Residential Architects Report that Popular Home Features Focus on Energy Conservation and Accessibility
Business conditions continue to deteriorate at residential architecture firms, with significant downturns in all major construction sectors
With the housing market very weak and home energy costs remaining above normal levels, sustainable design features—with a particular focus on energy management and conservation—are the home features growing the most in popularity. Households are looking for new home insulation technologies, while interest in alternative energy generation techniques and energy management systems is growing. Key energy-efficient products are almost universally seen as growing in popularity. With less focus on increasing the size of homes, special function rooms are waning in popularity.

“Shape of America” Web Site Salutes the Cadet Chapel
On August 25, Walter Netsch’s beloved U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs, Colo., joined the AIA’s Shape of America project—a series of Web-based short films showcasing a selection of the 150 structures chosen by the public as America’s Favorite Architecture. Designed to expand public dialogue about architecture and how it affects our lives, the site features AIA architects sharing insight and personal anecdotes about architectural masterworks, in turn encouraging public discussion of the buildings using interactive features such as how to vote for the next buildings to be highlighted, architectural blogs, a system to rate the films, and an RSS feature alerting viewers when the site is updated with new material. The Cadet Chapel, an AIA Twenty-five Year Award winner, joins the Philips Exeter Library (launched August 11), Empire State Building, Houston’s Pennzoil Place, Fenway Park, and the Hearst Castle—with new arrivals anticipated every two weeks. Visit ShapeofAmerica.org to see these videos for yourself. And after viewing, please consider continuing the conversation by forwarding to your friends, colleagues, and your clients—or start blogging! (Photo © Dave G. House/Corbis.)

“Greenstep” Video #5 Details the “Whole Building Approach” to Sustainability
Two-minute programs augment the Institute’s Walk the Walk campaign
On September 1, the AIA launched the fifth of 12 short video episodes for architects to share with clients who want to plan a new building or renovate an existing one using green building principles. “The Whole Building Approach” explains to clients how considering a building as an energy-conserving, green “whole” can achieve energy and money savings beyond the sum of individual system parts. (The first video is on water conservation; the second covers smart controls; the third, radiant heating and cooling; and the fourth, vegetation and sun control.)

kiplinger connection
The Economy • New Tech • Autos
The Economy: Good news and bad on a stronger dollar.
New Tech: Good, sustainable products from NASA and DoD.
Autos: Lower dependence on foreign oil may mean more on foreign batteries.