Antoine Predock, FAIA, Named 2006 AIA Gold Medal Recipient
The AIA Board of Directors voted on December 8 to award the 2006 AIA Gold Medal to Antoine Predock, FAIA, master of the American West vernacular. In nominating Predock for the award, Thomas S. Howorth, FAIA, AIA Committee on Design Gold Medal Committee chair, explained: “Arguably, more than any American architect of any time, Antoine Predock has asserted a personal and place-inspired vision of architecture with such passion and conviction that his buildings have been universally embraced.”

Moore Ruble Yudell Receives 2006 Architecture Firm Award
The AIA Board of Directors voted on December 8 to award California’s Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners the 2006 AIA Architecture Firm Award. “This is a wonderful honor, which we share with our colleagues and clients,” said Moore Ruble Yudell founding partners, Buzz Yudell, FAIA, and John Ruble, FAIA, when notified by AIA President Douglas L Steidl, FAIA, MRAIC, that their firm had been selected for the award. “We hope to do more and do better as we go forward.”

William G. McMinn Awarded 2006 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion
Architect and professor William G. McMinn, FAIA, has been named the 2006 recipient of the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education by the AIA Board and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. McGinn served 13 years as dean of architecture at Cornell University, then as founding dean of the Florida International University (FIU) Architecture Program (subsequently School of Architecture, beginning in 1997) before retiring from full-time academic practice in 2004.

McEntee Named AIA EVP/CEO
The American Institute of Architects has appointed Christine McEntee, formerly CEO of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), as the Institute’s new executive vice president and chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2006. McEntee succeeds AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, who will retire December 31, 2005. A recognized leader in association management, McEntee distinguished herself as a leader in organizations facing increasingly complex and changing environments. She held senior leadership positions in some of the most well-known associations, including the American Hospital Association (AHA) and AARP.

Louisiana Recovery Authority Endorses LRRC’s Planning Principles
AIA-sponsored conference allows citizens’ voices to define rebuilding
The Louisiana Recovery Authority board of directors at its December 1 meeting in Baton Rouge voted unanimously to accept a motion to endorse the “goals and principles for action” set forth by the 650 people who took part at the AIA-sponsored Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference last month. These goals and principles define the framework for the next steps in the rebuilding of the greater New Orleans metropolitan region and the entire southern Louisiana Gulf Coast that were devastated in September by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Honoring Charles H. Atherton, 1932–2005
The profession of architecture lost a good friend and true champion when Charles H. Atherton, FAIA, longtime secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and 2005 recipient of the AIA Thomas Jefferson Award for public service, died December 3 as a result of injuries sustained when he was hit by a car while crossing Connecticut Avenue near his home in his beloved Washington, D.C. He was 73 years old.

Your Kiplinger Connection (members only, AIA.org login required)
The economy: Hurricane rebuilding will buoy building-material price hikes.
Jobs: Hiring is strong, pushing wages up.
Tech and telecom: Businesses are scrambling to pick up cheap domain names, including .eu.
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.

Need to catch up on recent editions of AIArchitect This Week?
November 7 | November 14 | November 21 | December 5

BEST PRACTICES IN RISK MANAGEMENT
Lemons to Lemonade: Benefiting from Mistakes
Learning from our mistakes is essential for professional growth. However, learning does not always come naturally or with ease. In their last two installments for 2005, James Atkins, FAIA, and Grant Simpson, FAIA, discuss the value of gathering and evaluating lessons learned from each project. This week, they offer case studies.

BEST PRACTICES
BIM Evokes Revolutionary Changes to Architecture Practice At Ayers/Saint/Gross
Baltimore’s Glenn W. Birx, AIA, explains how his firm is revolutionizing its practice through implementation of BIM technologies in this first-hand case study. Birx says that BIM causes cultural changes that pervade almost all aspects of practice, from design, to staffing assignments, to fees, to construction administration services, and everything in between.

