2010 TSA Associate Special Merit Award: "Exploring Architecture" Program

Brandon Allen, Assoc. AIA, Mark Trance, Assoc. AIA, Grant Libby, Assoc. AIA, Amelia Potee, Assoc. AIA, and Alberto Zamora

"Sometimes architectural DNA can show itself in such a way that you just have to stop and watch it unfold. In this case, it is a group of architectural interns who have developed the Exploring Architecture program in Fort Worth. From curriculum to mentorship, these associates have developed a program that engages and challenges high school students who have an interest in the architectural profession," states AIA Fort Worth President Paul M. Dennehy, AIA.

The Texas Society of Architects|AIA has awarded the 2010 Associate Special Merit Award to the "Exploring Architecture" program developed by the AIA Fort Worth Associates Forum. The award will be presented during the TSA Convention in San Antonio, Oct. 14-16, 2010.

Exploring Architecture is a mentorship program started by AIA Associate members to provide high school junior and senior students interested in architecture the opportunity to experience the profession through a dynamic, open, and informal environment supported by the people in the community.
Students are required to submit an application, an essay, and a recommendation letter. Volunteers then meet and deliberate on who will qualify for the program.
The program consists of eight weekly engagements, each highlighting the different disciplines that evolve around architecture. With the support of the AIA and local professionals, the Exploring Architecture program began in the fall of 2009.

AIA Fort Worth Announces Jury for Excellence in Design Awards

The jury for AIA Fort Worth's Excellence in Design Awards is scheduled to meet Oct. 5, 2010, at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The deadline for entries in the design awards program is Wed., Sept. 22.

Awarded projects will be announced in the museum's Main Lecture Hall on Oct. 5 at 5:30 p.m. Following the announcement, lead juror Will Bruder, AIA, will be the keynote speaker for the “Tuesday Evenings at the Modern” lecture series.

This year’s design awards jury is comprised of Will Bruder, AIA, of Bruder+Partners in Phoenix, Ariz.; Victor “Trey” Trahan, FAIA, of Trahan Architects in Baton Rouge, La.; and Louise Harpman, Assoc. AIA, of Specht Harpman with studios in Austin and New York.

Since 1983, the annual Excellence in Design Awards program seeks to recognize design excellence by its members and to promote public interest in architectural excellence, helping to foster an understanding of its impact on the built environment. Visiting jurors select local projects from built and unbuilt categories for Honor and Merit Award distinctions.

For 40 years, Will Bruder, AIA, has explored inventive and contextually exciting architectural solutions in response to site opportunities and user needs. Will is a craftsman in his concern for detail and building processes, and a sculptor in his unique blending of space, materials, and light. His studio invents form specific to function and client aspiration. Through creative use of materials and light, the work is known for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Victor F. "Trey" Trahan, III, FAIA, has been recognized and published both nationally and internationally for innovative design and creative use of materials. An accomplished designer, he is a 2010 recipient of the P/A Award, the 2005 Architecture Review Emerging Architecture Award, and one of thirteen architects selected internationally to design a house for the New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward as part of Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation project.

Louise Harpman, Assoc. AIA, is a partner at Specht Harpman, an architecture and design firm with offices in New York and Austin. Specht Harpman was recently named one of Wallpaper* magazine's "top 50 up and coming firms from around the world.” Specht and Harpman have been selected by the Architectural League of New York for the "Emerging Voices" awards program, were named "Tastemakers" by House and Garden magazine, and are listed one of New York City's "Top 100" architects by New York Magazine.

For more information about the Oct. 5 event, click here.

For an Excellence in Design Awards entry form, click here.

The New Urban Neighborhood: Brownfield?

Sept. 16, 2010

Architect magazine
By Nancy Warren

A house in the country will always have its appeal.

But lately more homebuyers are preferring the city - for reasons ranging from the sheer excitement of the surroundings, to the rescue of impoverished areas and the preservation of shrinking green space.

One prime area of urban housing growth is the type of site known as "brownfields." These are often-abandoned commercial and industrial spaces that have outlived their original uses.

With the right environmental cleanup, though, they can be converted to housing - even entire neighborhoods.

Older suburban homes and large new developments have lost none of their popularity, but for the right buyer the urban option is one worth exploring.

Clearly, urban living is not for everyone - it usually attracts single professionals and couples without children. But the lifestyle has aspects that would appeal to anyone.

Two major attractions are cutting down on a long daily commute to city employment and taking advantage of the area's cultural scene.

