Kim Vierheilig, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, appointed to the New Jersey State Board of Architects

Kim V. Vierheilig, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Vice President of LAN Associates, has been appointed to the New Jersey State Board of Architects by NJ Governor Chris Christie. Ms. Vierheilig was sworn in on December 14, 2017. Her term ends April 29, 2021. The Governor’s Appointment’s office expressed their confidence in Kim’s ability to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of this position with diligence and integrity.

Vierheilig recently concluded her term as 2nd Vice President of the American Institute of Architects New Jersey Chapter, as well as, Chair of the NJ Women in Architecture Committee. past president of the Architects League of Northern New Jersey.

AIA NJ is very pleased to hear the announcement of another registered architect appointed to the board, and especially to see a woman selected.  AIA NJ President Elect Verity Frizzell, AIA, expressed her confidence and congratulations upon hearing the announcement while current President Ben Lee, AIA, is looking forward to Ms. Vierheilig’s service but disappointed that AIA NJ will lose her leadership.

AIA NJ Past President Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, has worked alongside Kim Vierheilig since they were in school together and during their years serving the Architects League and AIA NJ, released the following statement,

“Kim Vierheilig, AIA, has always presented herself with confidence, professionalism and grace. She is recognized throughout the industry as a fair and thoughtful leader. She is respected by AIA members as an icon of the successful Architect. I am so pleased to hear about her new appointment and know that the good people of the Garden State will be well served by my colleague.”

~ Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA

 

According to the NJ State Board of Architects, the Board is responsible for protecting the public’s health and safety by determining the qualifications of architects seeking licensure in our State, establishing standards for practice, and disciplining licensees who do not adhere to those requirements.

The practice of architecture is the rendering of services in connection with the design, construction, enlargement, or alteration of a building or a group of buildings and the space within or surrounding those buildings, which have as their principal purpose human use or habitation. These services include site planning, providing preliminary studies, architectural designs, drawings, specifications, other technical documentation, and administration of construction for the purpose of determining compliance with drawings and specifications.

Kim is a licensed architect and a LEED-Accredited Professional with a Building Design and Construction Specialty. Vierheilig serves as Vice President of LAN Associates, an Engineering, Planning, Architecture, and Surveying firm, one of the leading architectural/engineering practices in Northern New Jersey.

Vierheilig leads the architecture department at LAN in designing inspirational, functional and comfortable spaces for its educational, senior living and hospitality clients. She is the author of the whitepaper entitled “Breaking out of the Box,” documenting scientific research proving that a holistic building design approach in schools enhances student educational achievement.

Vierheilig oversees the Marketing Department, spearheading numerous marketing and business initiatives that have increased LAN’s market share and positioned the firm as one of New Jersey’s leader in K-12 school design.

Vierheilig’s commitment to excellence has led her to be named one of NJBIZ 2017 Best 50 Women in business, Woman Builders Council 2017 Outstanding Woman and NJBIZ 2016 Forty Under Forty.

AIA NJ extends our appreciation and congratulations.

About AIA and AIA New Jersey

Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is the professional organization that helps architects serve the public’s needs and builds awareness of the role of architects and architecture in American society. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the 300 plus local chapters represent 89,000licesnsed architects and allied professionals. The organization’s local chapter, AIA New Jersey, has served as the voice of the architectural profession in the Garden State since 1900. Based in Trenton, AIA New Jersey has 2,000 members in six local sections. For more information, please visit http://www.aia-nj.org.

In the 5 Years since Hurricane Sandy, AIA-NJ has Increased their Commitment to Resiliency

 

“AIA-NJ is really a model of how to get it done after a disaster.”

