AIA Grand Valley

I am pleased to announce the 2010 Grand Valley Honor Awards program. This year’s program will be on Saturday, September 25, 2010, at a yet-to-be-determined place in downtown Grand Rapids, during ArtPrize. We will be following a similar format as last year, which was well received by many. We will also be adding one more awards category, at a reduced entry fee, and we will be keeping the ticket prices and normal entry fees the same as last year. The downtown locale will include parking, and the venue will be open to the public during the ArtPrize hours. This will allow the public to view everyone’s submittals as well as information regarding architecture that will be provided by MAF, who is our co-sponsor for the event. This will bring our firms and our profession into the public eye and will allow for good press.

The venue will be at a downtown location, yet to be determined. This will allow visibility to all ArtPrize visitors as well as allow the attendees of the gala to enjoy all that downtown has to offer. Parking will be provided. Attendees of the awards ceremony will have the option of eating dinner downtown beforehand or afterward. They may also choose to view many of the ArtPrize offerings that will be present during this time.

During the awards ceremony, speeches will be limited to the individual award categories, while the awards related to projects will simply be awarded on the stage, with no individual speeches. This is an attempt to make the actual ceremony a bit shorter for those in attendance. This is the same as last year.

This year, submittal requirements will be electronic – the same as Michigan. We will also be requesting that each submittal contain a digital image of a formatted project board that we will print and display as part of the art exhibit motif. The design of these project boards will be left to the discretion of the submitting firm, with the only requirements being that there only be one board (maximum size 24“ x 36“), that it be flat (no projections), that there is some descriptive text of the project, and that the project name be displayed prominently.

If any firm has any models or renderings that they would like to display to highlight architecture for the public, please contact me to make arrangements.

As with last year, we will be adding the opportunity for the jury to award an ”honorable mention“ in lieu of an ”honor award,“ in the event that they feel that none of the submissions merit the honor award, as happened last year.

A new award category for unbuilt work is being added this year. The entry fee for this category will be $50, to encourage people to enter. The work for this category had to have been designed for a client or competition, and of course the project has to be unbuilt. We feel that this will add a new exciting element and pique the public’s interest.

The chapter will be providing one actual award for each of the projects that the jury awards. If additional awards are desired by the applicant, they will be notified prior to the event and given the opportunity to purchase additional awards.

We hope your firm will consider entering a project in this year’s awards program.

Saturday, September 25, 2010: AIA Grand Valley Honor Awards Program at a Downtown Location

We are now well into the first quarter of 2010, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief that 2009 is over. Unfortunately, every firm in town is now leaner than it was before, but from my talks with people from around the country, the same holds true everywhere. I was personally wondering if 2010 was going down the same path as 2009, that work just wasn’t coming in, but I am starting to see glimmers of hope out there, and business is picking up a little. I sincerely hope that we all can start to experience the climb out of this recession soon.

David Maxam and I recently returned from Washington, DC, where we attended Grassroots. This convention is useful to the profession in many ways, first of which is education, to learn what the trends are, and what the AIA National folks are striving for this year. It also, most importantly, gives us the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill and let our elected officials know what is important to us. Believe me, the membership from Michigan was heard loud and clear! The banks need to loan! How many of you have projects that only lack funding to get off the ground? I would be willing to bet that everyone reading this can count at least one project. Here is the important part; go to the advocacy area of the AIA.org website. It makes it very easy for you to send information and comments directly to your elected officials at the federal as well as the state level. Make your voice heard; the politicians only act on what they know, but be prepared to back up your comments with facts and figures.

On March 17, we will be meeting in Lansing to take the voice of the architect to our state house and senate. This is one day out of the year. It is a unique opportunity to see how our state government works and gives you the chance to be heard first hand. We have a variety of issues to discuss with our government officials. If you enjoy paying the much higher errors and omissions premiums that you are paying now due to the efforts of the trial attorneys a few years ago, then by all means stay home, and that message will be sent to Lansing. We have been trying for a couple of years to get that law changed. We are now exposed for 6 years instead of the historical 2 years. We in Michigan are held responsible longer than architects in many other states as a result, and all this because a bunch of attorneys thought it was a good idea. If you want more information on the outing and how to sign up, you can access it at either the AIAGV website or the AIAMI.com website.

