The Mystery and Imagination of the Minds of Children
A midsummer night’s article
You can’t really remember anything in your life that happened before you were three years old, except things that other people have told you, says John Eberhard, FAIA, founding president of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. Perhaps that’s why early childhood (from three to six years old) seems so cloaked in mystery. At age three, whether you are flying with Peter Pan, making drawings of monsters and castles, or explaining your big secret to your best little friend (whom no one else can see), you are using your brain to shape your mind’s experiences.

“Deeper Shades of Green” Airs at AIA Headquarters
AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Christine McEntee, left, and Executive Producer Karena Albers, third from left, discussed Design:e2 (The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious), at the AIA national component headquarters on July 24. The six-part television series—narrated by Brad Pitt—explores sustainable architecture. Following McEntee’s remarks, Albers screened “Deeper Shades of Green,” the series’ finale featuring environmental architects William McDonough, FAIA; Kenneth Yeang, Hon. FAIA; and Werner Sobek. The evening concluded with a panel discussion among AIA Vice President Norman Strong, FAIA, second from left, as moderator, and from the right, Kara Strong, AIA; American Society of Landscape Architects EVP Nancy Sommerville, Hon. AIA; and Daniel Williams, FAIA. The series will air this summer on PBS. Check your local listing for schedules and visit the Design:e2 Web site for more information or to view a trailer.

From the president’s office
Sustainability: Where Design and Policy Intersect
AIA President Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, uses the dog days of summer to ponder what’s on the corner of Architecture Street and Advocacy Avenue, and what we—collectively and individually—can do about it.

AIA Michigan Honors 11 Buildings
AIA Michigan members sponsor the chapter’s Honor Awards Program to bring public attention to examples of good design and recognize the people who make significant contributions to the built environment. This year was no exception as the component honored several individuals and 11 diverse projects as exemplars of excellence. Nine of the award-winning projects are located in the Great Lakes State, one is in Detroit, and one in Ontario.

The Institute’s Influence on Legislative Policy
Congressional advocacy puts architects’ issues on national stage
With great prescience, AIA Secretary Glenn Brown, FAIA, a founding member of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute ofArchitects, urged the society to relocate to the nation’s capital from its New York City headquarters. In D.C., Brown and his contemporaries reasoned, the Institute could influence federal building efforts and funding. This brief snapshot of 10 areas of congressional activity over the past few decades offers a glimpse at the sustained vibrancy of the relationship between the Institute and the legislative branch and helps frame how the AIA’s values and public policies influence the lives of all Americans.

Architects with Something to Say: AIA Adds New Podcasts
Now is a good time to check out the new AIA Podnet Architecture Knowledge Review, which is premiering three more broadcasts:
• “Participation, Collaboration, and Inspiration in the Design Process,”
with Moore Ruble Yudell’s Jeanne Chen, AIA; Michael S. Martin, AIA; Neal Matsuno, AIA; and Mario Violich
• “Exploring an Integrated, Humanistic Approach to Design,”
with MRY’s John Ruble, FAIA; Buzz Yudell, FAIA; Krista Becker, AIA; and James Mary O’Connor, AIA
• “The Architect as Civic and Community Leader,”
with Ambassador Richard Nelson Swett, FAIA (pictured).

The free podcasts are available through XML, itunes, or MP3. Try them out on your MP3 player or PC today—and check back for more podcasts soon.

Project Watch
Behold the Heritage! Behold the Makeover!
Nashville AIA firm restores Saint Cecilia Motherhouse; gives new chapel international design
Bring on the music! For the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, their newly renovated and expanded Motherhouse is beautiful music to their ears. And the Sisters of St. Cecilia know a good tune when they hear it. So much so, it just might make their namesake, St. Cecilia, the patroness saint of music, harmonize a dance of joy. But it was Nashville-based Fowlkes and Associates who tuned in to the need of the St. Cecilia congregation and chimed in with a big assist.

Your Kiplinger Connection (members only, AIA.org login required)
The economy: Recession? Probably not.
Insurance: Where will disaster strike next?
Federal budget: Cuts for Small Business Administration?
AIArchitect offers AIA members exclusive access to three stories a week to help them manage their practices and plan for the coming year. Nonmembers may subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.

Need to catch up on recent editions of AIArchitect This Week?
June 30 | July 7 | July 14 | July 21

You’re Invited to Beijing
Biennial cultural conference takes place September 26–October 6
The organizing committee of the second Architectural Biennial Beijing invites you to take part in the “ABB2006,” to be held September 26–October 6 in Beijing. Organized jointly by the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Culture, the forum’s main theme is “City and Architecture: Resources Efficiency and Environment Friendliness.” The ABB2006 will focus on the connections between urban planning and architectural design. For details, visit the ABB Web site.

Order in the Court: Design Innovation
Please save the date for the AIA’s Academy of Architecture for Justice fall conference, “Breaking New Ground in Justice: Innovations in Design, Construction, and Operations,” in New Orleans, October 4–7. AAJ invites you to join the discussion and share your expertise with designers and key decision makers in the judiciary, detention, corrections, and law enforcement areas—while you earn up to nine CES/LUs. Topics to be covered include: expanding existing facilities through innovative ideas, multi-tenant courts facilities, design-build, designing green juvenile facilities, small jails, and the next “mission critical” facility. For schedule and details, visit the AAJ Web site, or contact Katherine Gupman, 202-626-8051. (Pictured is the San Carlos Juvenile and Adult Detention Center, San Carlos, Ariz., by DLR Group for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, a 2005-2006 AIA Justice Facilities Review-cited project. Photo © Marc Boisclair.)

Heads Up: AIA Honor Award for Architecture, Twenty-five Year Award Nominations Due Sept. 1
Don’t let summer slip by without turning in your entry fees for the 2007 AIA Honor Award submissions, which are due August 4. Submissions for the Honor Awards for Architecture—as well as for the Twenty-five Year Award—are due September 1. AIA Honor Awards for Architecture are open to all architects licensed in the U.S. for new and restored projects of all building types located anywhere in the world. The Twenty-five Year Award honors projects designed by U.S.-licensed architects that have stood the test of time for 25–35 years. For details, visit the awards section of the AIA’s Web site. (Pictured is Trumpf Customer and Administration Building, Ditzingen, Germany, by Barkow Leibinger Architects, a 2006 AIA Honor Award for Architecture recipient. Photo © David Franck.)

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