New Peters Township High School Rendering, Hayes Design Group Architects Jennifer Beck, AIA, Project Architect at Hayes Design Group Architects, recently attended Career Day at Peters Township School District’s McMurray Elementary School. She, along with a number of other special guests, presented to fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students about different careers to consider. Jennifer shared information about the field of architecture and all that goes into designing buildings. She also showed the students some examples of HDG’s recent projects, including the design of the new Peters Township High School (which recently went out to bid). After Career Day, Jennifer received a number of very creative and thoughtful thank you notes from the students! Peters Township’s McMurray Elementary School holds a...

Recently, the Carnegie Mellon University’s AIAS chapter invited the Young Architects Forum to discuss ‘the aftermath’ of studying architecture. What happens once University is over? Should you accept your first offer or keep searching for the perfect job? What about teaching and researching? Eight panelists, with different backgrounds and work experiences, gave thoughtful answers to the good questions the students asked. Pursuing licensure is a fundamental step for people wanting to practice architecture. Getting registered involves studying with dedication, patience in gaining AXP hours, and a substantial budget. Students that find themselves unsure about what to do after earning their degree in architecture might postpone becoming licensed until they feel sure about their choice. After all, almost every architecture school...

Greg Dutton and Matt Diersen, AIA of Midland Architecture have had a long working relationship with interior designer Leanne Ford, completing many residential projects, both in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. In fact, one of their first collaborations was just awarded Best Kitchen Renovation by Pittsburgh Magazine.  So when Ms. Ford, along with her carpenter brother Steve, was looking for an architect to help with the technical aspects involved in bringing the ideas to life for their new renovation show, they reached out to Midland to collaborate. The pilot episode of Restored by the Fords aired in December on HGTV and after a well-received first season, a second season has already been green-lit. The show features types of homes that you see all over the city...

March is full of new and unique opportunities and events.  AIA Pittsburgh is hosting a design charette for Western State Penitentiary.  Pecha Kucha Night Vol. 29 is March 8.  And AIA PA COTE is a new statewide Committee on the Environment.

We love to ask our members why they belong to AIA.  Time is precious and we find that every answer is a little bit different, but the common themes are about the value of community and the strength architects have as a collective voice.  We asked the AIA Board of Directors, including new President Mike Gwin, AIA of Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, why they participate, and here we share those responses with you. Michael Gwin, AIA, President Rothschild Doyno Collaborative Time is valuable, why AIA? I have found that the answer is always the same. Every time I participate or volunteer time with the AIA I am rewarded. The experiences and skills of the people that I have connected with have helped...

The Carnegie Mellon University chapter of Freedom by Design has taken on their first project to introduce and disperse weatherization kits into homes across Pittsburgh. These kits provide families with a series of means to help insulate their home and a booklet outlining the importance of this cost-saving process. The long winter of Pittsburgh causes high heating costs for many residents across the state. Creating energy efficient spaces benefits the resident both financially and thermally. It is important for one to understand the role they can take in keeping heating costs low and their home warm. The FBD team has prototyped and established a packaged kit organized to assist homeowners and renters across a series of communities in Pittsburgh. The...

Did January feel like it lasted about 62 days for anyone else?  Snow, snow days, bitter cold, the flu.  Well, if January was all about hibernation, February’s events are sure to get you out of your office.  There are some great opportunities to hear inspiring speakers, and then, your chance to STEP into the sun and take some solar training for design professionals.  Also, in case you didn’t know, if you want to plan your own event, the AIA Pittsburgh offices are now available for rent (and not just in February, this is ongoing).

Come in from the cold!  January kicks off with our newly elected Board of Directors meeting on January 9th. This month there are plenty of opportunities to get out of the cold such as checking out the revolving exhibitions as part of Carnegie Museum of Art’s Copy + Paste: Hall of Architecture exhibit.  There’s also plenty of opportunities to apply for scholarships and awards.  So use that extra time in from the cold to promote yourself and your practice.

10. Plaster ReCast is ongoing as part of Copy + Paste: Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Museum of Art through May 6, 2018.  Interested in reviewing this exhibit in 2018?  We’d love an architect member to participate.  Contact Maya Henry at mhenry@aiapgh.org. Plaster ReCast at the Carnegie Museum of Art 9. There is not one answer to why our members belong to AIA.  Read the diverse viewpoints in this round-up. I Belong to the AIA Because … 8. A roundtable discussion with the architect and developer of the Design Award-winning Penn Mathilda Development.  What can we learn from this development and how can we build more beatiful and functional affordable housing in Pittsburgh? ACTION-Housing’s Penn Mathilda Development 7. Hands...

Image credit: Wladek Fuchs, University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture Thanks to everyone who voted, the Reality Capture Workshop has won the AIA National People’s Choice Award for Innovation! Case Technologies’ Reality Capture Workshop is a long-term collaborative project to create a complete digital documentation of a historical city and a methodology for the information dissemination.  The project is a partnership between Case Technologies, the University of Detroit Mercy, and Civil and Environmental Consultants, among others. Located in the city of Volterra, Italy, the main purpose of Reality Capture is to provide an International educational and research experience in which students and professionals learn to use innovative technologies and collaboratively produce three-dimensional computer models of the ancient city of Volterra, its...