The last thing that I would like to bring up is equally important. There is a huge cry for change, and we in West Michigan are leading the charge. If you ever thought ”what change can a few members make?“ consider your dues. Because of the urging of Greg Metz and others and the persistence of Fred Butters (our state representative to AIA National), your national dues were frozen, and state and local dues were reduced. National was intent on increasing dues. We did that, right here out of West Michigan! And we want to do more. As a board, AIAGV is adding more content to our membership by branching out, bringing in new exhibits, planning more events, changing the same old way things have been done. Please take the opportunity to let us, your board, hear from you. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE AIA CHANGE?

Once a year, AIA Michigan joins forces with other industry groups to petition the state legislature on matters of importance to architects – Legislative Day. The next Legislative Day is scheduled for March 17, 2010, in Lansing, and it is very important that you attend this event if for no other reason than to advocate for legislation to correct the problems caused by the Supreme Court decision of Ostroth v Warren Regency.

Since the Ostroth decision in 2006, architects and others have been petitioning the state legislature to make necessary modifications to the law pertaining to the statute of limitations. While a set of bills was nearly passed in 2008-2009, those efforts were unsuccessful. A new bill, SB882, was introduced in December of 2009, and your support is needed.

In sum, the Michigan statutes have historically held that a plaintiff only had 2 years to sue an architect for a professional malpractice claim, or 3 years for alleged negligence. The Ostroth case changed that.

In Ostroth, the plaintiff was exposed to environmental hazards including fungus, mold, bacteria, etc., allegedly as a result of renovations to a building’s heating, cooling, ventilation, and plumbing systems. The plaintiff claimed she sustained personal injuries as a result of environmental hazards arising from the renovation and brought suit against the architect responsible for designing the renovations to the office space. The Supreme Court held that neither the 2 year nor the 3 year statute of limitation applied and rather applied a 6 year statute of limitation to the plaintiff’s claim. This meant that architects were now ”on the hook“ for much longer than the previous 2 or 3 years; they were now potentially liable for claims for up to 6 years. The result of the Ostroth case was an increase in claims made against architects.

Senate Bill 882 attempts to restore the 2 year statute of limitations for claims made against architects. Passage of this bill should result in a decrease in claims against architects and likely a decrease in insurance premiums due to the fact that the risk of claims would be reduced.

Believe it or not, there are those who would oppose such a bill because it would reduce the ability of some claimants to pursue damages from architects after 2 years. This opposition is the reason why your support is needed now more than ever. I look forward to seeing you at Legislative Day on March 17, 2010. You can sign up to attend the outing at the AIAGV website or the AIAMI website.

Benjamin H. Hammond is a partner with Hilger Hammond, a Grand Rapids based law firm focusing on the construction industry. Ben is currently a member of the AIAGV board. Please feel free to contact Ben about this issue at 616.458.3600, or at bhammond@hilgerlaw.com.

2010 transitions in a transformative profession as described by President Alan H. Cobb, AIA, ”architects excel in times of significant change, and with this change comes great opportunity.“

The leadership retreat, hosted by AIA Michigan every January, brings all chapter leadership together for a day and a half of sharing where we have been and where we are going as a state professional organization. I will focus on the strategic plan well underway by your leadership and volunteers throughout all components. The full strategic plan is on the AIA Michigan website, which you can reference to follow along with. Concurrently, AIA National is updating their strategic plan, and while independent of Michigan, they mirror much of what we defined as goals and objectives. Both levels help the chapters to become more effective and valuable for our membership and relationships.

Increasing the Value of Membership, while an ongoing activity of boards, probably has more immediacy and significance during this recession than back in 2000 when Michigan unemployment was at 3.7%.

Better communication to members is essential. Alan Cobb leads the task force on improving and customizing all e-presence communications. They know much can be done here, and it is a priority to accomplish this. If you don’t understand something from AIA, keep yourself from making assumptions about it; rather, ask questions.

A small-firm (10 employees and less) committee has formed to brainstorm needs and wants of programs and resources for this important group of practitioners. A representative from the Grand Valley chapter is wanted. You can contact me or President Glenn Rahn if you can join this. It is led by Jeff Ferweda of AIA Flint. They already have some great ideas to help you.

Creating linkages to other organizations is something your Grand Valley chapter has historically been good at. Consistently, we have pursued this, and the last year in particular has been very active using the NoshNights as a forum for joint networking and collaboration to communicate our design-centric skills of our region.

Expand and Diversify AIA Membership. Greg Metz and I serve on this task force, led by Ben Tiseo of AIA Detroit. All chapter boards are well into this effort to accomplish this in 2010, by age, gender, ethnic background, interest, and discipline. The associate AIA membership is a prime focus because these are our emerging professional future-licensed architects. But associate AIA membership also includes other members of the project team working under the supervision of an architect, such as our CAD and IT specialists, specification writers, construction field representatives, project managers and designers, marketing and graphics, engineers, landscape architects, and interior designers, to name the obvious. Integrated design will benefit by integrated professional association relationships. The professional affiliate membership also has great value to both them and us. The Boston Society of Architects (AIA Boston) is a component with 4000 members, 2000 of them PAs. This creates more relevancies in programs (an idea becomes easy to implement) and a more sustainable financial position in which to serve in advocacy, architectural leadership, and as a catalyst for transformative change in this economic transition. While AIA Michigan is losing memberships because of the economy, as are most components, we are rigorously implementing a reasonable plan to rebuild our membership while reducing dues this fall, as well as reducing many of the perceived luxuries while refocusing AIA Michigan dollars to programs that add value to membership across all levels.

The strategic plan goal of Making the Organization Financially Sustainable is the charge of last year’s treasurer, Doug Kueffner, and 2010 treasurer, Victor Saroki, working with staff and the board at large. The 2010 budget reflects a 33% reduction in revenue (due to membership loss and other revenue sources affected by the economy) and expenses, while maintaining an emergency reserve balance of about $260,000. The budget approach was realistic and conservative, and placing discretionary funds into ”proposed expenditure“ category for scrutiny. Our AIA Michigan staff made financial sacrifices, as all firms have. Your ExCom members are paying for their own expenses.

As a side note, in 2009, our AIA board members across the state have also contributed over $6,000 to our state political action committee, A-PAC. Political and public advocacy is one of our most important and successful activities serving all architects and engineers and their firms. Our government affairs committee has worked hard and consistently for 20 years now affecting positive change to laws and emerging bills. AIA Michigan architects were given a great opportunity to facilitate key discussion with over 85 state legislators in Lansing on sustainability, a topic they were poorly informed on. Our GA committee, thru advocacy and alertness, is responsible for uncovering the poor and uninformed bills being introduced with ”sustainable“ concepts. They created the opportunity. This is an example of our strategic goal to Be the Authoritative Source on the Built Environment.

Our long-serving and admired executive director, Rae Dumke, is now working with our Leadership Transition Team and Plan for her approaching retirement. Over 20% of our membership participated in the transition survey, which is excellent. Thank you. The report of the transition committee was unanimously approved at this retreat. A transparent and highly ethical process has been created for the upcoming executive director search. This effort has been overseen by past national president, Gene Hopkins, FAIA, and past AIA Michigan president, Ron Campbell, AIA.

In all, great dialogue at the meeting and during our off times took place, sharing concerns, what works and doesn’t, what our members say to us, and brainstorming on how we can be our best. Any of us on the board are happy to provide you with assistance, answers to your questions and concerns, or explanations of how you can become involved, even at a minor level, to make a difference. Remember, ”We Own the AIA.“ It is for us to make it, to shape it.

Those of us who find ourselves existing somewhere between an accredited degree and professional licensure quickly realize that architecture is not an easy, nor should it be an easy, profession to infiltrate. We find ourselves working exhaustive hours in a high-stress environment, yielding compensation similar to that which could have been achieved shortly out of high school had we chosen a different direction. We are not here because we are lazy or because we want to be rich, we are here because of our passion for the profession within which we exist.

As the associates director for the Grand Valley chapter of the AIA, I am here to help you to connect with other passionate individuals who share your affinity for architecture. During my third year as the associates director, I am searching for new and exciting ways to expand the social networks within the architectural profession. AIA Grand Valley is working on organizing a wide variety of building tours and lectures, along with other innovative ways for emerging professionals to participate in programs typically reserved for their professional counterparts.

