November 13, 2009
  Simplifying Government Projects Using Standard Contract Documents
In February, when President Obama passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to stimulate the economy, design professionals and contractors were optimistic about how the stimulus bill would aid their ailing industry. What excited design and construction professionals the most about this bill was the billions in stimulus funds allocated for federally funded or insured projects such as schools, community hospitals and housing. Now, as funds are being distributed for design and construction projects, standard contracts, such as AIA Contract Documents® (ACD), are needed to enable these projects to proceed quickly and efficiently.

Green Product Certification Tools Help Sustainable Buildings Become the Sum of Their Parts
Simply verifying the manufacture and performance of “green” building products has become nearly as big a challenge as the quest to rebalance the built environment with nature, which these products are trying to address. The allure of green has penetrated the entire design and construction consumer chain, and thus greenwashing is too tempting for some. But today, just as green building products are near industry-wide high points in popularity, trade associations, government agencies, and independent companies have stepped to the fore and are offering a variety of tools to separate performance from pretend.

BuildingGreen Announces 2009 Top-10 Green Building Products
BuildingGreen, LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec® Directory and Environmental Building News™, announced its 2009 Top-10 Green Building Products November 12. This eighth annual award, announced at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference in Phoenix, recognizes products highlighted in recent additions to the GreenSpec Directory and coverage in Environmental Building News.

Art Night at Hickok Cole Becomes Social Marketing
Hickok Cole Architects, based in Washington, D.C., has become identified with the annual Art Night and the firm’s ongoing support and relationship with the local arts community. But in the beginning, they never set this as a goal--never predicted the results and never knew that what they were doing in fact had a name … “social marketing.”

New Film Documents the Modernism of Julius Shulman
Visual Acoustics, The Modernism of Julius Shulman, is a new documentary film about architectural photographer Julius Shulman. The film opened November 6 in select cities. (The film opened last month in New York City.) Visual Acoustics traces Shulman’s career as a prolific architectural photographer who captured the Modernist movement, notably Modernist structures in Southern California. Shulman’s photographs captured the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry among others. Shulman died in July at 98. Visual Acoustics is directed by Eric Ricker and narrated by Dustin Hoffman.

AIA Leadership to Host Final Interactive Webinar on AIA 2010–2015 Strategic Plan
George H. Miller, FAIA, 2010 president-elect, and Clark Manus, FAIA, 2010 first vice president-elect, will hold a final webinar on Nov. 24 to review the final draft of the AIA Strategic Plan for 2010–2015, including revisions made based on feedback received during the comment period that ended October 30. The plan will go to the board for approval the first week of December.

Learn How to Meet the 2030 Commitment with Free AIA Integrated Design Webinar
Integrated design and project delivery processes are a vital tool architects are using to lead the sustainable design revolution. The value of multidisciplinary collaboration across the entire design and construction process is making buildings and communities more energy efficient, sustainable, and functional. The AIA is offering a free Webinar on Dec. 1 that will teach designers how to use integrated project delivery in pursuit of one of the Institute’s primary sustainability goal and initiative: the 2030 Commitment for carbon neutral buildings.

AIArchitect moving to biweekly schedule
To reduce the amount of email members receive, the AIA will now publish AIArchitect on a biweekly schedule. Because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays, you will see your next issue on Friday, December 4. Look for some exciting news about who will be our next AIA Gold Medal recipient. Have a great Thanksgiving.

 
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This is where you will find the latest happenings in the Institute, the profession, and the wider world of building design and construction. The News Zone also carries commentary from AIA elected representatives as well as major new commissions, completions, and openings.