PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

AIA Newark and Suburban Architects A Section of AIA New Jersey

AIA New Jersey is a Chapter and Region of the American Institute of Architects

SEPTEMBER 2013

Issue 9

The Rostrum

Official newsletter of the

Newark & Suburban

Section of AIA-NJ

Published monthly

Submit events, case

studies, photos, comments,

or other content for

consideration to:

aiansrostrum@gmail.com

President’s Message 1

Building Tour - Stickley Museum

2

AIANS Repostioning Update

3

USGBC & AIA Seminars 4

Save the Date - Howard Horii Book Signing

4

A Call to Action...NOW! 5

Design Awards

Spotlight 6

Inside this issue: concerts are given. It is a scenic venue with phenomenal, amazing views of the Rocky Mountains and valleys. It is an amphitheater that was created by b las t ing into the mountainside; purported to have excellent acoustics, many famous rock bands and concert orchestras have played there. Design Day 2013 will be in in Asbury Park, NJ this year for 2 full days. The Continuing Education Program will be broken up into 3 tracks: Green o r C O T E , B u s i n e s s Development, and Codes. East Coast Green/ USGBC will be rolled in as well. A total of 9 credits will be available. There will be an exhibitor’s floor with 40 vendors. Additionally, the evening cocktail party will showcase the Des ign C o m p e t i t i o n w i n n e r s announcement. There will be a fee for the 2 days and also “ala carte” payment option for i n d i v i d u a l d a y s o r

August is a quiet month for the AIA so let me share some more of the highlights of the Convention in Denver, Colorado. The AIA National Convention in Denver Colorado was held June 19th through 21st. Many activities, courses, seminars, receptions and Tours occurred. There were 15,000 attendees in total, including AIA members, vendors and associated AIA members. Regarding Public Art, there was walking tour of downtown Denver that revealed much Public Art. A well known graffiti artist was seen spray painting his artwork on a cast in place concrete building façade. In fact the story goes that he did some artwork for Microsoft and was asked if wanted to be paid in cash or Microsoft stock. He chose the stock option and Microsoft went public and the artist is now a multi-millionaire. Other public art includes unusual sounds from grates in the sidewalk. Sounds such as jazz music and the ocean are heard from below. One wonders where the sounds are coming from since there is no subway system in Denver. It is a whimsical, unusual ”piece” of art. Other installations included a sculpture of a man and woman dancing outside of the Performing Arts Center. Red Rock Amphitheatre is a rock structure where outdoor

seminars/cocktail party, etc. We encourage all to participate. September 18 – Emerging Professionals Summit and ARE Study Group – 3PM to 8PM - September 21- Building Tour #2 – Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms October 17 - AIA-NS Design Awards 2013 – A Night at the Museum - Morris Museum November 14-15 - CANstruction 2013 – “NJ Shore CAN Build” Livingston Mall December 12… General Meeting speakers: Hugh Trumbull from KPF, also Howard Hori will be signing his new book. Louise C. Addonizio AIA, PP, LEED BD+C, NDICQ qualified, President AIA Newark Suburban

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 2

AIA Newark & Suburban

Board Members

Officers

LOUISE ADDONIZIO, AIA

President

JOHN A. CWIKLA, AIA

President-Elect

STEPHEN ROONEY, AIA

First Vice President

NATASHA SUZANSKY, AIA

Secretary

ALEX GOTTHELF, AIA

Treasurer

KEVIN McCORMICK, AIA

Past President

Trustees

Trustees 2013

YOGESH MISTRY, AIA

BILL MUNOZ, ALLIED

MEMBER

Trustees 2014

PAUL TIAJOLOFF, AIA

RONALD WESTON, AIA

JASON PEIST, ASSOC. AIA

ALOK SAKSENA, ASSOC.

AIA

Trustees 2015

DIEUJUSTE PIERRE, ASSOC.

