rostrum march 2012
DESCRIPTION
AIA Newark & Suburban architects newsletterTRANSCRIPT
the beauty and history of
the best architecture and
locations New Jersey has to
offer.
Kevin
McCormick,
AIA, LEED®AP
AIA NS
President,
2012
President’s Message
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
MARCH 2012
Issue 3
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:
President’s Message 1
Practice Notes 2
Field Trip to A Strange New Place
3
AIANS to be honored at AIA National
4
Super Bowl 2014 5
Call for Submissions 7
Inside this issue:
AIAS Events
PORTFOLIO REVIEW:
THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2012 6:30pm
With great response at last year’s event, the students
have asked us to continue
this event annually! They h a v e i n v i t e d t h e
professionals to come back to NJIT and critique their
portfolios, giving them insight on what employers
are looking for when interviewing. Many students
are seeking full - t ime
employment or internships at the end of this semester
and could benefit from any tips or pointers from the
professionals. This event has always been beneficial
to both parties and we hope to see another great turnout
this year!
(continued on p. 6)
installing the design boards
of the finalists in the Live the
Box and Newark Visitor’s
Center design competitions
at the AIA National
H e a d q u a r t e r s i n
Washington, DC. Newark
and Suburban owes the
recognition and honors
r e c e i v e d f o r t h e
competitions to these
members for their eternal
dedication. I look forward to
seeing the display during
AIA Grassroots when nearly
800 AIA members from
around the country will tour
AIA Headquarters and have
the opportunity to view the
presentations.
The Newark and Suburban
Rostrum is issued monthly.
I would like to thank Virginia
Seminara, AIA for her hard
work putting it together.
We want to hear more from
of our members! If you are
interested in submitting an
article or advertisement
please contact Virginia at
Finally, I look forward to our
next meeting later in March.
Author Philip Kennedy-Grant,
FAIA will present his new
book AIA New Jersey
Guidebook 150 Best
Buildings and Places. It
is a great book that captures
It was great to see a large
turnout at our first meeting
of the year on February 15th
at Mayfair Farms in West
Orange. I would like to
thank Newark and Suburban
Trustee Alex Gotthelf, AIA
who helped to organize the
event and invite Paul
Warchol, our speaker. Mr.
Warchol presented his
impressive international
work as an architectural
photographer which included
photographs of buildings by
IM Pei, Steven Holl and Zaha
Hadid.
It was a pleasure to see so
many students from AIAS at
NJIT in attendance at the
meeting. AIAS has some
interesting events planned
for March - a Portfolio
Review, Intern for a Day and
a Firm Crawl. I would
encourage you to reach out
to the architectural students
and lend your support –
especially our Emerging
Professional members. If
interested in participating
please speak with Antonietta
A l b e r t o , A I A a t
I would like to thank Justin
Mihalik, AIA, Alok Saksena,
Assoc. AIA, and especially
Kim de Freitas, AIA for their
hard work in planning and
services, it is not so good for the long-term state of
architectural practice to see decision-making, revenues
and talent move away from
our firms.
This trend has many roots,
but it certainly appears that commercial and institutional
clients are turning to
construction and real estate managers to lead their
projects . On smal le r residential projects, a similar
pattern can be seen with builders being consulted to
l e a d p r o j e c t s , a n d some t ime s au tho r i ng
designs.
Architects are generally known and respected for
having the ability to creatively solve problems
and see the “big picture”,
yet many clients do not trust us to be at the table
(continued on p. 6)
our Institute, stand still in terms of our narrow
approach towards the design and building process, then
the role of architectural
practice in shaping the built environment – whether sole
practitioners or large firms - will diminish.
I think many of you have
observed how Architects have given up ground over
the past decade to construction and real estate
companies that have carved out new business offerings,
s u c h a s , “ p r o g r a m management” and “pre-
construction services,” which
has clients turning to them for early project advice
before they hire their Architect. While it is good
that many Architects are employed by construction
and real estate firms to provide design-related
Having taken on the Chairmanship of the AIA NS
P ro fe ss i ona l P ra c t i ce Committee for 2012, I look
forward to researching and
sharing practice issues and trends with our members. It
is my goal to explore both familiar architectural practice
topics, as well as, relevant ideas from outside of the
traditional boundaries of our discipline.
To sustain and grow our
practices in the 21st century Architects now must not only
be proficient in design, planning and building
technologies; there is much
we can learn and apply from innovators and trends in
other fields.
One area where I believe
Architects need to become
stronger is in the business and financial side of
projects. If Architects, and
Rostrum 2012 Issue 3
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
AIA NS 2012 Committees
Professional Practice Notes
Rostrum 2012 Issue 3
Page 3
A Field Trip to a Strange New Place: Second Grade Visits the Parking Garage was the title of an article in
a recent New York Times that I found very interesting.
