Chicago Commission Honors 21 Preservation Landmarks
Louis Sullivan’s last project among recognized renovation works
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks announced 21 outstanding projects September 6, including properties designated as Chicago Landmarks and properties within Chicago Landmark Districts. Among the noteworthy improvements were the exterior renovation of the Krause Music Store by McGuire Igleski & Assocs., exterior and interior renovation of the Chicago Board of Trade by the CME Group, stewardship of the Lincoln Park Zoo Lion House with exhibit design architecture by Interactive Design Inc., and exterior rehabilitation of the Biograph Theater by Daniel P. Coffey & Assocs.

What Legislative Issues Are Important to You?
As the AIA prepares its 2008 legislative agenda, the Institute wants to hear from members about what issues are most important. As in past years, AIA leadership and staff will take your feedback and match proposed issues to legislative and regulatory opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels for action next year. It works: Of the three top legislative priorities for the AIA in 2007, two of them—requiring new federal buildings to meet the 2030 Challenge and extending the energy efficient commercial buildings tax deduction—have been passed by one or both chambers of Congress, while the third—supporting green infrastructure—was included in the House's report on legislation passed in the spring. Tell us what issues you think the AIA should add to the agenda for the 2008 legislative session on the Angle blog by October 5.

More on Chi-Town: Vote for Your Favorite Historic Project
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express on September 6 launched the second annual Partners in Preservation—announcing 25 historic projects in the Chicago region that will vie for $1 million in grants. Learn about the 25 sites that are participating and vote for your favorite site. You can vote once a day between now and October 10 and share your stories about the places featured. Although the National Trust and American Express have assembled a blue ribbon Advisory Committee on the grants, the top vote getter is guaranteed to be awarded a grant. In September 2006, Partners in Preservation awarded $1 million in preservation grants to 25 sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now it's Chicago's turn. And as the Trust exhorts on the Partners in Preservation Web site: "Vote early and often!" (Pictured, and needing no introduction, is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, poised to celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2009. Photo from the HABS online collection.)

NCARB Launches Online Application for Individuals’ Records
The National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB) announced September 5 that interns and architects can now fill out the application for an NCARB record to pursue certification or to begin the Intern Development Program (IDP) online. NCARB estimates that the new online application will cut the time it takes to establish an individual’s record to one week or less (down from the four weeks a paper application now takes). Visit the NCARB Web site and click on “Start your NCARB Record online.” If you cannot fill out the entire application in one sitting, you can save the information you have already entered and come back to it at your convenience. NCARB reports that the electronic version of their records application is the first step in changing how NCARB processes and maintains records for interns and architects.

RFQ to Create “America’s Great 21st Century Park” in Memphis
Shelby Farms Park Conservancy on September 4 issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for teams to transform 4,500 acres at the center of the Memphis region into the “America’s great 21st century park.” The conservancy will select three finalists for the master planning project by November 12. The finalists—each of which will receive a $25,000 honorarium and travel expenses— will have until February 25 to develop designs for Shelby Farms Park. The conservancy, with public input, will select the winner of the “Shelby Farms Park Innovative Design Competition” by April 9. The winner of the competition will develop a master plan estimated to cost $450,000. Deadline for responses to the RFQ is October 10. The RFQ is posted on the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy Web..