Texas Society of Architects The Voice for Texas Architecture
ADVOCATES FOR ARCHITECTURE
2015
The Voice for Texas Architecture
Greetings, we know you face many decisions affecting both the natural and built environment of this state we proudly call home. As architects, we recognize the challenges of keeping up with the needs of a fast-growing state — one with very real requirements to create and maintain its infrastructure. You will have opportunities to make informed choices that will ultimately affect and benefit us all. Caring for Texas’ built environment is both a responsibility and an honor for architects. The Texas Society of Architects serves as the voice for Texas architecture, supporting the creation of safe, beautiful, sustainable environments. We hope you will consider us a trusted and valuable resource for accurate information about issues regarding the built environment that will affect the future of both your constituents and the state at large. Please use us however and whenever we can help. In the session ahead,
Michael Malone, AIA President of the Texas Society of Architects
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The Architectural Process
1
Planning + Design Phase
2 Documentation Phase
3 Construction Phase
4 Post Construction Phase
What an Architect Does
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COVER PHOTO BY THOMAS MCCONNELL; MALONE PHOTO BY GREG BLOMBERG PHOTOGRAPHY; TOPFER THEATER AT ZACH DRAWINGS BY ANDERSSON-WISE ARCHITECTS, AND PHOTOS BY ANDREW POGUE PHOTOGRAPHY.
On the cover:
Klyde Warren Park in Dallas has reconnected downtown to Uptown and become one of the most popular spots in the city. Designed by The Office of James Burnett, with a super sleek restaurant pavilion by Thomas Phifer and Partners, the park is a testament to good design and its potential impact on a community. Above: Arthur Andersson, FAIA, of Austinbased Andersson-Wise Architects, works with watercolor as part of his design process. The watercolor pictured was the basis for all phases of the design and construction of the Topfer Theatre.
hen most people think of architecture, two things usually come to mind: blueprints and dramatic buildings. While these may be two things that architects produce, the practice of architecture is much, much more than that. Architects not only help shape our built environment, but also how we experience it. They work to advance our quality of life and our communities through the design process. of energysaving buildings to making healthier and more vibrant communities; from helping neighborhoods rebuild after natural disasters to disseminating design know-how From designing the next generation
With people spending approximately 90 percent of their lives inside buildings, good building design is increasingly important. to the rest of the world, architects set the standard for optimizing the health, safety, and welfare of Texans in the built environment — as they turn dreams and aspirations into reality. There is no better example of the impact architecture can make than the Texas State Capitol Building. One would be
hard-pressed to find a person who remains unmoved and uninspired upon entering our State Capitol building. Architects design where we live,
learn, work, play, shop, and worship to make those places safe, beautiful, and sustainable. To become licensed, practicing professionals, architects must undergo an extremely rigorous education, which requires a minimum of a five-year undergraduate or master’s degree from an accredited university. They must accumulate significant experience through supervised practice with a minimum of 5,500 internship hours. Prospective architects must also pass a multi-day, national exam, composed of six separate divisions — each with a distinct area of focus — before they are eligible to practice as a licensed architect in Texas. The practice of architecture combines multiple phases that include planning and design, documentation, construction, and post-construction. Each phase has multiple considerations and processes that inform the final design. With people spending approximately 90 percent of their lives inside buildings, good design is increasingly important. Successfully combining the critical individual element of a building into a single cohesive design requires the training and talent of a licensed architect.
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Business Leadership Building, University of North Texas is
one of the many examples of new higher education buildings across the state. The hugely successful building now connects formerly disparate parts of the campus. It was designed by Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects) and built in collaboration with Jacobs Engineering Group.
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efore the buildings, even before the architectural documents, comes design — a verb, not a noun. Architects must deal with numerous health, safety, and welfare elements prior to beginning the creative process. They must first learn the client’s wants and needs, establish a program, study general functionality, and determine space and flow requirements. They must know and implement all applicable health and safety regulations for the project, as well as review site conditions and legal limitations, including zoning and environmental laws and regulations. Existing architectural forms come into play as the architect looks at the effect of the scale of a building — how the building design will relate to pedestrians, other users, and other buildings — including existing utility and transit infrastructure. More “architectural” aspects, such as sightlines and sun-path studies, enter into the process
PHOTO BY AISLINN WEIDELE.
Architecture is More Than Skin Deep
“Architecture is not a private affair; even a house must serve a whole family and its friends, and most buildings are used by everybody, people of all walks of life.” — John Portman, Principal of John Portman & Associates as the designer looks at maximizing natural lighting while minimizing operational costs of the building over time. As all of these elements come together successfully, architects ensure that their buildings are well designed for function and beauty, as well as an overall performance economy and sustainability for the building’s life-cycle, typically 75 years or more. Design concepts evolve as the architect considers how people will experience the building and its site, circulate within it, and get out of it — either via normal flow or in an emergency situation. Numerous
conceptual designs consider a wide range of other design issues, such as water management, surrounding landscapes, effects of wind, potential seismic activity, handicap accessibility, and other public health and safety factors. The nuts and bolts of the building must then be considered — those essential necessities of a functioning building like the structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. It is only at this point that the architect begins sketching something close to the building’s final design.