Six Selected in Centre for Czech Architecture Ideas Competition
The AIA Committee on Design selected six award winners in its Centre for Czech Architecture Ideas Competition, which challenged architects and architecture students to design a new center for architecture information and resources that also will house offices of Czech architecture organizations in Prague—The Czech Chamber of Architects, Czech Society of Architects, and the architecture journal Architekt—which lost the use of their previous headquarters in a historic Prague palace to flood devastation in 2002.

U.S., European Architects Sign Mutual Recognition Agreement on Professional Qualifications
At the ACE General Assembly in Luxembourg on November 18-19, the AIA, Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE), and National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) signed an agreement for mutual recognition of professional qualifications between architects of the U.S. and the European Union. The agreement, the first among the groups, culminates from years of negotiations between their professional and regulatory bodies. The agreement is expected to become a model for agreements for other professions and service sectors in coming years.

Sullivan/Wright Cottages Need Urgent Help
FEMA to bulldoze them by year-end if nobody buys
Time is running out for four remaining historic beachfront cottages in Ocean Springs, Miss., widely considered designed by Louis Sullivan and his then-chief draftsman, Frank Lloyd Wright in 1890. The cottages stood for 115 years, until Hurricane Katrina left broken bits and pieces scattered over hundreds of feet of rear yard and heaped in piles at the tree line. The only hope for these important cottages (together with a destroyed Sullivan cottage, the grouping formed its own National Register Historic District) is for a preservation-sensitive buyer to purchase this beautiful seven-acre beachfront property and undertake to rebuild them. Immediate assistance, in the form of volunteer or financial help, is needed to continue the process already under way of sifting through the rubble field to pull out salvageable interior pieces and historical artifacts. For more information, contact the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy immediately, 312-663-5500 or preservation@savewright.org.

AIA CAREER CENTER
Here Are This Week’s Featured Opportunities

Old Man River: Mississippi Floods, Designing a Shifting Landscape, by Anuradha Mathur and Dilip da Cunha (Yale University Press, 2001) questions anew how can we prevent floods and the damage they inflict while maintaining navigational potential and protecting the river’s ecology. The book is available to AIA members for $40.50 each ($45 retail). To learn more or purchase, visit the AIA Store or call 800-242-3837, opt. #4.

Master Masterformat ’04: “MasterFormat ’04: Making the Transition,” a Web presentation, December 15, 12:30–2:00 p.m. EST, will offer insight into the CSI MasterFormat system’s sweeping changes as it expands from 16 to 50 divisions. The cost for AIA members is $195 per site (others, $235.00 per site). All AIA members participating may earn 1.5 LUs. E-mail Patricia Lukas, plukas@aia.org or visit the AIA Continuing Ed Web site.

Integrated Practice: Technological change is one catalyst accelerating radical improvement through the entire construction industry, from owner to architect to contractor to facility manager, through the full length of the project and building lifecycle. Learn more about how this change will transform architectural practice into Integrated Practice at www.aia.org/ip.

Free Postings Through Year-end: You can post your project, firm, award, and other news free on the AIA’s online news service through the end of 2005.

Class of the Week: “Update on Neuroscience and Architecture,” features John Eberhard, FAIA, presenting the latest research on how the mind perceives architecture and space. This fascinating course is available for the week of December 9-16 at the 10-percent discounted price of $89 AIA members/$121 nonmembers (regular price: $98.95 AIA members/$134.95 nonmembers). The course offers 1.5 HSW LU-hour.

AIA Members Save with United Parcel Service (UPS): Save up to 20 percent on U.S. and international overnight air shipping with UPS, the world’s largest package-distribution company.
Call 800-325-7000, ext. 7600. Reference No. C-000-070-0037

Free Continuing Education: After reading the standards and other information on environmental issues and products, references, and more in each MASTERSPEC topic, licensed users can access online tests to earn AIA/CES learning-unit hours.

Save Time! AIA.org now features a trouble-shooting Knowledge Base to address your AIA Contract Documents software questions quickly and efficiently.

Consider Disability Coverage for Your Office: If you become disabled and cannot work, the AIA Trust Business Overhead Expense Plan helps pay your office expenses while you recuperate. Click here for specific information about this program.
For more information about all AIA Trust programs, go to their site.