Design Equilibrium 2016

2016

An insightful, sustainable collaboration CMD iSqFt has been a close partner of the American Institute for Architects since 2007.

We collaborate closely with—and are wholly committed to—the AIA’s aims and objectives, achieving this through significant financial support, educational resources and tools.

This includes free, pre-qualified, pre-design project leads which we share with AIA members. It’s in this spirit of cooperation that we ask in turn that you share your project information with us.

Together we get things done better. You might say that we were built for each other.

To find out more visit aia.org/CMD

AIA ATLANTA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR David Southerland 678.553.0509 david@aiaatl.org

ABOUT THE PUBLICATION EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Malachi Gordon

DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT Missy Bower 404.222.0099 x 103 missy@aiaatl.org

DIRECTOR OF MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS Malachi Gordon 404.222.0099 x 107 malachi@aiaatl.org

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Lauren Boulier, Assoc. AIA Kelly Darby Malachi Gordon Courtney Santry Josie Vetrano Chris Yueh

COVER IMAGE tvsdesign

PRINTING DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Chris Yueh 404.222.0099 x 108 chris@aiaatl.org

Collins Digital Imaging, Inc.

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Photographers are credited on pages featuring their respective images.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bryan Alcorn; Matthew Carr; W. Mark Carter; Bonnie Casamassima; Johnna Keller; Garfield Peart; Louis Smith; and Shane Totten.

PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

ON THE COVER

© 2016 AIA Atlanta. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, reprinted, transmitted or stored in any form, or by any means now known or later discovered whether digital, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without the specific written consent of the publisher AIA Atlanta. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of AIA Atlanta nor do they accept responsibility for errors of content or omissions and, as a matter of policy, neither do they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Correspondence regarding changes of address or membership should be directed to AIA National.

2016 Design Equilibrium.

Design Equilibrium is a trademark of AIA Atlanta.

This book is printed on recycled paper.

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, ATLANTA CHAPTER The cover features a rendering of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium by renowned architecture firm tvsdesign, opening in 2017. The firm’s portfolio also incudes the Georgia World Congress Center in addition to the Omni Coliseum and CNN Center Complex.

100 Edgewood Ave NE, Suite 175 Atlanta, Georgia 30303

www.aiaatl.org info@aiaatl.org 404.222.0099

AIA Atlanta | Design Equilibrium 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

FEATURE ARTICLES

01

22

AIA ATLANTA STAFF & Publications Committee

2015 AIA NATIONAL CONVENTION Michael Kahn, AIA

04

30

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT William Carpenter, FAIA, PhD

CITY IN A FOREST Bryan Alcorn

06

34

2016 AIA ATLANTA Board Members & Fellows

INSPIRATIONAL STORIES OF ATLANTA’S MINORITY AEC TRAILBLAZERS Garfield Peart, MBA, AIA, NOMA

AWARDS & HONORS 08 HONOR AWARDS & BUILD SOMETHING GREAT

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38 PEOPLE OR PLACES? EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN SUPPORTS HOLISTIC APPROACH Bonnie Casamassima & Shane Totten, AIA

42 THE POLITICS OF STAIRS Johnna S. Keller, AIA

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARDS

18 NATIONAL PAVILION DESIGN COMPETITION

46 DESIGNING A DOWNTOWN DISTRICT WITH A HEART W. Mark Carter, AIA

50 THE EDIFYING EDIFICE: DESIGNING FOR CULTURAL RELEVANCE Louis B. Smith, AIA

54 AC HOTEL BUCKHEAD MARRIES EUROPEAN STYLE & ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY Matthew Carr, AIA

PROGRAMS

TOURS

58

70

TOUR & SKETCH DISCOVER ARCHITECTURE

CURVE: COLLABORATIVE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND VISUALIZATION ENVIRONMENT April

59 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION

84 JE DUNN CONSTRUCTION EAST REGION HQ June

60

88

VISION FOR ATLANTA

BARROW ACADEMY AT LANIER TECHNICAL COLLEGE August

62 ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE FOR HEALTH ARE® WORKSHOPS BOX LUNCHES COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT MENTORING PROGRAM WEDNESDAY NIGHT DRAFTINC CLUB PROCRASTINATION DAY

