March 30, 2007
  REPORT FROM THE FRONTLINES OF KNOWLEDGE
Workshop: Neuroscience of Facilities for the Aging and People with Alzheimer’s
Late last year, we witnessed an extraordinary and unprecedented event: Neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, senior living operators, and architects together discussed how the aging mind perceives its surroundings and how to apply this knowledge to improve environments for our elders. The workshop focused on identifying research topics for the scientific community that would enrich and inform the architectural design process. Held at the Dana Foundation in Washington, D.C., on November 30 and December 1, 2006, the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) served as the link among the various disciplines involved in this challenging mission. The workshop location was meaningful: the Dana Foundation, founded in 1950, is a private philanthropic organization with interests in brain science, immunology, and arts education.

AIA Peconic Architect Takes “Duck Project” Under Her Wing
AIA Peconic, one of the Institute’s newest components, has launched the “Duck Project” as its AIA150 Blueprint for America chapter initiative, to study how to preserve and conserve a series of historic cottages in Flanders on the eastern end of Long Island in Southampton Township. The project site, where the Long Island Duck is an iconic trademark, is part of a 5,000-acre park preserve where the waterways nurture the area’s water supply system. Preservationist Eva Growney, AIA, is spearheading the study, which is rapidly garnering political and monetary support.

best practices
Implementing the Profit Plan
“The entire realm of financial management seems so mysterious because we haven’t been properly prepared to deal with it,” say Steve Wintner, AIA, and Michael Tardif, Assoc. AIA, in their new book Financial Management for Design Professionals. In this excerpt, they “balance the buckets” in implementing a profit plan.


Site Watch
It’s Alive! Death by Architecture Returns
Death by Architecture, a design competition Web site, is live and kicking and ready to bring you all the information you need to know about competitions in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to relevant registration information and links, Death by Architecture provides a comments section for readers and a “count down” calendar showing how many days you have to apply for each event. Among its many offerings, the site lists AIA competitions—state, city, and national. Listings and access are free.

AIA Contact Documents on Demand eShop Now Available
The AIA on March 15 released the AIA Documents on Demand eShop, a Web site that provides customers 24/7 access to the most popular AIA Contract Documents. The eShop allows customers to purchase individual documents and then print them immediately.

 

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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.