work-on-the-boards (members only)
Business Activity Continues to Shoot Up at Firms in February
As if to show that the improvement in business conditions in January was not a fluke, firms in February reported another sharp rise in business conditions in both billings on existing projects as well as inquiries for new projects. The improvement in billings and inquiries was the strongest reported by firms since before the nonresidential construction recession began in 2000.

honors and awards
Housing PIA Recognizes Eleven Residences for Excellence
The AIA is pleased to announce the 11 recipients of the 2004 Housing Committee Professional Interest Area (PIA) Awards. Established in 2000 to recognize the best examples of housing design, the program emphasizes the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit, and a valuable national resource. The recipients of the 2004 Housing Awards will be formally recognized by the Housing PIA Committee PIA at the 2004 AIA National Convention and Expo in Chicago, June 10–12.

New Book Tells Clients How to Design the House of Their Dreams
Sarah Susanka’s Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into Home is the well known author/architect’s latest home improvement sensation. Susanka has finally written the book she originally envisioned about the principles of design that led to the creation of The Not So Big House and the movement it inspired. Intended primarily for homeowners, but also useful to builders, architects, developers, realtors, and interior designers, Home by Design offers often simple solutions for design problems and gives laypeople the language necessary to discuss those elusive details that turn a house into home.

Transportation Funding, Tax Bills Offer Windows of Opportunity to Architects
As Congress continues its negotiations on the transportation and highway funding bill, the AIA is pressing for amendments that provide stronger incentives for projects that place a greater focus on the impact of transportation on communities and livability.

AIA Expo2004: The Architectural Marketplace
AIA Expo2004, the exhibition feature of the AIA National Convention, showcases more than 800 cutting-edge companies and 170,000 square feet of new products, technology innovations, and services that touch the entire building community and help your business operate efficiently, effectively, and profitably. The New Product and Technology Center, sponsored by McGraw-Hill Construction, will return with more than 50 displays.

PROJECT WATCH
KKE Architects Designs Community Center
Project expands on the Lower Sioux Tribe’s Vision
A new 20,000-square-foot community and wellness center near Redwood Falls, Minn., bears the fruit of collaboration between the 300-person Lower Sioux Indian Tribe and the KKE Architects Inc. Minneapolis office. Armed with experience with wellness centers and tribal communities, KKE worked closely with members of the tribe to create a good fit between community and building.

AIA Officer Nominations Open; Filing Date Is April 12
Thirteen architects already have declared their candidacy for three national AIA offices.

Your Kiplinger Connection (members only)
State budgets: State and local fiscal woes mean spending cuts and, maybe, tax hikes. Base closings: Another round is coming, with a final list next year. Selling: High-tech, 3-D attention getters, sure, but a mind-reading device?
AIArchitect offers AIA members exclusive access to three stories a week to help them manage their practices and plan for the coming year. Nonmembers may subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.

Need to catch up on recent editions of AIArchitect This Week?
February 23 | March 1 | March 8 | March 15

best practices (members only)
Sustainable Architecture Hits the Mainstream
Boulder, Colo., has long been a locus for proponents of resource efficiency in the built environment. When the city opted for US Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) silver criteria for the North Boulder Community Recreation Center renovation, Barker Rinker Seacat Architects, Denver, refocused their design approach and lived up to that challenge. So what is LEED, and why is everyone talking about it?

USGBC’s LEED™ for Existing Buildings Rating System Open for Public Comment Until March 30
The U.S. Green Building Council has released for public comment the LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) Rating System, which targets the 26 billion gross square feet of existing commercial building space with environmental benchmarks for optimizing building operations and maintenance. Comments are due by 5:00 p.m. PST, March 30.

Don’t Lose Your AIA Connection: Renew Your
Membership Online
If you haven’t yet paid your AIA dues, you can do it the easy way—online. You can review your invoice, update your membership profile, and submit credit-card payment for 2004 renewal dues. Visit www.aia.org and click “Pay Member Dues” in the menu. You need to type in your eight-digit AIA membership number and password (your last name in lowercase letters). It’s that easy—thousands of AIA members already have done it. Questions? Send an e-mail to AIA Information Central or call 800-242-3837. (If you want to pay your dues by mail, you can log in and download your renewal form.)

Wanted:
Ecohouse Student Designs
Architectural Press and Elsevier Publishers, in conjunction with Teachers in Architecture and Circle 33 Housing Group, present the “2004 Design Competition for an Ecohouse.” This now-annual competition drew more than 100 entries from 30 countries in 2003. Professor Susan Roaf, the competition’s creator and author of Ecohouse 2, the best-selling book from Architectural Press, describes the purpose of the competition as “to design an Ecohouse that is comfortable, with areas of real ‘thermal delight’, and a real 21st century building, safe from climate change, and able to survive without relying on a great deal of fossil fuels.” The competition is open to any student or group of students in a school of architecture. The deadline for all submissions is August 31. Visit the Architectural Press Web site for details.

AIA CAREER CENTER
Here Are This Week’s Featured Opportunities

Get Home by Design from the AIA Store: In her newest book, Home by Design, Sarah Susanka, AIA, presents 27 key concepts that can be applied to any home. Using 30 of the best designed homes from around the country, Susanka brings these concepts to life with 150 powerful and inspirational examples. $29.95 AIA members/$35 retail. To order from the AIA Store, call 800-242-3837, option 4, or click here.

See other books by Sarah Susanka.

Join Your Colleagues June 10–12 in Chicago: The AIA 2004 National Convention and Expo offers high-quality continuing education, access to more than 800 exhibiting companies, inspiring speakers, and myriad collegial events. Visit the AIA Web site for more information and to register.

How Does Your State Stack Up? View the AIA Economics and Markets Research team’s state profiles that our members presented to congressional representatives during the Grassroots Leadership Conference.

Check Out the Free Online Courses From the 2004 Grassroots Conference: AIA eClassroom has just released three new courses featuring keynote speakers from this year’s AIA Grassroots Leadership conference. Hear EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt; pollster Frank Luntz, PhD; and Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, senior advisor to the director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Try Airborne Express Risk-Free: New customers who are AIA members receive their first shipment free. Just call 800-MEMBERS (800-636-2377), 8 a.m.–7 p.m. EST. For more information and benefits, visit the AIA Advantage site.

LINX Automated Editor: LINX is an automated, on-screen editor that optimizes MASTERSPEC’s relational database structure and can be used either as an interactive Q&A editor or as a point-and-click editor.

Members-only Life Insurance: The AIA Term Life Insurance Program for Firms offers AIA member firms specially negotiated rates and benefits. For instance, if you employ 10 or more people, you are eligible for guaranteed enrollment with a benefit of up to $50,000 per person. Learn more about this program. For information about all AIA Trust programs, visit their Web site.