In this issue:
– SAVE THE DATES: 2007 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards Celebrations
– Students Converge for Day in the Field

SAVE THE DATES: 2007 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards Celebrations

2007 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards Celebrations

04.11.07 Design Awards Luncheon for Award Recipients and their clients
04.12.07 Design Awards Exhibition Opening at the Center for Architecture

Students Converge for Day in the Field
By Onur Ekmekci

Event: AIAS Convergence Meet and Greet
Location: Center for Architecture, 02.24.07
Speakers: Winners of the New Practice Showcase, a competition sponsored by the AIA New Practice Roundtable Committee
Organizers: AIAS City College of New York; Cornell University; New York Institute of Technology
Sponsors: AIA NYS; AIANY; Cornell University; City College of New York

CCNY students celebrate AIAS Convergence: NYC. (l-r): Ruth Romero, Juan Gomez, Eric Scandlon, Yuriy Tkachenko, Mubeen Ahmad, Yuliya Ilizarov, Romell Gordillo, Carolina Cristancho, Johanna Prieto.

Onur Ekmecki

Participating in Convergence events, SHoP gives a firm tour.

Lisa Wan

With panel discussions, firm visits, and a party at Thor, students from Cornell University, City College of NY, NY Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Syracuse University convened February 24 to socialize, network, and discover the field of architecture at this year’s Convergence: NYC.

Thirteen firms participated in this event by giving tours, opening doors to the future generation of architects. Firms included: Dattner Architects, REX, Mancini Duffy, Diller Scofidio+Renfro, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Perkins+Will, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, Rafael Viñoly Architects, Grimshaw Architects, FLANK, HOK, SHoP, and FXFOWLE Architects. Representatives presented their firms’ works in detail, answering questions about projects, working environments, and employment.

The panel discussion, “Architecture: The New Practice,” moderated by Nino Hewitt of LEVEL Architecture, featured winners of the New Practices Showcase, a competition sponsored by the New Practice Roundtable. Matthew Bremer, AIA, of Architecture In Formation, Dan Wood, AIA, of Work Architecture Company, and Marc Clemenceau Bailly of Gage/Clemenceau Architects presented their work. Topics at the Q&A session ranged from how they started their practices (all of the panelists started their practices four years ago), and general challenges of their practices, to hiring processes. Questions addressed ideal firm size (all agreed between 15 and 40 employees), and the role of architect versus the developer (all agreed the two roles should remain separate).

The success of the event was not only in the fact that three times the number of students participated this year compared with last, but that students felt they had a new understanding of the field and their peers.

Onur Ekmekci is an architecture student at City College of New York.