Design Awards Highlights – Part 3

This is the third installment of highlighting the 2011 Design Award winners leading up to the 2012 awards.    The deadline for 2012 submissions is August 29, 2012.  Find out how to submit your project for 2012′s Design Awards.

ikon.5 architects Receives AIA-NJ Design Award

Princeton, N.J., Firm Honored for Work on SUNY New Paltz Building

Princeton, N.J. based ikon.5 architects has been awarded a Merit Award in the Non-Residential Built category by the AIA-NJ for the Campus Commons, a three-level, 12,000-square-foot expansion of the 1970 student union at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

The expressive, angular shape of the glass-sheathed building with a jutting apex is an architectural reference to the rock outcroppings of the distant Shawangunk Ridge, a major rock-climbing destination that is a distinctive part of the campus’ natural setting. The project also included the renovation of 10,000 square feet of adjacent space in the existing student union.

“We are proud to present this award to ikon.5 for this creative structure that serves as a campus gathering center and makes a strong counterpoint statement to the topography of the landscape,” said Laurence E. Parisi, AIA, president of AIA-NJ. “Creating this transparent and sculptural structure for the University is a well deserved achievement for this creative architectural firm.”

The new “crystalline palisade,” as the Campus Commons has been called, functions as the gateway to the university, creating a dramatic first impression by enlivening a formerly neglected space between two pre-existing concrete buildings, providing a physical point of identity for the university and modernizing its image, while also linking it to the regional landscape.

“There was little about the institutional architecture of the SUNY New Paltz campus to distinguish it from that of the dozens of other SUNY campuses,” said Joseph G. Tattoni, AIA, a principal of ikon.5 architects. “Our goal was to transform the image of the campus by designing a Campus Commons that created a striking first impression and that was an abstract expression of the majestic rock crags of the Shawangunk Ridge.”

The inviting, light-filled gathering place also serves the very practical functions of providing space for meeting rooms, a game lounge, a study mezzanine and group study rooms. It’s also the most environmentally friendly project the university has ever built, having been designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver standard.

Ikon.5 architects has won several other AIA-NJ design awards in recent years, including those for the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center located in Little Falls, N.J., on the campus of Montclair State University, and for two public libraries in Delaware, the Hockessin Public Library in Hockessin and the Kirkwood Public Library in Kirkwood, both located in New Castle County.

Continuing Education Requirements for Registered Architects and Certified Interior Designers

by David Del Vecchio, AIA, Chair, AIA New Jersey Legislative and Government Affairs

The Continuing Education requirements to maintain licensure for Registered Architects runs concurrently with the biennial renewal cycle, but does allow some carry over (see below for details). The biennial renewal period ends July 31, 2013, but you may want to check you records to assure that you are accumulating the correct number of credits for both licensure and AIA membership.

Continuing Education requirements to maintain membership in AIA runs concurrently with the calendar, and you should know that there were changes to the self-reporting starting in January of 2012.

Additionally, if you are also a Certified Interior Designer, you should be aware that the renewal period for CIDs ends on September 30, 2012. Continuing Education requirements for certification as a Certified Interior Designer also runs concurrently with the biennial renewal cycle, but does not allow carry over (see below for details).

For those who are LEED accredited, your continuing education requirement depends on whether you are a LEEDap without a specialty (a retired category), a LEEDap with a specialty, or a LEED Green Associate.

Registered Architect Continuing Education Requirements

13:27-4 A.2 Continuing education hour requirements; carry-over of excess CE hours

(a)  … a license applying for renewal on or after August 1, 2001 shall complete, during the preceding biennial period, a minimum of 24 CE hours…. At least eight CE hours per year or 16 CE hours per biennial renewal period shall be obtained from courses or programs within the definition of health, safety, and welfare…. The remaining CE hours shall be in educational activities that are directly related to the practice of architecture.

(d)  An architect who exceeds CE requirements in a biennial renewal period may carry up to 12 CE hours, including eight CE hours of health, safety, and welfare programs or courses, into the next renewal period. Any CE hours to be carried over shall have been earned in the last six months of the biennial renewal period.

Certified Interior Designer Continuing Education Requirements 

The Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee of the New Jersey State Board of Architects is responsible determining the qualifications of interior designers seeking certification in this State, establishing standards for certification, and disciplining licensees who do not adhere to those requirements. Inquiries can be forwarded to Charles Kirk, PO Box 45001, Newark, 07101, (973) 504-6385 or via fax to (973) 504-6458.

Excerpts from the interior design regulations:

13:27-9.10 Continuing education credit requirements

(b) A certificate holder shall not be required to obtain continuing education credit hours during the first biennial renewal period in which the certificate holder first obtains certification. For each succeeding biennial renewal period, the certificate holder shall complete a minimum of 12 continuing education credit hours related to interior design services. Of the 12 continuing education credit hours, at least six must concern health, safety and welfare issues related to interior design.

13:27-9.11 Continuing education programs and courses

(a) The certificate holder may obtain continuing education credit as follows:

1. Seminars conferences courses and other programs offered for the purpose of keeping the certificate holder informed of advances and new developments in the profession and approved by the Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC): one hour for each hour of attendance;

2. Successful completion of interior design graduate course work from a program accredited by the CIDA or a substantially equivalent program as determined by the Committee in a manner consistent with N.J.A.C. 13:27- 9.4(e) taken beyond that required for professional certification :a maximum of five hours for each course; or

3. Courses, programs or seminars offered or approved by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs that are directly related to the practice of interior design: one hour for each hour of attendance; or,

4. A certificate holder may obtain approval for attendance at a seminar, conference or other program that meets the Committee’s continuing education requirements. For approval prior to attendance at a seminar, conference of other program, the certificate holder shall submit to the committee a descriptive outline of the program or a description as prepared by the sponsor, including dates and hours 60 days prior to enrollment. For approval subsequent to attending a seminar, conference or other program, the certificate holder shall submit to the Committee a description as prepared by the sponsor, including dates and hours together with written verification of attendance.

13:27-9.12 Certification of compliance with continuing education requirements

(a) A certificate holder applying for certificate renewal as set forth in N.J.A.C.13:27-9.5 shall confirm on the renewal application that he or she has completed the required continuing education during the preceding biennial period set forth in N.J.A.C.13:27-9.10.

(b) Each certificate holder shall be subject to audit by the Committee and shall submit documentation of completed continuing education courses and programs upon request.

Failure to provide requested documentation or falsification of any information submitted to the Committee may result in disciplinary action.

(c) Each certificate holder shall retain for a period of not less than five years continuing education documentation for each seminar, conference, course or other program including its title, a descriptive outline including the sponsor and names of presenters, and its description as prepared by the sponsor including dates and hours.

About IDCEC Approved Courses and the Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee

The Interior Design Continuing Education Committee (IDCEC) has as its members the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and the Interior Designers of Canada (IDC). New Jersey Certified Interior Designers are not required to track their records with IDCEC, but if you are a member of one of their member organizations, they will track approved courses for free through a self-reporting system on their website. If you want IDCEC to track continuing education for you, and you are not a member of ASID, IIDA, or IDA, you must pay a fee to report each course, and another fee to obtain an official transcript.

https://www.idcec.org

A full list of IDCEC approved courses can be obtained at https://www.idcec.org. It is available in an Excel spreadsheet that will take 25 pages to print at 11” x 17”, but it could prove useful to you in locating vendors that provide IDCEC approved courses.

The interior design continuing education courses required for Certification do need to be either IDCEC approved, or approved by the Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee of the New Jersey State Board of Architects. There is no fee to submit your courses for approval by the Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee of the State Board of Architects, and there is no need to submit your records unless you are audited. It is unclear what would happen if they audit your record and they subsequently determine, for whatever their reasons may be, that the courses you took were not substantially equivalent to those provided by IDCEC. See the Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee website for specifics about how to have courses approved.

http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/interior/

Free Vendor Provided IDCEC Credits Online

Some vendor websites offer free IDCEC approved online courses and other courses related to interior design that may be acceptable to the Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee. Some courses may also count for AIA credit and some may even count toward USGBC credit. You should check whether, and to whom, the CE provider is automatically reporting credits, or which you can self-report.

NOTE: If a course is both AIA HSW and IDCEC approved, it should show up on your AIA CES transcript, if you are an AIA member, since all AIA approved HSW courses are no longer self-reported and only available through approved providers. 

Please be careful as certificates of completion do not always include the IDECEC approval number even though the sponsoring website says it is an IDCEC approved course.

Here are some websites that offer interior design and architecture continuing education.

http://www.interiorsandsources.com

http://www.aecdaily.com

http://continuingeducation.construction.com//resource.php

http://hanleywooduniversity.com/learncenter.asp?id=178409

http://kohlerpro.kohlerco.com/irj/portal/pro/resources

Continuing Education Required for AIA Membership

AIA Members must earn 18 Learning Units per calendar year, 12 of which must be HSW. Of the 12 LU’s that relate to concerns of health, safety and welfare (HSW), 4 must be in sustainable design (SD).

Note: In calendar year 2012, aligning closer with state licensing boards’ practice, AIA members will no longer be able to self-report HSW courses for credit. Members will need to complete HSW credits by taking qualifying courses from registered AIA CES Providers and Providers will need to report HSW courses for members to receive HSW credits. Members can continue to self-report non-HSW learning unit (LU) credit hours.

USGBC / GBCI

These may be the most complicated to figure out. You should refer to GBCIs website for their continuing education requirements. You should also be aware that AIA New Jersey provides LEED-specific courses at its annual East Coast Green Conference and other events throughout the year at a very reasonable cost.

– LEEDap without specialty requires no CE.

– LEEDap with specialty requires 30 CE (6 LEED-specific) biennial period ending 8/11/2013.

– LEED GA requires 15 CE (LEED-specific) biennial period ending 8/11/2013.

Design Awards Highlights – Part 2

This is the second installment of highlighting the 2011 Design Award winners leading up to the 2012 awards.    The deadline for 2012 submissions is August 29, 2012.  Find out how to submit your project for 2012′s Design Awards.

Clarke Caton Hintz Receives AIA-NJ Design Award For
Its Office Space At the Masonic Temple in Trenton, N.J.

AIA-NJ has awarded Trenton, N.J.-based architecture and planning firm, Clarke Caton Hintz (CCH), with a Merit award in the “Interior Architecture” category of its annual Design Day Competition. The award was given to CCH for the historic preservation and renovation of the firm’s third floor office at the Trenton Masonic Temple, located at 100 Barrack St. in Trenton, N.J.

“Clarke Caron Hintz’s project exemplifies great historic preservation work,” said Laurence E. Parisi, president of AIA-NJ. “I am honored to recognize CCH for their design talents, dedication and commitment to their craft and to the architectural community.”

CCH discovered the unfinished third floor of the Trenton Masonic Temple while working with the Masons to prepare a long-term preservation strategy for the 80-year-old building. The Grand Lodge of New Jersey, the statewide Masonic organization, acquired the building in 2004 for the purposes of restoring and managing its use. During the preservation work, CCH realized the potential of the extraordinary third floor and decided to undertake the renovation project for the firm’s new headquarters.

The Trenton Masonic Temple was originally constructed in 1927 to house five lodges. The neo-classical limestone building is one of the last truly grand Masonic Lodge facilities in the state.

“The third floor had been designed to be three additional meeting rooms, but was never finished,” said Michael Hanrahan, associate partner at CCH and immediate past president of AIA-NJ. “With 25-to-35 foot ceilings, large exposed concrete columns and beautiful views, this space presented tremendous opportunities, yet it had stood empty for over 80 years.”

The design for the new facility takes advantage of the extraordinary spatial and material qualities of the third floor. Steel trusses supporting the roof have been exposed and new skylight openings have been added. Most of the large, open spaces remain unobstructed, providing drafting and workspaces for the architects and planners. Offices and meeting rooms are located along the perimeter, and are enclosed with a glass partition system that allows natural light to penetrate into the center.

CCH, which is known for its focus on urban revitalization and energy-efficient building practices, designed the new office space to meet certification standards established under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for commercial interiors (CI). The designation is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit coalition of building industry leaders that administers the national ratings for high performance of sustainable buildings.

“Our new office is tracking Silver level certification through the LEED-CI rating system,” said Hanrahan. “By selecting a site in an urban center, taking advantage of the existing space and materials, expanding the natural daylight within the space and through efficient systems design and the selection of “green” products and materials, we were able to meet or exceed the LEED requirements for efficiency and sustainability.”

Design Awards 2011 Highlights – Part 1

Leading up to the 2012 Design Awards we will begin highlighting the 2011 winners.  This is part 1 of a multiple articles over the next week that will showcase the awardees.  The deadline for 2012 submissions is August 29, 2012.  Find out how to submit your project for 2012’s Design Awards.

Farewell Mills Gatsch Receives Two AIA-NJ Design Awards

Princeton Firm Honored for Work on Landmark Buildings

The Princeton, N.J., architecture firm of Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects was the winner of two of the nine architectural design awards presented this year by AIA-NJ.

In both cases, Farewell Mills Gatsch won the awards for the restoration of landmark mid-century modernist buildings. The firm received Honor Awards in the Historic Preservation category for the preservation of the Louis I. Kahn Bath House and Day Pavilions in Ewing Township, N.J., and in the Non-Residential Built category for the Aspen Institute Walter Paepcke Memorial in Aspen, Colorado, originally designed by Herbert Bayer a Bauhaus designer/Architect who worked under Walter Gropius.

Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects is recognized nationally for its work in architectural design, historic preservation, renovation and the adaptive reuse of existing structures.

“It is with great pride that we recognize and honor this architectural firm that has breathed life back into these structures that are a notable part of our architectural history and landscape,” said Laurence E. Parisi, AIA, president of AIA-NJ.  “Farewell Mills Gatsch’s outstanding work on these buildings of important cultural, historical and social significance is an excellent service to society.”

The Louis I. Kahn Bath House was a seminal work in the master architect’s career and an influence on many of his later buildings, including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, and Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif.  The bath house, pool and day camp, designed in 1955 for the Jewish Community Center of Ewing Township, located just outside Trenton, N.J., is now owned by Ewing Township.

The bath house consists of four pavilions in the shape of a cruciform enclosing an atrium that is open to the sky. Each is topped by a pyramidal roof that floats on top of the supporting walls, allowing light to enter above the sidewalls and through an opening at the roof’s apex. Kahn himself said that the geometrically simple, but elegant building evoking ancient monuments was a turning point in his career.

“I discovered myself after designing the little concrete block bathhouse in Trenton,” he told the New York Times in 1970.

But the condition of the bath house pavilions, as well as pavilions for the day camp located a short distance away, had deteriorated as a result of weather, but also because of what Michael J. Mills, FAIA, the Farewell Mills Gatsch partner in charge of  preservation, has called “the poetry of the buildings.” Kahn intended for water to run over the masonry surfaces, but the aesthetic was very damaging to the masonry.

In the restoration, Farewell Mills Gatsch refrained from using gutters, which would have violated Kahn’s original intentions, but restored the masonry to make it more impervious to moisture penetration. Such an approach was typical of the restoration in general, in which the goal was to achieve longer lasting, safer and more practical improvements while still preserving the original design.

“This was a very exciting project,” said Mills, who had visited the buildings as an architecture student, “but it was also a little daunting; every architect who has worked with Kahn or has been influenced by Kahn was interested in what we would do, so we had to take great care in studying the site and making the plans for its restoration.”

Farewell Mills Gatsch also dealt with a landmark building at the Aspen Institute — in this case a memorial to Walter Paepcke, the Institute’s founder, designed in 1963 by Bauhaus-trained architect Herbert Bayer, along with Frank Lloyd Wright protégé Fritz Benedict. The goal of the original design was to reflect Paepcke’s vision for a place “where the human spirit can flourish.”

The Paepcke Memorial Building quickly became the centerpiece of the campus of the Institute, an international nonprofit focused on fostering enlightened leadership. But, as with the Kahn bath house, little had been done to maintain the building. In addition to preserving and expanding the building, the project also focused on making it more energy efficient and updating its mechanical and audio-visual systems.

“We definitely tried to respect and protect the spirit of Bayer and Benedict,” said Michael Schnoering, AIA, of Farewell Mills Gatsch. “We could clearly feel them looking over our shoulders. We wanted the new features to be introduced to the building in innovative ways that preserved the spirit of the building, but that also accommodated the space and technology needs of the future.”

Farewell Mills Gatsch also won two merit awards in the Historic Preservation category from AIA-NJ in 2010 — for Princeton University’s Whig Hall in Princeton, N.J., and for the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, N.J., both located in Mercer County.

Design Award Submission Deadline

The deadline for submissions fro the 2012 Design Awards is fast approaching.  The AIA New Jersey Annual Design Awards Program brings public and professional recognition to architectural projects which exhibit design excellence.  Architects are invited to submit their work for review by the distinguished Design Awards Jury. Find out how to have your project included.

Awards are given in a number of categories, both merit and honor, built and un-built.  In multiple building types, including residential, interiors and historic preservation.

Submission deadline:  August 29, 2012

2012 Design Awards Jury

Kevin Sullivan, Partner, Payette Associates, Boston, MA

Eric Lautzenheiser, Francis Cauffman Architects, Philadelphia/Baltimore & NYC

Charles Thanhauser, TEK Architects, NYC

All submissions will be on display for public view during the Annual Design Conference event to be held September 13, 2012 in Asbury Park, NJ, at The Berkeley Hotel.  Register for the day long event of 3 sessions, 1 tour of the Asbury Park boardwalk, keynote speaker Stephen Kieran, FAIA, and concluded with the Design Awards Reception where the 2012 Design Award winners are announced .

See a list of the 2011 Design Award winners.

AIA-NJ Historic Resources Meeting – Water Witch Club Casino

Save the Date

AIA-NJ Historic Resources Committee Meeting

Thursday, September 6 at 3:00 to 5:00 pm

Water Witch Club Casino, Highlands, NJ

Monmouth Hills was conceived as a planned residential community in the late 19th century.  Built in 1905 in the Colonial Revival style, the shingled clubhouse at the center of Monmouth Hills, known as the Water Witch Club Casino, was added to the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places in 1990. The building was named after a novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper, who is known to have visited the Highlands area in the 1830s. The romantic novelist Cooper described the areas as “the most beautiful combination of land and water in America.”

Agenda

I. Overview of the Water Witch Club Casino and Monmouth Hills Historic District

II. Old Business

• Bell Labs Update
• Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Tax Credit Dispute
• HPRA (Historic Properties Reinvestment Act)
• Renewed funding for the New Jersey Historic Trust & The Keep It Green Campaign

III. New Business

• Gilbreth House
• Athena Tacha’s Green Acres, Trenton, NJ
• Additions welcomed

AIAS NJIT Northeast Fall Quad Conference

An Open Letter from the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)
Northeast Fall Quad Conference

This coming fall, the American Institute of Architecture Students at NJIT (AIAS NJIT) is excited to be hosting the Northeast Fall Quad Conference held amongst AIAS chapters and professional architects for a weekend on October 18-21, 2012. Our theme for the conference is Revitalizing Cities: Newark, like many industrial cities in the Northeast USA, was once a booming city but it experienced racial tensions and subsequent urban downfall. However, because of its rich history and culture, Newark has become a major renaissance city yearning for revitalization. Like many other cities looking to be revitalized, what roles can architects and architecture play in this rebirth? Student leaders and professional will come together for the love of architecture to discuss and impact a city, our society and profession.

We have established ourselves as a non-profit chapter and a professional organization dedicated to connecting students and professionals, and making the voice and work of architecture students more prominent within the field. Your assistance will allow our chapter to put together a quality conference that will allow our guests to attend lectures with prominent keynote speakers, participating in workshops, exploring the wonderful places that Newark and surround cities has to offer, and of course, having fun.

As Co-Chairs of AIAS NJIT Quad Conference, we wish to formally invite you to be a sponsor at our event. Please look at the information regarding sponsorship levels here on our website. Your firm/company/product will benefit greatly with any package you choose. If we all work together, the 2012 Northeast Fall Quad Conference will be a success and impact the relevance of architects and architecture.

We are grateful for your kind consideration and we look forward to your participation.

Sincerely,

Vicky Tran
AIAS NJIT Quad Co-Chair
973.975.5661
vtran211@gmail.com

 

Kamilyn Longmore
AIAS NJIT Quad Co-Chair
201.407.4324
klong0110@yahoo.com

Regional Director’s Report – August, 2012

A REGION’S RESPONSIBILITIES

By Jerome Leslie Eben, AIA

AIANJ Regional Director, ’11-‘13

Recently, I was in Denver, CO as member of the AIA Advocacy Committee. Within the structure of that committee, I  Chair the subcommittee for AIA Public Policies and Position Statements (PPS). This year’s goal is to have better access and understanding of PPS after they have been reviewed by various stakeholders of the Institute.  In addition we have installed a more manageable and coordinated numbering system so that these core beliefs will receive the appropriate attention from the entire membership, should you choose to comment.  Locally, AIANJ through the L&GA committee led by David Del Vecchio, AIA are in the same process of  review and will offer suggestions as the PPS apply to us and present them to the full AIANJ Board in the fall.

Along with our meetings and as part of our total  advocacy effort, several of my fellow Regional Directors took to the phones and called their members to ask them to step up and donate to ArchiPAC.  You may have seen me at  AIANJ events or sectional  meetings giving out preaddressed envelopes. More recently I have sent some E-mails to selected groups about our federal advocacy effort.

I do want to state here that I respect a small number of our members who do not believe in ArchiPAC or  even our very own APAC.  Certainly as your Regional Director,  we can agree to disagree on why we need to donate to both of these political action funds. However, for the rest of you, the description below of why we neeed you to step up and donate follows:

Our initial ‘ask’ happens at AIA Grassroots Leadership Conference and I am proud to state that most of your leadership has in fact stepped up and made their donation at that time.   A follow up fund drive was held at the National Convention  in Washington.    This event provides an opportunity for the Advocacy Team to expand the drive to AIA members that may not be on the leadership track.  I am pleased to report that we did secure some donations from those individules.

Institute wide, the results so far are that we have raised $91,200.  We are well into the second half of the year, trying to reach our goal of $201,000.  A total of 900 members have stepped up to donate to date.  The importance of raising this goes with the territory that this is a Presidential election year with the whole of Congress up for election and at least a third of the Senate.

Our profession is rich in history and accomplishments, yet it it seems to be very difficult to entice many of our members to give to ArchiPAC.  Other professional organizations raise more, much more!  This ultimately provides them with the legislative upper hand.  So as your Regional Director what’s next and especially for us?  Well, a challenge to help close the gap. Our Advocacy Staff in Washington can and are explaining to our legislators what it is that architects bring to the table and in turn that we make our country work better.

You can give on line by going to AIA.org, clicking on Advocacy and clicking again on make a donation, or you can see me at your next local section meeting and I will provide you with a pledge flap, attached to the self addressed envelope.  Either way, think of your donation as a way to help protect our profession and what it is that we stand for.

Thank you,

Jerry

jebenaia@aol.com

The President’s Corner / August, 2012

THE VALUE OF THE ARCHITECT and  AIA-NJ
STOP SCREWING AROUND AND GET INVOLVED

I am proud to be an active member of the AIANJ, it is something that I consider to be an honor.  I joined and started to participate in 1968 when I was a young draftsman. I did not have the time and or the inclination to be actively entrenched and serve on the Board of my local section, the Architects League of Northern New Jersey, until years later.  I attended all of the monthly meetings and had a lot of fun observing the older established architects with their creative antics. Most of these architects were well seasoned and skillfully versed in design and construction.   It was the late John Robert Gilchrist, AIA, who through his leadership instilled in me the spirit to join AIANJ and become more actively involved.

I always enjoyed the NJ Architect Conventions in Atlantic City and later on at the Playboy Club in Vernon, NJ.  I learned a lot during those early years especially at the Playboy Club. But since becoming an active member serving on the Board and committees I’ve gotten an incredible amount of experience and knowledge out of AIA.  If you really need to know, you will get back more than your dues in assets and so much more in the way of enrichments from being actively involved in AIA. Why throw away your money to be a non-active member, be involved and reap the rewards that AIA has to offer. Become an Officer, become President of AIANJ serve on the Board, Serve on a committee, Chair a committee on Codes, attend State Board Meetings, attend the learning sessions like East Coast Green or the Code seminars, Design Day, the Business and Ethics of Architecture, you will never say “what does AIA do for me” again, I promise you this.

Membership in The American Institute of Architects brands us all to the highest level of professionalism of a 150 year old organization established for the purpose to enrich the practice of architecture. Being a member in the AIA is a privilege that is bestowed on us all having passed the licensing exam and commanding a sense of responsibility and knowledge to maintain the highest level of competence in the field of architecture.  What is the purpose of being a member if all you are interested in are the initials AIA behind your name? Do you think that is all it is worth? If you do, you are sadly mistaken.

Understand the value of donating to your New Jersey Architectural Political Action Committee (APAC). Don’t forget ARCHIPAC, AIA Nationals Political Action Committee. We have a voice because of those who continuously donate and are actively involved. Your donations go directly toward supporting elected officials who support architects. There is no bull about it, become a full active APAC member and attend political fundraisers, meet your Senators, Congress and Assembly members face to face. Share in communion of the political prosperity.  Attend the annual Grassroots Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. Going to Capital Hill and lobbying your Senators and Congress person is like nothing you have ever done before. This conference is spectacular, thrilling and offers a vast opportunity to attend incredible learning and leadership sessions. As an active Board member your cost to attend this conference is sponsored by AIANJ and its Sections.

I have been very actively involved in AIANJ for the past 10 years. This has been the most rewarding time spent for me as a member of AIA.  Don’t lose sight of what truly matters. When I first became involved and noticed that the same individuals some 15 to 20 members are the ones who keep this organization going. These few give their personal time to serve with no compensation only the love for architecture and desire to better our profession.  Now it is your time to give back as those before you have. As we go into the future it will be the young architects who will step into these active positions and take over the leadership rolls in this culturally rich organization. I ask that you encourage the youth of our profession who work in your office to join AIA as an associate member.  It costs very little and will continue new life in our society. Do your part to support our New Jersey Society of Architects to help it grow, get involved and be active. This is our profession, keep it strong and keep it ours.

Mentorship NOW

Mentorship NOW – get involved!

Our goal is to establish an organized mentorship program. Arranged through an online database, the groups will consist of small groups of members in a range of career stages. In addition to the small group mentoring, there will be a series of regular programs with speakers from fields outside of architecture, such as marketing, insurance, legal, accounting, social work, psychology, education and others. We will plan the educational programs and mentorship groups to appeal both to emerging professionals as well as other members.

Highlighted programs available NOW:

• Gingerbread Dessert/Build Challenge
• AutoCAD and Revit Courses
• Professional Practice Notes: Can the IgCC make Buildings Greener?
• ARE Review Courses at NJIT starting in September
• NJIT Career Fair October 17th

Learn More Information about Mentorship NOW

All of those who are interested should visit our website to register at http://aians.org/mentorshipnow/.
The program is free to members, and all experience levels are encouraged to participate.