~ Illya Azaraoff, AIA

Contributors: Illya Azaraoff, AIA; Bruce Turner, AIA; Justin Mihalik, AIA and Laurence Parisi, AIA Editor: Stacey Kliesch, AIA

 

In 2012, in the weeks and months following Superstorm Sandy, AIA-NJ’s members were getting back on their feet. Many of them located in areas where the storm hit hardest not only were helping their clients to rebuild their homes, but were also figuring out how to rebuild their own. AIA-NJ architects were aware that the State still did not have a plan in place on how to rebuild, and FEMA was months away from updating base flood elevations. So how were homeowners to rebuild?

To make matters worse, the costs for elevating homes and rebuilding were four and five times the amount of available FEMA grants. It was at this time that AIA-NJ Executive Director Joseph Simonetta knew it was imperative for AIA-NJ to be at the forefront of the recovery and the first step was to meet with the Governor’s Office of Rebuilding and Recovery. Joe organized the meeting at the State House and AIA-NJ presented the issues that homeowners were facing approximately $150,000 in structural remediation per structure. Unbeknownst to AIA-NJ, the Governor’s Office was well underway preparing a report on the damage to real estate, infrastructure, and vital buildings.
The result of the meeting and the work of the Governor’s Office was the Reconstruction,
Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation Program (RREM). The program provides up to
$150,000 in grant funding assistance to eligible homeowners to repair or reconstruct their homes. Our Executive Director was vigilant ensuring that the recommendations of AIA-NJ were incorporated into the RREM program, which enabled thousands of residents to rebuild their homes within the following years.

Another achievement of AIA-NJ has been supporting the passing of the Good Samaritan Bill. Until Superstorm Sandy hit, the pushback from the legal community made passage of this bill impossible. In the wake of Sandy, AIA-NJ did not delay in moving on the legislation as the timing was right. Once again, Joe Simonetta knew this bill would be more impactful if the engineers joined on since they too would be performing building assessments along with the architects. Joe initiated lining up sponsors for the bill, drafting the bill and then coordinating the necessary meetings between AIA-NJ and NJ Professional Society of Engineers for the bill’s final language.
AIA-NJ reached out to the the New Jersey State Bar Association and addressed their concerns in order to pave the way for the bill’s passage. Through our executive director’s invaluable relationships with NJ’s key legislator’s, the bill was passed and signed into law by the Governor in 2013. Since passage, this legislation has become a template for other AIA Components as they work to have Good Samaritan legislation passed in their states.

Read more about the Good Samaritan Bill here.
Around the same time, the AIA-NJ Homeland Security Committee, founded by AIA-NJ

Robert Cozzarelli, AIA, appointed to the New Jersey State Board of Architects

Robert Cozzarelli, AIA, Past President and Regional Representative for AIA NJ, has been appointed to the New Jersey State Board of Architects by NJ Governor Chris Christie. His term begins immediately and ends April 29, 2022. The Governor’s Appointment’s office expressed their confidence in Bob’s ability to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of this position with diligence and integrity.

 

 

The filling of this vacancy on the State Board has been long awaited by the architectural community, and so this announcement was met with great satisfaction. AIA NJ Immediate Past President Justin Mihalik, AIA, communicated his gratitude to Mr. Cozzarelli while current President Ben Lee, AIA immediately shared the news with the executive board.

AIA NJ Regional Representative Bruce D. Turner, AIA has had the opportunity to work most closely with Bob Cozzarelli and released the following statement,

“Having served with Bob on the AIA New Jersey Executive Committee, especially as his President-Elect in 2004, and now as Bob’s immediate successor on the Strategic Council, I couldn’t be more proud that he has been appointed to the State Board of Architects. I am certain that he is up to the task, and I am confident that he will serve the profession and the people of New Jersey exceptionally well.”

                                                                ~ Bruce D. Turner, AIA

According to the NJ State Board of Architects, the Board is responsible for protecting the public’s health and safety by determining the qualifications of architects seeking licensure in our State, establishing standards for practice, and disciplining licensees who do not adhere to those requirements.

