AIA NJ EPiC and the Archtober Challenge

Archtober is a month dedicated to spreading Architectural knowledge and celebrating our Emerging Professionals.

By definition, emerging professionals [EPs] are identified by their recent entry into the profession, not by their age. AIA National places EPs into three categories: architecture students involved with AIAS, AIA Associate members and AIA members licensed ten years or less.

AIA New Jersey is fortunate to have a devoted group of EPs who are working to activate the next generation of AIA members on local, state, regional, and national levels. They founded AIA NJ EPiC, our current Emerging Professionals Community, in 2015.  Since then they have continued in their leadership roles on various committees and have been selected as guest speakers/facilitators nationwide.

AIA NJ and the Architecture profession as a whole can immensely benefit from embracing the EPs fresh experience, greater diversity, and global thinking. We are all too aware of the large workforce gap that is becoming more prominent by the day as more Architects reach retirement.

AIA NJ and AIA NJ EPiC encourage YOU to reach out to the EPs in your office, section, or town. Start the conversation, share stories, and help create a cohesive line of succession within our profession. Challenge and encourage the EPs in your office to join you at the next general meeting in your section by sharing all the reasons why you decided to become an AIA member. Sharing your experiences as an Architect can only enhance the future of the profession.

EPiC urges the EPs to rise to the occasion and seek out a firm leader or AIA member. Ask them to join you at the next section meeting or EPiC event. AIA members have immense knowledge that can help you as you progress in your career. Get involved with the AIA and take your career to the next step.

Spreading Architectural knowledge is something we all strive to do. Volunteer to become a mentor or go to an elementary school and give a brief presentation on what Architecture is. AIA NJ EPiC has resources for you to use, just reach out and ask!

Share your success stories and photos with us by email or on social media! Let’s show everyone that when we work toward a common goal the opportunities are limitless.

Find resources and learn more about AIA NJ Emerging Professionals here.

 

epic@aia-nj.org

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https://twitter.com/AIANJEPiC/

https://www.instagram.com/aia_nj_epic/

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Revit Position Opportunity

Looking for
Architectural Revit Modeler

 

ECS Group’s laser-driven technologies – and 35+ years of experience – have made us the nation’s leading Building Survey and “As-Built” CAD/Revit Development Specialist!

 

We’re looking for an experienced professional to help our well-established and GROWING team to meet our clients’ ever-increasing requests for comprehensive Revit models and BIM support services.

 

Major Architectural firms, Developers, Universities, Hoteliers, Hospitals, Government and other Real Estate organizations across the country put their trust in our precise drawings and models.

Our hundreds of millions of square feet of hi-profile credits include The White House, The State Department Building and over 6-million gsf of Federal DC Region buidlings… The Waldorf Astoria, The Plaza and numerous other major hotels nation-wide… Princeton U, Drexel, Rutgers, UMass Amherst… as well as buildings of every imaginable size, complexity, usage and condition.

You will join our many long-term associates who enjoy steady work, overtime pay, health insurance, life insurance, matched 401K, and more.

We’re ideally looking for a team player with 2+ years of REVIT modeling experience in an architectural firm.

We will consider someone with strong AutoCad drafting expertise, who has a working familiarity with Revit.

For immediate consideration, please phone Gary Frischman directly at 973-663-5511

EPiC Tour NextFab of Technology Month

Join EPiC West Jersey for “Technology Month” with guided-tour of NextFab, a “maker-space” and co-working facility that integrates design and fabrication with a large array of technologically advanced as well as traditional fabrication tools.  Come and explore Nextfab’s metal shop, wood shop, laser-cutting, 3D scanning and 3D printing studio. Where: NextFab  2025 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia When: February 24 6:00 – 8:00 pm Cost: $5 CEU: 1 HSW Credit

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE REGISTER HERE

Drawing Inspiration from our Emerging Professionals – Brian Penschow

“Drawing Inspiration from our Emerging Professionals” is an eight-part series that will be published on the AIA NJ blog over the course of the month of October, AIA Emerging Professionals Month. In this series, our young professionals will chronicle the personal stories of how they were attracted to become architects — and how architecture inspires them.

