ARCHITECTURE NEW YORK STATE
ARCHITECTURE NEW YORK STATE
SPRING 2017
CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ISSUE: // BEYER BLINDER BELLE // ASHLEY MCGRAW ARCHITECTS, D.P.C. // SPACESMITH // FOGARTY FINGER ARCHITECTURE //
NON-TRADITIONAL PRACTICE & PRACTICES ISSUE
A PUBLICATION OF
Smart Options for bicycle encouragement
Engineered for extended product life. Made in U.S.A. Contact us about Digital Access bike lockers.
888.950.6531 TF info@cyclesafe.com www.cyclesafe.com
CONTENTS
2
A Message from Our President and Executive Director
3
Inventing the What, Where, and Why: Strategic Thinking in Design and Planning By Neil P. Kittredge, AIA, AICP, Partner, Director of Planning & Urban Design and Rayna Huber Erlich, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Beyer Blinder Belle
7
Bringing Value Beyond the Building: The Importance of Sustainable Schools in Upstate Communities By Edward McGraw, AIA, LEED AP, and Nicole Schuster, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, Ashley McGraw Architects, D.P.C.
9
Architects Enrich Clients Bottom Line By Jane Smith, FAIA, Founding Partner, Spacesmith
12
Volunteerism as an Architect: Becoming the Client By Chris Fogarty, AIA, Founder, Fogarty Finger Architecture
16
Legislative Update
17
AIANYS: Publicly Edvocating for the Profession By Paul McDonnel, AIA, Vice President of Public Advocacy
>> Front Cover: Photo courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle Are you interested in contributing? Contact Editor, Nick Isaacs, at nisaacs@aianys.org for more information
SPRING 2017
Our members do so much more than design buildings. They engage the public and civic leaders to tell the story of how an urban planning strategy or building design can enhance the fabric of the community. When a disagreement arises architects, often, are the voice of reason, charged with mediating and interpreting planning and design solutions to meet the needs and goals of diverse groups of stakeholders. By the circumstance of our education and profession, we are natural problem solvers. In my practice, we are often asked, “what services do you provide?” We have our standard answer; the design, preservation, planning, consultation, etc.” However, once we start working with a client, the myriad peripheral pressures impacting a project design, become contributing influences on our collaborative design solution. The term “design thinking” refers to the ability to identify what the true problem is, in order to effectively resolve it, rather than merely addressing the problem’s symptoms or their effects. This skillset has
made an architectural education very valuable to other professions and industries outside of traditional architectural practice. This issue of Architecture New York State will focus on some of those nontraditional opportunities. What makes our profession so interesting is that every design scenario is presents a different challenge. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People said, “Strength lies in difference, not similarities.” I think this relates perfectly to the exceptionally diverse expertise and skills of the members of AIANYS.
FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AIANYS: By Georgi Ann Bailey, CAE, Hon. AIANYS PUBLICLY We all have those moments when you look around Ed McGraw, AIA, in his contribution, talks about how EDVOCATING and say to yourself, “this is why I come to work every as a youngster in school he remembered where a tree day and truly enjoy doing so.” Such was the self-talk was planted or the lighting in the hallway, and while FOR THE last week while attending the Brooklyn, Queens he did not quite understand why they were integrated PROFESSION Design Awards event held in cooperation with Staten into the design, he now comprehends the impact Island and the Bronx Chapters.
they had on a student’s development.
Maybe it was being back home in Brooklyn that added to the excitement in this 1889 repurposed building that started its life as a brass foundry. Maybe it was being in the company of architects who were being honored that made it so rewarding. I am not sure, but I do know that the energy from this incredible display of work made me realize, once again, the impact that architecture has on everything we do.
In Architects Enrich Clients Bottom Line, Jane Smith, FAIA, looks at the ever-expanding impact of the architect in the business of real estate by assisting clients in making decisions that at times has an impact of millions of dollars on a bottom line. These are only three examples of the ever expanding roles of architects and how their work impacts the world around us.
This issue of Architecture New York State exemplifies this point. In his article, Inventing the What, Where and Why: Strategic Thinking in Design and Planning, Neil Kittredge, AIA begins his article with a most basic question, should there be a building? He then goes on to discuss how today’s practice is broadening in scope and with it the impact that the building has on the community as a whole.
On a personal note, it seems like right now our AIANYS members are busy; please take a bit of time in the next few months to enjoy the warmer weather here in the Northeast.
FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
2
INVENTING THE WHAT, WHERE, AND WHY: STRATEGIC THINKING IN DESIGN AND PLANNING By Neil P. Kittredge, AIA, AICP, Partner, Director of Planning & Urban Design and Rayna Huber Erlich, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Beyer Blinder Belle
>> Should there be a building? What purpose will it serve? How will it advance the vision of an urban or academic community? How will it transform and redefine its context? A traditional design process often begins after these questions have been answered and a site has been selected – yet much of the impact of a new building lies in the essential qualities of what, where, and why. As architects broaden our view of practice to include expertise in urban design, campus planning, and strategic visioning, we are increasingly able to help institutions and stakeholders answer fundamental questions that will define the very nature of an architectural project. The “why” of a project is the first and most fundamental question. This thought process requires soul searching and consensus building, and begins long before a building or development is identified as the solution. With the right process, a proposed development can be exactly what is needed for its purpose, complementing existing spaces so a whole campus or neighborhood can thrive. Architects and planners are not always part of these decisions – but we can bring valuable insight to this early stage of strategic
visioning, using design to facilitate dialogue. Once a project is conceived, the “what” and the “where” define the terms of its existence. Planners and urban designers can synthesize program needs and “invent” the site – reimagining landscape, public space, and infrastructure to create the possibility of architecture. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners (BBB) has embraced an expansive view of the role of the design professional across the arc of a project, building on the firm’s foundational values of community planning, advocacy for public space, and conservation of urban and cultural fabric. A toolkit of innovative modes of engagement and communication helps bring diverse communities into the conversation about design and builds the support crucial to implementing projects that emerge from a plan. By integrating urban design and campus planning within our practice, we support communities and institutions as they make profound decisions about how their physical environment – with its deeply embedded social and cultural meanings – can evolve and change, and about the role of architecture as a part of this transformation.
>> Seward Park Urban Development Plan // Rendering courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle // Edited by Nick Isaacs
SPRING 2017
>> Seward Park Open House // Photo courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle
RESTORING THE URBAN CENTER – THE “WHAT” A powerful theme in our work is the revitalization of distressed urban centers as restored anchors for pluralistic communities. Hollowed out by the misguided dogma of 1960’s urban renewal, once vital downtowns often require major redevelopment to meet urgent needs for housing and jobs, and to physically and symbolically restore the shared center where a diverse population has the opportunity to interact. Even with agreement that something needs to happen, communities are understandably fearful that transformative growth will not serve the neighborhood’s best interests. The central debate is “what” kind of development is appropriate. Working with communities, BBB’s urban design process begins with visioning and engagement, helping stakeholders and residents articulate needs and understand trade-offs. Urban design is part of a larger strategy to help a community define how a project will contribute positively to the neighborhood’s physical, social, and economic fabric. Our goal is to enable innovative architecture and development built on consensus rather than generating conflict, and to support residents in shaping the projects that will restore the center of their community. The Seward Park redevelopment area was once the bustling core of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a neighborhood that has welcomed immigrants from around the world. This vibrant urban center was demolished in 1967 to build the never-completed Lower Manhattan Expressway, displacing more than 1,800 families. As a result, the site sat fallow, one of the largest undeveloped tracts in Manhattan. For decades, efforts at redevelopment were
>> Amherst College // Rendering courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle
unsuccessful due to competing interests. Beginning in 2008, a groundbreaking consensus was built as a result of the efforts of Community Board 3 working with the City of New York to begin a redevelopment process. As a part of this effort, BBB facilitated a series of community charrettes with the mission of securing agreement on urban design principles for the vast development spanning eight city blocks. With effective and steady leadership from the Community Board and City government, and assisted by interactive models, “game boards,” and live video casts to make complex design issues accessible, the community reached consensus around contentious questions of height, density, and public space. Rather than reflecting the lowest common denominator, the urban design framework embraced by the community enabled bold architecture and the reactivation of long-desolate public spaces. With strong community support, the project gained unanimous approval through New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). The resulting development, now known as Essex Crossing, is in construction and will provide 1,000 units of housing, 50% of which is permanently affordable, as well as retail, office, and community space, a future public school, and a relocated and expanded Essex Street Market - a historic neighborhood destination. The project’s eight building sites are being designed by multiple architects to create an organic and diverse urban fabric, including two designed by BBB that will provide affordable and market-rate housing, senior citizen affordable housing, and a much-needed neighborhood supermarket. >> continued on next page
At long last, the project is restoring the very core of the Lower East Side as a transit-oriented neighborhood center. Elevating the discussion of urban design as part of an inclusive community process shaped what kind of architecture would follow, and demonstrated that ambitious and innovative large-scale development need not result from a top-down approach, but can be an authentic expression of a community’s vision for the future. INVENTING THE WHAT, WHERE, AND WHY: STRATEGIC THINKING IN DESIGN AND PLANNING
4
pedestrian circulation. A new landscape structure – the Greenway – would open up a peripheral and underutilized area of campus and become the glue allowing a large building to fit comfortably within a redefined context, essentially inventing a site for the new Science Center. The Greenway is a forwardlooking model of the traditional but powerful language of campuses, in which buildings and landscapes reciprocally define each other.