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Beyond the Building W
hat an architect creates may be a building, but in reality the result is more than a single building; it becomes part of the urban and environmental landscape and the community. A building’s design and functionality become the mechanisms of its relationship with its immediate surroundings. Buildings become hubs of activity, connected to other hubs, that in combination create connectivity and community for those living and working in them. Once the design process is complete, architects must still address the building’s longer and larger impacts. Through sustainable technologies and post-occupancy studies, the field of architecture is
Maybe, just maybe, we shall at last come to care for the most important, most challenging… of all architectural creations: building cities for people to live in. — Phillip Johnson advancing how our buildings perform as the profession strives for greater efficiency and a more responsible built environment. Technologies such as photovoltaic panels and green roofs harvest natural resources to transform buildings from energy consumers into net zero facilities or even resource or energy producers.
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is one of the many redevelopment projects addressing formerly neglected flood plains and waterways across the state. Designed by SWA Group in collaboration with numerous architects and landscape architects, the project promises to revitalize neglected parkland throughout Houston. This drawing by Thompson Design Group shows preliminary plans for the park.
RENDERING COURTESY THOMPSON DESIGN GROUP AND BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP.
are many, including both short-term and long-term financial benefits as well as significant contributions to public safety and resource management. Texas taxpayers are the ultimate beneficiaries of good architectural design of schools and public buildings, as good design is key to ensuring that buildings are safe, that local municipal building code standards are met, and that fire safety costs are minimized. Good architectural design helps decrease costs associated with change orders, decreases demand for water and electricity, and decreases fire-fighting costs and reconstruction costs in disaster situations. Texas architects produce safe, beautiful, and sustainable buildings ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of all Texans. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, we must shape our buildings well, because our buildings will thereafter shape us. The benefits of good architectural design
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84th Regular Legislative Session Texas Society of Architects (TxA) understands that the members of the 84th Texas Legislature will face major challenges like education, health care, security, and infrastructure needs. We urge you to please consider key issues that will allow architects to continue to produce work that protects the health, safety, and welfare of Texans and creates more jobs in Texas’ increasingly competitive marketplace.
Texas Society of Architects The Voice for Texas Architecture
500 Chicon Street Austin, Texas 78702 tel 512 478 7386 fax 512 478 0528 www.texasarchitects.org
TxA URGES YOU TO SUPPORT:
WHY?
Increasing Investment in the State’s Critical Facility Infrastructure Needs
With the state’s population now over 27 million, we must build new facilities to train the workforce needed to maintain the Texas Miracle. Population growth and the expansion of STEM-focused courses require updated and expanded labs on our campuses. We also urge continued investment in the state’s matching grant program for the restoration of our historic county courthouses.
Ensuring Transparency & Accountability for All Professional Services Procurement
Taxpayers and their elected leaders need to know that all procurements for professional services are being handled honestly, fairly, and transparently. Texas statutes preclude procurement of design services through cooperative purchasing arrangements. We urge the legislature to enact sufficient oversight and accountability to safeguard the public trust and ensure enforcement of these and other existing procurement laws.
Amendments to Eliminate the Margins Tax Liability for NonProfitable Businesses
Under current formulas, many architectural firms and other small businesses can owe thousands in Margins Tax liability, even if they are not profitable. This hinders job creation and undermines the viability of these small businesses. Additionally, we support efforts to reduce the rate for the Margins Tax.
Continuing to Advance Water Conservation and Energy Efficiency Goals
The fastest, most economical way to meet our growing future water and energy needs is to conserve today. Our current growth can only continue if we improve sustainability standards now.
TxA URGES YOU TO OPPOSE:
WHY?
Creating a Sales Tax on Professional Services or Increasing Occupation Fees
About 75% of Texas architectural firms are small businesses that employ fewer than 10 people. Additional taxes on professional services and/or increased occupational fees will further depress this economic sector.
Weakening QualificationsBased Selection (QBS) for Professional Services Procurement
QBS is a cost-responsive method of procuring architectural design services; price negotiations take place only after the qualified bidders have been identified and selected. Design professionals know they must compete aggressively for public jobs. They negotiate price only after they have been successfully judged the most qualified and provide the best value possible on each job if they want future work. QBS actually saves time and money, as it creates an incentive to provide the best value possible on each job to ensure future work.
Standardizing Architectural Plans for K–12 Facilities (State Stock School Plans)
Stock school plans ignore the regional geographic diversity
Increasing Liability Exposure
Architecture firms should have legal liability commensurate with the role or deliverables they commit to a project and the compensation they receive. Inappropriate levels of liability threaten the economic viability of the profession.
in our state, and would have the unintended effect of increasing construction costs. Statemanaged, standardized architectural plans for local K–12 schools would also necessitate the creation of new and costly bureaucracy at the state level, as well as increase site adaptation and operating costs. Regional and local factors must be considered — a design that works in Lubbock doesn’t work for the Gulf Coast; a foundation for Northwest Austin’s rocky terrain won’t work on East Austin’s clay. Under certain circumstances, localized prototype plans can work, but not always. Architects and engineers are always needed for site adaptations to meet local needs and conditions.
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