Election Results
• Douglas L Steidl has been elected 2005 President
• Paul Davis Boney, FAIA; RK Stewart, FAIA; and David H. Watkins, FAIA, were elected to serve as AIA vice presidents in 2004.
• James A. Gatsch, FAIA, has been elected treasurer of the AIA.

Libeskind Presents His Plans for Lower Manhattan
at AIA Convention
Architect is featured Saturday speaker
Daniel Libeskind, the architect whose vision for Lower Manhattan has been endorsed by redevelopment and public officials, passionately presented his plans for the 16-acre site to thousands of the nation’s architects at the AIA national convention in San Diego May 10.

Getting Real in Lower Manhattan
Panel debates whether Libeskind’s design can survive intact
Following Daniel Libeskind’s stirring presentation May 10 of his team’s proposal for the World Trade Center site, a panel at the AIA national convention in San Diego, including Libeskind, turned its attention to how the proposal would fare in the real world.

Delegates Vote for Electronic Voting
At the May 10 business meeting of the 135th AIA convention in San Diego, delegates voted unanimously to adopt a Bylaws amendment that permits electronic voting and eliminates use of standing votes at annual and special corporate meetings.

Salk Institute’s Poetry and Proof Graces New Fellows’ Investiture
Basking in the San Diego sun and the proud glow of family and friends, 62 AIA members and five colleagues from other nations joined the Institute family of Fellowship and Honorary Fellowship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies’ outdoor plaza in La Jolla, Calif., on May 9.

AIA COF Awards 2003 Research Grant to Study Ties Between Neuroscience and Architecture
College of Fellows Chancellor Sylvester Damianos, FAIA, announced during the May 9 general session of the AIA national convention that the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture will receive the Latrobe Fellowship, a $100,000 grant to pursue research to answer questions about how the human brain perceives architecture.

San Diego Launches Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture
Legacy Project will explore synergy between
science and design fields
A two-decade-old research partnership focused on the emerging understanding of the relationship between the brain and the built environment has culminated in the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, the Legacy Project of the 2003 AIA National Convention in San Diego.

Tsien, Williams Offer Poetry Through Beautiful “Handprints on the Earth”
Lawler receives Kemper Award;
Malecha, Topaz Medallion at opening session
“Welcome to the poetry and proof of architecture,” said AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, in San Diego as he opened the 135th national convention of the AIA May 8. Koonce marveled at the changes that have touched the profession since the first AIA convention in New York City in 1867 and how they are manifested at the convention.

Members' Voices at the AIA National Convention

Members and guests have enjoyed viewing a wide range of products at the opening of Expo 2003. Here are some of their impressions of the exciting innovations offered by the design and construction industry vendors and Cornerstone Partners.

Friday Session Explores Proof that Design Matters
The Friday morning general session found AIA national convention participants, moving from the “poetry” to the “proof” part of architecture, “the less familiar territory,” said AIA President Thompson E. Penney, FAIA. “If we can prove to our clients and the public that design matters ... design excellence will not be an option, it will be required,” Penney explained.

Profession Grapples with “Arrested Development”
Moderator Clark Kellogg, associate partner and director of strategic services for Gordon Chong + Partners, San Francisco, was just hitting his stride Friday morning. With a wink, he confessed to the 150+ attendees at his seminar that, although not licensed in California, he sometimes identifies himself as an architect anyway. And then it happened.

Contractors Give Architects a Run for Their Money
San Diego natives Greg Finch (left) and Ben Ingram, both with DPR Construction, finished first and second respectively in San Diego’s 5K Fun Run by the Bay on the brisk and sunny morning of May 8. Good news: DPR is one of the convention sponsors. More good news: Meg Jorn, AIA, of AIA Lower Rio Grand Valley and Megamorphosis Design, was the first woman to cross the finish line. The best news: A great time was had by all!

AIA 2003 National Convention and Exposition Convention2003 coverage—online, and Saturday's print edition—from San Diego, is made possible by the generous support of the AIA Trust and the CNA/Schinnerer insurance programs. For more information on insurance and risk management go to the Web sites of the AIA Trust or the Commended Program.

Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.