AIA

FRANCISCO GRIMALDI,

AIA

Section Administrator

JULIE PAGNOTTA

aiaadmin@verizon.net

AIA NS 2013 Committees

The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms

AIA-NS and AIA-League Joint tour Saturday September 14, 2013

www.stickleymuseum.org

Craftsman Farm is located at 2352 Route

10 West, Morris Plains, New Jersey 07950. The entrance is located on Route

10 West at Manor Lane, about 3 miles west of I-287 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ.

Although it is not the official address, we suggest you type the following address into

your GPS to easily find the entrance:

5 Manor Lane, Morris Plains, NJ 07950

Schedule: 9:45a.m. Arrive at the Site (Travel to the

site is on your own)

10:00am-noon Tour the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms

Lunch: on your own

2.0 CEU’s will be given.

BUILDING TOUR: Stickley Museum Cost $10 per Person

RSVP date: Until September 5th, 2013 (the tour will close after this date)

Tour Information: Please join us on a

guided tour of the house at Craftsman

Farms; This is a Gustav Stickley rustic country estate and a National Historic

Landmark. Largely restored to its 1910 -1917 appearance, the Log House at

Craftsman Farms is the only home Stickley designed and built for his own use. The

tour will take us through the two main floors

of Stickley's dream home and property. The log house of Craftsman Farms, inside and

out, singularly proclaims the romance of our nation’s agrarian past. Although large, it is

firmly rooted in the ideals and dreams of a

simpler age. Even as he sought to advance the fresh ideas of the new century in an

increasingly urban world, Gustav Stickley sought his own happiness by returning to the

land. Sign up here.

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 3

AIANS Repositioning Update For those of you who may not know, the AIA is seeking to rediscover its purpose, by identifying key challenges and concerns relating to the organization’s current environment that must be addressed to secure the AIA’s position as the leading voice of America’s architects.

What is being referred to as the ‘Repositioning’, is a shift in perspective, a change in the lens through which we view our purpose. For the AIA to remain relevant, its leaders, staff, and members must commit fully to the purpose of serving members and advancing the architecture profession.

As the first step along this ongoing process, the leadership of AIA Newark and Suburban Architects asked our members to respond to a poll. A little over 10% of our members did just that, and while not the overwhelming response we were hoping for, it gives us a jumping off point. In the poll we asked you to pick your top three priorities out of ten options.

The number one priority chosen was ‘Prioritization of Initiatives’, which stated that given that the AIA cannot be all things to all people, the organization must decide the programs and services most essential to the majority of members so that resources can be allocated effectively and members receive the greatest value.

The number two priority chosen was ’Engaging emerging professionals’, which stated that the AIA seeks to be an essential resource for all architects, at every stage of their career, but the organization has yet to successfully embrace the values and interests of emerging architects.

There was a tie for the third most important priority between ‘Inefficacy of Communications’, which stated that bombarded with communications, members

“tune out” AIA, yet at the same time, most are unaware of the full scope of AIA offerings that benefit them and many have finding the information that they seek; and ‘Resource Allocation’, which stated the AIA members feel that financial and other organizational resources are disproportionately benefiting national at the expense of local and regional components.

The Board of Trustees has reviewed this feedback and is already taking action.

In response to your number one priority of ‘Prioritization of Initiatives’ we will be reviewing and updating our long range plan and reexamining our entire structure from top to bottom. This will include looking at the make-up of our board, and all of the programs that we run from year to year. The key factor and point of focus in this will be ‘what is the value to our members?’ and ‘what is the value to the profession?’

This may mean that some of the events you’ve grown accustomed to over the years may no longer take place, be drastically changed or just enhanced as they are.

We expect that these discussions will tie into the ‘Resource Allocation’ concern and help us better distribute our resources to give our members the biggest bang for their buck!

On the ’Engaging emerging professionals’ front, what we’d like to see initially is more attendance of emerging professionals at our General meetings. To assist with this we are asking our members who have an unlicensed intern or newly licensed architect working for them to bring them to one of our meetings as a guest. We also ask that the ‘young people’, as Jerry Eben so fondly calls them, network with their fellow emerging professionals and invite them to a meeting as well.

Lastly, but certainly not any less important, is the ‘Inefficacy of Communications’ which will find us reviewing how we disseminate information to our members. We will be looking at how we are currently doing it and whether or not we can do it better. Are we sending out too many emails? Is the Rostrum newsletter still relevant in today’s minute-by-minute news cycle society? While looking at our local level, we will also be looking at what information our members receive from the State and National levels of AIA.

What I have discussed above is just the

beginning of what will probably be a year long, or longer, ‘repositioning’ of how and why we do the things that we do. Hopefully you will all join in and help make AIA stronger and more relevant for the coming years.

John A. Cwikla, AIA 2013 President-Elect AIA NEWARK-SUBURBAN

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 4

AIA Newark & Suburban

Links

Calendar

Follow us on :

DONATE-

NJAPAC

USGBC-NJ RESIDENTIAL GREEN BUILDING COMMITTEE TEAMING UP WITH AIA-NJ The Residential Green Building Committee will be offering two AIA and GCBI credit seminars on

October 2nd during the upcoming AIA-NJ 2013 DESIGN CONFERENCE to be held October 2 and 3 at the Berkeley Hotel in Asbury Park.