EXPANDING THE NOTION OF CAMPUS – THE “WHERE” In a different setting but with similar goals, BBB’s campus planning work enables institutions to prepare for the next generation of development and renewal by envisioning major reorganization of campus circulation and landscape, allowing crucial new programs to fit into a historic context. On campuses, “where” to build often becomes the most compelling debate. At Amherst College, a pastoral campus set among mountain ranges in western Massachusetts, BBB developed a campus planning framework that has allowed the college community to come together around a shared vision for the largest physical transformation in the college’s history. Amherst urgently needed to replace its outmoded science facilities, making a large new multidisciplinary science building its highest priority. Despite agreement on the need, the size and scale of the project created a tension between the desire to feel close to the center of campus and the concern about the impact such a development would have in an intimate setting of small-scale buildings set around a hilltop. Working on an accelerated schedule with the architects of the planned building, BBB and our campus planning team, including landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, rapidly developed a new framework plan for the campus, launching a rigorous and extensive engagement process to give the campus community a voice in the new design. The process redefined the debate over the size and location of the building, framing these questions in the context of a bold new plan for the design of the campus as a whole, organized by landscape and
SPRING 2017
As the central feature of a comprehensive campus plan, the Greenway provides an armature that can be extended over time to support projects that cannot be imagined today, building on current investments and creating opportunities for future generations. It has created a flexible organizing structure that will allow Amherst to adapt to 21st century needs. INVENTING A HYBRID CAMPUS BUILDING THE “WHY” In campus planning, programming is more than tabulating space needs; it can be central to translating an institution’s strategic plan – framed broadly in terms of mission, principles, and goals – into a precise physical manifestation in space that responds to emerging pedagogies and programs. Designers and planners can partner with institutions to shape a strategic vision and decide whether a new building project is required. Shaping the mission of a future building to fit progressive models of learning and innovation requires an understanding of whether and how architecture can respond to educational imperatives - the “why” of a project. Working with the University of Chicago, BBB guided a strategic visioning effort around a planned innovation program with ambitious goals but asyet undefined scope, scale, and spatial definition. In the process, the project became an opportunity to support a parallel urban revitalization plan also developed by the University, working with BBB and Sirefman Ventures. The resulting project became an
opportunity to connect two of the University’s most critical strategic initiatives, and brought together campus planning, urban design, and architecture in an integrated process. The Chicago Innovation Exchange (CIE) was envisioned as a center for multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation bridging academia, research, business, and the community. It would provide a shared “town square” for innovation and entrepreneurship programs across the University, research and industry partners, and a wide range of new activities. Since the space needs for such a program did not have any precedent on campus and could not be entirely predicted, the design team facilitated a multidisciplinary working group to envision both future activities and the spaces to house them. The programming effort allowed academic goals and concepts for physical space to respond to each-other; the challenge was to imagine a physical space with an open-ended purpose, creating opportunities for uses that could not yet be imagined.
remarkable transformation. As part of a mixed-use redevelopment, the CIE program would reactivate the building, restoring the community’s historic fabric and energizing the neighborhood with an influx of people and events throughout the day and evening. BBB’s design for the project combines a restoration of the historic theater complex with a transformation of its interior shell, which had long ago lost its historic character. Varied indoor neighborhoods make up an urban campus. The design approach was to create a “black box theater for work,” with highly reconfigurable technology infrastructure, a fab-lab, informal meeting spaces, and a dynamic environment for interaction. Since opening, the CIE has expanded to a second historic building, hosted hundreds of programs and workshops, incubated dozens of startups, and seen member entrepreneurs raise millions in venture capital. The adaptive reuse project has become a powerful catalyst for the University’s broader initiative to revitalize Hyde Park’s commercial core, activating the street and supporting the area’s renewal as a retail and community destination.
The solution centered on the fourth dimension of time. Collaborative spaces and common areas would be shared dynamically by different users and rapidly reconfigured from startup workspaces, to student hackathons, to large events and gatherings. A space utilization model was based on expected population over the course of the day, week, and year, calibrated to anticipated attendance at events and frequency of use. At the same time, the University was seeking new uses for a long-vacant 1912 theater, as part of its 53rd Street revitalization initiative a few blocks from campus. Once the commercial heart of Hyde Park, 53rd Street suffered from decades of disinvestment but was now undergoing a
Collectively, these urban and campus experiences reinforce our belief that designers and planners have an important role to play throughout the process of building – requiring an expanded view of design as part of a continuum of strategic visioning, planning, urban and campus design, and architecture. Each phase adds definition to a project, from its most fundamental reason for being to the details that express this mission in the fabric of the completed building. Architecture shapes our experiences in profound ways. When built on a strong shared vision, it has the power to bring together the most diverse communities around a common and unifying sense of mission and place.
