Elithis
Tower Rises to New Heights of Sustainability
The Elithis Tower in Dijon, France, has opened to claim its mantle
as one of the world’s most sustainable buildings. This 54,000-square-foot,
10-story office tower creates more energy than it uses and cost the
same amount ($10 million) that a standard building of this size and
type might have.
High-Speed Rail Conference Set for
Oct 22–23
in DC
The goal, as outlined this year by President Obama, is reinvigoration
of former manufacturing centers—and, by extension, the economy—through
fuel-efficient and timely inter-regional rapid rail. The means
to that goal is to connect 17,000 miles of track for trains that
travel up to 220 miles per hour and to have it in place by 2030.
The newly formed group charged with making this happen is the U.S.
High Speed Rail Association. Join them October 22–23 in Washington,
D.C., along with partners and sponsors, including the AIA,to hear
how lessonslearned from Europe and Japan can be applied here in
the U.S.
Michael Graves, FAIA, Nominated to New Jersey
Hall of Fame
The New Jersey Hall of Fame announced that Michael Graves, FAIA,
of Princeton, N.J., has been nominated for its Class of 2010—the
first architect to be so honored. Graves’ nomination, championed
by AIA New Jersey, was nominated to the “Enterprise” category.
Solar Decathlon Officially Opens on National Mall
in DC
AIA Encouraged by White House Directive on Green Federal Buildings
President Barack Obama signed the Federal Leadership in Environmental,
Energy and Economic Performance Executive Order on October 5 that
sets sustainability goals for federal agencies and focuses on making
improvements in their environmental, energy, and economic performance.
The executive order requires federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse
gas emissions reduction target within 90 days, increase energy
efficiency, reduce fleet petroleum consumption, conserve water,
reduce waste, support sustainable communities, and leverage federal
purchasing power to promote environmentally responsible products
and technologies.
Interschool Design Competition Teams DC-Area
Architecture Students to Create Temporary Theater
In the space of just one day, Washington, D.C.-area architecture
school students came together for a design competition to create
something just as fleeting: a temporary pre-fabricated theater structure
on a temporary site.
AIA Releases Long-Term Recovery Plan, AIA
Board Member Jacob Testifies Before Congress in Support
As architects and their firms continue to struggle through the most
dismal economic climate in more than a generation, this week the
AIA unveiled the Rebuild and Renew plan for both short- and long-term
economic recovery. Testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives
Small Business Committee, AIA Board Member Mickey Jacob, FAIA, delivered
the AIA’s plan to Congress as he spoke to the committee on
the need to pursue policies to loosen the ever-tightening credit
markets. |