Balancing Design Excellence and Building Security at New U.S. Embassies
Embassy in Berlin is a contextual response providing a sustainable, secure workplace
Every new U.S. president has the opportunity to redefine America’s image overseas through foreign policy, public diplomacy initiatives, and appointment of the new secretary of state and ambassadors to represent the president and the American government in the global arena. Much of the work of public diplomacy is conducted within U.S. embassies around the world, along with a host of other important functions, from serving expatriates (Americans living abroad), to issuing visas to host country nationals seeking to visit the U.S. Join security expert Barbara A. Nadel, FAIA, as she explains these concepts on a tour through the new U.S. Embassy in Berlin by Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners with Gruen Associates.

Health Care: A Worse-Off Market, But Still One of the Best
After years of exceptional growth, the health-care design and construction market levels off, but still looks to be a winner
Although the commercial and residential sectors of the architecture industry have been rocked by the current economic crisis, the health-care architecture market is projected to remain stable. Its resistance to business downturns is a result of the high and increasing demand for health-care facilities, as well as its long-term planning and capital-gathering processes, which have insulated it from Wall Street credit woes. Although health-care architecture specializations take serious commitments of time and labor to develop, firms wanting to make inroads into this market can partner with more experienced firms and attempt smaller scale health-care projects.

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER
Should Ethics Violations Be Public? Should Ethics Proceedings Be Public or Confidential?
An architect’s livelihood and financial well-being are dependent upon his or her professional reputation in the community—whether the architect provides services to public or private entities or is employed by another architect, contractor, or public or private organization. In this context, accusations as well as findings of ethical misconduct can have serious economic consequences for the architect. National Ethics Chair Janet Donelson, FAIA, explains how this affects the AIA’s publication of the findings of the Institute’s ethics hearings.

Golden Gate Bridge Featured on “Shape of America” Web Site
On December 1, 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—elected San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge as the newest member of the repertoire of structures that are expanding public dialogue about architecture and how it affects our lives.