Featured Projects

Trinity School - Johnson Chapel

Johnson Chapel. Photograph courtesy of Woodruff Brown Photography.

By BRB Architects - The renovated Johnson Chapel is becoming the spiritual heart of this 300 year-old independent school. The 1,000 s.f. Chapel supports a variety of activities, including regular services, memorials, religion classes, and speakers from various religious traditions. Read More.

Yingst Sauna - Empire, MI

Yingst Sauna. Photograph courtesy of Paul Crosby.

By David Salmela FAIA - This white sod-roofed sauna is part of a 16 acre environmentally friendly family retreat in a beech forest on a small lake in Michigan. There are no electrical, water or fuel support systems for this sauna. It is lit by candles, water is brought with a bucket and the sauna is fueled by wood from fallen trees. Read More.

Inspiration

Sustainable? Maybe. Architecture? Not So Fast!

"Dirty White Trash (with Gulls)," 1998, by Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

By Marc Manack, AIA - In his column Beyond Buildings from the October 2012 issue of Architect magazine, Aaron Betsky unapologetically announces, "I am so bored by boxes." Betsky's remark comes in response to a proposed Norman Foster project for 425 Park Avenue, a developer driven "sustainable" (LEED Gold projected) office tower. The new Foster tower replicates the form of the tower currently on site (now scheduled for demolition): a tiered pile of boxes with setbacks to oblige Manhattan's now century old zoning laws. What bores Betsky the most is not merely the rectilinear shapes, but the expressionless, lifeless, and expected architecture. I agree with Betsky -- architecture is first and foremost an aesthetic discipline that should provoke and excite. Read More.

Slovenian Details

Photograph courtesy of Mark Nedzbala, AIA

By Mark Nedzbala, AIA - For more than thirty years I've been returning to Slovenia where I met my wife while working for an architectural firm in the 1970s. On a recent trip back to see family and friends, we found this brickwork ventilation detail at the edge of a small village in an Alpine valley. The structure dates from 1872 or earlier and is located in Sentjanz, in central Slovenia. Read More

AIA Convention Programs for Small Project Practitioners

TH105: AIA Small Project Awards: Small Projects, Big Ideas

Earn 1.0 AIA HSW LU | Thursday, June 20, 2013 | 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

This annual event draws attention to the frequently overlooked category of small and inexpensive projects. In spite of diminutive sizes and budgets, these recognized projects are elegantly designed, sustainable, and contextual. In this session, the meaning and value of "small" projects are celebrated for their exemplary standard in architectural design. Attendees will learn how some architects put imaginative, outside-the-box thinking to work for outstanding results. A panel comprising members of the jury and the AIA Small Project Practitioners (SPP) Knowledge Community will lead a discussion with awardees and the audience to follow through on their processes, trials, failures, and successes.

EV208: AIA Small Project Practitioners, Custom Residential Architects, and Housing Knowledge Community Reception

Thursday, June 20, 2013 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Wynkoop Brewing Company | Free to Attend

Enjoy an evening with your peers in an intimate setting at a local venue. The reception will provide opportunities for informal networking, collaboration, and sharing of best practices. Light refreshments provided. Cash bar.

FR211: How Small Firms Can Team with Other Firms: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Earn 1.5 AIA LU | Friday, June 21, 2013, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

After the great recession, the landscape for architecture firms has changed: medium-size firms have been gobbled up by large firms, creating mega firms, while more small firms of 1 or 2 people are being created every day. At every Small Firm Round Table meeting from AIA National to Myrtle Beach, S.C., members consistently ask for help in learning how to team to expand their opportunities for different project types. For small firms to compete in the bigger arena, they need to team with each other. Drawing on multidisciplinary sources including architects, an attorney, and a liability insurance provider, the course will examine the best practices and pitfalls in creating and managing teams.

SA107: ReFAB PreFAB: The Practice and Science of Prefabrication at the Cutting Edge

Earn 1.0 AIA HSW LU | Saturday, June 22, 2013 | 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

This course will present three diverse case-studies of residential prefabrication, each from a different part of the prefabrication industry. The comparative benefits of each will be presented, followed by in-depth evaluations of each, particularly their unique means and methods, achievements, and lessons learned. The lessons derived from each experience will address new construction and renovation; architecture firm-based ventures and independent start-ups; market-rate and low-income housing; suburban and rural contexts; whole-house and consolidated infrastructure core approaches; benefits of prototyping; and market costing analysis. These case studies will demonstrate the range of options and potential for architects to lead a transformation of the construction marketplace and pass on the benefits to individuals and communities.

Call for Submissions – Discovered Details

Submission Deadline: March 15, 2013

The SPP Journal is seeking submissions of image(s) and a brief explanation of interesting architectural details for publication in upcoming issues. Details may include vernacular, modern, or historic details and may be simple or elaborate, decorative or functional, universal or unique.

Submissions should include:

• 1-2 photographs of the detail which showcase its importance and composition
• A description of the detail including why it is important or interesting
• Name of the project, the architect (if known), date (if known), location
• Name and affiliation of the submitter

All submissions should be sent to msnider@sniderarchitecture.com

Details will be selected based on clarity, artistic composition, architectural expression, and relevance to the topics of the specific journal issue.

Tools for Clients: How Design Works + You and Your Architect

Architecture is about people: how buildings can enhance people's lives. The process of design is also about people: clients and architects working together to realize the full potential of every project.

The following resources are to help you and your clients throughout the design process. From selecting an architect, to establishing a legal contract, these free tools can help make each stage a little easier. Read More