    Drawing Out My Inner Creativity

I like to joke with people that I came to architecture after trying accounting, anthropology, and archaeology, but that isn’t really true – my career path wasn’t nearly that simple. And while it is true that I played with legos and lincoln logs when I was a child, grew up in and around the beautiful architecture of New York City, and had a poster of the World Trade Center with the 1976 King Kong on my bedroom wall, none of those things inspired me to become an architect or even led me to architecture school.

In grade school, I wanted to be a marine biologist, but I didn’t know how to make a life out of that. (Ironically, my wife found a way; she actually teaches Marine Biology.)

As I grew older, my plans transformed and I was convinced that I would be a patent attorney, as my logic skills and gifts with mathematics and science would help me excel in that field. I planned to get an undergraduate engineering degree, and then go to law school, but none of that worked out. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

While I did enter engineering school at the age of seventeen, I never finished my degree. After bouncing around several different jobs, some of which I considered possible careers, I decided to go back to school and study business, which ended up being a complete disaster. I was good at engineering, but in engineering there is one particular solution to a problem, and there is very limited room for creativity. I found business school very boring, and it’s no exaggeration to say that I was completely lost.

It wasn’t until I took my first class in architecture at my local community college that I finally felt at home. I was willing to work long hours, stay up all night, cry after brutal critiques, and even sacrifice a social life for a discipline that would allow me to use all of my skills and creativity. Architectural school, for the first time, helped me release my inner creativity that was always trying to get out.

My inspiration for becoming an architect, and for producing architecture comes from within. Finding that locus of inspiration within me is the secret to my ambition, my drive, and, in large part, to my success.

Brian Penschow, AIA

NCARB Launches ARE 5.0

The Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) 5.0 launched November 1, 2016, and incorporates the latest testing technology.

Learn more at NCARB.com

The next version of the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®), ARE 5.0, will launch November 1, 2016, incorporating the latest testing technologies and format that more closely aligns with modern practice. The six-division exam will include case studies that simulate real-world practice, and will be offered without a fee increase.

Developed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the multi-division exam is taken by all candidates seeking architectural licensure in the United States. As with all licensing exams, the ARE is updated periodically to ensure it continues to test the knowledge and skills necessary for the independent practice of architecture.

To adapt to changes in the profession, ARE 5.0 will incorporate a new division structure and the latest graphic testing methods. The exam content has been reorganized into six divisions, which are designed to reflect the phases of architectural practice—from practice management to construction and evaluation. The new divisions also align with the experience areas of the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), making the licensure process smoother and easier to understand for candidates.

Incorporating the Latest Testing Technology

The new exam will retire vignettes—a graphic question type used in the current version—and incorporate two new question types: hot spots and drag-and-place. ARE 5.0 will also include case studies to assess a candidate’s ability to synthesize multiple pieces of information. Each ARE 5.0 division will feature 80 to 120 questions comprised of these new question types, plus multiple-choice, check-all-that-apply, and fill-in-the-blank questions.

NCARB carefully develops the ARE in conjunction with hundreds of practicing architects who volunteer their time, services, and expertise to write, test, and analyze the exam. The ARE is then reviewed by experts who verify the questions are fair, reliable, and in compliance with national testing standards.

 

Drawing Inspiration from our Emerging Professionals – Megan Pritts

“Drawing Inspiration from our Emerging Professionals” is an eight-part series that will be published on the AIA NJ blog over the course of the month of October, AIA Emerging Professionals Month. In this series, our young professionals will chronicle the personal stories of how they were attracted to become architects — and how architecture inspires them.

At the age of 5, I already knew I wanted to become an architect. What inspired me was the environment around me in which I grew up. Living in the suburbs, I drew variations of what I saw from houses to gardens to school buildings. I drew a house for each of my friends with vibrant colors and imaginative shapes that reflected the personality or image of them in my head.I drew each of these houses from the view of the street and later learned that one side or face of a building is called a facade. My series of facade studies started taking shape within a neighborhood where I drew landscapes, roads and driveways connecting all of the homes to other buildings like schoolhouses. I assume this progression from drawing houses to interconnected neighborhoods came from riding the school bus every day and beginning to understand how neighborhoods are planned and connected.