It highlighted how a local NYC public school located in
what was explained as a “high poverty area” had
found a way to academically stimulate its students. The
educational team uses field
trips to help the children experience places that for
the most part, are alien to them. One such place was a
pre-cast concrete parking garage that the teachers
used to provide context for lessons in class. Back in the
classrooms ‘stations for play’
that are normally only found in kindergarten classrooms
have been provided in the first and second grade
classrooms as well. Here the children can use building
blocks and construction paper to enhance their
imagination and make
learning more fun. The article went on to explain
that the children worked together to build their own
version of the parking
garage and the teacher
explained that in doing so, they resolve problems and
develop their verbal skills.
I believe that this is where we as architects come in.
We should be in these classrooms to augment and
stimulate the education of
the young people in our communities. Of course
some of us are already doing just that: Jose Gennaro, AIA
annually visits a public school Perth Amboy; Bruce
Brattstrom, AIA has, for years, gone back to
Bloomfield High School (his
alma mater) to participate in their Career Day; Richard
Bettini, Associate AIA is in West Caldwell; and Dr.
Roger Keller, AIA who was a teacher before he was an
architect, is once again teaching, currently at
Millburn High School.
Richard and Roger are in the classroom every day
teaching the very basics of the art and science of
building design. I am sure and hopeful that there are
others like those mentioned here doing the same, and
would ask that you please e-
mail to let me know where you have been and what you
have done.
We know that not all of these students will become
architects, but because of their individual experience in
sidewalk field trips, visits by
an architect to their classroom, or the daily
exposure to the knowledge of dedicated teachers
directly from the profession, the exposure will be positive
for the profession in the future. How? Many of
these children’s early
exposure to what we do for a living will be long lasting;
so I call on you the member to take your own field trip
to your local school and introduce the profession to
an elementary, middle or high school student.
Thank you.
Jerome Leslie
Eben, AIA
AIA NJ
R e g i o n a l Director ’11-‘13
A FIELD TRIP to a STRANGE NEW PLACE
Rostrum 2012 Issue 3
Page 4
AIA Newark & Suburban
Links
Calendar
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the end of April 2012. The exhibit is just in time for the
2012 Grassroots Conference. We welcome you to attend
the 2012 Grassroots
Conference and enjoy the exhibit of the winning
boards from the Live the BOX and Newark Visitor
C e n t e r D e s i g n Competitions. This display
reflects the efforts of our architectural community and
places AIA Newark and
Suburban in a national spotlight.
contacted headquarters and
gathered information about coordinating an exhibit in
Washington DC, AIA Newark
and Suburban was hosting the Newark Visitor Center
I n t e rn a t i o n a l D e s i g n Competition (2009/10). This
was yet another successful event; we received even
more entries and we were honored to have Richard
Meier as one of the jurors.
Well, it seems we have come
full circle. The two incredibly s u c c e s s f u l d e s i g n
competitions developed and hosted by AIA Newark and
Suburban are on exhibit at AIA National Headquarters in
Washington DC. Kim de Fre i tas and Natasha
Suzansky went down to DC in mid February to
coordinate and hang the
boards that will be on display in the ground floor
lobby and gallery through to
Some of you may remember
the Live the BOX I n t e rn a t i o n a l D e s i g n
Competition that AIA
Newark and Suburban developed and hosted in the
summer of 2008. We submitted the competition
for recognition and were a w a r d e d t h e 2 0 1 0
Grassroots Excellence Award for Component
O u t r e a c h
C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Outstanding Overall
Program (for an All- Volunteer Component).
The award was received at the Grassroots Conference in
February of 2010. While at t h e c o n v e n t i o n i n
Washington DC we noticed that there was an exhibit of
boards at the AIA National Headquarters building and
thought it would be an
honor to have the winning boards from the competition
on display. While we
AIANS to be Honored at AIA
National Feb- April 2012
Click for more:
Live the BOX
Newark Visitor Center
2012 Grassroots
Conference
Rostrum 2012 Issue 3
Page 5
coverage are nothing more than tents. Factor in 40
mph winds and 2 feet of snow, and it could get
messy.
Another challenge is transit. Not only is this a huge event
that draws lots of attention, but it is also located next to
one of the largest cities in
the world. Ever been to Penn Station at 5:00 pm on
a Monday, no less Super Bowl Sunday? It can be
quite chaotic. Now picture an additional hundred
thousand visitors trying to get to the Meadowlands.
There is the rail link from
Secaucus, but that won’t hold the volume of people
coming from the city. That leaves the roads; as I’m sure
most of us know, Route 3 is just about at capacity as it is
these days. There is also a
t h ou sand s o f s t a f f , community members, and
volunteers, this event does not come without some
major challenges.
This Super Bowl will be the first “cold weather” Super
Bowl; it will take place up north, in an uncovered
stadium. A legitimate
concern is the possibility for snow, and what to do with
it. Much of the stadium itself is cleared with nothing
more than hand shovels between the seats; this
wouldn’t be bad if it were an inch, but what happens if we
get 2 feet of snow the night
before the big game? Then there’s the question of
where it will be hauled. They can’t exactly push it
into a corner of the parking lot, taking up valuable
spaces. Much of the temporary structures erected
for uses such as media
All things considered, that’s not too far away.
I recently attended a
presentation that touched upon some of the highlights
and challenges faced by all parties involved – the Giants
staff, the Host Committee, the NFL, and the local
communities impacted by
the influx of people. It will prove to be quite the
production!
As we all saw from last
month’s Super Bowl in
Indianapolis, the event is actually much more than
just one football game. It is a series of week-long
events, including shows and shopping, and will have a
huge impact on the local dining, hospitality, tourism,
and transportation economy.
Although this is a great opportunity and will require
the Herculean effort of
Super Bowl 2014, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
(Continued on p. 6)
Rostrum 2012 Issue 3
Page 6 Super Bowl 2014 (Continued from page 5)
and amazing food, this is a chance for us to show the
rest of the nation what NJ has to offer.
It’s a chance for towns and
small businesses to work on their branding. There is a
soon-to-be-launched web s i t e c a l l e d
“MeetMeattheMeadowlands”
where businesses can register and advertise. If
the NFL has chosen this area to bring all of these visitors
and coverage to, and if all the world is indeed a stage,
here is our chance to put ourselves out there and
shine.
Christy DiBartolo, AIA
AIAS EVENTS their office) and learn more about what we do on an
everyday basis. This would allow students who normally
would not have exposure to
the office environment get a chance to see what it is like.
FIRM CRAWL: ONGOING
The students would like to tour firms to see different
office cultures and types of
INTERN FOR A DAY:
SPRING BREAK (MARCH 12-16, 2012)
This is an exciting new event for the group! Students will
be matched up with a
p r o f e s s i o n a l f i r m , organizat ion, or sole
practitioner for one day during Spring Break. They
will shadow the professional (or someone appropriate in
(Continued from page 1)
construction jobs, permanent
retail and hospitality jobs, and give us all a sigh of relief.
Even with these challenges, the big game and everything it
br ings wi l l o f fe r great
opportunity. The hope is that, WHEN this is pulled off without
a hitch, we will attract other major events to the area, fueling
the growth of our local economy.
The goal is to get visitors to
“play and stay” here in NJ, so that they will return some day.
Between our proximity to excellent shopping in Paramus,
cultural attractions like the NJPAC and Ellis Island, the
na tu ra l beau ty o f the
Meadowlands, our hospitality,
great concern about security that will have to be
expanded and bolstered to accommodate the additional
influx.
If all goes well, the American Dream Meadowlands will be
open. The former Xanadu site has been in limbo for
years now and the multi-
color cladding has been an eyesore and a constant
reminder of the failed project to those in our
region that pass it daily. There’s nothing like the
presence of more people, both in person and via
broadcasts, that will jump
start the process to bring the complex closer to
opening. It would result in
architectural work. Once a few interested firms in a
particular area are identified, we can schedule a date for
the students to visit. This
will be ongoing throughout the semester.
Please contact our NJIT Liaison, Antonietta Alberto,
AIA at [email protected]
if your firm is interested in participating.
Practice Notes to expand our command of the business topics that
motivate our clients, then the standing of our
profession within the
industry should rise, and we may convince more clients
to invest in higher quality design and architectural
solutions. More on this theme to follow…Please let
me know your thoughts on topics of interest and ways
we can re-charge our
approach to practice in 2012 and beyond.
when they are considering important capital planning,
b udge t i n g an d r i s k assessment topics that have
a huge impact on the
architecture and design services that we will provide.
I am not suggesting that Architects compromise their
passion and skill for
designing and documenting buildings - we need to keep
focused on our primary role. However, if individually and
as a profession we commit
Ronald C. Weston, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is the AIA NS Professional Practice Committee Chair and can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]
Continued from page 2
Rostrum 2012 Issue 3
Page 7
the power of design. The original National Architecture
Week proclamation was made by President Ronald
Reagan in 1982 to mark the
125th anniversary of the I n s t i t u t e ’ s f o und i ng .
Members of the American Institute of Architects have
worked with each other and their communities to create
more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable
buildings and cityscapes.
If your firm is planning an exhibit, a celebration, or
other event, send a photo or short description, we will
celebrate along with you and
report on it in the next Rostrum.
and have a model, image of a completed project, special
drawing, or other project media that you would like to
exhibit, please contact
Virginia Seminara, AIA @ [email protected] as soon
as possible with a photo and information (including size)
for your exhibit item.
The display will run the entire month of April; all
items are exhibited in locked glass cases, are insured, (to
a limit) and will be returned at the end of the exhibit.
National Architecture
Week was designed to showcase the positive role
architects play in our communities and to highlight
Last month we reported on the brewing of AIA
Nat iona l ’ s P lans fo r National Architecture
Week (9-14 April) 2012.
Most of AIA National events take place online.
Locally, De Biasse & Seminara, Architects, a AIA
NS member firm, has
procured display space at the North County Branch of
the Hunterdon County Library, in Clinton, NJ. There
is some space available for member participation. This
year’s theme is Design Connects.
Space is limited, but
(especially) if you work in the Hunterdon County area
Call for Submissions - National Architecture Week