March 2016

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AIA CRAN Chronicle

Letter from the CRAN Chair

By Dawn Zuber, AIA

I will admit to being a little nervous about stepping into the role of chair of CRAN, given how hard my immediate predecessor worked to keep us on track in so many ways. James Walbridge is an amazing leader and we have been lucky to have him serve as chair of our advisory group for the past year. He has been appointed to the AIA Strategic Council, where he will continue advocating for custom residential architects.

Looking back on 2015, we have a lot to be proud of. CRAN helped organize three national convention programs specifically geared towards custom residential practitioners, and we plan to continue advocating for speakers who will address challenges and concerns particular to residential pros at future conventions. We also threw a heck of a symposium in Minneapolis in September. We received great feedback from attendees, who thought our speakers were among the best we've had. And the CRAN Chronicle continues to be an excellent communication tool for us. It's hard to believe that it was three years ago when we started what we lovingly referred to as the CRANicle.

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In This Issue



Project Profiles

RE - TIRE - TENT, Cat Shelter

Stuart Narofsky, FAIA | Jean-Pierre A. Pirrello, AIA

The concept of our design focuses on adaptive reuse ( 11AR"). In the practice of architecture, adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site, building, or recycled materials for a purpose(s) that may be different than original use. Throughout the design process, we continually challenged ourselves to identify materials that were deemed waste items to use as functional components of our assembly.

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Cat Shelter

Cathedral Bluff Residence

Stig Carlson Architecture

This project involved a "down-to-the-studs" renovation and addition to a 1970's era home on Whidbey Island, Washington. The architect was contacted by the owners shortly after they had purchased the property as a weekend getaway & gathering place for their family. The home sits perched at the top of a southwest facing bluff with spectacular views across Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula and Mountain Range.

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Cathederal Bluff Residence
Red Crow Photography

Features

Technological Tools for Managing Your Time & Making the Most of Every Day

By Enoch Sears, AIA | The Business of Architecture

"It is not that we have so little time but that we waste so much. ... The life we get is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully." - Roman Stoic philosopher Lucius Seneca, quote from the essay "On the Shortness of Life"

As the new year rolls around, your mind turns to getting things done. You look forward anxiously to 2016 and imagine how it will be better than 2015. You get better, more fulfilling, more profitable projects.

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Time ManagementHartwig HKD/Flickr

Is BIM Right for Your Company?

By Josh Bone | JBKnowledge

I have been using BIM for over 15 years. I have had the opportunity to help hundreds of residential architecture firms transition from CAD to BIM, but I will be the first to tell you that transitioning to BIM is not the right move for every firm.

When a company transitions to BIM, they have to shift their workload to accomplish more in the early design stages of the project. Many of you have probably seen the image below.

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BIM

Home of the FUTURE! Home of the Past...

By Brenda Nelson, Assoc. AIA | Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, Inc.

During the Summer of 2014, I wandered into an airport bookstore while waiting for my flight. Browsing the racks I spotted the July 7th, 2014 issue of Time magazine with a cover proclaiming the smart home was here. I decided to buy a copy and see what a smart home was by Time's definition.

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Old/New Home

Relationships (Part 2)

Interview by John Altobello | John Altobello Architecture
Interviewee Sally Wilson & John Kelsey | Wilson Kelsey Design

How a couple, both interior designers, work with their clients and with each other.

This is the second part of an interview by John Altobello. To read the first part of this article, click here.

The most successful client relationships

JA: What makes for the most successful client relationships?

W / K: Good people, with solid values, who appreciate the designer's skills. We like to treat people the way we would like to be treated. We want our clients to feel/know that they are working with good people, with solid values, who appreciate their needs, budget, project and family life.

Client, budget and designer

JA: Can you talk about the role budget plays in a project? How do you handle a situation in which a client has exquisite and expensive tastes, but not the financial wherewithal to carry through?


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Room 1 � Eric Roth
Photo credit � Eric Roth Room 2 � Laura Moss
Photo credit � Laura Moss Room 3 � Michael J. Lee
Photo credit � Michael J. Lee

TECHNOLOGY- From the Perspective of an Architect Who Still Hand Drafts

By Michele Grace Hottel | Michele Grace Hottel, Architect

I find it kind of ironic that I am writing an article about technology because I will confess, I do not use any CADD programs in my practice. AutoCad, Revit, etc., it is all the same to me, it is drafting on the computer and ever since I had a class in AutoCad version 1, in architecture school, I was less than enchanted by the whole thing. I guess because I could actually draw and draft by hand, very well, and I was not intrigued at all by this innovation.

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Hand DrawingAlexander Strugach/Flickr

Symposium Recap

By Josh Divelbiss, AIA | The HR Group Architects

The 2015 CRAN Symposium survey results are in and rich with positive and constructive feedback. The Symposium's core experiences received glowing reviews across the board, from the speaker sessions to home tours, networking opportunities and the product exhibit. Michael Anschel and Carl Seville's "Review of Green Building Products & Systems" dominated the survey with 89% of attendees indicating the session was above average or outstanding.

