In this issue:
·CES Events Free for Members
·AIANY Welcomes New Director of Programs
·AIAS Finalists Rest Their Chairs in D.C.
·Builders Scrap Construction Carbon
·Standard 189 Now Open for Public Comment
·Website Launches for Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

CES Events Free for Members
The AIANY Membership Services Committee is pleased to announce that AIA Members may now attend CES programs FREE! Beginning June 1, for a 6-month trial basis, AIANY is offering CES programs free to members while the non-member rate will be raised to $20. Visit the AIANY calendar to see what the organization has been planning to help you fulfill your Continuing Education needs.

AIANY Welcomes New Director of Programs
AIANY welcomes Beth Stryker as its new Director of Programs at the Center for Architecture. In addition to her work as Director of Programs, Beth will oversee the development of the Public Information Exchange (PIE), a permanent, interactive, multimedia installation on planning and architectural projects and urban issues across the five boroughs.

Beth received her MArch from Princeton University, and is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program. Her work has been exhibited at the Wexner Center for the Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Walker Art Center, among others. She is a past NYFA fellow, and was previously a principal in Utensil Art + Design studio.

AIAS Finalists Rest Their Chairs in D.C.

Andrew Rudolph and Travis Withers — University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Third Place ($1,000).

Courtesy AIAS

Six finalists in the 2007 Chair Affair, sponsored by the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) and managed by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), will be displayed at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., July 18-23. The finalists were selected from a record 176 entries, submitted by teams or individuals representing 56 universities and colleges.

The Chair Affair competition challenges architecture students to design chairs using corrugated board and glue. The winning chair, designed by a group of Cornell University students, provides public seating and could easily be visualized in an airport setting. The other five finalists cover a wide range of designs that demonstrate corrugated versatility. The winners can be viewed on the competition website.

Builders Scrap Construction Carbon
Architecture and design firm Mithun, along with landscape architects at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas, is making it easier for developers, builders, architects, and land planners to measure the carbon output of construction projects. In April, the two groups launched BuildCarbonNeutral.com, an online carbon calculator that tallies the amount of carbon dioxide released when transporting building materials to the construction site, and the amount of carbon released due to ecosystem degradation at the site. The carbon emissions associated with the construction process of a new building represents 13-18% of a building’s total embodied carbon, according to the United Environmental Programme. For landscape projects, the construction process accounts for 100% of the project’s embodied carbon.

Constructing new buildings and sites with the least possible environmental impact involves three important steps: reduce, renew, and offset. Offsetting means calculating the project’s carbon footprint so it can be balanced by funding resources or activities like renewable energy and land protection — resources that benefit and protect the planet. By using the calculator, designers can see how they might reduce their carbon footprint throughout site selection and design development, and the amount of carbon offsets their clients would need to purchase in order to negate the construction process.

Standard 189 Now Open for Public Comment
Standard 189, a proposed new standard that will provide minimum guidelines for green building practices, is nearly complete and has been released for public review and comment. Comments will be accepted through July 9, 2007 online. The standard is being developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and USGBC, and will be the first of its kind in the United States.

Website Launches for Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth
San Francisco-based architect Richard Gage, AIA, founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, announced the official launch of the group’s website. Gage, along with dozens of other architecture and engineering professionals, have signed a petition that questions official reports about the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) Twin Towers and Building 7 on 9/11 and calls for a new investigation. Gage, who suspects that the towers may have been destroyed with explosives rather than plane impact and fire, says he expects the website to also serve as a vehicle for ongoing research into the causes of the destruction of all 3 WTC high-rise buildings that day.

Gage’s presentation includes several different lines of evidence for his case, from analyses of the collapse to over 100 reports by first responders and the media of explosions at the scene. Gage also extensively covers the findings of chemical and physical evidence from Utah-based physicist Dr. Steven Jones, a physics professor formerly from Brigham Young University whose demolition hypothesis led to his appearance on MSNBC and many news articles. Jones’s continuing chemical and physical analysis of the WTC steel and dust has revealed what he claims is the signature of thermate, a high-performance incendiary cutter charge. Gage describes a key piece of evidence in support of Dr. Jones’s theory — the reports by a number of individuals, including the structural engineer of the WTC and the FDNY, of molten metal “flowing like lava” in the rubble pile during the weeks following 9/11.

The new website features a full presentation by Gage, both as a PowerPoint and a video, along with a discussion forum, the recently leaked WTC North Tower blueprints, ongoing publication of technical articles, and a broad range of multi-media offerings.