The AIA National Convention and Design Expo in Chicago, June 10–12: You know you want to be there, so register online today! If you register by May 14, you not only will get a better selection of continuing education programs, tours, and hotels, you will save $70 off the registration fee (that’s at least one nice dinner on the town!). And check out the new programs that have been added to the agenda: From tempering the rising cost of steel to a special tour of the Farnsworth House, there’s something to capture every architect’s fancy.

New Convention Programs

E51 My Architect (Thursday, June 10, 7–10:30 p.m.)
A reception and private screening of the Academy Award®-nominated film My Architect will be held on opening night of the AIA national convention, at the beautifully renovated Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago. Following the film, AIA members will be treated to a question-and-answer session with the film’s director, Nathaniel Kahn, who undertook a five-year, worldwide exploration to understand his long-dead father, Louis Kahn.

TH23 Architecture: Key to the Global Thermostat—“Meeting Humanity’s Greatest Challenge” (Thursday, June 10, 2–3:30 p.m.)
Architecture—residential, commercial, and industrial—accounts for almost half of annual U.S. energy use, signaling that architects have a historic opportunity to lead the global effort in addressing humanity’s greatest challenge, global warming. Noted energy researcher Ed Mazria, AIA, will explain how architects must lead by designing buildings that balance the competing energy needs with the options that reduce the reliance on coal and fossil fuels.

FR46 A 21st Century Definition of Health, Safety, and Welfare (Friday, June 11, 2–3:30 p.m.)
Today, interior designers are joining other design professionals in assuming responsibility for a variety of life-safety issues. This catalyst prompts architects and designers to engage in meaningful conversation and share the accountability to create a definition for how their professions interact to protect the public. Join in this discussion as architects and designers discuss their perspectives on the evolving roles, responsibilities, and designations of health, safety, and welfare in the built environment.

FR67 Homeland Security, Hard and Soft Targets and the Architect (Friday, June 11, 4–5:30 p.m.)
Some say that the security of Americans lies in the hands of architects, those who design the places where we spend our daily lives. According to security experts Philip F. Zeidman and Jack Riley, compelling new “risk assessment” initiatives will tell us much about who is most vulnerable, and may forecast new governmental requirements.

FR68 Streamlining the Permit Process (Friday, June 11, 4–5:30 p.m.)
Increasing demand for economic competitiveness is forcing many city leaders to find ways to cut across ineffective procedures in an attempt to create a more viable economic climate. Join Andrew A. Adelman, PE, and James N. Bartl, AIA, as they discuss measures implemented to streamline the building regulatory process.

FR69 Bridging the Gap Between Neuroscience and Architecture (Friday, June 11, 4–5:30 p.m.)
Architects are successful when their designs meets their clients’ needs. When the average person can only express 5 percent of his or her thoughts verbally, how do you determine those needs? Lou Astorino, FAIA, and speakers from Astorino and Olson Zaltman Associates will reveal a groundbreaking process, based on metaphors, which uses neuroscience as a founding principle as it uncovers clients’ deepest thoughts and translates them into architecture.

FR70 Steel Prices: Helping Your Clients Cope (Friday, June 11, 4–5:30 p.m.)
With the surprising spike in steel prices this year, contractors and clients face the worrisome prospect of over-budget and delayed project delivery. Experts from the AIA, Associated General Contractors, and American Institute of Steel Construction will explain how it all happened, what the future might hold, and how all parties can work together to avoid conflict.

SA23 MasterFormat™ 04: Looking Towards the Next 40 Years (Saturday, June 12, 2–3:30 p.m.)
The 2004 edition of MasterFormat™ will be published and available for purchase and implementation later this year. The Construction Specification Institute’s Dennis Hall, AIA, will explain the impact of the changes made to MasterFormat 95, how they were made, and how to transition to and implement MasterFormat 04.

TP50 Farnsworth House: Mies’s Masterpiece (Sunday, June 13, 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m., 1.5 LUs, limited to 40 participants)
Mies’s 1951 residential masterpiece, the Farnsworth House, in Plano, Ill., was recently threatened with relocation and subsequently bought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for $6.7 million in December 2003. Proceeds from the tour go toward ensuring preservation of and maintaining public access to the Farnsworth House. (Photo © Jon Miller.)

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