If you have any recent or long-standing projects that you are interested in touring, please let me know.

NoshNight is a series of events organized by a collaborative of design organizations, including AIA Grand Valley, UICA, AIGA, IDSA, Design West Michigan, and Rapid Growth Media. These events vary in content but consistently deliver a high energy and excellent networking environment.

Chalk the walk, during the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, is an event that AIA Grand Valley has been hosting for many years. This event allows architects to connect with the public through a familiar media, chalk. This is an exciting way to interact with the public and observe Grand Rapids’ creativity first hand. If you are interested in volunteering for Chalk the Walk this year, please contact me.

With the help of AIA Michigan, AIA Grand Valley is launching a test program to determine the local need for ARE study materials. While the details of this program are still under development, they should be available some time in April. Expect to see more information about this program soon.

There are a lot of exciting events in the works for the upcoming year, and I hope you can find the time to take advantage of some of these opportunities. We are currently setting up committees for the development of activities and events for the year and would appreciate your help. If you would like to join a committee, have comments about any of the aforementioned activities or have any ideas for additional events, please contact me

So far this year there have been 4 hours of learning units presented at our monthly lunch and learns. During March, we have 2 opportunities to earn continuing education units. First, on March 19, we have a presentation titled "Photoshop for Architecture" worth 2 learning units. Then on March 25 is the CSI Expo at the Pinnacle Center, where you can pick up 6 learning units. Watch your Grand Valley AIA e-mails and calendar for upcoming events. I'm putting together presentations for April, May, September, October, and November. If you have any presentation suggestions, shoot me an e-mail at gerberg@ferris.edu.

March 19 - Adam Clark and Thom Danckaert will present on ”Photoshop for Architecture.“ This 2 hour session is for beginners to the software as it applies to architecture. FSU will provide a computer lab with Phototshop software for our use. If you have a laptop with the software, feel free to bring it to the session. This seminar is limited to the first 24 people that register on Eventbrite. Due to the popularity of the topic, the event is only open to current AIA members at this time. The event is free to AIA members. It will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the FSU\GRCC Applied Technology Center, 151 Fountain Street, NE, Grand Rapids MI 49503, Room 130 for lunch (move to Room 176 for Photoshop presentation). Go to http://march19lunchand learn.eventbrite.com to register (members only, please).

March 25 - This year's CSI Expo is being partnered by AIAGV, Construction Specification Institute (CSI) - Grand Rapids Chapter, National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) – West Michigan Chapter, United States Green Building Council (USGBC) – West Michigan Chapter.

The CSI Expo exhibit floor will have up to 60 booths with displays targeted for the design and construction professions. AIA learning units topics include:

This fall, Ferris State University will be starting its freshman class in the architecture and sustainability program. If you haven't heard, we now have a BS in architecture and sustainability program. Our first graduates will be entering the job market in May 2014. The program will offer another option for FSU architectural technology students. Currently, students can enter the job market with an associates degree in architectural technology or continue on for a BS degree in either facility management or construction management. If you are interested in learning more about our program, go to http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/technolo/atfm/ architectural/BSArch/index.html.

Although Twitter has been around for a few years, I just recently created two professional accounts, one of them being the ”official“ AIAGV account. My first thoughts about Twitter were, wow – look what I have been missing. It’s a whole new world to explore. A world where one sentence, or one fragment rather, says it all! Sometimes you don’t even get a complete thought, just half of an enticing thought with a tinyurl that compels you to keep reading. For those of you, like me, that may not know all of the Twitter lingo, a tinyurl (or www.tinyurl.com rather) is a way to shorten your ”tweets.“ That’s right, a ”tweet“ is a post or a status update that is constrained to 140 characters.

Bear with us as we explore all that Twitter has to offer. AIAGV will be tweeting about important legislative issues, education issues, events, networking opportunities, job opportunities, and more.

You may also dare to explore and learn with us! Sign up today at www.twitter.com and follow us at AIAGV.

To build a successful family-owned business takes commitment, knowledge, hard work, sacrifice and determination. To build a business that spans over one hundred years of growth and development requires more than a firm family commitment. It takes the skill, knowledge, dedication and hard work of countless others who, together, create a reputation for excellence that is reinforced every day at The Belden Brick Company.