December 22, 2009
by: Anthony Schirripa FAIA IIDA 2010 AIANY President

(Continued from above)

Our highly engaged program committees are poised to hold more programs than ever before in 2010, continuing an upward trajectory in the number, breadth, and depth of the Chapter’s committee programs.

Both the New Practices Committee and the Emerging NY Architects Committee (ENYA) are planning their biennial competitions. The New Practices Competition is back in New York after a brief stint in San Francisco, and will once again recognize exciting new firms in NYC, and ENYA’s biennial ideas competition will feature design proposals for High Bridge. A recently reinvigorated Marketing and PR Committee has also been very busy planning for 2010, and has more than a half-dozen programs on the horizon, the first of which will delve deeper into the topic of social media.

We will continue our relationship with the United Nations to broaden the perspective of urban experience through the third Conference on Sustainable Urbanization, and with the Department of Health to influence policy and practice around matters of health and physical activity in our fifth annual Fit City conference in May. On February 26th and 27th, the Center will showcase architectural selections from Art on Screen, featuring films from Montreal’s FIFA Film Festival. The Center for Architecture joins the Morgan Library & Museum and The New York Public Library as the newest venue for this annual festival.

In October 2010, the year’s theme will culminate with a major exhibition highlighting how architects, engineers, and contractors come together to build the structures and neighborhoods we design. The exhibition will include interactive elements that demonstrate the close collaboration of design and construction teams during the building process, from BIM to curtain wall erection and testing. Hands-on displays will teach young people about skills such as brick laying, pouring concrete, and setting studs.

In prior years the Inaugural Fund has supported major exhibitions including “Going Public” in 2006 and “Architecture Inside/Out” in 2007. Additional theme-related programs: for example, our annual Sustainable Urbanization Conference, and last year’s Greening the Iron Ribbon conference on regional transportation planning and development. We could never achieve the quality of advocacy and design excellence at the Center without the generous support of the Inaugural Fund sponsors. We thank everyone who has contributed in the past and we continue to seek funding for these great annual projects and other program initiatives.

As many of you know, AIA has launched a national campaign for carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030. In New York, we have begun and will continue to advocate for higher standards of energy efficiency. But we need your help. Mayor Bloomberg’s Greater Greener Buildings plan, one of the nation’s biggest efforts to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings, is coming to a vote at City Council as soon as Wed, 12.09.09. Please call your city council member tomorrow morning in support of this landmark suite of bills.

The Chapter understands that, beyond advocacy, architects must understand changes in energy code regulations, and we have presented a number of technical training programs on the new codes. The Chapter’s Committee on the Environment, with the instrumental aid of President-Elect Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP, has developed and implemented a number of Energy Code Training Sessions. Developed in cooperation with the Mayor’s Office, ASHRAE-NY, and the Urban Green Council, these sessions present successful — and sold out — courses on “what the design team needs to know” about energy code changes. Working with the Urban Green Council, the Chapter has just responded to an RFP from NYSERDA to jointly continue these workshops and expand them statewide.

I’m looking forward to a resurgent economy, a stronger and greener Chapter recognized for its intellectual, practical, and imaginative leaders, and creating an AIA New York City that unifies the chapters in all city boroughs in 2010. And I look forward to working with all of you toward these goals.

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