INVENTING THE WHAT, WHERE, AND WHY: STRATEGIC THINKING IN DESIGN AND PLANNING
6
BRINGING VALUE BEYOND THE BUILDING: THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS IN UPSTATE COMMUNITIES By Edward McGraw, AIA, LEED AP, and Nicole Schuster, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, Ashley McGraw Architects, D.P.C.
>> Many of us have a commonality of experience. We received a formal education in a public or private school. The lessons learned in those formative years shaped our thinking and helped make us who we are today. There were important subject matter lessons that instilled content knowledge and, of course, aspects of formal and informal social interactions that influenced how we interact with each other and perceive ourselves. There were also less obvious influences that impacted our development - the sights and sounds of the walk or ride to and from school. Some of us can still smell a PB&J sandwich and feel the walk to the cafeteria when we think of the patterns and aromas of experiencing food at school. We may have noticed the length, width and height of the corridors, the way light traveled in the room where we spent most of the day and most of the year sitting in our desk. We noticed the tree outside the fifth-grade classroom window as well as the location of the flag holder and the ever watched clock on the wall. Although we typically had no participation and little understanding of why these things were placed, designed or built, they had impact. Designing and building a sustainable building, especially a sustainable school, is a worthy and noble pursuit. Using less energy and toxic materials is a good thing. Having access to fresh air and daylight needs no justification. However our generations
have created an environmental, social and economic dilemma that we are leaving as a legacy for the users of these sustainable schools and their children. If we are willing and able to go beyond designing buildings and engage these children and their communities into the process of design and systems thinking, perhaps they will figure out a better way forward. By actively participating in understanding and shaping their environment, a deeper understanding and more positive solutions may emerge. South Kortright is nestled in the beautiful hills and valleys of Delaware County. South Kortright has an abundance of natural beauty and resources, but as a rural school district they have a small student population and limited financial resources. The District has an aspirational educational mission to “…aggressively provide all students, diversity of experiences to gain the skills and attitudes necessary for the lifetime acquisition of knowledge, aesthetics and ethics. These experiences will ensure the best quality of life for the students and their community.” To provide these aspirational opportunities for their students and community, South Kortright embraced what was all around them, by thinking big and going small and local. As Superintendent Patricia Norton-White modestly puts it, “We have dabbled in hydroponic gardening (high school students assist elementary students in growing plants in their classrooms), raising tilapia, raising our own pigs
>> MacArthur Elementary School Exterior // Photo courtesy of Ashley McGraw Architects
SPRING 2017
>> Photo courtesy of Falcon View Aerial Photography
>> Photo courtesy of Ashley McGraw Architects
(later served in the cafeteria), raising fruit, as well as vegetables (our apple tree is located in our court yard and our blueberry bushes grow in back of our gymnasium), raising trout in classrooms and later releasing them in the stream, and hatching chickens as part of our sixth grade curriculum. I’m sure there are other activities, but those readily come to mind”. Understanding the systems and essence of place is an essential part of developing regenerative solutions. In 2011, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee caused the Susquehanna River to flood the City of Binghamton. The MacArthur Elementary School was inundated with contaminated floodwaters and declared a total loss. With the help of federal and state funding the Binghamton City School District seized the opportunity to rethink and create a new school for the 21st Century. The conception, design and construction of the LEED Platinum (pending) project was highly inclusive and integrated, bringing together not just the various design consultants and school officials, but the many different community stakeholders and the elementary students themselves. Historical and site research combined with community/student input identified the many physical and phenomenal systems impacting the site and the larger surrounding neighborhood. The community needed more than just a new school; it needed to heal. The various systems, elements, events and influencers were diagrammed and refined, then overlaid atop each other to create “the stack”. This “stack” of systems represented the essence of the place to those that lived and learned there. It became the driver of the design. The completed project has begun the healing of the neighborhood and community. The visioning exercise with the students was particularly memorable and enlightening. Each grade level met separately, and after a warm-up
>> Photo courtesy of Ashley McGraw Architects