92 ZUCKERMAN MUSEUM OF ART October

96 MONASTERY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT November

63 SUMMER SOCIAL

64 URBANFRONTS

66 RED & GREEN SCENE

67 CANSTRUCTION ATLANTA

68 SLATE OF READY TO ASSIST ARCHITECTS NETWORKING WOMEN NOMA ATLANTA

68 PRINCIPALS ROUNDTABLE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION OF GEORGIA AIA STUDENTS

2016 EVENTS 100 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

William Carpenter, FAIA, PhD, LEED AP

W

elcome to Design Equilibrium, our annual publication highlighting the exciting events and programs planned by over 1,700 members of AIA Atlanta. We are the voice of the architecture profession. As a practicing architect and educator, I am keenly aware of the need to bridge together academia and practice, and to keep our work relevant.

School Student Design Competition, and the URBANfronts program, which encourages collaborations with local artists and architects. Examples of what we can do together are joint lecture series at museums, being part of the Art on the Atlanta BeltLine initiative and working together on new initiatives such as Modern Atlanta.

I would like to thank the talented staff of AIA Atlanta, who worked tirelessly to create this publication and the programs featured within it. I also thank each of the board members, who also contribute to the planning of these engaging programs.

AIA can also be the voice to preserve buildings, such as the recent successful campaign for the 1905 Bell Building, working closely with AIA Georgia and the City of Atlanta to save this building from demolition because of its historic value to the city. We do not have to be silent; we can save buildings with our collective voice.

We continue to build upon the vision of AIA Atlanta to highlight the power of great design and advocate for the profession of architecture. As one of the largest chapters in the country, we recently collaborated with other organizations at the Big Sibs conference in Portland, Oregon to learn about new and best practices.

This year, we will focus on connecting the arts organizations in Atlanta and look for potential collaborations with these organizations, galleries and artists. It is a pivotal and exciting time in the city and we look forward to being an integral part of it. Examples of this are our longtime collaboration with the High Museum of Art, an eleven-year sponsor of the High

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It is an honor to serve as your 2016 president.

WILLIAM CARPENTER, FAIA, PHD, LEED AP 2016 AIA Atlanta President Professor, Kennesaw State University College of Architecture and Construction Management 2016 Vice Chancellor, ACSA College of Distinguished Professors

AIA ATLANTA

BOARD MEMBERS WILLIAM CARPENTER, FAIA, PHD President

william.carpenter@gmail.com

RICHARD KRAMER, AIA President-Elect

richard.kramer@poharchitects.com

MELODY HARCLERODE, AIA Past President

mlharclerode@gmail.com

KAREN JENKINS, AIA Secretary

kjenkins@fg-inc.net

GREG MULLIN, AIA Treasurer

gregory.mullin@me.com

IAN K. HUNTER

Development Director

Front row (from left): Jereme Smith, Aaron Albrecht, Ian Hunter, Krista Dumkrieger and Marc Johnson. Back row (from left): Greg Mullin, Richard Kramer, Bill Carpenter, Karen Jenkins, William Clark, Melody Harclerode, Brandon Chambers, Autumn Sikoroski and Ryan Cavanaugh. Not pictured: Katie Hughes and Jessika Nelson. Photo © Brian Reeves.

