecture plus two years experience; Multiple positions available; fax resume to (212) 290-1425 or mail to Ismael Leyva Architects, P.C., 48 W. 37th Street, New York, NY 10018, Attn. Manish Chadha, Senior Associate.

Peter Gluck and Partners, a design-focused architectural office with a unique emphasis on design-build construction management, is seeking self-motivated and team-oriented people to work on high-end private residential projects. Candidates should have an MArch or BArch and 3+ years of experience with DD and CD phases of a project.

Please send resumes and sample portfolio pages to: info@gluckpartners.com subject: "Architect position"

JOB NOTICE: CHAPTER ADMINISTRATOR
American Planning Association (APA) NY Metro Chapter (part-time)
The NY Metro Chapter, with more than 1,200 members in New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley, seeks a part-time Administrator to manage office operations and finances, assist in providing services and resources for members and the public, coordinate with national APA offices, oversee Chapter web site and publications and play lead role in administering conferences and events sponsored by the Chapter.

The Chapter Administrator reports to the President of the Chapter and works closely with other volunteer officers and committees of the Chapter.

Work schedules will be determined by specific tasks but responsibilities are expected to average 15 hours per week, although time periods when fewer hours are required will be expected to balance with busier times (e.g. conferences) when more hours are required. While the schedule must include daytime work hours 3 or 4 days per week and some occasional evening hours for meetings and events, there is also the opportunity to telecommute from home. Compensation will be at $25 per hour, not to exceed $19,000 annually.

Mid-Sr Level Architect/PA
NBBJ is seeking dynamic individuals at all levels to join our collaborative and integrated work environment, where learning and growing our next generation of leadership is one of our primary goals. Our NY Studio is growing with recent project wins both internationally and regionally wiht a current project mix of Hi-rise mixed use, healthcare, and innovative projects in China. For more information about NBBJ and career opportunities please visit www.nbbj.com/whoweare/careers.

Architecture—Senior Project Manager
Nationally recognized health and science practice seeks a Senior Project Manager with a minimum 15 years experience in research and/or hospital design and construction to join our team in our mid-town Manhattan office. Must be a registered architect. Heave client contact. Excellent communication skills required. Please e-mail your resume and cover letter to: nyhr@karlsberger.com
**(note: please place position title in subject line of e-mail for proper handling).

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.

AIA New York Chapter's HOME page
If you have any comments, questions or concerns regarding eOculus or would like to know about advertising in or sponsorship of eOculus, or would like to be included in our mailing list please write to us at gshusterman@aiany.org.

Reducing the demand that existing and new buildings place on the energy grid requires improving the efficiency of mechanical and electrical systems. "Commissioning," or the process of ensuring that systems work as intended, is key to safeguarding optimal performance of energy-consuming systems. Several Long Island case studies, including the new Pratt Recreational Center, presented by Michael English of Horizon Engineering Associates, showed paybacks after just one year.

As I boarded LIRR for my ride home, the convention theme question, "Next Generation Housing: will we be ready?" remained open. For us to be ready, we have to not only embrace, but implement sustainable practices.

Jeremy Edmunds, Assoc. AIA, LEED-AP, is the 2006 Associate Representative to the AIA National Executive Committee.

Architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, and other less typical disciplines entered this year's Student Competition. The program included an extensive list of spaces and a variety of uses as students were invited to select any site within San Francisco (instead of each team designing for the same site). Students from Cornell University entered the winning design for a multi-media community center. Called "Skin Deep," a metaphorical cultural skin blurs the line between envelope and interior through hybridized layering.

The NOMA 2007 elected officers are: Carlton Smith, AIA, President; Steven Lewis, President-Elect/First Vice-President; Creig Hoskins, AIA, Vice President South; Kathy Dixon, AIA, Vice President North East; Sanford Garner, AIA, Vice President Mid-West; Charles Grant Lewis, AIA, Vice President West; Aurora Robinson, Recording Secretary; Tebogo Schultz, Corresponding Secretary; Heather Philip-O'Neal, AIA, Treasurer; and Ameera Ashraf-O'Neil, Parliamentarian.

Heather P. Philip-O'Neal, AIA, NOMA, is Design Principal of Terrence O'Neal Architect, LLC, and serves on the Board of Directors for the AIA New York Chapter.

CONTENTS

10.31.06