exercise the students were engaged in a drawing activity. Eighty-foot-long sheets of newsprint paper were rolled out on the floor. Students gathered along each edge of the paper and drew their ideas related to three questions: • If you could imagine a school any way YOU wanted, what would it be like? • What does a “living school” look like to you? • What is your favorite memory of the MacArthur School? The student drawings produced ideas about learning, educational delivery and sustainability that were refined and developed into the final project. In the end, all of our work needs to embrace a regenerative view of the future where living systems are thriving, healthy, and resilient because their ecological, social and economic systems relate in ways that elevate individual and collective vitality. Bringing stakeholder, especially students, into the process of developing sustainable schools can be an important place to introduce the next generation to think in new ways and hopefully develop better solutions for local and global issues. It’s a good place to start. Ashley McGraw Architects, D.P.C. is committed to the idea that equitable, sustainable communities form the foundation of a future where humans thrive. Ashley McGraw has been nationally recognized for both our design work and our rigorous approach to building science. Past and present projects have explored a number of sustainable and regenerative design approaches, including Net-Zero Energy, LEED Gold and Platinum, Passive House, and Living Building Challenge. Edward McGraw, AIA, LEED AP, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Ashley McGraw Architects, understands the importance of relationships – between clients and architects, of course – but also between seemingly oppositional forces, such as nature and technology. Ed has created the space for new philosophies and implementation strategies that reimagine the relationship of nature, technology and resources in the K-12 and higher education markets. Nicole Schuster, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, is a Project Architect at Ashley McGraw Architects with a strong interest in building science and passive strategies for high performance buildings. She has 10 years of experience with multiple building types and strives for maximum positive impact with each project. Nicole is a licensed architect, president of her local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a LEED Accredited Professional, and the first architect in Central New York to become a Certified Passive House Consultant.
BRINGING VALUE BEYOND THE BUILDING: THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS IN UPSTATE COMMUNITIES
8
ARCHITECTS ENRICH CLIENTS BOTTOM LINE By Jane Smith, FAIA, Founding Partner, Spacesmith
Going beyond cultural and experiential enrichment, here’s a story about using architectural skills to return millions to the owner’s bottom line. >> Can architects bring value beyond orchestrating the poetic applications of brick and mortar? Evidence shows it’s happening. From our firm’s perspective, much of tomorrow’s work is about assisting clients with business decisions and real estate strategy.
This service line is growing at many firms globally, even as we continue to pursue rewarding design commissions. Similar to a McKinsey & Co. consultant or a financial auditor, the strategic planner’s role is to critically analyze facilities and real estate in relation to the physical space and processes that are the client’s This cuts against the grain of standard understanding. lifeblood. The engagements are usually processA common conception of architects conjures the focused rather than project-based -- in other words, mythical outsider, that guerrilla professional who the strategic evaluators swoop in for a targeted visits the client and shepherds the person or group need. Often the architecture firm is part of a bigger along, creating some tension along the way and team, working alongside other disciplines with perhaps a built work that depletes an earmarked complementary skills for a period of time ranging budget. Yet many architects take an approach that from months to years. transcends those occasional interlopers and instead their firms become trusted advisors to their clients As an example, Spacesmith served on a squad of on real estate related matters beyond design and carefully (and competitively) selected consultants construction. as part of the State’s Savings and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission to undertake a study Firms like Spacesmith are expanding our purview of the State’s real estate management practices as strategic planners and trusted advisors who help and organizational structure. The goal? Find ways owners, companies and institutions make missionto sensibly reduce costs, improve real estate critical decisions about real estate management and stewardship, and maximize value and return. facilities practices. >> continued on next page
>> Photos courtesy of Spacesmith
SPRING 2017
>> Photo courtesy of Spacesmith
>> Photo courtesy of Spacesmith
ARCHITECTS ENRICH CLIENTS BOTTOM LINE
10
