By demonstrating the value of the AIA to government officials, the public, and AIA members themselves, eight programs and one individual garnered recognition in three categories from a jury of AIA component leaders for the 2005 AIA Component Excellence Awards. The award program, in its 13th year, highlights best practices in government affairs, membership, and public affairs and communication and may be awarded to outstanding individuals, single programs, and overall programs. The 2005 CEA recipients will be honored February 9 at the AIA National Grassroots and Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.

Government Affairs Outstanding Individual Contribution
Robert D. Fincham, AIA, for work with AIA Kansas
For more than a decade, Robert Fincham has been a leader in advocacy for his 600-member AIA component. Making the most of limited resources by establishing alliances with related professional and construction-trade groups, Fincham has been instrumental in convincing the state legislature of the life-cycle value of high-quality design. His efforts have thwarted several attempts to replace qualifications-based selection with cost bidding for professional services in Kansas.

Government Affairs Outstanding Single Program
AIA California Council, for “The California Performance Review”
When California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decreed a study of the performance of all state activities, the AIA California Council saw an opportunity to improve the state’s procurement, design, and construction processes, explained AIACC Executive Vice President Paul W. Welch Jr., Hon. AIA. By bringing together the state design-profession and construction-trade organizations, the consortium was able to develop a compelling argument for a single California design and construction authority. “As a coalition partner on many issues, the California Building Industry Association is appreciative of the leadership the AIACC demonstrated during the California Performance Review process,” wrote CBIA Technical Director Robert E. Raymer, PE. “The AIACC continues to be a valuable partner as we work together to best meet the needs of Californians.”

Government Affairs Overall Program
AIA Denver, for “AIA Streamline Our Permitting Process (STOPP) Task Force”
With a term-limit-mandated turnover of political leadership, AIA Denver seized the opportunity to take advantage of newly elected Mayor John Hickenlooper’s promise to streamline Denver’s development review process. Streamline Our Permitting Process (STOPP) brought area professionals together to address unnecessary delays, unpredictability, personally motivated interpretations, conflicting requirements, conflict resolution, and accommodation of unconventional projects. The result is best summed up by Hickenlooper himself in his letter of support for the AIA Denver award: “My department directors and I are now working with the STOPP Task Force to implement reforms in the development review process. We believe Denver should have a clear and responsible process that all applicants with projects—both large and small—can navigate with confidence. We also believe that we can accomplish this without reducing in any way our commitment to building design that is both safe and a credit to our community.”

Membership

The Outstanding Single Program in Membership award recognizes AIA members who have recruited and retained members for their component in innovative and exemplary ways. The Overall Program category recognizes all aspects of a component’s membership program, including organization, member involvement, and accomplishments.

Outstanding Single Program:
AIA Illinois, for “AIA Illinois Membership Brochure”
Strategic planning to overcome a lack of coordination among the six diverse chapters within Illinois helped state leaders realize that membership connection happens primarily at the local level. To establish a statewide sense of unity and attract more of the state’s licensed architects to join, AIA Illinois planners took advantage of both its biannual leadership meeting and the fact that the AIA 2004 National Convention was being held in Chicago to focus, with the help of a branding consultant and graphic designer, on developing an attractive and content-rich recruitment brochure. One result was the recruitment of 450 new members and reinstatement of 174, representing 16.5 percent of the state component’s total membership.

Overall Program:
AIA Miami, for “AIA Miami Architectural Registration Exam Seminars, Study Groups and Resource Center”
When University of Miami graduate Virgilio Campaneria found a dearth of ARE-preparation resources in Florida, he turned to AIA Miami for the organizational infrastructure to start a program. As a result, AIA Miami now offers ARE seminars and mock exams twice a year, supplemented with a computer, library, resource center, and study area at the AIA Miami office. More than 400 students have participated in the six years the program has been active with a 90 percent pass rate. Associate membership in the chapter has increased from 14 to 81 as a direct result of Campaneria’s efforts and his component’s support.

Public Affairs and Communications

The Single Program award in this category recognizes AIA components that have made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of architecture through their own work or in conjunction with the AIA national component’s public affairs and communications programs. This category recognizes a component’s work on an individual public affairs program that may be ongoing or a one-time effort.

AIA St. Louis, for “Washington Windows Project”
With its own offices newly relocated on Washington Street, the current locus of redevelopment in St. Louis, AIA St. Louis decided to increase attention on architectural appreciation in the area. Taking a cue from radio talk show host Charlie Brennan’s complimenting the aesthetic contribution the chapter office brought to the street, component leaders devised Washington Windows Project 2004 to inform and entertain by enlivening the sidewalks of downtown St. Louis with architectural imagery in storefronts and other windows along Washington Street. The committee got permission from the building owners, made certain windows were clean, and compiled an inventory of storefront spaces—complete with digital images—for local volunteer firms to adopt and decorate. In addition to extensive media coverage of the event was the gratitude of St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay: “AIA St. Louis volunteered to undertake this project and donate their time, talent, and treasure, setting an example for all organizations who care about the urban core. The Washington Windows project added energy and excitement to the street-level experience and generated even greater interest in our ongoing downtown development.”

AIA Southern Arizona, for “Mt. Lemmon Restoration Committee”
Following a summer forest fire in 2004 that devastated the Village of Summerhaven on Mt. Lemmon, just 35 miles north of Tucson, AIA Southern Arizona rallied behind President Ed Marley, AIA, to assist in the recovery and rebuilding effort. With financial and administrative assistance from Pima County, the AIA chapter led a master planning effort to rebuild the Summerhaven commercial area, 90 percent of which had been destroyed. The master plan effort, which brought together property owners, design professionals, and county administrators, developed documents now being used as the blueprint for the genesis of a new commercial area, including a revised building code to prevent recurrence of the catastrophe.

AIA San Fernando Valley, Calif., for “Panorama City Commercial Area Concept Plan”
AIA San Fernando Valley launched an urban-development assistance team to develop Vision 2020, a long-range study for 364 square miles of the valley. Assessing existing problems, assets, and potential for the commercial core of Panorama City, Calif., the study covers physical, economic, social, and political issues, but is not a complete or final plan, the team made clear. Under the leadership of Jerry Pollak, AIA, the multidiscipline team’s work has the endorsement of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and already is attracting investors to bid on properties that have been vacant for more than 10 years. “The enthusiasm that your membership has shown in preparing this plan, along with its professionalism, has demonstrated that good architectural planning can make an important contribution to the city of Los Angeles,” wrote Los Angeles Councilman Tony Cardenas in a letter of support.

AIA Toledo, Ohio, for “AIA Toledo High School Design Competition”
In what may be the oldest continuous annual component-run high school student architectural design competition in the U.S., AIA Toledo’s 55th High School Design Competition provides valuable, real-life experience for students working with architect mentors on a tangible, local project. With the cooperation of local sponsors, teachers, and related professionals, more than 6,000 competing students and their families over the last 54 years have gained a better understanding and appreciation for the value of good design and architects. “It truly is a program that not only has been an inspiration in my life, but is also responsible for confirming the direction of my college education and my future,” wrote former competition winner Samuel J. Kunkle, a second-year architecture student at Miami University of Ohio.

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