I would argue that anything can be inspirational for a child. I found so much inspiration from my natural surroundings and the built world I lived in that I used that to imagine new structures that would enhance the existing environment. My passion for drawing and my early imagination led me to develop a sense or ability to design at a young age.

Growing up, I never stopped sketching, designing and planning, so it was only natural for me to pursue a career in architecture.

Megan Pritts

Drawing Inspiration from our Emerging Professionals – Matthew Pultorak, Assoc AIA

“Drawing Inspiration from our Emerging Professionals” is an eight-part series that will be published on the AIA NJ blog over the course of the month of October, AIA Emerging Professionals Month. In this series, our young professionals will chronicle the personal stories of how they were attracted to become architects — and how architecture inspires them.

A day at the beach

I grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn, so for much of my childhood I played on asphalt and concrete. (There was also an occasional patch of dirt, which was invariably sprouting weeds). Finding refuge from the bustle of the busy city was rare, so my family would take fairly regular trips to the beach to alleviate the stress and wear of the city lifestyle. Although we didn’t frequent it as often as I would have liked, the beach would influence my creative side in a number of ways. As a creative professional, I look back on those trips and wonder if they had an influence on my decision to pursue a career in architecture.

The beach is a place where all five senses can be evoked, which can cause some sensory overload in a young child. All of the new feelings I experienced on the waterfront caused me to see my surroundings differently. What was a nice place for most people to lounge became my new site for childhood  construction as I designed the most intricate sand castles any architect could conjure up.

You learn about everything in life through experience, and anyone who has built a sand castle can tell you about the factors you must take into account: the wetness of the sand, proximity to the water, where the sun is coming from, if there are other people walking on your “site” and how you have to redirect the ocean water as the tide came in.

Dealing with all of these concerns, unbeknownst to me, was my first experience solving an architectural problem. The end goal was always to create the largest, most intricate sand castle, but in order to complete the project, all the other problems had to be addressed. These small details can really help a young mind develop their problem solving abilities, and from it arises a heightened sense of creativity.

While most people see the beach as a relaxing way to spend the day, it can also be used by parents as a means of developing future architects. It worked for me!

Matthew Pultorak, Assoc. AIA

ARE 4.0 Structures Course – Fall 2016

The College of Architecture & Design at New Jersey Institute of Technology is offering an online review course for the Architect Registration Exam (ARE 4.0) in Structural Systems this fall semester.

The course will start on September 8 and will cover the exam material in a lecture format, including the related graphic vignettes. The instruction will be delivered entirely online so students do not need to travel to campus to attend class. Lectures are delivered weekly through a password- protected website. Questions are answered through the same website or by e-mail. Registrants can view the lectures at their convenient time. The course will run for 15 weeks ending by December 23rd.

For further information and for registration, please contact the instructor, Rima Taher, by e-mail at: Taher@njit.edu.

AIANJ EPiC Summer Events

 

ALNNJ + Newark and Suburban + Central Jersey Sections Mini Golf Outing Willowbrook Golf Center, Wayne, NJ August 9, 2016 First ever EPiC Mini Golf Outing! Meet fellow EP’s, play a few holes and perfect your putt for next year’s outing. Register Here!

 

West Jersey + South Jersey + Jersey Shore Sections Summer Social & Brewery Tour Tuckahoe Brewing CompanyAugust, 26 2016 Fun fact: Tuckahoe is part-owned by an architect!  Come meet the owner and other local EPs, tour the facility, and sample the tap selections.

 

2016 Student Design Competition Due August 19, 2016 Submission Fee: $25  For more details and the full competition poster visit our website.

 

IDP is Now AXP

Did you know IDP is now AXP ?

The Architectural Experience Program (AXP), formerly the Intern Development Program (IDP), launched June 29.

See the NCARB website for details.  Be sure to update your online resource pages to reflect the new name as follows:

• Replace “IDP” with “the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), formerly the Intern Development Program (IDP)” or
• Hyperlink to the pilot AIA website. No links will be broken when the pilot site transitions to the full AIA website. Licensing Basics, ARE Prep, and AXP Resources are now available on the pilot site