eOCULUS 12.05.05

Editor's note: RFP today; there are slight changes in Oculus magazine's 2006 editorial calendar; Gehry held court at the Center…and so much more. Read on!

Chapter Rebuts Post Attack on WTC Memorial Scheme
Editor's note: A version of this letter was, unfortunately, not printed in the New York Post on Saturday, 12/3 with other letters responding to an article by Steve Cuozzo criticizing the WTC Memorial by Chapter members Michael Arad, AIA, and Max Bond, FAIA.

John C. Whitehead
Founding Chairman
WTC Memorial Foundation
1 Liberty Plaza, 20th floor
New York, New York 10006

I write today on behalf of the Board of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and our 4,000 architect and public members in New York to say that "Reflecting Absence," created by Michael Arad, AIA, and Peter Walker, FASLA, makes sense.

The design architects, working with Max Bond, FAIA, have forged a memorial concept which dedicates, consecrates, and hallows a reasonable portion of the World Trade Center site under seven of the sixteen acres.

Their design, when constructed, will mark the sacred ground where almost 3,000 people perished, while creating a living memorial that helps bring renewed life to Ground Zero and Lower Manhattan. The descent to bedrock, the walls of water, the names of those who died, the quiet place of remembrance at the base, and the planted grove on an accessible public plaza, these features together define a simple, sincere, and straightforward place.

This memorial will be a fitting public space where family members, New York residents, and visitors from around the world can come together to remember and respect.

We look forward to seeing (and hosting) further public presentations about the memorial to better understand any remaining open issues including how people arrive, wait, and move in and out of the spaces to be created.

Again, thanks to you and your colleagues on the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation.

(For those reading eOculus via email, please note that clicking on a link in the Table of Contents may open this issue in your Web browser).

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

RFP for WTC Memorial and Memorial Museum Construction Management/General Contractor Services
Today (December 5), the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, in cooperation with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Construction Management/General Contractor Services for the Memorial and Memorial Museum. A pre-proposal conference will be held on December 14, 9:00am, at the Foundation's offices, 1 Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor. Questions must be submitted in writing no later than December 22; RFP deadline: January 10, 2006. Click link for details.

International Building Code Administrative and Plumbing provisions Signed into Law
by Rick Bell, FAIA

(l-r): Patricia J. Lancaster, FAIA, Commissioner, Buildings Department; Councilmember David I. Weprin; Mayor Bloomberg; Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. (partially hidden); Councilmember Madeline T. Provenzano; Matthew Sapolin, Exec. Dir. Mayors Office for People with Disabilities
Rick Bell

On Thursday, December 1, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed into law the administrative and plumbing provisions of the International Building Code, thereby enacting the beginning of the phased adoption of a model building code for New York City. Saying that she has done a "spectacular job—and will be around for the next four years," the Mayor particularly commended Buildings Department Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, FAIA, along with Councilmember Madeline Provenzano, chair of the City Council's Housing & Buildings Committee, describing their leadership and vision needed to see this complicated task through to the recent unanimous approval vote by all 51 City Council members. He also thanked the over 400 volunteer professionals, including architects, engineers, industry, and labor representatives involved in the technical analysis and consensus building process. Commissioner Lancaster had the last word, thanking her staff and the volunteers involved in the code re-write: "You've altered the course of the City's future."

Frank Gehry chatting (and laughing it up) with Patti Hagan of Develop—Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Makrand Bhoot

"This is one of the toughest projects I've confronted in my entire life," said Frank Gehry, FAIA, referring to Forest City Ratner Companies' (FCRC) Atlantic Yards project at a standing-room-only presentation at the Center for Architecture on November 22. Gehry, James Stuckey, FCRC Executive Vice President for Community and Residential Development, and landscape architect Laurie Olin, FASLA, proudly debuted the latest rendition for the redevelopment of the blighted Atlantic Yards and adjacent properties in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Gehry made it clear that the project continues to be a work in progress.

In addition to building an arena that will seat 19,000 for the Nets basketball team, (owned by FCRC president and CEO Bruce Ratner), the 21-acre, $3.5 billion project will include a hotel, 7,300 units of housing, 628,000 square feet of office space, 3,900 below-grade parking spaces, retail, outdoor cafes, and approximately three acres of landscaped public space.

Of the 7,300 housing units in buildings variously clad in glass, metal, and brick, 2,800 will be condos and 4,500 will be rentals—50% will be available at market rate, 50% at affordable rates for middle income residents, 10% of which will be reserved for seniors.

