I also attended a dinner for AIA section members and

AIA New Jersey members. This was sponsored, in part,

by Andersen Windows and

AIA New Jersey. It was an opportunity to network with

my colleagues.

There was a reception by

Ag i l l a n t G roup , t a x consultants, that I attended.

I was able to connect with a few AIA Newark Suburban

members and learn about

possible tax credits for small to medium size businesses.

Attending the AIA 2012 National Convention was an

unexpected opportunity that I am glad that I didn’t pass

up.

Louise C. Addonizio, AIA, PP,

LEED AP, LEED BD+C, ICS

Building Inspector, NCIDQ Qualified

President‐Elect AIA Newark Suburban

AIA CONVENTION REPORT

Rostrum 2012

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

JUNE 2012

Issue 6

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

Convention Report 1

Can the IgCC make Buildings Greener?

2

Regional Director’s Message

3

Harmon to Retire 5

Our Sponsors 7

Inside this issue: Susan Chin, FAIA as Vice‐President 2013

Donald Brown, AIA as Vice‐President 2013

Rick DeYoung, AIA as

Secretary 2013

The AIA trade show was part

of the convention and more t h a n 8 0 0 v e n d o r s

participated. Any material vendor that you can think of

was there. There were vendors for Lighting, Metals,

Software and Technology,

Audio visual and Stone and Tile.

There was a large selection of seminars and courses to

t a ke f o r c on t i nu i ng education and learning unit

credit and I took courses in the following areas of

inte res t: Construct ion

Out l ook , Con t rac to r ’ s General Conditions AIA 201,

Sustainable Smithsonian, Integrated Project Delivery

and new collaborative strategies for architect,

engineer and contractor.

Due to a change in plans from our President Kevin

McCormick, I received the opportunity to attend the

2 0 1 2 A I A N a t i o n a l

Convention in Washington DC. I was happy and excited

to attend in Kevin’s place.

I was impressed by the

sheer number of architects attending the convention.

There were over 10,000!

As part of the election

process for AIA National

Executive Committee, the cand idates fo r V i ce ‐Pres ident, F i rs t V ice President and Secretary

spoke.

All AIA New Jersey section

Presidents attended these speeches and discussed

favored candidates with

Larry Parisi AIA New Jersey President, who carries all the

votes. After casting New Jersey votes the following

were elected:

Helene Combs Dreiling,

FAIA, as First Vice‐President 2013

Rostrum 2012 Issue 6

Page 2

AIA Newark & Suburban

Board Members

Officers

KEVIN McCORMICK, AIA

President

LOUISE ADDONIZIO, AIA

President-Elect

JOHN A. CWIKLA, AIA

First Vice President

LISA SAN FILIPPO, AIA

Secretary

STEPHEN ROONEY, AIA

Treasurer

YOGESH MISTRY, AIA

Past President

Trustees

Trustee 2012

JUDY DONNELLY, AIA

Trustees 2013

CHRISTY DIBARTOLO, AIA

ALEX GOTTHELF,AIA

ELLEN HARMON,

ALLIED MEMBER

NATASHA SUZANSKY, AIA

Trustees 2014

PAUL TIAJOLOFF, AIA

RONALD WESTON, AIA

JASON PEIST, ASSOC. AIA

Honorary Affiliate

DAN BISCHOFF

Section Administrator

JULIE PAGNOTTA

aiaadmin@verizon.net

AIA NS 2012 Committees

Continued on page 6

Professional Practice Notes: Can the IgCC make Buildings Greener?

Site development and

land use [erosion control,

transportation, heat island mi t igat ion , g raywate r

systems, habitat protection, and site restoration];

Mate r i a l r e s ou r ce

conservation and efficiency [50% of construction waste

to be diverted from landfills, and at least 55% of building

materials to be salvaged,

recycled-content, recyclable, or indigenous];

Energy conservation and

earth atmospheric quality

[judged by performance, buildings are to use not

more than 51% of the

energy allowed under the 2000 International Energy

Code; minimum mechanical sys tem requ i rements ,

submetering, renewable energy sys tems and

lighting];

Water conservation and

efficiency [maximum flow

rates for fixtures, limits for app l iances , ra inwate r

storage and graywater systems];

Indoor environmental

quality and comfort [no smoking in buildings, radon,

VOCs sound transmission, daylighting];

C o m m i s s i o n i n g ,

operation, and maintenance [pre and post occupancy

commissioning, and training for operations].