KRISTA DUMKRIEGER, AIA

AARON ALBRECHT, AIA

kristadumkrieger@coopercarry.com

arch_albrecht@yahoo.com

AUTUMN SIKOROSKI, ASSOC. AIA

BRANDON CHAMBERS, ASSOC. AIA

autumn_sikorowski@gensler.com

brandonchambers@beckarchitecture.com

RYAN CAVANAUGH, AIA

KATIE YIELDING HUGHES, AIA, LEED AP

ryan_cavanaugh@gensler.com

khughes@supermarvin.com

Emerging Professionals Director

Programs Director

iankennedyhunter@gmail.com

WILLIAM CLARK, AIA Development Director

Communications Director

Continuing Education Director

bclark@stevens-wilkinson.com

MARC JOHNSON, AIA Membership Director

Communications Director

marc.johnson@hok.com

JEREME SMITH, AIA

Emerging Professionals Director smithjereme@gmail.com

JESSIKA NELSON, ASSOC. AIA Programs Director

jessikan88@gmail.com 06

Allied Director

2016

AND FELLOWS The Fellowship program was developed to elevate those architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of architects as individuals, but also their significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

Antonin Aeck, FAIA Scott Braley, FAIA Robert Brown, FAIA John Busby, FAIA Robert Cain, FAIA William Carpenter, FAIA Walter Carry, FAIA William Chegwidden, FAIA Steven Clem, FAIA Jerome Cooper, FAIA Gary Coursey, FAIA Jonathan Crane, FAIA Stanley Daniels, FAIA Ben Darmer, FAIA Robert Dean, FAIA Richard Diedrich, FAIA Michael Dobbins, FAIA Dagmar Epsten, FAIA James Fausett, FAIA Darrell Fitzgerald, FAIA Brian Gracey, FAIA Peter Hand, FAIA Philip Harrison, FAIA Helen Hatch, FAIA Marvin Housworth, FAIA James Kortan, FAIA Michael LeFevre, FAIA

Winford Lindsay, FAIA Larry Lord, FAIA Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA L. Vic Maloof, FAIA Cheryl McAfee-Mitchell, FAIA C. Andrew McLean, FAIA Linda Michael, FAIA Paul Muldawer, FAIA Roger Neuenschwander, FAIA Ivey Nix, FAIA Jack Portman, FAIA John C. Portman Jr., FAIA William Pulgram, FAIA Jack Pyburn, FAIA Richard Rothman, FAIA Edward Shirley, FAIA Michael Sizemore, FAIA Raymond Stainback, FAIA William Stanley, FAIA Preston Stevens, FAIA Eugene Surber, FAIA Stephen Swicegood, FAIA Richard Taylor, FAIA Roberta Unger, FAIA Thomas Ventulett, FAIA Howard Wertheimer, FAIA

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AwArds & Honors

BUILd soMETHInG GrEAT Celebrating Our 2015 Honor Award Winners Build Something Great, AIA Atlanta’s annual award ceremony, was held on October 29, 2015 at the Greystone at Piedmont Park. The event unites members of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry and honors community leaders.

IVAn ALLEn sr. AwArd

JoHn A. BUsBY Jr., FAIA MEdAL

Mark Levine, AIA

Shelby Morris, AIA

The Ivan Allen Sr. Award, AIA Atlanta’s most prestigious prize, honors the member who has made the greatest contribution of service to the community and has, therefore, sustained the highest ideals of the profession of architecture.

The John A. Busby Jr., FAIA Medal is given annually to a young architect who has been an AIA member for two consecutive years and has been in the profession of architecture for 10 years or less.

KwAnZA HALL AwArd

sILVEr MEdAL AwArd

David Marvin

Houser Walker Architecture

The Kwanza Hall Honor Award is awarded to an individual from outside the architecture field for exemplary leadership in increasing the value of architecture, enriching lives and transforming local communities.

The Silver Medal Award honors a firm, single practitioner or large entity, who has sustained outstanding performance evidenced by a consistently high level of design quality. This award is open to any architecture firm within AIA Atlanta’s jurisdiction that has been in practice for a minimum of five years.

doroTHY sPEnCE HELPInG HAnd

PrEsIdEnTIAL CITATIon

Thomas Little, AIA

Douglas Sams

Open to any individual that has made significant contributions to AIA Atlanta, the Dorothy Spence Helping Hand is awarded to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism by giving of his or her time and energies for the benefit of the organization.

Awarded by AIA Atlanta’s 2015 President Melody Harclerode, AIA, the Presidential Citation spotlights an individual who has worked tirelessly to promote the goals and ideals of the organization.