The practice of architecture is the rendering of services in connection with the design, construction, enlargement, or alteration of a building or a group of buildings and the space within or surrounding those buildings, which have as their principal purpose human use or habitation. These services include site planning, providing preliminary studies, architectural designs, drawings, specifications, other technical documentation, and administration of construction for the purpose of determining compliance with drawings and specifications.

Cozzarelli is an award-winning architect and planner with over 30 years of professional experience. He specializes in educational, recreational, institutional and residential design for federal, state, municipal and private-sector clients.

Knowing Sandy

By: Susan P Bristol, AIA, NJ PP, LEED AP                                                               spbarch@gmail.com

SPB Architecture LLC, Rocky Hill, NJ

609.924.7989

Spbarchitecture.com

(Adjunct Professor at NJIT, CoA+D, School of Architecture)

 

 

Architecture, having been consumed by the movement toward sustainability in recent decades, now has a new mandate. Resilience.  In post-Sandy NJ (and NJ River basins since the mid 20th century) the questions have been: How do we control water? How do we defend against other natural forces that can and have wreaked devastation? What are our policies toward construction on sites that have flooded multiple times? How do we build for future disasters to protect expensive infrastructure, architecture and neighborhood investment? What is the role of the architect in mitigating disaster?

Now the big question now is: how do we live with water?

Those of us in the ‘trenches’ of designing, building, planning, engineering and construction have been operating on multiple levels. In my Garden State Studio resilient design course at NJIT in Spring of 2013, I began using the term ‘Un-Building’ just after Sandy to think about treading more lightly on fragile (barrier island) ground, in floodplain redevelopment, in dense neighborhoods and coastal constructions. This does not mean do not build or do not re-build, it means that we need to examine our footprints: our constructed and environmental footprints.  If you think that Un-building is a provocative term for a profession that depends on building, then you are correct. It is meant to alert us to the conflicts embedded in our profession and to make us think.

 

The first thing that people think about resiliency after a storm, is that we need to update the building codes (government) and the second thing is how we meet those codes (property owners, architects, engineers, contractors). As I reminded folks at the 2013 Mayor’s Summit (sponsored by the Center for Resilient Design at NJIT), building codes are a minimum, FEMA codes do not even consider sea level rise, and best practice design must take many other factors into account.  Architects are well positioned to add nuance, insight, resiliency and vision to projects beyond the minimal codes.  However, some of those factors, it turns out, include human fragility and emotions.  Recently, the Nobel prize winner in Economics was announced.  Professor Rickard Thaler’s field is behavioral economics. Architects could learn something by his attention to the human component which is not rational.

 

We cannot assume that experiencing Sandy was a ‘wake-up call’ for everyone.  In fact, the emergency recovery mode pushes some to focus on ‘return to normal’, rebuild as before, make it look like nothing happened.  Our professional inclination is to do it better, do it differently, use design to integrate new codes into our work.  At our best, we

LAN ASSOCIATES PARTNERS WITH CITY OF NEWARK TO PROVIDE FIRE PREVENTION MATERIALS TO THOUSANDS OF NEWARK SCHOOL CHILDREN

 

In support of National Fire Prevention Week, LAN Associates partnered with the City of Newark and the Newark Fire Department to teach local school children the importance of fire safety and preparedness.

(From Left to Right) – Newark Fire Fighter Fernandes, Newark Deputy Chief Witte, LAN CEO Ron Panicucci, Principal Garrison, Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson, Newark Firefighter Thomas, and Newark Fire Captain Mustafa Al-Mutazzim

 

More than two hundred second and third grade students at Camden Street School participated in a program on fire safety and prevention presented by LAN Associates and the Newark Fire Department. In addition to the presentation, LAN Associates – a full-service architectural and engineering firm based in Midland Park, NJ — supplied National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) approved educational fire prevention materials for 2,000 additional Newark second and third grade students.

 

“As architects and engineers, we find it especially important and rewarding to educate children on the importance of fire safety and prevention,” said Kim Vierheilig, AIA. “It is important students know what to do when an emergency arises at home or in school, and that starts with proactive fire safety presentations such as the one today.”

 

Since 1922, National Fire Prevention Week has been held annually to educate, spread awareness, and commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  This year’s NFPA campaign is “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!”, and reinforces why having a varied escape plan is so important in the event of a fire.

 

“Partnering with LAN Associates to provide a top-notch fire prevention education program is something we strive for in Newark,” said Fire Chief Rufus Jackson. “This is a public-private partnership on the grassroots level – and it works to enhance the culture of learning in our public schools.”

 

Onque praised the Newark Public Safety Fire Division for its year-long community outreach efforts, including the varied Fire Prevention Week events which will last throughout the month of October.

 

“On behalf of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the City is grateful to continue this partnership with LAN Associates to bring a remarkably high-quality fire prevention and preparedness program to our youngest students” said Onque. “Our hope is that students will go home and discuss this important program and the materials with their families.”

 

Firefighters Thomas and Fernandes led an engaging dialogue on safety tips like stop, drop, and roll, escape plans in the event of a fire, and proper usage of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The presentation concluded with student touring the fire truck outside the school, where firefighters gave a demonstration on how the fire department responds to 911 calls and the 80lb of equipment they wear.

 

According to a recent NFPA study, 3,390 civilian fire deaths occurred in 2016. NFPA estimates that one civilian death occurred every 2 hours and 35 minutes during that same year.

 

 

 

AIA NJ Leaders participate in the Municipal Land Use Law RE-FORUM Meeting on May 19,2017

Presentation of Compendium of Notes

from MLUL RE-FORUM Meeting on May 19, 2017 

to the West Orange Township Council

by Jerome Leslie Eben, FAIA, PP, jlebenaia@gmail.com

 

The Hon. Joe Krakoviak, West Orange Township Council President recently invited AIA NJ Past President Jerome Eben, FAIA to speak on the Municipal Land Use Law Re-Forum. Organized by the NJ Chapter of the American Planning Association this past May, AIA NJ was one of many sponsors. Jerry talked about this extremely informative event and a follow up meeting in July that he attended with President Ben Lee, AIA.

Jerry explained to the Council, Hon. Robert Parisi, Mayor and about 75 members of the public that along with many of his colleagues, we have long known that the  zoning in this New Jersey is broken and has been for a very long time.  He explained that AIA-NJ had a decade ago, given thought to the problem, as well as a name, calling it:

 

“Zoning Ridiculousness”

 

Jerry spoke of the lack of intelligent planning throughout New Jersey’s 565 municipalities.  Highlighting that this is especially critical in areas along common border lines.   Despite the apparent fact that individual Master Plans declare that the so called intelligent planning exists between these communities, in truth it does not.
This is the consensus of the many professionals who have the chore of navigating the MLUL on behalf of their clients.  He explained that the costs both the clients and in turn (alphabetically) architects, attorneys, engineers, planners and sometimes many other consultants in appearing before municipal regulatory boards, is out of control.

In a very general way, what came out of the RE-FORUM meeting was the following important QUESTION:

How can we enhance and update the MLUL to reflect 21st century planning advancements, recognize the diversity of conditions across municipalities, create an efficient, value-driven review process, and ensure development and preservation outcomes that support shared statewide priorities of prosperity, environmental stewardship, affordability, mobility, public health & safety, quality places and sustainable design?

 

The meeting organizers recommended attendance by experienced practitioners, decision-makers and opinion leaders.  There were well over 150 participants to share their vision for how the MLUL could be updated to authorized the use of invocative planning tools in NJ communities. The goal would be to PREVENT internal inconsistencies between Master Plans, Zoning Ordinances and re-examination reports that in fact confound the for mentioned professionals, not to mention the public.

The Compendium of Notes from this program reflect the highlights from twenty-eight (28) Breakout Sessions.  Over fifty (50) pages of records have been placed on the association’s web page.  They reflect the general opinions from those who participated in these sessions.  

Click here to read the entire report.
Because of a time constraint, Jerry addressed only a few of the items, but he tells us they were those close to his long time push to get enforcement under control, make sure contents of the Master Plan include detailed points to review on the zoning ordinances and that it would be helpful to professionals appearing before these boards if the volunteer board members were better educated and prepared by visiting the proposed sites prior to their actual meeting.

 

He also mentioned that it is extremely important for Zoning Officers to be a trained in Planning and Zoning issues and State certified with followed up mandatory continuing education credits!  

 

Lastly, he spoke of the support of non-automobile mobility options………SAFE STREETS ARE A MUST and ordinances on paper need to be applied to all applicants with strict enforcement.

 

The Re-Forum committee meets again in September. Ben and Jerry will be present and promise their fellow members of AIA NJ a follow up to where hopefully this will lead all of us to the removal of Zoning Ridiculousness in our State.

 

AIA NJ takes action to protect New Jersey from New Executive Order that exposes Government Infrastructure to Flood Risk

On Tuesday, August 15, President Trump issued a new executive order that rolls back Obama-era protections put in place to ensure that government-funded infrastructure projects in flood prone areas would be less exposed to flooding and the effects of climate change. Read more on this executive order here.

Illya Azaroff, AIA Regional Recovery Work Group, and a resiliency expert on AIA National’s Strategic Council says, “In the northeast alone 20% of the US GDP is accounted for from the Boston-Washington corridor or megalopolis. In that same 2% of US land area 48.6 million people reside and it is all connected by a tangled web of infrastructure that is very vulnerable to immediate shocks and stresses. Since Super Storm Sandy the way forward in not only this region but around the country has progressed toward comprehensive resilient building measures that account for risks of today and those predicted in the future. To reverse Obama era directives that aim to design for climate change across political and state boundaries is to say the least a short sighted failure of leadership. I believe the health safety and welfare of the public is at greater risk without these measures in place. ”

Here in New Jersey, we still hear residents speak of the effect of Sandy on our communities, the days before compared to the way things are now.  While the Obama regulations created a new landscape for many on the Jersey Shore, those changes brought a sense of security to people, allowing them to stay in their communities rather than relocating to higher ground. Will that now be ripped out from under our neighbors?

New Jersey’s environmental groups respond to the new executive order. See comments here.

AIA NJ is not in support of the new executive order. It goes against our core values:

• We stand for a sustainable future
• We stand for protecting communities from the impact of climate change

President Elect Verity Frizzell, AIA says, “Yes, there is some additional cost to raising projects another 2 or 3 feet, but it is nothing compared to the cost of rebuilding after a flood.  It shouldn’t cause any delays in permitting, at all, unless the original plans weren’t drawn to the higher standard and had to be re-drawn.  It is another example of our President’s shortsightedness and operating without full knowledge of the consequences of his decisions.”

AIA NJ President, Ben Lee, AIA has issued a plan of action that is already underway, with AIA NJ representatives scheduling Summer Recess meetings with our Congressmen and Senators,  and discussions with State Legislators being planned. Our Committee on the Environment is advising on the recommended plan for our state.

 

 

AIA NJ supports the passing of Senate Bill-3317

On June 26, 2017, NJ Senate passed S-3317 to require NJ to Join Climate Alliance to uphold Paris Climate Accord. AIA NJ supports the passing of this Senate Bill.

Along with AIA National, AIA NJ stands for a sustainable future and for protecting communities from the impact of climate change. 

Climate change caused by human activity remains one of the most urgent challenges of the 21st century. Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases already are causing rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and degradation of natural resources. These trends are projected to continue and possibly accelerate, posing significant risks to national security, human health, food supply, global economies, and natural ecosystems; many of these result in refugee crises.

The AIA recognizes that current planning, design, construction, and real
estate practices contribute to patterns of resource consumption that will inhibit
the sustainable future of the Earth. Architects, as the leaders in design of the
built environment, are responsible to act as stewards of the Earth.
Consequently, we encourage communities to join with us in changing the
course of the planet’s future by supporting governmental and private sector
policy programs, including the development, evaluation, and use of codes,
standards and evidence-based rating systems, that promote the design,
preservation, and construction of sustainable communities and highperformance
buildings.

It is in this spirit that AIA NJ supports the passing of Senate Bill-3317 and we are looking forward to supporting the passing of coordinating Assembly Bill-5040.

SENATE, No. 3317

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

217th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2017

 

Sponsored by:

Senator  BOB SMITH, District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

Senator  LINDA R. GREENSTEIN, District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

 

SYNOPSIS:      Requires NJ to join U.S. Climate Alliance to uphold Paris Climate Accord.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT:      As introduced.

An Act requiring New Jersey to join the United States Climate Alliance, and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The State shall join the United States Climate Alliance and uphold the Paris Climate Accord, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and address the threats posed by climate change in accordance with the goals established therefor by the alliance.

 

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

STATEMENT

This bill would require New Jersey to join the United States Climate Alliance, a group formed to pursue policies to uphold the United States’ commitments to the Paris Climate Accord in order to address the threats posed by climate change.  The group was formed by the Governors of California, New York, and Washington after President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.

The Paris Climate Accord, joined by 195 countries, sets forth a five-year goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature below 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels and aims to limit the increase in average global temperature to 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels.  The signatories to the agreement also pledge to undertake rapid reductions in greenhouse gases thereafter in accordance with best available science. Before and during the Paris conference, countries submitted comprehensive national climate action plans.  Since the formation of the U.S. Climate Alliance, the Governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia, as well as the Governor of Puerto Rico and the Mayor of the District of Columbia joined the alliance.  Hundreds of mayors, business leaders, and university presidents have committed to honor the goals of the Paris agreement as well.  The United States Climate Alliance is committed to upholding the Paris Climate Accord and reducing greenhouse gases in order to address the threats posed by climate change.

Current member states of the U.S. Climate Alliance comprise 36 percent of the United States population and over 30 percent of the United States gross domestic product.  The United States’ goal under the Paris Climate Accord was to reduce national emissions by 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST program

Announcing the Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST program, an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to promote compliance with the Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements. The program consists of a comprehensive training curriculum, as well as a toll-free information line and website designed to provide technical guidance to the public.

Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST & HUD will be providing a FREE FHA FIRST Design & Construction training in New York, NY on June 20th, 2017 from 8:30am to 3:30pm. The event is sponsored by the New York State Division of Human Rights and the training will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building, 6th Floor Conference Center, located at 26 Federal Plaza. A flyer with complete details is attached.is would be of particular interest to developers, builders, architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, property managers, general contractors, accessibility organizations, disability rights advocates, building code officials and government agencies.

The presenter will be Doug Anderson, CASp, R.A.S.; a partner at LCM Architects. The following modules will be covered:

· Module 10 – Design and Construction Requirements of the Fair Housing Act: Technical Overview

· Module 9 – Common Design & Construction Violations & Solutions

This training will provide members with 4½ hours of AIA-approved CEU credits and training certificates will be provided without cost to anyone who requests them.

Register for Fair Housing Design and Construction Training Here!

Architects Action Day – New Date

Due to a change in the NJ legislative schedule AIA NJ Architects Action Day will be postponed until November 2017. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will be able to join us this fall.

Do you want your voice to be heard?

Take a stand to preserve the common values we share in our profession.

When Architects speak up,
policy makers listen.

Join AIA New Jersey
for Architects Action Day
on June 12, 2017!

This full day event will be held at the New Jersey State House in Trenton.

All are welcome to attend. No prior legislative experience is needed.

Learn More – Speak Up – Click Here –