Like the LEED certification

process, the IgCC takes the lofty goal of improving the

environmental performance of bu i ld ings through “sustainable” design and construction concepts and

makes them pro jec t

Thomas Friedman, noted author, Pulitzer prize winner

and NY Times columnist has said that when the

government sets a deadline,

like a level of renewable energy produced by 2025,

the U.S. rises to the challenge with innovation;

however, until required, as a nation we resist having to

c h a n g e . P e r h a p s recognizing that sociological

phenomenon is one of the

motivators leading to the creation of the International

Green Construction Code (“IgCC”). The IgCC which

was issued in March 2012, was developed over the past

several years by the International Code Council in

a consensus driven process

with a consortium of leading organizations throughout the

design and construction industries, including the AIA,

A S T M I n t e r n a t i o n a l , ASHRAE, the Illuminating

Engineering Society and of course, the U.S. Green

Building Council.

As part of AIA’s 2030 Commitment to facilitating

carbon neutrality, the AIA had significant participation

in the process. The new

code was profiled in the March 2012 edition of AIA

Architect and at this year’s national convention on May

17, 2012 AIA issued its new “Guide to the IgCC

“ [downloadable for all AIA m e m b e r s h t t p : / /

www.a ia .o rg /advocacy/

AIAB085336 ].

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e

International Code Council website, the new code’s regu la to ry f ramework

applies to both new and e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s ,

es tab l i sh ing min imum

“green” requirements while offering a customizable

baseline that can be modified by enacting

jurisdictions to adapt to local

environmental conditions, construction practices and

other community- based interests. Many have

described the IgCC as “an overlay to the existing set of

In te rna t iona l Codes , ” because i t i n c l ude s

p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e

I n t e rna t i o n a l Ene rg y Conservation Code and ICC-700, the National Green Building Standard, and

i n co rpo ra te s ASHRAE Standard 189.1 which is

offered as an alternate path to achieving IgCC code

compliance. In its new

guide, the AIA describes the IgCC, noting:

“The new code is intended to provide “minimum requirements to safeguard the environment, ‘public health, safety and general welfare’ and reduce the negative impacts and increase positive impacts of the built environment on the natural environment and building occupants. As such, it covers natural resources, material water and energy conservation, operations and maintenance for new and existing buildings, building sites, building materials, and bu i l d i n g compone n t s (including equipment and systems).”

Once adopted, the IgCC

applies to new construction, existing building restoration

and renovation, commercial and residential buildings over 3 stories. Topics

addressed in the IgCC include:

Rostrum 2012 Issue 6

Page 3 A HUGE VICTORY ! … BUT

Continued on page 6

and would urge every one of you to do this. Once

received, it their obligation to investigate the merits of

the complaint. In short:

they take it from there.

Those of you who take the

time to read the AIANJ E-newsletter, know and

may remember that I

mentioned that the State Board of Architects Acting

Executive Director took what I believed was an inordinate

amount of time in addressing this complaint for

reasons still unknown as I write this. However, I

pressed on. I even went

above his head to the Director of Consumer Affairs

at the time, but to no avail.

About six (6) months in, the

State Board of Architects

finally mounted an investigation that took on

the form of some elaborate sting operation. My guess

read on my colleagues and please let me know what

you think!

Over the years, I have asked many of you to file

complaints when you believe that there is a violation of

the practice of OUR profession. Unfortunately,

few of you have. May be

you just can’t be bothered, or think it takes to much

effort? Maybe you believe that there might be some

retribution? Maybe you are just not sure there even is a

violation? Well, all you have to do is find the complaint

form online, spend ten (10)

minutes filling it out and send it to the NJ State Board

of Architects. I would strongly recommend that

this and any correspondence with the Board be completed

via certified mail, return receipt requested. I do not

think that is too stressful,

Recently, Joseph Simonetta, CAE, our Executive Director,

credited me with securing, in his words: “A HUGE VICTORY”! Joe was

speaking of the complaint that I had filed against a

company and its principal some twenty-one (21)

months ago, for practicing OUR profession without the

benefit of licensure. The State Board of Architects

had found both guilty of just

that.

