Pittsburgh Architect Provides Personal Connection to the Cardinals’ Conclave at the Vatican
Louis D. Astorino, FAIA, is the first American architect to design and complete a building at the Vatican, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Completed in 1996, the chapel serves not only as a private chapel for visiting clergy, but also as a place for the College of Cardinals to pray and reflect before they headed to the Sistine Chapel to vote for a new pontiff.

Architects Get Involved in AIA’s Disaster Assistance Program
Tsunami response coordinated
The AIA Disaster Assistance program is leading a collaboration of architects, engineers, and community planners who will lend their expertise and assistance to Sri Lanka’s tsunami relief efforts. AIA members are making the trip to Southeast Asia the first week of May to examine what will be an appropriate role for the disaster assistance team. The AIA’s Disaster Assistance program is part of the AIA’s Center for Communities by Design.

Steidl Advocates Brownfields Legislation Before Congress
AIA President Douglas L Steidl, FAIA, called upon Congress on April 5 to enact legislation that would expand incentives for brownfields revitalization this year. “The American Institute of Architects is intensely concerned about making the nation’s communities healthy, safe, livable, and sustainable places,” Steidl told a subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee. “We have long had an interest in finding imaginative and constructive uses for urban land that now lies fallow because of the residual contamination that is part of its industrial heritage.” Steidl said the AIA supports using federal tax credits for remediation expenditures at brownfields sites to provide an added incentive to induce private parties to undertake the cleanup and rebuilding of these sites. For more information, see the April 14 issue of the AIA Angle.

Chicago Architect Selected for Hunt Fellowship
The American Architectural Foundation and the French Heritage Society have selected Chicago architect Mary Brush, AIA, as this year’s recipient of the Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship. Awarded alternately to French and American architects, the Hunt Fellowship provides $25,000 for a six-month-immersion work/study program that enables young architects from France and the U.S. to observe and practice the latest historic preservation techniques, meet other professionals, and visit sites of significance in one another’s country. Established in 1990, the fellowship is named for Richard Morris Hunt, the first American architect to study at the Ècole des Beaux-Arts and one of the founders of the AIA. The mission of the French Heritage Society (formerly known as the Vieilles Maisons Francaises, Inc.) is akin to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

project watch
HOK Gives Springfield’s New Lincoln Library and Museum a Monumental Design
On April 19, 2005, seven score after Abraham Lincoln left his beloved Springfield, Ill., for Washington, D.C., official dedication ceremonies for the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) honor the memory of our 16th president, capping years of effort to bring it about by civic volunteers, government officials, and scholars. Gyo Obata, FAIA, founding partner of Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum Inc. (HOK) and his design team created a two-building, 200,000-square-foot, $150 million facility housing authentic documents of the famed Lincoln Collection, and a museum featuring virtual reality exhibits showcasing a remarkable life.

Your Kiplinger Connection (members only, AIA.org login required)
Energy: Pricey fuels spark conservation and alternative sources.
Economy: Expect a 3.5% GDP rise this year.
HR: New thoughts on pay raises.
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?
March 28 | April 4 | April 11 | April 18

best practices
The Structure of Urban Design Projects
The first step to getting an urban design project approved and under way is to have a succinct, easily understood plan. David Dixon, FAIA, offers his insight in the latest edition of the Architect’s Handbook update.

Plan Ahead: Be a Speaker at the ’06 AIA Convention in LA
Share your unique knowledge as a continuing-education speaker at the 2006 AIA national convention, themed “Architecture on the Edge: Innovation . . . Engagement . . . Inspiration,” June 8–10 in Los Angeles. The 2006 Call for Presentations and speakers’ guidelines are available on the AIA Convention Web site. In addition to the half- and full-day workshops and 90-minute seminars, a new 60-minute seminar option has been added. Proposals will be accepted only online through July 1.

BuildingGreen Publishes 100th Green Building Case Study Online
BuildingGreen, Inc., which developed and maintains the High Performance Buildings Case Studies database for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), recently published its 100th case study to that database: Seattle’s Traugott Terrace by Environmental Works, which offers 54 new units of very low-income housing above an existing recovery center. The database presents green buildings information in a consistent, easily understood format. It also displays information on the site, water, materials, and indoor environmental quality. Other aspects, such as costs, design and construction process issues, and lessons learned, also are published for most projects. (If you are not a subscriber to the BuildingGreen Suite, you can still view projects from the HPB database, which links to the DOE Web site.) For more information, visit the Building Green site. (Photo © Greg Krogstad.)

AIA CAREER CENTER
Here Are This Week’s Featured Opportunities

Details, Details! Graphic Standards Details—Openings, edited by Wendy Talarico (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005 ) features inspiring examples of entryways from 21 projects across styles and building types. Graphic Standards Details—Openings is available now to AIA members for the special price of $40 ($50 retail). To learn more or purchase, visit the AIA Store or call 800-242-3837, opt. #4.

Viva AIA! Join your colleagues May 19–21 in Las Vegas: Register for the AIA 2005 National Convention and Design Exposition.

Check Out These New Programs—with Transcripts: AIA eClassroom now has available 12 of the most popular programs from the 2004 AIA national convention with full transcripts.

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AIA Government Advocacy News: Join the list to receive the biweekly e-mail newsletter, a member benefit offering the latest local, state, and federal government actions impacting architects.

Free Continuing Education: After reading the standards and other information on environmental issues and products, references, and more in each MASTERSPEC topic, licensed users can access online tests to earn AIA/CES learning-unit hours.

Save Time! AIA.org now features a trouble-shooting Knowledge Base to address your AIA Contract Documents software questions quickly and efficiently.

Cover Personal and Business Expenses if Disability Strikes: The AIA Trust Personal and Business Overhead Disability Plans will cover all your expenses while you recuperate. Find out more about this program. For more information about all AIA Trust programs, go to their site.