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2015 CRAN SymposiumRyan Siemers

Why Digital Transformation?

Ann Novakowski | AIA National

The Digital Transformation matters for a couple of reasons. First, to deliver services to AIA members and the broader AEC community. Our new platforms will help us engage those audiences in new ways and develop closer relationships with them. Second, it gives the AIA an opportunity to think differently about how it conducts its operations.

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Hacker
The Preiser Project/Flickr

What's Your Favorite?

► The CRAN Chronicle team wants you to tell us about your favorite products. This issue features a time-tracking app review. Consider contributing by emailing cran@aia.org.

App Review: ATracker Pro

Jennifer Honebrink | Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture

I use ATracker Pro for tracking my time. I love how it makes it so simple to fill out my timesheet and bill everyone appropriately. I can add as many projects as I need, giving them each a unique icon and color for easy reference.

Within each entry you can add notes as reminders for yours elf about what you were working on (or whatever else you want to make note of). Every couple of months I go through and move the projects I am not using to inactive. Then when I get another project for that client or they spring to life again, I can turn them back on.

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In the News & On the Web

► Editorial Note: Do you have exciting CRAN activities planned for your chapter? The CRAN Chronicle is interested in your local CRAN events, news and stories. Consider contributing by emailing cran@aia.org. You can also email your most recent chapter contact information to cran@aia.org to be sure your information is up-to-date.

CRAN Chair Quoted in Washington Post

The Washington Post published an article on building disaster resistant homes and quoted Dawn Zuber. You can read the article here.

Web Surfing

An article titled "What The Future Holds for 3-D Printing in Architecture and Design" was recently featured on Houzz.com, an AIA partner organization. It asks the question, "Is 3-D printing changing our architecture, and is it the way we'll design our homes in the future?" It also provides some interesting answers to that question. To read more about the impact this technology is having on design, click here.


Upcoming Events

CRAN at the 2016 AIA Convention

Join CRAN at this year's AIA Convention in Philadelphia, May 19-21.

  • EV102 - Find Your Community at the AIA Welcome Party
    May 18 | 6-8PM | The Racquet Club of Philadelphia | Learn More
    Kick off your convention experience! Connect with first time and returning attendees who share your interests at this new event as you indulge in festive cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and partake in fun activities all while reveling in unique architectural details of the venue.

  • EV213 - CRAN Forum: Focusing Exclusively on the Practice of Residential Architecture
    May 19 | 1:30-3PM | Learn More
    Join the annual moderated, collaborative, and interactive forum hosted by the AIA Custom Residential Architects' Network. Discover insights and anecdotes about the challenges and triumphs faced by today's residential architects, from a knowledge community that provides support, advocacy, and education to everyone involved in custom residential design.

Explore the convention schedule with 500+ sessions by clicking here.

Save the Date: 2016 CRAN Symposium

September 18-22, 2016
The 2016 CRAN symposium will be held at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel and Spa in Santa Rosa, California. Santa Rosa is about 55 miles north of San Francisco in the heart of wine country. Please mark your calendars and join us this year!

View photos from previous symposiums

Research Grant

Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST on March 23, 2016
The AIA Small Project Practitioners (SPP) and Housing Knowledge Community (HKC) are proud to offer the 2016 AIA Innovation and Practice in Housing Design Research Grant. This grant will fund one design professional to conduct research on a topic related to residential design on a small scale or by small firms.

The Researcher will be funded in the amount of $7,000 which may be used for time and/or materials.

Upcoming Webinars

The Path to Licensure: How to Best Support Your Interns
Monday, March 14, 2016 | 3:00 - 4:00pm ET | Earn 1.0 AIA LU | Learn more | Register now
Sponsored by: AIA Contract Documents
Registration fees: Free

Explore Master Agreements, Task Orders and Other Small Firms Agreements
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 | 2:00 - 3:00pm ET | Earn 1.0 AIA LU | Learn more | Register now
Sponsored by: AIA Contract Documents
Registration fees: Free

Call for Articles

Would you like to be featured in the CRAN Chronicle?
The theme for the next issue is "Financial". We would like you to contribute articles about how financial topics affect you as an architect. Tell us about the challenges and successes of running your own business. Has a client found a creative way to finance a project? What money-savers have you discovered? If you have a financial-related article, please send us an email to CRAN@aia.org


Resources

AIAU Courses for CRAN Members

AIAU logo

Take the latest courses in residential architecture on AIAU. New courses include the best of the fall CRAN Symposium, firm strategies for sustainability, net zero residential construction, and managing design-build projects.

You’ll learn from top instructors on your schedule, from anywhere in the world. Once you complete a course, we’ll automatically update your AIA transcript with your continuing education credits.

Check out these great courses:

Individual courses are $25 for AIA members and $40 for non-members. Buy four or more courses and save 15%, no promo code needed.

Check out more great courses on AIAU >


Did you know anyone can join AIA Custom Residential Architects Network for FREE? Sign-up on AIA KnowledgeNet and start a discussion in the AIA CRAN Discussion Forum.


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