The first seminar “The Big Picture: How the Building Envelope Relates to the Whole Building

Approach” intends to demonstrate the critical nature of proper envelope design and detailing to ensure high performance for the building’s end user. It is designed for mid- to high-level

professionals in the residential design and construction fields, with the goal that participants will understand the science behind design with the Whole Building Approach. Building science

principles will be presented including heat, pressure and moister transfer, as well as the impact these pressures have on insulation, air infiltration, condensation, and the overall impact on the

envelope. In addition, the effects of these factors on HVAC equipment, ventilation, moisture management and durability will also be explored. Further, the presentation will explore the effects

of building science on the existing housing stock, energy auditing and energy retrofits on existing

residential structures. Finally, the presentation will review past and current energy codes, as well as where energy codes are going and why. This course will be led by Paula Zimin, AIA and

LEED AP and Grant Salmon, LEEP AP, CEA, BPI BA, ENV, Heating, AC/Heat Pump of Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

The second seminar “Thermal Enclosure Systems – Building a Better Box” will provide design

professionals with a greater awareness of how thermal bridging and air leakage occur in buildings. A review of the relevant building science principles is included, as is a review of a selection of

common insulting products. Problem areas will be identified, discussed and illustrated with real life examples. Participants will not only learn how their design decisions and architectural details are

critical to the creation of a “better box” but also understand how they can provide the construction team with the tools they need to implement the design successfully. This course will be led by

Emma Raymont, PE, Operations Manager, Design Services and Existing Homes, MaGrann

Associates.

Robert Emert, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, chair of the Residential Green Committee since 2011, noted

that these seminars are part of an on-going series of half-day workshops prepared by the

committee. The fourth in this series of workshops is scheduled for November 8, 2013 and will be

held at Bergen Community College. This half-day workshop is structured for residential design and

construction professionals involved in identifying key green decisions throughout the design and

construction process for single-family homes and multi-story residential structures. A team of

industry experts will compare and contrast various heating and cooling systems, from standard

systems, high performance systems, and alternative systems.

Howard N. Horii, FAIA, will be on hand

at the AIANS December 12 General meeting to sign copies of his book:

Truth in the Rivers

Horii is a well-known artist and principal

emeritus with the former Grad Associates of Newark.

The book is a collection of essays and

poetry written by Bruce Hopkins and illustrated with watercolors by Horii.

Hopkins is a noted environmentalist,

teacher, and writer from the Loess Hills region of Iowa.

HORII BOOK SIGNING AT DECEMBER GENERAL MEETING

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 5

I am sure that several people in reading this

article will not be pleased with the content. It is not that I do not care what they think,

but it is because they do not understand how important the practice of OUR profession is

to me and hopefully to you too. I truly felt

that it was time that this article had to be written, and as you read it, I hope that you

will understand why I have entitled it A Call to Action…………..Now!

About a year ago, I received a call from a

member. He knew of my concern regarding illegal practice of OUR profession here in

New Jersey. He asked me if I would file a complaint on his behalf to the State Board of

Architects. He believed that he had

witnessed someone who was in fact practicing illegally. I told him that it was his

responsibility to file the complaint and that the simple form (on line) was easy enough to

complete. I went on to state that it would

cost him less than 10 minutes of his time and a postage stamp. Apparently he listened to

me and subsequently filled out the complaint form and sent it in to the State Board of

Architects.

Last month, he called me again, to tell me that he had received a copy of the

ACKNOWLEDGMENT, which explained that the Board’s investigation proved wrong doing

and led to the completion of the case,

because the culprit had signed the ACKNOWLEDGMENT agreeing to the terms

stated. However, he told me that he was disappointed with the result presented. First

he was concerned that the investigation took more than six (6) months to complete.

Second, which the violator was only told to

cease and desist from advertising/providing architectural services, which meant that he

was NOT fined. I told him that to be fair, the investigation process has to run its

course and that most often in takes the

better part of a year to complete. As to not receiving a fine, I had no answer for that and

invited him to attend the next State Board of Architects meeting where he could ask the

members of the Board himself as to why

there was no fine?

I also told him that it would be his

responsibility to check the culprit’s web page in a few months to see if in fact he did

cease and desist, or was continuing in

stating that architectural services were being

offered.

As I hung up the phone, it occurred to me

that I should look to see if the culprit of my

own complaint was in fact beholding to the document he signed over two years ago? I

went on line and saw that he was back at it again, offering architectural services under

an Unlicensed Design Build scenario!

