AIA Pittsburgh is excited to announce the Young Architects Studio Competition (YASC), as a part of Design Pittsburgh 2012. In its third year, the YASC was created specifically for young architects – architecture graduates who have been out of school for no more than 10 years. Entrants may or may not be licensed, and may or may not be members of the AIA. The goal of this competition is to engage our young professionals by challenging them to find innovative ways to approach a regional design problem. This year’s competition is titled, The Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge, and was inspired by our City of Bridges. The Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge is one of these iconic bridges, and a nationally listed historic...

It’s July, it’s hot, and you’re counting down the days (or hours) until vacation. Things may feel slower, even sluggish, on these 90° days, but the AIA is still at it, putting your dues dollars to work! While the calendar may not look very full, AIA Pittsburgh is working full-throttle as Design Pittsburgh approaches. Have a project you’re particularly proud of? A great design you want to show off to other professionals? A contender for an Honor Award? Submit it to our annual Design Awards Competition! In the meantime, here is a breakdown of events and opportunities happening this month at the AIA.   State Licensing Boards – New Interactive Map: The CES team at AIA National has just launched a...

Following the first negative reading in five months, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has had a significant drop in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the May ABI score was 45.8, following a mark of 48.4 in April. This score reflects a sharp decrease in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 54.0, down slightly from mark of 54.4 the previous month. “For the second year in a row, we’re seeing declines in springtime design activity after a healthy first quarter....

Ever wonder how the AIA puts your yearly dues to use? Looking for a way to get involved? Interested in some fun summer activities? Here is a brief breakdown of events and opportunities happening this month at the AIA. Research Resource Center Online: There is now one location where members can go to for economic data and architectural research.  The Research Resource Center  can be found under the Practicing Architecture tab of AIA.org .  This new portal has links to member grant and research opportunities, the Architectural Billing Index and Home Design Trends Survey reports, as well as professional practice research, and much more. AIA 2013 Institute Honor Awards Call for Entries: The Institute Honor Awards celebrate the best in...

Rich DeYoung, AIA, president and CEO of WTW Architects, has been elected 2013-14 AIA secretary. A member who has been active on all levels, DeYoung is a past AIA national board member, serving on the board as Pennsylvania regional director from 2009-2011. He was a member of the AIA Secretary’s Advisory Committee in 2011 and an AIA Advocacy Committee member in 2007 and in 2009-2010. He was also president of AIA Pennsylvania in 2006 and president of AIA Pittsburgh in 2003.  To read more about the AIA National election results, click here.

AIA Contract Documents has released a series of sustainable projects  documents at the AIA 2012 National Convention this week that can help customers navigate the unique issues related to sustainable design projects.  AIA Contract Documents also has a comprehensive offering of contracts for the small project practitioner .  Make sure to check out these exciting products and resources, including document samples and comparatives.  

Ever wonder how the AIA puts your yearly dues to use?  Looking for a way to get involved?  Here’s a brief breakdown of events and opportunities happening this month at the AIA. New Graduate Membership: The AIA offers recent graduates, from accredited schools of architecture, complimentary Associate AIA Membership for up to 18 months.  Click here to download an application.  Join today and become a part of this community.  To hear a message  about the value of AIA Membership from AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA, click here. May 8 – ARE Review Session: “Building Design and Construction Systems”, held at Rothschild Doyno Collaborative Offices at 2847 Penn Avenue in the Strip District. May 10 – Submissions open for PechaKucha Night (PKN)...

For a lot of reasons, the Architectural Registration Exam is a very daunting thing to a young architect, mostly because the exam itself seems like such an enormous task to take on. The biggest problem with the licensing exam is that, when all is said and done, its just a test. That’s it. A task that needs to be completed, a burden that needs to be overcome. And since it’s a basic human tendency to find the simplest method of completing such a task, it comes as no surprise that there are a lot of exam candidates that are just interested in test-taking strategies (being told things like “pick ‘C’,” for example) than drawing upon one’s knowledge and experience to...

2011 closed on a sorrowful note as the architecture community lost a forward-thinking colleague in Roger Kingsland III, AIA, on December 24th.  Founder and managing partner of KSBA, Kingsland was not bound by traditional use of materials.  An “ideas” man, he was instrumental in conceptualizing the firm’s value-added Customer Service Center practice, which has been implemented on 90 projects in 24 states nationally, and 10 countries internationally.  Using what has evolved into the Sustainable Technology Business Center (STBC) building concept, the firm focuses on architect-led design-build work, creating design solutions that address the rapidly changing needs of the technological age and the people who work in it. Kingsland was actively involved in his community.  A member of the AIA, he...

Due to the long hiatus while AIA Pittsburgh’s website underwent a massive redesign – including taking this magazine completely digital – Columns recognizes that some of the news sent to us by you, our members and readers, may have fallen through the cracks. If there is a press release or firm announcement that has not made it to this posting, please send it again to bspevack@aiapgh.org and accept our apologies as Columns grows and adjusts to this new format. Additionally, Columns will be publishing material on a more frequent schedule, and wants to hear from you! Send along those press releases, new hire announcements, ground breakings, and project completions (all with images, if available) and we will make sure they...