It’s Up to Us Now: Help Save the Farnsworth House!
Mies’ icon hits the auction block December 12
Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, one of the American icons of residential Modern architecture, is now in imminent danger of being sold and moved. The current owner has arranged to sell the house at auction December 12, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation reports that at least one potential buyer wants to move it to another state, forever separating the home from its proper setting. The National Trust and the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois (LPCI) have launched an emergency campaign to raise the money to purchase the Farnsworth House to ensure the home’s preservation on its original site and maintain public access to this world-class monument. Please be part of the solution!

work-on-the-boards
Billings Off in October,
Although Inquiries Point to
Gains in Months Ahead
Firms pursue mergers and acquisition to expand markets and add credentials
Billings at U.S. architecture firms dipped slightly in October, following September’s modest gain. Inquiries for new projects increased sharply, as over a third of firms reported increases while only 15 percent of firms reported declines in likely future work. The optimism over project inquiries was broad-based, with firms of all sizes and in all specializations reporting increases.

Officials Reveal Eight Finalists of Memorial Competition
The public got its first glimpse of the eight finalists in the World Trade Center Memorial Competition November 19 in New York City as the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation opened an exhibition at the Winter Garden in Lower Manhattan. The designs reveal memorials that honor the dead with elements of light, trees and gardens, reflecting pools, and quiet open spaces. The designs will be on display until the jury makes its final decision and a winner is selected, perhaps by the end of the year.

2003 Honor Awards for Washington Architecture Recognize “Idea Realized”
In the 52nd annual AIA Seattle Honor Awards program, a panel of critical observers reviewed some 150 entries from Washington design professionals, offered remarks, and announced awards November 10 to an enthusiastic audience of hundreds of architects and other architecture aficionados. A jury of Shigeru Ban, Shigeru BAN Architect, Tokyo; architect Brigitte Shim, Shim-Sutcliffe, Toronto; and novelist Matthew Stadler of Nest magazine presented awards to seven projects in the “idea” and “realized” categories: six citations, and one honor award.

Federal Update: Energy Bill, Budget Progress, Delayed Change in Accounting Rules
After years of debate, the House of Representatives gave its blessing this week to sweeping legislation that overhauls the nation’s energy policy. Congress also forged ahead with spending bills that boost federal spending on transportation projects while reducing expenses for military construction. And meanwhile, the Financial Accounting Standards Board indefinitely suspended November 7 implementation of a new rule that would have virtually eliminated the net worth of many firms on their financial statements. How does this affect you? Read on!

PROJECT WATCH
New USC Lab School Designed to Attract Best and Brightest, Unite Campus
AC Martin Partners’ facility design makes flexibility its key
AC Martin Partners’ design for a new, $36 million laboratory school building for the School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, has great hopes for an engineering program already ranked eighth in the country by U.S. News & World Report. “With this new project, USC seeks to attract the highest level of students and professors,” says CEO Christopher C. Martin, FAIA, “so the new building must be state-of-the-art in its services and technology.” Named for Ronald N. Tutor, president/CEO of Tutor-Saliba Corporation, Tutor Hall joins the distinguished projects ACMP already has completed for the school.

Happy Thanksgiving!
AIArchitect will not be published next week to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and allow us pause to ponder our many blessings. We count among them doing a job we all love, as well as the privilege of contributing to a profession that brings so much good to the world. Look for AIArchitect back in its regular Friday slot December 5.

Your Kiplinger Connection (members only)
The economy: Factory output is up and retail spending holding its own. Fed policy: Short-term interest rates will hold through next fall; 10-year bond rates might be up by more than a point by then. Benefit costs: Negotiating your way into lower health-care costs is just one savings strategy.
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.

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