Click to the February issue of AIArchitect.
  AIArchitect This Week, 3/18–22/02

African American Museum Partners RTKL and The Freelon Group
A new African American history museum slated for Baltimore's Inner Harbor will seek to embody the character, pride, struggle, and accomplishments of Maryland's African American people. Full Story

Construction Cycles Are Alive and Well
After posting strong and sustained growth between 1993 and 1999, construction contracts for nonresidential buildings declined slightly in 2000 (after adjusting for inflation) and then dropped more substantially last year. Full Story

Security Tops State Government Agenda
The AIA State Government Network (SGN) gathered at AIA headquarters March 1 after joining other component leaders in the AIA Grassroots 2002 Government Affairs Day and Capitol Hill visits. Nearly 60 AIA members, component staff, and lobbyists representing 45 state components attended the meeting. Full Story

State Department Streamlines Design Reviews
By putting technology to work, the State Department's Overseas Building Operations (OBO) is expediting design reviews for new embassies and security upgrades at 260 U.S. overseas posts. OBO has adopted the Design Review and Checking System (DrChecks)—a Web-based collaboration tool developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)—as a standard practice. Full Story

BEST PRACTICES CASE STUDY
Make the Most of Project Collaboration Technology
As this week's article on the CERL's DrChecks shows, the technology is available and proven whereby construction project team members can share huge amounts of electronic information securely, transmit comments instantly, and store a wealth of project information for later analysis and use. The Technology in Architectural Practice PIA gives insight into how to use this power wisely. Full Story

Did you catch AIArchitect This Week last week? or the week before? Click here to view the full table of contents of the March issue of AIArchitect. (Opens in a new window.)

Design Design Offers Many Opportunities for Learning About Sustainability, May 9 to 11 in Charlotte
Click to see a number of sustainability seminars being offered.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
Plan Ahead: Be a Speaker at the 2003 AIA National Convention in San Diego, May 8–10, 2003
The AIA invites you to submit a presentation proposal for the 2003 AIA national convention in San Diego. Potential speakers are invited to submit proposal for three types of presentation formats: 90-minute seminars, 3.75-hour (half-day) workshops, and 7.5-hour (full-day) workshops. Speakers receive complimentary convention registration, per diem reimbursement, and a modest travel allowance to help defray airfare costs.
Proposals are due June 17, via email.
You may download a PDF that includes complete information about speaker presentations. For a hard copy of the call for presentations, contact Emily Cole at 202-626-7445.
Photo by James Blank, courtesy of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. Download

  This Just In

U.S. Courthouse & Federal Building, Central Islip, N.Y., by Spector Group in association with Richard Meier & Partners, one of the 2001 Business Week/Architectural Record Award winners. Photography © Scott Frances/ESTO.Harvard GSD Chair Mori Joins Business Week/Architectural Record Awards Jury
March 15 registration deadline extended, so you can still enter! You can still order an entry packet but should leave enough time to meet the submission deadline of April 19 or the late submission date of April 24. Full Story

Meet the Candidates for AIA National Office
The candidates for national office gave their debut speeches March 2 at the Grassroots Leadership Conference.

Front row, left to right, are: Secretary Candidate Larry M. Schneider, AIA; First Vice President/ President-Elect Candidate Harold L. Adams FAIA, RIBA, JIA; First Vice President/ President-Elect Candidate Eugene C. Hopkins, FAIA; and Secretary Candidate Lawrence R. Livergood, AIA. In the back row, left to right, are the candidates for Vice President: Robin M. Ellerthorpe, FAIA; Katherine Lee Schwennsen, FAIA; Wayne Silberschlag, AIA; Bruce E. Blackmer, AIA; and Michael L. Prifti, AIA. Candidates Bios

Economics Watch: March 11, 2002
Economic indicators over the past week have reinforced the impression that this country is successfully dodging the recession bullet. Surveys for the U.S. Department of Labor show that employment is up for the first time since last summer, with the construction industry accounting for a large share of the gain. Full Story