S. Philip Hundley, AIA, Medal of Distinction honoree Richard DeYoung, FAIA, Chip Desmone, AIA, John Martine, AIA, and Michelle Fanzo at the AIA PA Awards viewing party held at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. This past Thursday, November 15th, the AIA Pittsburgh community gathered to watch the AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Design Awards.  The awards were live-streamed during a viewing party at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s downtown Pittsburgh offices. Remarks from president-elect of AIA Pennsylvania, Chip Desmone, AIA kicked off the evening.  Mr. Desmone let the crowd know that AIA Pittsburgh was proudly celebrating four Special Award Recipients this year: Timothy Khalifa of Carnegie Mellon University was the Student Award Recipient, Rich DeYoung, FAIA received the Medal of Distinction, Urban Design Build Studio was selected as  Impact...

Color trends may come and go, but the psychology of color is long-standing and universal.  Reds can stir up anger and passion while blues and greens are calming.  Designers who can blend these basic theories with contemporary color trends are more likely to create spaces that resonate with actual users.  People might not know why they feel better in a space, but chances are it has a lot to do with the colors the designer has chosen. Incorporating ideas of biophilia, our inherent connection to the environment, is becoming increasingly popular as new technologies allow for shapes and materials to more closely mimic nature.  Users are demanding natural building materials, ample light, and fresh air that combines to create a...

November: Design Pittsburgh was just the kick off for your architecture awards season.  On November 15 join your colleagues in Pittsburgh at the offices of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson from 5:30 – 9pm to celebrate architectural excellence with AIA Pennsylvania’s 2nd annual digital design awards reveal.

               Photo by Marissa Dello Russo of AIA Pittsburgh Curious to hear how 1800 pounds of ice has held up over the past four weeks in the Pittsburgh sun (and rain) while encased in two separate boxes designed to simulate conventional construction methods versus Passive House Standard? If you’re an architect (and a gambler) you can feel pretty confident betting that the ice in the Ice Box built to Passive House Standard will win out.  And you would be right.  The Passive House Standard Ice Boxes consistently retain at least four times more ice than the conventional boxes. Passive House Standard is a proven methodology for achieving high-performance from almost any building type and is...

Photo credit Rob Larson. October: Design Pittsburgh month has dropped.  Make sure you are voting with a purpose for the People’s Choice Award. Voting will end on October 18th, so cast your votes now. You can vote 1x in each category.  Then, make sure to get your tickets to help us celebrate the winners at Design Awards on October 25th at Nova Place.

Name:  Aaron Hill, AIA Firm:  Bialosky Cleveland Family:  Wife – Carrie & 5-year-old twins – Harper (girl) & Hayden (boy) Years in practice:  20 Education:  University of Florida (B. Design) / Georgia Tech (M. Arch) Your first job:  Official scorekeeper at the local little league baseball par Project you’re proudest of:  NASA Research Support Center – A new workplace being depended on to shift the culture of NASA to attract the next generation of engineers and scientists. What have you always wanted to tell your clients?  “They didn’t teach me about you in school.” What’s the most annoying thing architects do?  Not listen Favorite tool (can be digital, drafting, physical,…):  Moleskine Favorite building: TWA Flight Center Favorite outdoor space:  The High Line Architect you’d like to have...

September: back-to-school and the promise of cooler temps in the air.  Many young architects are just starting out their studies (read about 2018 AIA/YAF Liaison for AIAS at CMU Chitika Vasudeva right here).  

Dello Russo has worked in general contracting and at the National Aviary and Girls Scouts Western Pennsylvania Marissa Dello Russo is AIA Pittsburgh’s new Membership Marketing & Communications Associate. Dello Russo earned a degree in Communication/ PR from Slippery Rock University and brings a wealth of communications and membership experience to her new role from her previous position at the Girl Scouts and National Aviary.  Additionally, experience as an assistant project manager for her family’s general contracting company in Riverhead, NY makes her a natural fit to step into this position at AIA Pittsburgh. “I am excited to learn and grow with the AIA and participate in the large-scale events that go on each year,” says Dello Russo who is also looking...

Quintin Kittle, AIA, Emily Dritz, Michelle Fanzo, Mike Gwin, AIA, and Ken Doyno, AIA enjoying some downtime at A’18. in New York City. This past June, architects from all over the world gathered in New York City for A’18, AIA’s Conference on Architecture.  Local members in attendance remarked that New York City was the perfect place to set the stage for this year’s theme: Blueprint for Better Cities. AIA Pittsburgh President Mike Gwin, AIA had the unique experience this year in that he attended a lot of conversations with architects running for office at AIA National (see the winners here) and through those candidate conversations what became clear were several main themes and elevated priorities for the AIA: Relevancy: How...

Click here or on the image above to view the video of Kermit Baker’s presentation This week AIA chief economist, Kermit Baker, released his Top 10 factors influencing the built environment and discussed the impact they will have on business. Following is a summary of his findings, while the above video provides a deeper dive into his thinking. Top 5 Challenges for the A/ E/ C community 1. Labor force: Few women and young people (under 35) are attracted to the construction labor force, 3.1% and 33.2% respectively. Immigrants, however, are attracted to the work, but half of the immigrant workforce in construction is undocumented and are vulnerable to deportation. 2. Construction costs: Costs are rising faster than inflation. Overall...