To achieve the goal, the Division of Budget entered into a contract with United Group Limited Equis Operations (UGL) to establish a strategic approach focusing primarily on managing, occupying, and procuring agency office space. Spacesmith served as the architecture sub-consultant to UGL on the contract. Based on the team’s findings and analyses, among other achievements, new state workplace standards with recommendations for programming, strategic planning, product delivery were adopted, and a restacking initiative for State owned and leased buildings was undertaken. How did it happen? First of all, the Division of Budget and the Office of General Services worked closely with UGL and Spacesmith to analyze current practices, interview constituents across numerous agencies, supply data, and provide feedback to recommendations and findings along the way. Second, it takes a hardnosed plan with real-world, yet lofty goals. Ours focused on efficiency and cost savings, to include a restacking of state workplaces but only after we established a “strategic approach focusing primarily on managing, occupying, and procuring agency office space,” as the state Comptroller’s office put it. This was a bit more complex than simply orchestrating office moves. To achieve the highest immediate impact, the team focused on Albany and New York City, the urban centers with the largest office portfolios. The strategic analysis led to some consolidation and some reassigned space, always with an eye to improving work conditions while boosting adjacencies and efficiencies. Total estimated cost savings for the moves over three fiscal years totaled a substantial $51.2 million. Subtract the moving costs and other direct costs, and the state’s savings netted a healthy $33.1 million. Other groups have undertaken similarly effective planning approaches, including likeminded states, large universities, and competitive global
SPRING 2017
corporations. Even smaller organizations can benefit, including some mature nonprofits and public agencies. What links them is a firm belief that continuous improvement comes from open, selfcritical analysis; and in some cases, like the New York State plan, the team gets real accolades. So how can architects get involved in this rewarding, bottom-line work that clients truly value? A first step is to develop your firm’s proficiencies in real estate portfolio management expertise. For the next step, catalogue the ways your firm has helped clients to - minimize operational expenses - maximize revenues, and - improve their approach to asset stewardship and utilization. Who can argue that these competencies aren’t the bailiwick of truly successful architects? In fact, these abilities may be the unspoken “gift with purchase” that comes when the best and brightest architects are engaged by forward-thinking and innovative clients. The main point is, architects are as critical to real estate strategy as lawyers, brokers, accountants, and asset managers. Our ability to work across all scales, to notice physical patterns and to see the user-based challenges and opportunities -- these set us apart from those other professionals. It reinforces an important point, too: Real estate is still the second-most expensive line item for many organizations, after people costs. So it’s important that we look at how architects can contribute more to the strategic future of today’s growing enterprises. Jane Smith, FAIA, is a national leader in architecture, interiors and higher education and a Fellow of the AIA. She is founding partner of the awardwinning firm Spacesmith and she has also served as Chair of the Department of Interior Design at the School of Visual Arts since 2006. She is the VP, Professional Development for AIANY. Smith has helped change the profession, especially for women, as her firm of over 25 employees has designed a wide range of acclaimed building and interiors projects for noted clients including the US State Department OBO, New York State DOB and OGS, New York City DDC, Brooklyn Bridge Park, BlackRock, Ralph Lauren, Hermes and Viacom.
VOLUNTEERISM AS AN ARCHITECT: BECOMING THE CLIENT By Chris Fogarty, AIA, Founder, Fogarty Finger Architecture
>> Over the course of the past 10 or so years, I have served on the boards and oversight committees for a variety of organizations and in the process learned what it means to be both client and provider. I have built my firm, Fogarty Finger Architecture, into a mid-size office of 75 people, while also bringing my architectural expertise to the communities around me. These roles require time and effort which is often difficult to commit, but offers numerous benefits making it worthwhile for beginning and established architects alike. In addition to sharpening conflict negotiation skills among diverse and often competing interests, serving on boards of all types allow a close involvement in matters with which one is personally invested. Simply put, there are two types of boards one can serve on: strategic or qualitative. The former might include co-operative apartments, schools, and private clubs. The latter would include all varieties of zoning ordinance committees such as historical review boards, architectural review boards, and
design oversight. These kinds of positions can be rewarding because they let you help direct the architectural character of your city, town, or neighborhood. I have served on the architecture review and historical review boards in Bellport, NY, a small bayside community on Long Island where I spend weekends and summers. When approaching this, one of the keys I have found is to maintain an aesthetically objective standpoint (as much as is possible) so that your own personal tastes are not determining the fate of other people’s projects (their homes!). Just because you do not like that particular shade of blue for a front door, does not mean that shade of blue violates the committee’s standards of design. The second aspect to keep in mind is that other members of the board (nondesign professionals) will look to you as an expert to direct them through the process and explain to them what is exactly is going on. Taking on this role can strengthen your ability to clearly express architectural and design concepts to clients and the public in your >> continued on next page own practice.
