Architecture Week Takes Center Stage in DC and NYC

Summary: Architecture fans of all ages joined AIA Washington D.C. Chapter member Mary Kay Lanzillotta, AIA, (left) for a neighborhood walking tour on “Family Day,” April 14, the culmination of Architecture Week. Participants then regrouped on the American Center for Architecture Campus for a fun-filled afternoon of constructing a miniature city’s worth of buildings (not to mention some very architecturally inclined paper hats!) on the Octagon lawn.

Recommitting to a promise
Meanwhile, the day before, celebrations centered on New York City, where AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA; AIA Vice President and AIA150 Oversight Committee Chair George Miller, FAIA; and AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Chris McEntee joined New York Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, FAIA, and AIA New York Chapter President Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, to rededicate a plaque on 111 Broadway, the site of Richard Upjohn’s office a sesquicentury ago. The original plaque read:

“The American Institute of Architects was founded on this site February 23, 1857 by thirteen architects of ideals and visions.

“Throughout the years its members have contributed to the advancement of architecture and have encouraged the development of the allied arts, expressing the aspirations of our people, bring into their lives inspiration, beauty, and comfort. Erected February 23, 1957.”

The replacement plaque has the same look and the same language with the addition of the following text:

“Rededicated April 13, 2007, in Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Founding of the AIA.”

An extraordinary time
Then on to dinner at Delmonico’s, the same restaurant at which—150 years prior—the 13 founders of the AIA celebrated the creation of the Institute. “One hundred fifty years ago, America’s architects stood at a crossroads. We stand at a similar crossroads no less challenging, no less momentous for our future,” noted President Stewart. “There are, however, two critical differences:

• 150 years ago, the public probably didn’t care if architects succeeded in getting their act together. Today they have a vested interest in our success, and we in meeting their growing expectations.
• 150 years ago, there was no AIA to provide the resources our profession needs to answer the challenge of sustainability. Now there is, and we’re over 81,000 strong.

“What an extraordinary time for the AIA and our profession,” Stewart concluded. “What an opportunity to make a difference in the very fate of humankind on planet Earth, and in the process enhance the reputation of architects and architecture as we reflect mankind’s ageless dream of a better life for our children and their children.”

Much more to come this year
Architecture Week, called for by Congress and proclaimed by President Bush, is in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the AIA. With the theme of Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future, AIA150 is also the focus of a series of local events in towns and cities across the nation highlighting the contributions made by architects and firms in the communities they serve. AIArchitect will cover these events in news and best practices in future issues over the course of the year.