I called the Assistant Attorney General for the State Board that very afternoon, to ask

her what could be done. She could not remember the case, but she suggested that I

write a letter to the State Board Acting

Director, so that he could take it from there.

While I mentioned in my letter that I was

grateful for his help in concluding the case

originally, I was concerned that a simple cease and desist order might not do the

job in stopping this culprit and/or the licensed architect that might be assisting

him, who was not investigated at the time of my complaint.

The members of the State Board at the most

recent meeting that I attended have had discussion after discussion on approving

firms for their Certificate of Authority (C of

A) and how to monitor that a properly NJ licensed architect has control of the

necessary shares in a firm that holds the C of A. At July’s meeting, the outgoing President

of the Board stated that he would like the

help of AIANJ members in this regard.

I promised him and the remaining

members of the State Board of Architects

that I will continue to press YOU, the members, into action to and again I quote

“say something when they see something,” by filing complaints with the State Board of

Architects.

In turn, I stated that it would go a long way with the AIANJ membership if the culprits,

especially those like the one I have now complained about for the second time would

be held to the ACKNOWLEDGMENT that they

signed, be brought before the State Board of Architects once again. He needs to be asked

why he did not adhere to his promise of stopping his unlicensed practice of

Architecture? It would be my hope that the State Board of Architects would, at the

A Call to Action……………NOW!

Continued on page 7

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 6

AIA Newark & Suburban

Links

Calendar

Follow us on :

DONATE-

NJAPAC

DESIGN AWARDS INFO AND SPOTLIGHT

With September here, it's hard to believe the AIA Newark and Suburban Design Awards are only

a month and a half away. The Design Awards Committee's preparations for the event, to be held Thursday, October 17 from 5:30-9:30 at the Morris Museum in Morristown. are in full

swing. Submit an entry or to register to attend.

The evening will begin with members and guests viewing the project boards against the majestic

backdrop of the Museum. Beginning at 6:00 pm, the Museum's atrium will be the setting for an

elegant cocktail party, with guests enjoying a delicious assortment of food and wine. At 7:15, our evening's presentations will begin in the Bickford Theater. A new feature the Committee is very

excited about this year is the Design Awards Jurors Roundtable. We are honored that our own Joe Flock, AIA will be lending his moderator talents in a Roundtable discussion with our guest

jurors - Claire Weisz, AIA; Hugh Trumbull, AIA; Stuart Disston, AIA; and Jack Purvis, AIA. The topics will begin with the state of architecture in New Jersey and go on from there. And as

always, audience participation will be encouraged. Following the Roundtable, we will proceed to the highlight of the evening which of course is the presentation of awards with jurors' comments

on the projects they have selected. New Design Awards Medals are being minted as we

speak! All in all, I cannot think of a more enjoyable way to earn 2 CEU learning credits.

We look forward to seeing all of the great projects that will be submitted. I encourage firms that

are still undecided about whether to produce a board to do so. There is still plenty of time between now and October 17 to put a presentation board together. Fine example boards from

past Design Awards are available for viewing on the NS website. In addition, there is a

downloadable pdf with an explanation of the categories, board requirements, presentation tips, lists of print shops and photographers, and the registration form.

The Committee would like to thank the offices of The CTS Group, Gensler, and Posen Architecture for graciously agreeing to

serve as drop-off locations. Please see

the drop-off location list on the web site for the days and hours for each office.

Mark October 17th to enjoy a captivating evening of architectural design, delicious

food and drink, and the company of your AIA colleagues.

Donald Chin, AIA

AIANS Design Awards Chairperson e-mail: dsdchin@yahoo.com

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Hotel LOLA by Gensler, awarded, 2012 (above).

The Gallucci Residence by Andrew Passacantando,

(left) awarded, 2011.

Continued from page 5

conclusion of yet another costly (third time)

investigation, really “throw the book at him.”

In the letter, I promised the Acting Director

that I want the Board to know that I will continue the fight to protect my profession

and that of my colleagues. I will do so by speaking and writing about the injustice

done not only to us, but to the entire citizenry of the State of New Jersey.

Action……NOW!

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 7

So my fellow members, it is time for YOU to

do what some of us have been doing for years now. If you know or see a possible

violator of the architectural practice laws, take the time to file a complaint and follow it

through.

Thank you!

Jerry

Jerome Leslie Eben, AIA AIANJ Regional Director, 2011-‘3

Rostrum 2013 Issue 9

Page 8