GENERAL SESSION ANNOUNCEMENTS AT QUAD The 4-State QUAD Conference Planning Committee is thrilled to announce two of our General Sessions at the QUAD Conference this upcoming November. We will open on Thursday, November 9 with Steve Dumez, FAIA, Director of Design at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple based on New Orleans. As Director of Design at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, Steve Dumez, FAIA has dedicated his career to pursuing projects of lasting environmental, social and cultural value within his community. Under his design direction, the firm’s work has been widely published in architecture books and design magazines, and the firm itself has received more than 100 awards at the local, state, regional and national levels. Steve is a Past-President of AIA Louisiana and AIA New Orleans. He has also chaired AIA design awards programs at the local, state, regional and national levels and has served on numerous design award juries across the country. Dumez’s program “Building Community” will explore the firm’s four enduring core values: Design Excellence, Environmental Responsibility, Community Outreach, and Client Commitment. On Saturday, we will close the Rise & Shine Breakfast with Michael Pryor and Pavlina Vardoulaki of Design Morphine. DesignMorphine is a creative hub for design through workshops, lectures, projects & explorations in the field of architecture, design & the arts: their goal is to provide the essential elements of trending design practices in a condensed, budget friendly way. Their team is comprised of many talented designers which give them a multidisciplinary approach to design and its education across a gradient of applications. The work and discussion will be geared firstly to the importance of parametric and computation to the designer in terms of redundant automation and as a sidekick design subconscious.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.QUADCONFERENCE.AIANYS.ORG VOLUNTEERISM AS AN ARCHITECT: BECOMING THE CLIENT
12
Strategic planning committees or boards can offer more quantifiable benefits that the average architect can bring to bear on his or her practice. I am currently overseeing the $3 million renovation of my co-op apartment building’s amenity spaces, as well as a $10-20 million renovation of my children’s school facilities. In these instances, I have effectively reversed my usual role and become the client for high-budget projects; that means becoming familiar with a long list of logistical pieces with which I previously had minimal involvement, from hiring other architects, enlisting consultants, adhering to a project schedule, and outlining financial budgets. Furthermore, I get to see the diverse ways of how other firms operate on projects, in fact, increasing knowledge of the competition. One warning to consider, avoid the urge to take on all these priorities oneself from both a legal and practical perspective: as a member of the board, you are under no obligation to take on all the responsibilities of a project manager, and, you do not want to be stuck
>> Photos courtesy of Fogarty Finger Architecture
SPRING 2017
with the liability that accompanies this role. Being able to transfer these newfound skills over to my private practice is an invaluable part of the boardroom experiences. Seeing architecture from the side of the client, I have gained new exposure, perspective and refreshed discipline in the realms of financial accountability and strict project parameters, things that any architect would do well to familiarize themselves with. Board positions offer the chance to interact with public and private stakeholders, influence the local issues important to you, and build on skills which will help your practice grow and succeed. Chris Fogarty, AIA, is the founding partner involved with the concept and design development of all the practice’s projects. His ability to work across many building types is underpinned by the intellectual rigor with which every project is approached. After studying architecture at University College’s Bartlett in London and the University of Edinburgh, he joined Skidmore Owings and Merrill Architects in 1992. He started at the London office and in 1998 was moved to Washington DC and ultimately to the New York Office. Whilst at SOM Chris won both national and international competitions and completed many award-winning office and mixed-use buildings.
>> Photo courtesy of Fogarty Finger Architecture
VOLUNTEERISM AS AN ARCHITECT: BECOMING THE CLIENT
14
GUIDANCE YOU CAN COUNT ON CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
BUILD WITH CONFIDENCE GUIDANCE YOU CAN COUNT ON
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
For over 25 years, Castellano, Korenberg & Co. has specialized in providing tax and accounting services to the constuction industry. We help our clients achieve success by providing technical expertise, customized business solutions, and personalized attention. Find out how we can help you.
For over 25 years, Castellano, Korenberg & Co. has specialized in 313 West Old Country Road | Hicksville, NY 11801 Connect With Us providing tax and| accounting services to the constuction industry. T: 516.937.9500 castellanokorenberg.com We help our clients achieve success by providing technical expertise, customized business solutions, and personalized attention. SPRING 2017
2017 ARCHITECTS IN ALBANY ADVOCACY DAY May 17th marked another successful Architects in Albany Advocacy Day, as members from around the state traveled to Albany to advocate on behalf of the profession. Some sixty-plus members spent their day visiting their region’s legislative delegation, which culminated in an impactful meeting with Senate Majority Leader/Temporary President John Flanagan. Veterans of the annual Advocacy Day were more than happy to bring along younger members who have never met with their elected State representatives, let alone step foot in the State Capitol building. The value of advocacy needs to be emphasized and impressed upon the next generation of architects if the profession is going to remain relevant in the eyes of decision makers. Legislators routinely face various public policy issues involving the built environment and seek guidance on how to resolve those issues which affect their constituents. It is incumbent upon AIANYS and its members to ensure legislators have a basic understanding of the profession of architecture and the role of the architect as a leader in the built environment. In the absence of sustained engagement, legislators will look to other segments of the design and construction community to craft policies affecting the built environment. Looking at architects to be the go-to design and construction professionals is an important step in maintaining and expanding relevance in the regulatory environment of New York State. 