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PHoTos © BrIAn rEEVEs

AwArds & Honors

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARDS SECOND ANNUAL AWARDS October 29, 2015

The Residential Design Awards honor excellence in work built by AIA Atlanta members and local architects registered in the state of Georgia. The competition also spotlights unbuilt projects by graduate students and interns, in addition to those by members and registered architects.

A jury convened to deliberate based on the criteria of innovative approaches to materiality; incorporation of natural lighting in design and utilization of daylight harvesting techniques; use of new structural systems or building skin technology; creative design responses to existing context; and design to accommodate a wider variety of lifestyles, or adaptable design that acknowledges aging and changing physical needs.

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2

1

4

3

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARDS

WINNERS

5

LArGE BUILT

sMALL BUILT

UnBUILT

1 Surber Barber Choate + Hertlein Architects Honor

3 Lightroom Honor

5 Lightroom Honor

2 Lord Aeck Sargent Merit

4 West Architecture Studio Merit

6 Robert M. Cain, Architect Merit

6

AwArds & Honors

LARGE BUILT PHoTos © JoHn CLEMMEr

sUrBEr BArBEr CHoATE + HErTLEIn ArCHITECTs HONOR AWARD 691 14th Street

On the corner of Howell Mill and 14th Street, 691 14th Street is a dynamic mixed-use structure with 197 wood frame and epi-core residential units. It anchors an important corner site in the heart of Westside Provisions District, providing a sense of warmth from its wood, stucco and brick exterior.

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Lord AECK sArGEnT MERIT AWARD

Berkshire Terminus Berkshire Terminus stands in Buckhead’s business district at Peachtree Street and Piedmont Road. It is surrounded by offices and hotels, and provides walkable access to restaurants, entertainment venues and a MARTA station. The design of Terminus is shiny and polished, yet warm wood accents and colorful sunshades add human scale.

PHoTos © JonATHAn HILLYEr

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SMALL BUILT LIGHTrooM HONOR AWARD Olympic Place Courtyard House

The Olympic Place Courtyard House uses an L-shaped typology to create a structure that integrates elements of its cultural context site to create a warm and inviting home for the family.

The shape was driven by the location of existing trees and opportunities for harvesting natural daylight.

PHoTos Š wILLIAM CArPEnTEr

14

AwArds & Honors

PHoTos © GALIndA CoAdA

wEsT ArCHITECTUrE sTUdIo MERIT AWARD

Alaska Residence In the Old Fourth Ward, Alaska Residence heavily emphasizes seamless integration with the outdoors. The glass box entry plays on the house’s corner location while a large planter, separated from the dining room by a glass wall, bringing a sense of garden connection.

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AwArds & Honors

LIGHTrooM HONOR AWARD, BEST IN SHOW

Hartwell Cabin

With less than 200 square feet, Hartwell Cabin is a micro-house designed through a minimalist filter. At the entrance, a gatehouse with sauna, storage and outdoor shower flanks a path leading to the structure. Two stories are devoted to living room/kitchenette, bathroom and lofted bedroom, leaving no space without purpose.

PHoTos Š wILLIAM CArPEnTEr

16

UNBUILT

PHoTos Š roBErT M. CAIn

roBErT M. CAIn, ArCHITECT MERIT AWARD

Mason Branch Farm The one-room-wide shotgun design of Mason Branch Farm combines southern vernacular concepts of cross ventilation and livability. A traditional dogtrot transects the house as main entry on one side and open patio living on the other. It is a study in energy conservation, economy of materials and minimalist design.

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AwARDS & HONORS

NATIONAL PAVILION DESIGN COMPETITION 2015 Competition Winners

The National Pavilion Design Competition, a partnership between AIA Atlanta, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, was created to find a design for an iconic landmark that energizes and strengthens the Adair Park community.

Winning designs represent the high quality art and architecture that the Atlanta BeltLine exemplifies, and reflect the character of the Adair Park community. First, second and third place winners received cash prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.