What do you do when genius crosses your path? Genius tends to leave a mess in its wake, complicating life for us non-geniuses. The easiest responses—the Scylla of hagiography and the Charybdis of resentful debunking—are rarely subtle, fair, or interesting.

Frank Lloyd Wright, in particular, didn't go too far out of his way to make things easy for his collaborators and followers. In presentations at the Center for Architecture on November 15, sponsored by the Structural Engineering Association of New York, engineer Robert Silman, PE, and architect Edgar Tafel, FAIA, shared their experiences in Wright's shadow. Silman has repaired structural problems in some of Wright's greatest buildings; Tafel, a Taliesin Fellow in the 1930s, recounted a career's worth of unique experience. The joint portrait of Wright combined respect, wit, and at times poignancy.

In accepting commissions to shore up Wright's buildings, Silman was handling a sharp double-edged sword without gloves. "When somebody calls your office," he explained, "and says 'Would you like to work on a building?' and the building is designated as the best all-time work of American architecture, you have two reactions. You say, 'Damn! Of course I want to do it.' And then you say, 'Wow, what if I screw up?' It's the last thing in the world I want to be known for, as the guy who destroyed the best all-time work of American architecture." His firm, Robert Silman Associates, was up to the challenge, though. Quantitative analyses and creative brainstorming yielded ways to counteract the effects of time with minimal change to Wright's designs.

Fallingwater was a dramatic case: the crack in the master terrace reflected not so much the ravages of time as a grievous engineering oversight—ameliorated by the discreet addition of reinforcement by the original contractors, as radar studies confirmed, but not enough to prevent a staggeringly high stress on the concrete or to dispel doubts about the building's safety. Post-tensioning saved the day, and Silman's recounting of the process had listeners catching their breath. The next challenge will be the Guggenheim's gunite, cracked from thermal movement and evidently applied in ways Wright found faulty; whatever Silman and colleagues decide to do, we await another excellent story in a few years.

Edgar Tafel executes a demanding balancing act, doing homage to his mentor through writings, lectures, and preservation activities while also maintaining his own practice, extending the organic principles of Taliesin. As solid as his accomplishments are, he is recognized primarily for his close association with Wright. He is at peace with this position, while justifiably proud of his own work.

New Dutch Architecture & Planning on the Waterfront
by Rayna Huber Erlich
Project Manager, Nautilus International Development Consulting, Inc.

Billboard-sized inflatable "cow on the horizon" in the Netherlands
West 8

Birds-eye view of The Battery
The Battery Conservancy

Recalling New York's heritage as New Amsterdam, the first annual "5 Dutch Days 5 Boroughs" celebration took place last month with events around New York City. At the Center for Architecture on November 17, Dutch and American architects, designers, and planners came together for a discussion of current waterfront architecture and planning. The event was co-sponsored by the AIA NY Chapter International Committee and the APA NY Metro Chapter Waterfront Committee (APA-WC), and supported by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The panelists included: Martin Biewenga, Partner, West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Rotterdam; Ruurd Gietema, Partner, KCAP architects + planners, Rotterdam; Bonnie Harken, president of NY-based Nautilus International Development Consulting, Inc. and co-chair of the APA-WC; Warrie Price, founder and president of The Battery Conservancy; and moderator Robert Balder, director at Gensler and co-chair of the APA-WC.

Big Box Boom & Bust: The Architecture and Policy of Contemporary Large-Scale Retail
by Damon Rich
Creative Director, Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)

The Spam Museum, a converted K-Mart in Austin, Minnesota
Julia Christensen

Big Box stores have long been a fixture of the suburban American landscape, and recently have begun to appear in urban centers including our own New York City. The November 1 session of the ongoing Engaging the City (ETC) lecture series brought together an artist and a policy analyst who both study these large built forms.

Julia Christensen, an artist currently exploring the adaptive reuse of Big Box stores across the country, presented documentation of her ongoing research. From the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota, housed in a former K-Mart, to Penellas Park, Florida's Calvary Chapel, built out of a former Wal-Mart, she discussed the strange adjacencies born of the interaction between abandoned national chain stores and local communities.

Anmol Chaddha, a policy researcher at NYU's Brennan Center for Justice, filled out Christensen's evidence of the physical aftereffects of the Big Box with an overview of economic and labor repercussions of this style of shopping. Chaddha focused on Wal-Mart's recent moves into urban markets, and criticized the company's "targeting low-income communities and communities of color by manipulating rhetoric around racial exclusion and racial inequality."

For architects, the discussion raised important questions. How do we as designers play a role in the large corporate place-making techniques of companies like Wal-Mart? How should our designs take into account issues that go beyond architecture—including labor practices, sprawl, public investment, and the global supply chain? Hopefully, continued discussions to correlate design and policy will contribute to some good answers.

Engaging the City is a monthly lecture series that explores the extraordinary complexity of contemporary cities in novel ways. Lecturers come from the fields of architecture, urban planning, and urban design, but also public policy, public art, philosophy, film, and journalism. The series is organized by the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), Interboro, Daniela Fabricius, and Jacqueline Miro-Abreu. To subscribe to the ETC email list, send a request to info@anothercupdevelopment.org.

IN THE NEWS + NEW DEADLINES

Extended Registration Deadline December 18: Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation—The Roosevelt Island Universal Arts Center International Ideas Competition
AIA NY Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) has extended the registration deadline for its second biennial international ideas competition, Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation, to December 18. The competition is open to young and emerging designers; submission deadline remains January 13, 2006. Click on link for details.

Deadline December 15: Redevelopment Projects Display Boards for Rochester, NY, Exhibition
The Rochester Regional Community Design Center (.pdf) and AIA Rochester have extended the deadline for submissions of display boards that illustrate successful redevelopment projects around the country that demonstrate excellent public realm design. The exhibit intends to educate citizens of Rochester region about the role of the public realm in revitalizing and sustaining communities. Projects can include those in the conceptual or in-progress stage, or implemented within the last 20 years. Inquiries about bringing the exhibit to other communities are also welcome. Click on link for details.

Deadline January 13: Call for Nominations: 2006 Barrier-Free America Award
Each year the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) honors an individual for his/her outstanding contribution towards a barrier-free environment and for the difference that person has made through a particular project in achieving a barrier-free environment with a Barrier-Free Award (.pdf). Past recipients include: Rick Bell, FAIA, for leading the AIA NY Chapter's efforts in its immediate and sustained response to the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan; Ed Uhlir, FAIA, project manager, Millennium Park; Cesar Pelli, FAIA, for the accessible architecture of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; and Bob Vila, for his ongoing efforts to increase public awareness of accessible home design. Click link for a nomination form.

Deadline January 14: Calls for Entries: IESNY 2006 Lumen Awards
The Lumen Awards, sponsored by the New York Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNY), is part of the International Illumination Design Awards program, sponsored by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). The awards publicly recognize excellence, professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design. Any architectural lighting design project or specialty lighting design effect is eligible; winners will be feted at the Lumen Gala in June 2006. Click on link for details.

Registration Deadline January 20: 2006 Burnham Prize: Learning from North Lawndale—Defining the Urban Neighborhood in the 21st Century
The Burnham Prize, sponsored by the Chicago Architectural Club is an international biennial competition open to young architects and architectural graduates under the age of 40. This year's competition, Learning from North Lawndale: Defining the Urban Neighborhood in the 21st Century, focuses on architectural issues critical to Chicago but have national and international resonance. The deadline for questions regarding the site is December 14. The lead architect from one of five finalists will receive an extended fellowship at the American Academy in Rome in Fall 2006. Click on link for details.

Deadline January 31, 2006: Congress for the New Urbanism 2006 Charter Awards
The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) has issued a call for submissions for its annual Charter Awards. The awards honor exceptional designs that complement, enhance, or even repair their built and natural environments. Professional and student/faculty entries will be accepted in three categories: Region: Metropolis, City and Town; Neighborhood, District, and Corridor; and Block, Street, and Building. Click on link for details.

Deadline March 1, 2006: 2006–2007 James Stirling Memorial Lecture on the City Competition
The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) is calling for submissions for the 2nd biannual James Stirling Memorial Lecture on the City. A collaboration between the CCA and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Cities Programme, the competition seeks to promote innovative approaches to urban phenomena and to reposition architecture at the center of debates on the city of the 21st century. Proposals for research projects that provoke critical as well as theoretical debate are welcome. The winner will present a public lecture in Montreal and London, and receive a cash award and travel expenses. Click on link for details.

Changes in Oculus 2006 Editorial Calendar
We have not changed themes for Oculus 2006, but the Summer and Fall themes have changed places; Summer is now "Architecture as Public Policy," and Fall is "Infrastructure New York." See Deadlines listings below for complete calendar and submission deadlines.

Goshow Architects: Flight 587 Memorial Plaza, Hostos Community College

Goshow ArchitectsAs part of Goshow Architects' ongoing design and adaptive reuse work with Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College in the south Bronx, a former closed courtyard will be transformed into a public Memorial Plaza that pays tribute to the victims of both American Airlines Flight 587 that crashed on November 12, 2001, as well as to those who perished on 9/11. Many of the passengers were of Dominican descent and came from the Morrissania district where community college is located. A 40-foot granite waterwall containing the names of the victims will be the centerpiece of the public garden. The swirling pattern of low, curved walls, inspired by detailing in the existing perimeter fence and reminiscent of leaves and tree branches, will be echoed in the design of the plaza to incorporate seating, open lawn space, plants, and the waterwall. Construction began November 10 and is expected to be completed in November 2006.

Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership: Children's Museum of the East End, Bridgehampton

Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design PartnershipAfter more than a decade of planning, Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership can now see the results of its architecture and exhibit design: kids enjoying the Children's Museum of the East End (CMEE) in Bridgehampton, Long Island. The $5 million, 14,000-square-foot museum, which opened October 8, is located on 12 acres of land donated by actor/author Alan Alda and his wife Arlene. Interactive exhibits targeted towards children 12 and under about local history, natural science, and arts cover 3,600 square feet of the museum. Visitors approach CMEE via a raised wooden boardwalk, threading carefully through a wetland and woodland environment. Inside is an entire village containing a windmill and lighthouse, as well as replicas of Long Island surroundings, including seashore, wetlands, farms, and forests.

Native Son John Belle Returns to Wales to Design a Tropical Conservatory

John Belle/National Botanic Garden of WalesJohn Belle, FAIA, RIBA, founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, recently unveiled his design for a new tropical conservatory to be built inside the 18th-century Double Walled Garden in the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. Situated on the 568-acre Middleton Estate, with a history that goes back some 400 years, the Botanic Garden opened its doors to the public in May 2000 as a Millennium Commission, and was the first new national garden to be established in Britain for 200 years. Belle, who hails from Pontcanna, Cardiff (he's an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales), said, "It's wonderful for me to reconnect with my roots by designing this Tropical Conservatory, which is all about the connection between the world of plants and the world of buildings and spaces." The project, for which Belle donated his services, will be completed by summer of 2007.

Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos Designs Glass Condos in Tribeca

dboxA block-long, pre-Civil War manufacturing building in Tribeca known as One York Street is being gutted and transformed into modern luxury condos with a 14-story central glass tower designed by Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos. Floating above the building's original rooftop will be 15 glass-enclosed penthouses on seven floors with wraparound terraces or expansive balconies; 25 units will be located within the original building. (Norten is also designing a custom bathroom sink and vanity for the units.) Condos will range from 850 square feet to 3,160 square feet and priced from $1 million to $15 million. The building will also house 9,000 square feet of retail space, 14,000 square feet of office space, and an automated parking garage. Richard Bienenfeld/Design Collaborative Architecture + Planning is the executive architect for the project being developed by Stanley Perelman/JANI Real Estate. The building is scheduled for occupancy in late 2006.

Holl Takes Two in Europe: Cité du Surf et de l' Océan, Biarritz, and Herning Center of the Arts, Denmark

Cité du Surf et de l'Océan
Steven Holl ArchitectsBiarritz, the popular French resort town on the Bay of Biscay will be the home to Cité du Surf et de l'Océan, a new museum designed by Steven Holl Architects in collaboration with artist (and the architect's wife) Solange Fabião. The museum will build upon the city's reputation as an international surfing destination and will explore educational and scientific aspects of the surf and sea, and their role upon leisure, science, and ecology. The project is composed of a museum building, plaza, and exhibition areas located on 3,800 meters within a master plan site of 22,600 meters. The building's concave "under the sky" shape forms the character of the main exterior space and central plaza, while the convex structural ceiling forms the "under the sea" exhibition spaces. Completion is expected by the end of 2007. The winning design was selected following an international design competition which named four other finalists including: Enric Miralles/Benedetta Tagliabue (EMBT), Brochet Lajus Pueyo, Bernard Tschumi, and Jean-Michel Willmotte.

Herning Center of the Arts
Steven Holl ArchitectsThe firm also won the competition to design the Herning Center of the Arts, which will house the Herning Art Museum, the MidWest Ensemble, and the Socle du Monde. It is expected that the combination of these three institutions will add to their international profiles and the synergy between their visual art and music programs, and be a driving cultural force for the region of central Jutland, Denmark. The Center includes permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, a 300-seat auditorium, music rehearsal rooms, a restaurant, a media library, and administrative offices. The design incorporates "green" roof technology, a geothermal HVAC system, and grey water recycling. Four international firms were selected for the final competition: CUBO Architects, Keith Williams Architects, Snøhetta, and 3 x Nielsen.

Magnusson Architecture and Planning: The Sutton Mixed-Income Co-op, Harlem

Magnusson Architecture and PlanningGround was broken recently for The Sutton, a 12-story, 135-unit mixed-income Harlem residential project that is the first of three new buildings in the City's Bradhurst Urban Renewal Plan. Designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, and associate design architect ABS, the $40 million project on West 147 Street will offer the first affordable cooperative apartments resulting from a new lending program of New York City. The developers are Duvernay + Brooks, specialists in urban revitalization, in association with Penrose Properties. The team was selected by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement. Combining market-rate and affordable units, the family-oriented building will contain a variety of two- and three-bedroom apartments, and some 20% will have terraces or balconies. Other features will include underground parking for 44 cars, 24-hour security, a fitness center, community room, a landscaped courtyard, and approximately 3,500 square feet of retail space. Completion is slated for fall 2006.

The City of New York and Housing and Urban Development Partner to Create Affordable Housing
The Bloomberg Administration and HUD have agreed to restore up to 360 one-to three-family homes that are owned by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in distressed communities. The City and its nonprofit partners plan to purchase federally owned properties and turn them into homes for low-income families. Starting in early 2006, Restored Homes will buy 60 properties they have identified from HUD. The money raised from selling these homes will help to subsidize the acquisition and rehabilitation of the 300 homes in the Asset Control Area, which includes Bedford Stuyvesant, East New York, Bushwick, and Cypress Hills (Brooklyn), Jamaica (Queens), and the North West Bronx. Beginning n mid-2006, HUD will sell up to 150 Asset Control Areas homes per year for two years to Restored Homes for 50% of their value. Restored Homes will then have 18 to 24 months to rehabilitate, market, and sell homes to qualified homebuyers who must become owner-occupants.

Friends of the Trenton Bath House: Someone to Watch Over Louis Kahn's Legacy
In 1970, Louis Kahn told the New York Times that the world may have discovered him after he completed the Richards Medical Building at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960, but that "I discovered myself after designing that little concrete block bath house in Trenton." The current owner, the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley, is planning to sell the property in Ewing, NJ, which includes Kahn's Trenton Bath House (1955) and Day Camp (1957). While both structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a local preservation ordinance, neither designation guarantees engaged stewardship or even a minimal level of upkeep. A new advocacy organization, Friends of the Trenton Bath House, was founded in November to keep tabs on the two gems and keep them in the public eye so they won't be lost. Founder Susan G. Solomon, author of "Louis I. Kahn's Jewish Community Center," chairs the organization, along with honorary co-chairs Peter Eisenman, FAIA, and Robert Venturi, FAIA. Click on link for more information.

Names in the News
Peter Eisenman, FAIA, Bernard Tschumi, AIA, and Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, will be awarded an International Fellowship by the Council of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), alongside Shigeru Ban, Massimiliano Fuksas, Wolf Prix, in London on February 13; each is accorded the privilege of using Int FRIBA after their name… Joseph Hagerman, Columbia University graduate student in civil engineering and winner of Metropolis Magazine's 2005 Next Generation Award, was named the 2005 Rafael Viñoly Research Fellow and will be in residence at RVA until September 2006 researching green roofs.

AROUND THE AIA

AIA150: Call for Legacy Projects

The AIA's Sesquicentennial will be held in 2007. As part of that effort, components of the Institute have been asked to develop "Legacy" projects—initiatives that will give back to our community and help prepare us for the next 150 years. If you have ideas for activities that the New York Chapter can do over the next three years to further these goals, please talk to one of the Chapter's 23 committee chairs about how a committee can propose your suggestions for AIA150. Click AIA150 for more information.

2006 Nominating Committee Announced
We are pleased to announce that Bruce Fowle, FAIA, Theodore Liebman, FAIA, Calvin Tsao, AIA, and Claire Weisz, AIA, were elected by recent ballot and will serve, along with 2005 President Susan Chin, FAIA, as the 2006 Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee is responsible, in accordance with Chapter Bylaws, for filling vacancies on the Chapter Board of Directors, selecting new members for the Chapter's four elective committees (Fellows, Finance, Honors, Oculus), and for appointing one member of the Center for Architecture Foundation Board of Trustees. All terms of service for these appointees will begin January 2007. The selections of the Nominating Committee will be announced at the Chapter's 2006 Annual Meeting to be held in late June.

Any Chapter member who is interested in serving on the Chapter or Foundation Boards or on one of the elective committees should contact Stephen Suggs at 212.358.6119 or suggs@aiany.org for further information. The nominating committee will begin meeting as soon as possible.

ON VIEW

At the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place:

Elsewhere:

eCALENDAR
eCalendar now includes the information that used to be found in eOculus' Around the Center, Around the AIA, and Around Town sections. Click the above link to go to to eCalendar on the Web.

DEADLINES

Oculus 2006 Editorial Calendar
Ideas/Submissions Deadlines (projects can be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based). Contact: Kristen Richards kristen@ArchNewsNow.com.
December 20: Spring: Beyond Manhattan
March 20: Summer: Architecture as Public Policy
June 20: Fall: Infrastructure New York
September 20: Winter: The Business of Practice

December 15: Call for exhibit boards: Design in the Public Realm; AIA Rochester/Rochester Regional Community Design Center (.pdf)

January 10, 2006: Request for Proposals (RFP): WTC Memorial and Memorial Museum Construction Management/General Contractor Services

AIA New York Chapter Membership Report—November 2005

Membership renewal notices are out for Architect, Associate, and Emeritus members. Please let Suzanne Mecs know if you have not received yours: 212.358.6115, smecs@aiany.org. Renewals are due by January 15, 2006.

Architecture Firm Principals please be sure you or a member of your marketing team reply by December 15, 2005 to the Firm Directory Listing Questionnaire which was mailed out about two weeks ago. Firms that were listed in the 2004/2005 directory can view and update their information from our website at: aiany.org/members/. New firms can also submit information there. If you have trouble with the web interface, please use the paper form and return it to Dawson Publications.

Center for Architecture Corporate Members your firm listing information is also due for the Professional Services Section of the Directory by December 15, 2005; only paper forms are available.

CLASSIFIEDS

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NEW YEAR, NEW JOB!
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Resume, work samples, salary requirements, references to jobs@handelarchitects.com

The Municipal Art Society Planning Center seeks a Senior Planner
The Senior Planner is generally responsible for advancing the mission of the Planning Center by providing technical assistance to communities; advocating with elected officials, city agencies, MAS committees, community groups and community boards; researching issues of relevance; writing testimony, articles, editorials and other persuasive materials; establishing partnerships with like-minded groups; providing advice and support to other Planning Center staff; monitoring progress of existing projects; conceptualizing new projects; and assisting the Director of the Planning Center as needed and requested.

Requirements: Advanced degree in Urban Planning or relevant field, at least two years work experience in planning or planning-related field, familiarity with New York City government, GIS training and capability, interest in community planning, excellent communication skills

Salary dependent on experience and qualifications. Standard benefits, then some.

Send cover letter and résumé to Eve Baron, Acting Director, MAS Planning Center, 457 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022, or ebaron@mas.org.

Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF), an award-winning architectural, planning, and interior design firm, is opening an office in New York City and is seeking an entrepreneurial Marketing Director for this exciting venture. The Marketing Director will be responsible for directing marketing activities of the New York office, coordinating local public relations activities, and contributing to the firm's awareness of its markets locally, regionally, and nationally. Working in conjunction with New York-based design and management leadership, and a national marketing team, the selected individual will identify, and develop relationships with, prospective clients, thereby extending partners' activities in this area. At least 5-7 years of applicable experience is required, along with excellent communication and organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work on multiple tasks and deadlines. Extensive experience with clients and consultants in New York and northeastern US is critical.

Please do not contact ZGF directly. Call or submit resume to: Sharlene Silverman, The Coxe Group, T 818.986.8898 ssilverman@coxegroup.com

LMDC seeks Director for Performing Arts Center Project
Orchestrates all aspects of the Performing Arts Center project, working with the City and State of New York and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. Coordinates the development of the Performing Arts Center facility from schematic design through development, construction and ongoing operations. Supports and collaborates with selected institutions to shape the programming, governance and budgetary development of the Performing Arts Center. Advocates for development of the Performing Arts Center Project throughout the city, state, and country. Formulates and designs the guiding principles and procedures for Performing Arts Center development. Works with LMDC senior staff, Board Working Groups, partner agencies, Foundation staff, architects, engineers, and consultants to develop and refine design and operational plans. Represents the LMDC in presenting Performing Arts Center plans at public information forums. Manages allocation of LMDC funds to selected institutions. Drafts RFP/RFQs as needed and required. Develops, manages, and monitors all Subrecipient agreements, contracts, timelines and work schedules ensuring efforts are effectively coordinated. Reviews budgets and expenses submitted by Subrecipients/contractors for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with HUD and LMDC guidelines.

Skills Required: Excellent management, interpersonal and presentation skills; Ability to multi-task and to work well in a high-level, high-profile environment; Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills; Excellent oral and written communication skills; Experience on large-scale arts and cultural projects; Existing network of contacts in the arts; Knowledge of performing arts facilities; Ability to coordinate design plans with multiple agencies

Education and Experience: A Bachelor of Arts Degree is required and a Master's degree or equivalent is preferred (preferably in a relevant field). Experience managing and leading large-scale projects is preferred.

Cover letter and resume to: Employment, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, 1 Liberty Plaza 20th Floor, New York, New York 10006, employment@renewnyc.com, Fax 212-962-2431

AIA Contract Documents
The American Institute of Architects has Released Twelve New Contract Documents
New Documents Include a Design-Build Family, Six New Standard Forms of Architects' Services Documents, and a Request for Information (RFI) Form
For more information click here.

Paper Documents
The AIA New York Chapter is a full-service distributor of AIA Contract Documents, which are the most widely used standard form contracts in the building industry. These comprehensive contracts have been prepared by the AIA with the input of contractors, attorneys, architects, and engineers. Typically, industry professionals and home/property owners use these documents to support agreements relating to design and construction services. Anyone may purchase and use the AIA Contract Documents. AIA Members receive a 10% discount. For a full list and order form, see aiany.org/services/documentlist.pdf or call 212.358.6113 with your fax number.

Electronic Format Documents
The new AIA Contract Documents software. Completely redesigned and based on Microsoft Word, the new software is easier to use than Word itself. Enter project and document information once and reuse it automatically. E-mail documents as Word or PDF attachments. Print "clean copy" final documents with all changes captured in a special report. Go to http://www.aia.org/docssoftwaretraining for Contract Documents Software Training and
http://www.aia.org/docs_purchase to download the AIA Contract Documents software.

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The arena will host the Nets 45 home games and other sporting and entertainment events. Gehry analyzed arenas throughout the country and, in his renderings, showed how the Nets arena meets the "see factor—if you do it right, everyone can see." Working with advertising/marketing/design guru Peter Arnell, Gehry is exploring innovative lighting projections on the scoreboard and on the floor, and wants so many things happening visually that the arena feels full but intimate at the same time.

If the arena is the heart of the project, then Miss Brooklyn might be considered the soul. Gehry said it will be an "urban living room" with interior and exterior stoops for "hanging out." Her front comes to a point, which will mirror the neighboring Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos-designed Brooklyn Public Library for the Visual and Performing Arts.

The developer and proponents cited many positives: It is estimated that the project will create 15,000 construction jobs, 2,500 office jobs, and contribute $6.1 billion in new taxes paid to New York City and State over 30 year period. The project is at the nexus of the third largest transportation hub in the city. Brad Lander, director of Pratt Center for Community Development, listed many pluses: It's a mixed use development with affordable housing; has density near transportation; provides union jobs; lots of open space; ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now); thoughtful landscaping; basketball; and a Frank Gehry building in Brooklyn!

However, Lander said that even though the project has "compelling designs," he can't "embrace the enthusiasm." He feels the community is against the project's scale, density, and height, and they want more contextual designs. What was of great concern to him was that the project is situated at one of the worst intersections in the borough and he fears a traffic nightmare looming. Peter Krashes, vice president of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, felt that in was an "inspiring project" but that the developer "doesn't take ownership of the problems it's creating, such as doubling the population of Prospect Heights." And then there were the Develop—Don't Destroy Brooklyn advocates in the audience wearing "Welcome to Ratnerville—Land Grab City!" After 80 meetings with community members, the architect and the developer knew many of them by name. "We're far enough along to discuss with the community and I'm happy to come visit them," Gehry said.

Other panelists included Jordon Gruzen, FAIA, and Frank Braconi, executive director of Citizens Housing & Planning Council. Moderators were Ernest Hutton, Assoc. AIA, AICP, co-chair, AIA NY Chapter Planning & Urban Design Committee, and James McCullar, FAIA, chair, AIA NY Chapter Housing Committee.

His talk combined familial reminiscences with an insider's perspective on Wright, feisty clients like Edgar Kaufman, and the unpredictable life of the Fellows. A telling anecdote described Tafel's own recommendation of upstate concrete specialist George Cohen for the Guggenheim work; Wright initially rejected him in favor of wealthier, better-recognized contractors, but after all the "name" contractors' bids came in at twice the budget, Wright discreetly re-approached Cohen through Tafel and gave him the job after an exchange along the following lines:

Hearing these stories of life around Wright, it's hard not to think of the passages in Ada Louise Huxtable's 2004 biography that depict his mercurial ego in terms bordering on megalomania. Tafel and comrades sharpened pencils, endured outbursts, watched their leader execute miracles like the legendary rapid drafting of the Fallingwater design as Kaufman drove up from Milwaukee—and completed parts of the plans themselves when Wright and Kaufman went out to lunch, unsure whether they might be fired, and probably surmising (accurately) that their own contributions would go unattributed.

Around a talent as revolutionary as Wright's, one forgives a lot. One senses Tafel has forgiven more than most and risen up to see the best aspects of his great teacher. The State University of New York at Geneseo, where Tafel designed the campus master plan and the Brodie Fine Arts Building, conferred the Doctor of Fine Arts degree on him in 2001—a rank equivalent to Wright's honorary D.F.A. from Wisconsin, and an honor well earned.

Borneo-Sporenburg Island, Amsterdam: high-density, low-scale development
West 8

Martin Biewenga presented an overview of the Netherlands's relationship to water (50% of the country lies below sea level) which is a source of engineering and urban design innovation. In Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands on Borneo-Sporenburg Island, West 8 designed a high-density scheme in a predominantly low-scale setting. In Water City, Copenhagen, West 8 was asked to design 50,000 m² (538,195 s.f.) of office space. To create a 24-hour urban environment, West 8 suggested an additional 50,000 m² each of residential and commercial space. In their hometown of Rotterdam, West 8 designed Unilever's headquarters bridging over the factory, enabling an adjacent property to be developed for mixed-use. Lastly, Biewenga presented their effort to raise awareness about suburban sprawl and the loss of the Dutch "cows on the horizon" landscape by designing and installing a billboard-size inflatable cow. (www.west8.nl)

Ruurd Gietema described how Dutch cities historically turned their backs to noxious harbor areas, which are now key breeding grounds for unorthodox urbanism. Gietema categorizes waterfront sites into "branding" (urban and dense) or "waiting" (too far from the city to be dense but too close to be left undeveloped). In HafenCity in Hamburg, Germany, KCAP designed a 25-year strategy for the development of a 155-hectare (383-acre) new city district within walking distance to the city center (www.hafencity.com). In Lloyd Town, Rotterdam, on a city-owned 20-hectare (49-acre) site with two piers, KCAP designed an ensemble of buildings by various architects with 2,000 houses of different typologies, 65,000 m² (699,654 s.f.) of office and commercial space, and a shipping university (www.lloydkwartier.nl). While the previous projects fall under Gietema's "branding" category, for a 1,500-hectare (3707-acre) "waiting" site in Stadshavens, Rotterdam, with City Ports Development Corporation as client, KCAP conceived of a two-phased, long-term management plan as a new kind of market where programs for existing and new buildings develop over time (www.stadshavensrotterdam.nl and www.kcap.nl).

Bringing these lessons home, Bonnie Harken gave an overview of current waterfront developments in New York City, including, among others, Lower Manhattan's revitalization, Governors Island (settled by the Dutch in 1623), Brooklyn Bridge Park (Brooklyn's first major park since Prospect Park in the 1860s), and "Take Me to the River" (reestablishing West Harlem as a waterfront community). In 2002-03, Harken led an Amsterdam/NY international waterfronts exchange between government officials, private developers, and designers which started a dialogue about many of the common issues presented. (www.nautilus-international.com)

Warrie Price presented the accomplishments and ongoing work of The Battery Conservancy. The 23-acre Battery sees more pedestrians per square foot than any other NYC park: 4 million visitors and 12 million commuters each year. A master plan was created for the park in the 1980s, and Price added an overlay horticultural master plan in 2002 by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf. This plan created the Gardens of Remembrance dedicated to 9/11, lush gardens, and the Battery Bosque. Future projects include an aquarium-inspired carousel as well as a dramatic addition to Castle Clinton, turning it into a cultural and educational venue. (www.thebattery.org)

Following these presentations, discussion raised a range of issues including the impetus for moving a ferry terminal in Copenhagen, public subsidization of housing, government control of sprawl, the approvals process, the housing market, rising sea levels, and car versus water-based transportation.

12.05.05

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

IN THE NEWS + NEW DEADLINES

AROUND THE AIA

ON VIEW

At the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place:

Field Experiments in art-architecture-landscape: Hombroich spaceplacelab

2005 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards

Two Columbus Circle (plus): Museum of Arts & Design and Allied Works Architecture

Cultural Exchange in Mentoring: Across Generations and Borders

Elsewhere:

DEADLINES

AIA New York Chapter Membership Report—November 2005

CLASSIFIEDS