March 2, 2007
  Mayors to Share Perspectives on San Antonio Growth
Among the wide-ranging learning opportunities at the AIA 2007 National Convention and Design Exposition will be continuing education programs that offer examples of real-world projects employing tangible methods and materials. Who better to make these connections than three former mayors of San Antonio—two with planning and land development backgrounds—who will discuss the challenges and opportunities they faced in planning their city’s explosive growth. In a seminar sponsored by AIA San Antonio, the mayors will present case studies of specific development strategies that promoted economic opportunity while protecting the natural resources that sustain the community.

The 5 Cs of Team Success
Whether you work in a large company with thousands of employees or a small office with only two staff members, teamwork is vital for your organization’s success, says management consultant Paul Rutter. Without teamwork, people drift off following their own agendas, allowing the company’s goals to stagnate. But when effective teamwork is in place, everyone directs his or her energies toward a single focus and typically achieves amazing results. But for many managers, the question is: How do you build a solid team of people who work well together and move the company forward? Fortunately, building a winning team isn’t as complicated as it often seems if you follow the five Cs of teamwork.

best practices
Value Engineering and Sustainable Design: The Commonality of Quality
Value engineering and sustainable design are not at odds with one another as popularly believed, argues Gregory Knoop, AIA, in this excerpt from the recently published book, Environmental Sustainability. Value engineering looks at a building’s life cycle and all elements of value (not just money), a perspective that often points to sustainable design elements as the best choices for clients.

 

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Welcome to the Practice Zone
This is the home of the weekly Best Practices column, news of tips and tools that you can use in your day-to-day practice and case studies illustrating “how-tos” and “lessons learned” for all stages of practice. The Practice Zone also features reports of research in architecture and related fields.