Unfortunately there are

many others out there who think that they can practice

OUR profession without the

education, internship and rigorous examination that

we have completed and that enables us to call ourselves

ARCHITECTS! May be the Board’s action will finally

stop illegal practice of OUR profession. However, there

is a reason for the ‘BUT’ in

the title of this article, so

Continued on page 4

was that they wanted to be

absolutely sure that they had the evidence they

needed to find, at the time, the ‘potential violator’ guilty

of what I believed was his illegal practice of OUR

profession. Well, the sting apparently worked and they

had him, but again for some

unknown reason, not the architect who had helped

him in his sham by signing and sealing his drawings!

A consent decree was

offered to the culprit, but he wanted his day in front of

the Board. He was given the opportunity and I was

contacted to testify as the complainant by Meaghan

Goulding, Esq. (DAG) prosecuting the case. More

months passed and finally I

was subpoenaed (as if they had to guarantee my

attendance) to testify on April 12, 2012. I blocked

out the entire day on my calendar. At the eleventh

hour, DAG Goulding called me and told me that the

unlicensed individual had

requested more time to prepare his case. To say the

least, I was not happy about the delay, but I had no right

to protest, past voicing my concerns to Ms. Goulding,

which you can be sure I did.

In agreement with me, a new date of May 10th was

set for my testimony and again I was subpoenaed! Late on May 9th she called me again to tell me that my

testimony would not be

required as they were working on a settlement. “A

settlement, I asked?” How often does one get another

swing after a strikeout? The answer is, never,

apparently and unless you are called in front of the

Continued on page 4

Rostrum 2012 Issue 6

Page 4

AIA Newark & Suburban

Links

Calendar

Follow us on :

DONATE-

NJAPAC

VICTORY … BUT Continued from page 3

State Board of Architects!

When I asked what this settlement was, I was told

that I had to wait until it was made public! Not satisfied

with that answer, I called

the Board’s DAG Michele Albertson, Esq., whom I

have always found to be open to discuss the illegal

practice of OUR profession. Michele called me back at

the end of the next day to tell me what had transpired.

By the time you read this

article, it will be part of the public record.

The fine for practicing without a license is

$10,000. The investigation

for this particular case was $7,000. The State Board of

Architects reduced the fine to $5,000; further forgiving

$4,000, so that the ultimate fine was $1,000! To add

insult to injury, the violator will be allowed to pay the

fine off in several monthly

payments. The DAG stated

that he cannot use the word

DESIGN in the advertisement of his

business and will be on probation for the next four

(4) years meaning that any violation during this period

would be considered a 2nd violation. I have no doubt

that this will occur, but I

have doubts that he will ever be caught.

As to the title of this article “A HUGE VICTORY…BUT”, I have been told that

my hard work in bringing this complaint forward to the

State Board of Architects and in turn, despite the long

time period it took, finding this individual guilty as

explained is a HUGE VICTORY!

Somehow I do not feel too

victorious and either should any of you! The true victor

here is the violator and by all accounts it is a HUGE

VICTORY for him! He gets

away with a minimum fine and probation period that is

unenforceable. The NJ

consumer and taxpayer are left unprotected from the

illegal practice of architecture and at the same

time are out some $16,000. On top of all of this and in

my opinion, worse yet, we still do not have the

architect who helped him

defraud the clients they worked for, not to mention

those of us who practice OUR profession legally!

Jerome Leslie Eben, AIA

AIANJ

Regional Director, ’11-‘13

Rostrum 2012 Issue 6

Page 5

Pe l la ’ s Nor th Je rsey representative for the past

eight years. An active member and

advocate of the AlA, Ellen

has been an outstanding ambassador for Pella her

contributions to Pella’s success are deeply valued.

Everyone at Pella and at AIA Newark & Suburban, is most

fond of Ellen and we will truly miss her.