Convenience like this coincides with the environmental interests of both city and suburban officials - having a population within a few public transit stops or even in walking distance of work and recreation reduces automotive pollution and traffic hazards.

And placing new housing in established urban buildings can slow suburban sprawl, with one study showing that, given factors such as pre-existing architecture and infrastructure, every hectare (about 2.5 acres) of brownfields that is redeveloped spares 4.5 hectares of green space.

Click here to read more.

New Executive Director for AIA Houston

AIA Houston and the Architecture Center Houston Foundation are pleased to announce the appointment of James R. (Rusty) Bienvenue as their new Executive Director. Rusty is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received a JD degree from the University of Houston Law Center. He was a contract attorney at Vinson & Elkins in Houston until he moved to the Houston Bar Association, where he became Director of Committees, Events, and Programs. He is currently Executive Director of the Houston Lawyers Referral Service until he begins his tenure at AIA Houston on Oct. 4, 2010. 

James R. (Rusty) Bienvenue

In addition to a particular interest in architecture, Rusty has over ten years of experience as a non-profit executive, managing budgets and staff, planning events and programs, and working with volunteers. He is a member of the Texas Society of Association Executives and the Houston Society of Association Executives, the National Association of Bar Executives, the State Bar of Texas (on inactive status), and the Rice Design Alliance. 

Barrie Scardino, current Executive Director, is retiring at the end of 2010.

Cameron Sinclair and Will Wynn to Speak at TSA Convention

General Session One: Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity

The Real Purpose of Design
Friday, Oct. 14, 2010, 10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

In the past century, the ten deadliest natural disasters include floods, earthquakes, cyclones, and tsunamis, with death tolls ranging between 80,000 and well over two million. One of these top ten is the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti. Since January, Architecture for Humanity (AFH) has been in the field assisting the people of Haiti. Founded in 1999, AFH is a nonprofit that helps architects apply their design skills to humanitarian efforts. Sinclair will share the story of how AFH came into being and why he decided his purpose is in spreading and supporting social, cultural, and humanitarian design.

General Session Two: Will Wynn, former mayor of Austin
Leading Communities Toward a Shared Purpose
Friday, Oct. 14, 2010, 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Early in his political career, Will Wynn developed a strong sense of purpose related to reducing carbon emissions. As Mayor of Austin, Will Wynn worked to raise awareness of the problems associated with climate change and link effective public policies needed to deal with the challenge. Wynn will present his observations and experiences joining sound urban planning with effective climate protection, demonstrating how electric utility policies and development regulations can compliment each other to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions.

Click here to register online for the TSA Convention, Oct 14-16, San Antonio.

World Green Building Week

WorldGBC and its member Green Building Councils celebrated the inaugural World Green Building Day on Sept. 23, 2009, to raise the profile of green buildings globally in the lead up to COP15 in Copenhagen. The day was shaped by a series of synchronized events hosted by GBCs around the world, including the official launch of the Asia-Pacific Regional Network.

Drawing on the success of last year's celebration, WorldGBC has extended this year's event to "World Green Building Week'" (Sept. 20-26). Key activities for this year include the launch of the WorldGBC Special Report "Tackling Global Climate Change - Meeting Local Priorities" and a series of synchronized green building events hosted by Green Building Councils from around the World.

The WorldGBC Special Report will be available for download from its website on Sept. 20, the first day of World Green Building Week.

DOCOMOMO Tour Day, October 9

The fourth Annual DOCOMOMO US Tour Day will include more than twenty modern architecture tours throughout the United States. DOCOMOMO US in collaboration with select local preservation organizations, will highlight significant buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement with tours throughout the United States.

DOCOMOMO is an international organization founded in 1988, which stands for the DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement. DOCOMOMO promotes the study, interpretation, and protection of the architecture, landscape, and urban design of the Modern Movement. DOCOMOMO has chapters or working parties in 54 countries and over 2,000 individual members.

For more information, visit www.docomomo-us.org.

Houston event - Mad about Mod Tour: Glenbrook Valley - Modern & Historic, Oct. 9, 2010.

Houston Mod, a modern architecture and design preservation advocacy group, will host a tour of the interiors and exteriors of six homes in Glenbrook Valley, plus a driving tour of notable nearby architecture in SE Houston. Glenbrook Valley has met the criteria to become the first post-war historic district in Houston and Texas. During a special reception at the last tour stop, participants will have the opportunity to mingle with special guests including original architects, local historians, and neighborhood leaders.