President’s Report

2009 AAH Projects and Activities
The AAH President provides a summary of events that the AAH was involved with for this year, and also provides a list of events and deadlines for the future...Continue Reading.

Conference Report

Phoenix Convention Center from 3rd St Photagrapher: Bill Sheely

Overview:
The 2009 PDC Phoenix, AZ
Attendees to this year’s PDC witnessed the emerging re-birth of downtown Phoenix. Since the PDC last visited Phoenix in 2003, downtown Phoenix has expanded the Convention Center (more than tripling its size), created the downtown campus for Arizona State University, built the Bio-Technology Campus, which houses the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN), opened the University of Arizona Medical School Phoenix Campus, and completed the light rail transit system, to name a few of the major changes.

The facility tours offered visits to four of the hospitals (Banner Gateway Medical Center, Mercy Gilbert, Banner Children’s Hospital and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America) designed and constructed since the last PDC gathering, as well the new Barrow’s Neurological Center patient tower, and the new patient tower at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center.

The remarkable growth of the greater Phoenix area was perhaps overshadowed by the economic recession and the concern for what the future will hold following the years of Healthcare Design and Construction Boom we have experienced nationwide. From the opening keynote through many of the educational sessions, the recurring theme was “How we can address an uncertain future?” Each session responded to this concern with a focus on improved efficiency, cost management and enhancing patient care during austere times.

ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Steven Ehrlich Architects Photagrapher: Bill Sheely

Educational Sessions
By Bill Sheely, AIA, ACHA, Orcutt|Winslow, Phoenix, Arizona
Several Themes emerged in the PDC’s eight educational tracks (Design, Owner’s Perspective, Economics, Technology, Sustainability, Clinical and Constructors) among them: Checking the Evidence on Evidence Based Design, Master planning to accommodate the future, and Alternative Project Delivery methods for improved efficiency, to name a few. Some highlights of the sessions…Continue Reading.

Plenary Sessions
By Neal Corbett, HDR Architecture, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts
As a newly transplanted New Englander (by way of Texas), the prospect of location enhancement in early March for this year’s PDC was eagerly anticipated. The brutal winter was long forgotten when I arrived to blue skies and warm temperatures as I joined several thousand of my peers in Phoenix. My sunny disposition was quickly tempered, however, as I recalled upon registration that the opening Keynote address was entitled ‘The Gathering Storm’….had I suddenly been transformed back into another blizzard?...Continue Reading.

Academy Forum Reports

Phoenix Municipal Court Building, DMJM, HOK AND Omni Group Photographer: Bill Sheely

Design Forum Report: Highlights of Past Design Forums
By Scott Wing, HKS Architects, San Francisco
A long-term tradition, the Design Forum at AAH and PDC meetings attempts to offers a fresh perspective to conference attendees on healthcare planning and design. Typically, the audience is very engaged in the question and answer period following a brief presentation ...Continue Reading.

ASHE/PDC – AIA/AAH FORUM – Emerging Professionals
By Tatiana Guimaraes
The Academy of Architecture for Health is dedicated to the development of programs and services specifically tailored to architects under the age of 40. The Emerging professionals Forum is intended to provide an opportunity for discussion on topics pertinent to young and emerging healthcare architects...Continue Reading.

Presentation Summary:
Got Money? Integrating Facility, Financial and Strategic Planning
By Gary Collins, AIA Ashen + Allen Architects
2009 has proven to be a very challenging year for hospitals. Healthcare organizations entered the recent economic downturn more heavily leveraged and more vulnerable than many other industries. Most hospitals today are being forced to scale back their capital spending plans as they scramble to protect their current cash positions...Continue Reading.

ACHA Report

ACHA offers new Practice Exam

The ACHA is now offering an online Practice Exam for those who want to earn their Board Certificate in Healthcare Architecture. This Practice Exam will give new ACHA candidates hands-on experience and insight into the ACHA Exam format. It provides typical ACHA exam items, allowing them to become comfortable with the types of questions, terminology and issues they will see on the actual exam. This Practice Exam will boost new candidates “test-day confidence” and familiarize them with the ACHA Examination process.
The Exam costs $50 and can be taken on any computer connected to the internet. The Practice Exam takes one hour and will provide immediate scoring information to help identify the areas candidates may need additional work on.
The Practice Exam consist of 50 questions from each of the content areas of the ACHA Exam

1. Programming
2. Planning
3. Design
4. Contract Documents
5. Contract Administration
6. Post Construction Services

If you know someone who is interested in earning their Board Certificate in Healthcare Architecture please tell them about this new ACHA Practice Exam. They can get all of the details at ACHA’s website: www.healtharchitects.org  

Announcements

-Call for Submissions-
IDP Outstanding Firm Awards
Submission Deadline: July 15, 2009
The Intern Development Program (IDP) Outstanding Firm Awards program is committed to recognizing firms that help you meet your goals and emphasize a seamless transition from education to practice. Help your firm become an IDP Award recipient by submitting an application demonstrating its commitment to IDP today!

-Call For Entries-
AIA Design for Aging Review
Submission Deadline: July 27, 2009, 8 p.m. ET
This biennial competition, which began in 1992, showcases facilities that improve quality of life for older adults while exhibiting innovation in their design and execution.

-Call for Applications-
AIA AAH Herman Miller Intern Scholarship
Application Deadline: July 29, 2009
Herman Miller for Healthcare will sponsor eight intern architects to attend HEALTHCARE DESIGN.09. This scholarship program is part of Herman Miller's continuing commitment to excellence in healthcare architecture and support of young architects. Visit the scholarship Web site for more information or to apply.

Events

AIA AAH/ACHA Summer Leadership Summit
July 24–26, 2009, Chicago
This annual conference, cosponsored by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health and the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA), will offer outstanding educational content, presentations by the recipients of the 2009 AAH Healthcare Design Awards, and an advanced discussion on the future of healthcare design. Participation will be limited to the first 150 registrants. If you have not participated in the past and would like to attend, the only requirement is that you commit to being an active contributor of your time and talent to the Academy. Registration is required.

AIA Changing Times | Time for Change: Practice, Productivity and Effectiveness 
September 24–26, 2009, Chicago
Architects practice in a world that is changing at a breathtaking rate, requiring near-constant reassessment of business models and professional practices. "Changing Times | Time for Change" will explore the major areas of challenge and opportunity that are reshaping architecture practice.

HEALTHCARE DESIGN.09 
October 31–November 3, 2009, Orlando
The HEALTHCARE DESIGN conference focuses on how the design of responsibly built environments directly affects the safety, operation, clinical outcomes, and financial success of healthcare facilities now and into the future. The conference has quickly become the industry's best-attended and most well-respected conference on evidence-based design for healthcare. This year we are especially pleased to announce that AIA Gold Medal recipient Michael Graves, FAIA will give the opening keynote address.

Discover something new about small projects and firms.
Join the AIA Small Project Practitioners. Help identify and develop information on how to profitably run a small firm and how to carry out small projects that do not fit into the model of departmental production that characterizes many larger firms. Join the Small Project Practitioners by updating your member profile. See the latest recipients of the Small Project Awards, get in contact with your Small Firm Round Table, and visit their blog to learn more about the group.