Ridgewood location before moving into Outside Sales,

based first in Ridgewood and later Paramus, where she

developed and built many

strong relationships with customers in Bergen County

and beyond. A well-respected adjunct

faculty member at Bergen Community College, Ellen

has capably served the architectural community as

HONOR ELLEN HARMON AT RECEPTION

Come on Monday June 11, 2012, between 4 - 7 p.m. at

the Pel la Parsippany WindowScaping Center, 108

Route 46 West (just west of

New Road) for drinks and hors d'oeuvres to honor

Ellen Harmon, who is retiring after her outstanding 23

year career with Pella. Ellen started with Pella in

1989 as an Inside Sales Representative at our former

THANK YOU, ELLEN HARMON, FOR YOUR

SERVICE TO THE AIANS BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY RETIREMENT!

AIA NEWARK & SUBURBAN ARCHITECTS

Rostrum 2012 Issue 6

Page 6

requirements. The LEED

process essentially offers an aspirational performance

measurement tool for owners, designers and

constructors to identify and i m p l e m e n t m o r e

“sustainable” processes, materials and technologies

during design, construction,

operations and maintenance. Because of the commercial

success linked with LEED, as well as its philosophical and

environmentally acceptable attr ibutes, LEED has

enhanced the level of industry awareness, product

d e v e l o p m e n t a n d

participation in more sustainable construction—

but on a voluntary basis.

On the other hand, code

enforcement presents a

different approach to improving the environmental

performance of buildings because once adopted,

code requirements are mandatory, and compliance

is essential to obtain use and occupancy rights. The IgCC

provides another set of

requirements for architects and engineers to understand

and adhere to, in addition to the requirements of the

applicable Building Code. And like other enacted

building codes, failure to a d h e r e t o t h o s e

requirements will subject the

design industry to the same risk and potential liability as

other instances of code non-c o m p l i a n c e , n a m e l y

negligence and in many jurisdictions, “negligence per

se” .

Many o f th e IgCC requirements will not be new

to active practitioners since the LEED certification

processes have already made these concepts

famil iar ground. Risk

Practice Notes - IgCC Continued from page 2

managers and professional

liability insurers will start stepping up the education

and training offerings as the IgCC becomes law in more

locations because of concern that even in jurisdictions

where the IgCC is not o f f i c i a l l y a d o p t e d ,

professional practices will

adap t the i r de l i ve ry processes to comply with the

IgCC, which may spread into the general practice of

architecture or engineering on some level and affect

what becomes the applicable standard of care.

“This will be the first time

code officials, owners and designers will have an

in teg ra ted regu l a to ry framework to put into

practice that meets the goal

of greening the construction and design of new and

e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s , ” according to Code Council

CEO Richard P. Weiland. “Only a code that is useable,

enforceable and adoptable will have the capability of

impac t i ng ou r bu i l t

environment in dramatic ways.”

The process of adopting the IgCC has had a slow start,

and few States have enacted

the IgCC on a mandatory basis. While Maryland,

Rhode Island and Oregon each have enacted some

level of adherence to the IgCC to achieve compliance

or “equivalence” with their laws on “green public”

facilities, only Maryland has

required the IgCC to apply to all commercial buildings

and residential buildings with more than 3 stories.

[The IgCC website provides those places with the IgCC

in force].

Many notable design

practice commentators are

just beginning to read the IgCC and ponder how it will

interact or potentially supplant LEED processes.

While LEED enhanced the environmental awareness in

an industry that is one of the largest contributors of

various types of pollution, by

applying to all mainstream construction, adoption of the

IgCC will raise that floor. How high that floor rises will

depend on the willingness, in the current political

climate, to adopt new codes, but the IgCC is here and

should be on the radar

screen for those active in the design and construction

industries.

Guest Author: Karen Blose, past in-house counsel and commercial director at several national design practices, is now providing consulting and in-house counsel on-call services through AEdvise LLC. She can be reached at: kblose@aedvise.com.

A f u tu re con t i nu ing

education program for the AIA Newark & Suburban

chapter is currently under development by AEdvise to

provide more substance in terms of the technical areas

and risk management issues

that occur by adoption of the IgCC on a mandatory

basis. Watch upcoming issues of this newsletter for

further information.

AIA NS Professional Practice Committee Chair: Ronald C. Weston, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Email: rweston@psands.com

Rostrum 2012 Issue 6

Page 7