In this issue:
·Two Years Later: AIA National Still Contributes to Katrina Relief
·Thinking Outside the IDP Box
·OHNY Opens Doors This October

Two Years Later: AIA National Still Contributes to Katrina Relief
Marking the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the AIA unveiled a proposal to reform the Stafford Act, the key law that provides for federal relief to states and localities after a disaster. Under this proposal, federal emergency funds would be provided for temporary and transitional housing.

In addition, the AIA, along with the engineering and contracting industries, is continuing its efforts to enact a federal Good Samaritan statute. In April, Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) introduced legislation, H.R.2067, to provide licensed architects with qualified immunity from liability in times of a declared emergency or disaster. The AIA worked closely with Reichert and his staff to draft this bill.

For more information on the AIA’s disaster assistance resources, visit the Communities by Design website.

Thinking Outside the IDP Box
By Carolyn Sponza, AIA, AIANY Vice President of Professional Development

Announced earlier this summer, the National Council on Architectural Registration Board (NCARB) has made a number of important changes to its Intern Development Program (IDP) policies, notably exam timing. The AIANY Chapter’s Professional Practice and Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) Committees, with the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), will jointly hold a panel discussion at the Center for Architecture on September 14 called IDP: Inside Out to help acquaint interns and architects about these changes and how they can affect the path to licensure. A special focus will be placed on current implementation in New York State.

Panelists will include NYS IDP Coordinator Thom Penn, AIA, and Regional Associate Director Shanntina Moore, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, who will represent Cannon Design , the 2006 IDP Firm of the Year. The panel is organized in association with the exhibition arch schools: r(each)ing out, on view at the Center through October 19.

This seminar has been designed as the first in a series of discussions geared towards students, recent graduates, and emerging professionals who may have been enrolled in IDP for a number of years. A future session that will address the questions of IDP mentors and supervisors is also in the works.

OHNY Opens Doors This October
openhousenewyork (OHNY) will celebrate its fifth annual OHNY Weekend this October 6 and 7. Free access will be provided to nearly 200 sites of architecture and design significance throughout the five boroughs, including many usually closed to the public, as well as nearly 150 tours, talks, performances, and family activities and workshops. The Center for Architecture will again serve as the OHNY Welcome Center. All site and program information will be available online on September 28. Guides will also be distributed at key venues throughout the city and in the September 28 city edition of The New York Times.

Some of the new and returning sites include: the High Line; Morgan Library & Museum; 7 WTC; Chrysler Building; United Nations; and an MTA Substation. In addition, AIANY’s Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) Committee competitions program is hosting two sites — Southpoint, the abandoned ruins of the Renwick-designed smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island and site of the 2006 ENYA competition, and the new biennial competition location, to be announced in September.

Anticipating upwards of 100,000 visitors, OHNY is offering two ways for you and a guest to bypass the lines. One is to volunteer, assisting tour guides and building owners on-site, supervising visitor admission, greeting the public, and answering queries about OHNY. For more information, e-mail volunteer@ohny.org. The other way is to purchase one of three types of commemorative tickets (ranging in price from $150-$250). For more information or to purchase tickets, please click here.