In this issue:
·Policy Report: AIANY Wants to Put the Governor Back in Governors Island
·AIA Partners with Energy Star
·DOB Raises Construction Standards
·Middle School Students Green Their Future
·Demystifying the ARE IV

Policy Report: AIANY Wants to Put the Governor Back in Governors Island
AIANY has signed onto the attached letter drafted by the Governors Island Alliance to Governor Spitzer regarding funding for Governors Island. This letter is timely as the budget-drafting season has begun and the design competition results featured in this summer’s exhibition The Park at the Center of the World: Five Visions for Governors Island at the Center for Architecture are expected in the next couple of months. The Alliance is also drafting a similar letter to Mayor Bloomberg.

AIA Partners with Energy Star
The AIA is an official partner with Energy Star®, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to promote energy efficiency. Formed in 1992, Energy Star has become a household name for labeling office equipment and home appliances. More recently, Energy Star has also begun to label residential and commercial buildings that meet certain efficiency requirements as well.

By signing on as an Energy Star Partner, the AIA will track its own headquarters’ energy performance, update Energy Star on its efficiency progress, develop a plan to improve energy savings, and spread the word regarding energy efficiency and its benefits to AIA members and components, according to AIA’s EVP/CEO Christine McEntee.

In addition, the AIA will continue to support the Energy Star Challenge, a national call-to-action to improve energy efficiency in the nation’s commercial and industrial buildings by at least 10 percent. The AIA will participate in a special Energy Star Challenge for Architects, which will culminate at the 2008 AIA National Convention in Boston. In 2007, 23 firms submitted 32 buildings that earned the Energy Design Intent label.

Visit the Energy Star website for more information on Energy Star Partners or the Energy Star Challenge for Architects.

DOB Raises Construction Standards
Buildings Commissioner Patricia J. Lancaster, FAIA, has given a progress report on the Special Enforcement Plan to raise the bar for construction standards citywide. Announced by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in July, Phase I of the Enforcement Plan outlines measures to form new multidisciplinary enforcement units, focuses resources on identifying and holding repeat offenders accountable, and increases oversight of the professional certification program. Under Phase I of the Enforcement Plan, $6 million was allocated to the Buildings Department to create new staff lines to support the department’s new multidisciplinary enforcement model. Of the 67 enforcement positions, the Buildings Department is still accepting applications for 19 positions as it continues its recruitment drive. For more information, go to the NYC Department of Buildings website.

Middle School Students Green Their Future
By Michelle Dezember, design educator at the Center for Architecture Foundation

A student drafts an idea for a green building using modified LEED guidelines.

Courtesy Michelle Dezember

Event: “Sustaining the City” series for middle school students
Location: The Center for Architecture, 10.06.07 & 10.27.07; The Skyscraper Museum, 10.13.07; The Cloud Institute, 10.20.07
Organizers: Center for Architecture Foundation; openhousenewyork; The Skyscraper Museum; The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
Sponsor: National Endowment for the Arts

In PlanNYC 2030, Mayor Bloomberg emphasizes the need to plan and create a city in which we want our children to live 25 years from now. “Sustaining the City” was a collaborative program hosted by the Center for Architecture Foundation, openhousenewyork, The Skyscraper Museum, and The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education that challenged middle school students to dictate their own future and play a part in creating awareness about environmentally sustainable building design.

Every Saturday in October a group of eight 10-14-year-olds explored the needs of large buildings and how to minimize their environmental impact. In addition to receiving in-depth tours of each institution, students took a private tour of the Battery Park City Authority’s The Solaire, traced the life cycles of sustainable and non-sustainable buildings, and studied architectural design. The program culminated in each student creating a model containing sustainable methods and materials. Projects incorporated green roofs, considered alternative transportation (i.e. bike storage), and integrated energy conservation and efficiency. Some students were interested in creating solar panels, or even harnessing wind and water as energy sources with wind turbines and greywater systems.

The main challenge the students faced was not only attempting to design functional buildings, but also to meet as many of the standards found on a modified LEED checklist. “Designing and building the building was very, very hard,” commented one of the budding architects. “I learned about green building. I have never seen or heard of one before.” Most students found themselves struggling with challenges similar to those architects face in designing green structures. But in the end participants were proud to present their models to their parents, who were arguably the proudest members in the room.

Demystifying the ARE IV
Due to popular demand, the Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) Committee and the Round Table Committee have scheduled another session to discuss challenges and anxieties about the licensing exams. The panel on 11.28.07 will feature Roberta Washington, FAIA, and Margot Woolley, AIA, members of the NY State Board for Architecture Registration; former board member Sarelle Weisberg, FAIA, will moderate. Click the link for more information and to RSVP.