2017 LEGISLATIVE SESSION HOMESTRETCH The first few months of AIANYS advocacy efforts were dedicated to educating legislators on the pitfalls of the governor’s expansive design-build proposal for public building projects, which aided in a significantly scaled down final proposal. The final few weeks will be spent playing defense on practice encroachment issues and advocating for changes to New York City’s draconian power to ban architects and engineers from filing with the Department of Buildings without the proper due process rights afforded to them under the law. AIANYS leadership believes its efforts to restore substantive due process rights for architects and engineers will lay the foundation for a much broader discussion on how the organization could collaborative with government entities to reign in bad actors and the illegal practice of architecture, which continues to be a major problem. The illegal practice of architecture made headlines in April with the indictment of an individual on fifty-eight counts of larceny, forgery, fraud and the unlicensed practice of architecture. The State Education Department worked closely with the Office of the Attorney General’s Office in the investigation dubbed, “Operation Vandelay Industries,” which uncovered hundreds of allegedly fraudulently stamped plans, code compliance inspections, and other documents. We will continue to push for additional resources and means to investigate and prosecute individuals who practice illegally or aid and abet the illegal practice of architecture. Other issues of importance being monitored include our continued opposition to the interior design stamp and seal legislation, design-build authorization for the city of New York, and public procurement reform. The 2017 New York State Legislative Session concludes on June 21st.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
16
AIANYS: PUBLICLY EDVOCATING FOR THE PROFESSION By Paul McDonnel, AIA, Vice President of Public Advocacy
>> One of the major concerns coming from my fellow AIA members, is “why aren’t architects in the news more?” I share this concern. We, as architects, have a broad-based knowledge of the built environment; the places we work, live and play. Our education and professional expertise is broad-based with an emphasis on problem solving, a skill useful in almost any situation imaginable. With the proper exposure, we can offer our expertise on numerous issues and initiatives other beyond that of traditional architecture; be it development, construction, infrastructure, fundraising, community engagement, preservation, etc. We are a profession which is often taken for granted, and suffer from a public perception that neglects our extensive expertise. How can we can get a, so called, “seat at the table”? How can we be the entity called when the public or the press have questions on the built environment? As someone who has been involved in public engagement for many years, I felt I might be able to use some of my experiences to represent architects as Vice President of Public Advocacy. My campaign platform was to use the resources of AIANYS to advance the issues of the local chapters. The chapters through their own representatives could lead this charge So, you ask, how do we define public advocacy, or PA? PA is essentially lobbying the public for causes that effect the day to day lives of architects. As you may have seen, AIANYS in conjunction with AIA Central New York Chapter, has been actively advocating on redevelopment of the I-81 corridor. Realizing their limited resources and outreach, AIACNY reached out to the state component for assistance. This collaboration has resulted in the local chapter’s message about building a new, sustainable community in Syracuse through the proper redevelopment of I-81 receiving visibility and media where architects are leading the discussion. We have a seat at the table and the public is looking to us for our expertise.
SPRING 2017
The mix of statewide and local media is a great example of our continued campaign for good design and it represents the future direction of AIANYS. Our integrated advocacy approach is aimed to raise awareness of what architects do, who we are and how we can help; issues we are trained and practice every day as architects. We hope to continue to increase our public exposure though community engagement and media, bringing our expertise to the public. Do you know of an important project on issue which will elevate the profession or New York State architects? We need you to get involved with AIANYS advocacy initiatives. Present the idea to the PA Committee and we will review the project to see if it fits the objectives of AIANYS. Any items of interest can be e-mailed to Nick Isaacs, AIANYS Director of Communications at nisaacs@aianys.org.
ARCHITECT FINDER DON’T MISS OUT PURCHASE YOUR PROFILE NOW! http://findanarchitect.aianys.org/
ALLIED PARTNERSHIP
Become an Allied Partner of AIANYS as an Individual or Corporate Partner. Connect to issues and trends at the forefront of the architectural industry as we plan for tomorrow.
NEW YORK 9,216 AIA MEMBERS Membership as of March 31, 2017
Allied Partnership is open to those not otherwise eligible for an AIA membership but are involved in fields closely related to the architectural profession. Our Allied Partners include engineers, contractors, planners, sculptors, artists, and many more.
VISIT: WWW.AIANYS.ORG/ALLIED-PARTNERSHIP-PROGRAM/ FOR MORE INFORMATION
BECOME AN ALLIED PARTNER
18
SPRING 2017 >> Photo courtesy of Ashley McGraw Architects
>> Photo courtesy of Spacesmith
>> Photos courtesy of Fogarty Finger Architecture
518.449.3334 | AIANYS@AIANYS.ORG 50 STATE ST, 5TH FLOOR, ALBANY, NY 12207
>> Photos courtesy of Fogarty Finger Architecture
>> Photo courtesy of Spacesmith
ARCHITECTURE NEW YORK STATE
>> Photo courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle