In this issue:
· RMJM Hillier and Harvard GSD Address Architect Shortage
· 9th Annual Save-a-Sample! Box-A-Thon
· Passing: Norbert N. Turkel, AIA
· Passing: Ralph Rapson, FAIA

RMJM Hillier and Harvard GSD Address Architect Shortage
Despite the current building boom, many recent graduates from architecture and engineering schools are choosing to pursue more lucrative careers in high-tech and management consulting, according to the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). RMJM Hillier and Harvard University Graduate School of Design announced the launch of a $2 million program to tackle a global shortage of architects.

RMJM’s $1.5 million donation, matched by another $500,000 from the Harvard GSD, establishes the “RMJM Program for Research and Education in Integrated Design Practice,” which aims to stem the “brain drain” in the design and construction industry. It is the largest cash donation received by the GSD since a donation from the Aga Khan in 1999. The program is intended to encourage more architects to enter the profession by training them to integrate business management principles and knowledge of advanced technologies with design skills, thereby improving project delivery, client satisfaction, and the bottom line.

9th Annual Save-a-Sample! Box-A-Thon
Pack up your old, discontinued fabrics, finish samples, and/or binders, and donate them to SpecSimple.com’s 9th Annual Save-a-Sample! Box-A-Thon, April 15-17. Materials will be donated to design schools around NYC. In addition to collecting literature and samples, Save-a-Sample! also raises money to fund design school scholarships. To participate in Save-a-Sample!, the organization requests that firms refer a minimum of five potential sponsors to contact on their behalf. Sponsors will be asked to pledge $25 per box. There are prizes for the top five firms to sign up sponsors. Firms’ participation will be formally recognized by the sponsors’ NY chapters: SMPS, AIA, ASID, IIDA, and USGBC.

Passing: Norbert N. Turkel, AIA
Norbert N. Turkel, AIA, passed away on March 8. Founding partner of Turkel Collaborative Architects in Manhattan, Turkel was responsible for large-scale commercial, institutional, religious, and residential architectural projects. During the 1970s, he was a leader in addressing community planning issues in Riverdale, where he lived for 40 years. Following chairmanship of the Land Use Committee, he served two terms as Chairman of Community Board 14, working to develop the concept of Natural Area Districts, initially applied to Riverdale. As architectural advisor, Community School Board 10 provided Turkel with the opportunity to influence planning for new school sitings and aesthetics. In 1961, Turkel became a faculty member of Pratt Institute School of Architecture, and taught there for more than 40 years, earning the Service Award in 1996.

Passing: Ralph Rapson, FAIA
Ralph Rapson, FAIA, one of the oldest practicing architects and dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design for 30 years, passed away March 29 at the age of 93. As principal of Ralph Rapson and Associates, his Modernist ideals spanned many sectors; projects included the original Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, 1963. Rapson preferred to think of himself as an architect, furniture designer, educator, and artist. “The word architects is a term that may be too limiting when speaking about Ralph Rapson,” states his firm’s website.

As Rapson was planning on attending this year’s AIA Convention in Boston, colleagues are encouraging all professionals to go in his honor, to celebrate his life and commitment to the profession.