PHOTOS Š HARRY P. ROSS

1

ST PAVILION = B

HARRY P. ROSS, RA, AIA; TIM BRAGAN; SYLVAN MILES, RA, AIA Washington, D.C.

Pavilion = B combines elements of the surrounding buildings and landscape and incorporates them into a design that reinterprets both use and scale to reveal natural and manmade systems. The intent is to capture and intensify the relationship between the original BeltLine as serving an industrial function, and the new BeltLine that will serve as a respite from a more densely planned urban fabric. The design of the stage and associated elements that support performance activities deploy materials similar to those found on adjacent industrial buildings. Including a mix of both 18

weathered and transparent cladding, the pavilion roof will shift in appearance: revealing their structural and appearing diaphanous from one vantage point and appearing solid and object-like from another. The two-sided design allows for both formal performances with a seated audience, as well as more informal uses such as a market kiosk, community board and meeting space.

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2

AwARDS & HONORS

ND X PAVILION

DIAZ PAUNETTO ARQUITECTOS San Juan, Puerto Rico

The concept of X Pavilion derives from the rich history of Atlanta.

Elements of fluidity represented in the transportation system together with Adair Park’s relation to the arts and the need to reflect on our own contextual references were fundamental in the development of an iconic and unifying landmark. X Pavilion is a free-standing structure composed of only two planes, a fixed and a rotating one. The rotating plane allows for a versatile pavilion as it can adjust to best attend different venues to be hosted, may that be small dance performances, music ensembles, spoken word productions, or public gatherings in the community. A series of pedestrian pathways flow around a circular retention pond where the pavilion is located and connect the park to the Westside Trails across the train railways. The design of these pathways allow for maximum visibility and connectivity between destinations.

PHOTOS Š DIAZ PAUNETTO ARQUITECTOS

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Rather than create a faux history, the design of this pavilion aims to create a modern and dynamic, inviting, eye catching structure that would clearly state it was something new, but reflect on the past with use of materials and through its structural language. The location of this iconic pavilion will generate links between Adair Park, the BeltLine and the entire city. While the pavilion is important as an intervention in the BeltLine, and much like the linear park itself, it will require engagement from its constituents in order to fulfill the promise of the structure. The hope is that this highly visible structure will provide an enticing space that helps stimulate positive activity where local (and non-local) residents can gather.

3

RD

21

E PLURIBIS UNUM CHASM ARCHITECTURE Atlanta, Georgia

PHOTOS Š CHASM ARCHITECTURE

2015 CONvENTION

2015 AIA NATIONAL CONVENTION ATLANTA, GEORGIA May 14-16, 2015 The AIA National Convention returns to Atlanta for the first time in 20 years, bringing together more than 18,000 attendees and 200 volunteers.

ARTICLE BY MICHAEL KAHN, AIA

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2

1 4 6

3

5

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARDS

FINALISTS 1 XXXXX 2 XXXXX 3 XXXXX 4 XXXXX

5 XXXXX 6 XXXXX 7 XXXXX

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Center for Civil and Human Rights PHOTO © MARK HERBOTH PHOTOGRAPHY

2015 CONvENTION

2015 AIA NATIONAL CONvENTION

BY MICHAEL KAHN, AIA

Center for Civil and Human Rights PHOTO © BRIAN REEvES

F

or four days in May, AIA members from across the country and around the globe descended on Atlanta for the annual AIA Convention. For the first time in two decades, AIA Atlanta had the opportunity to show off all the city has to offer to our fellow design professionals. From all accounts, the endeavor was a success beyond our wildest dreams, with visitors leaving with a sense of the electric atmosphere we have all come to know as practitioners in the city.

The Atlanta of 1995 – the last year the convention was held in the city – was bustling with preparation for the pending Centennial Olympics, fueled by the economic optimism of the mid-1990s. Transformative projects abounded, with downtown being reimagined with a new park to honor the Olympics and a new stadium which would become the home of the MLB Atlanta Braves.

The Midtown skyline was growing quickly and down in Cabbagetown ex-industrial spaces were being reclaimed as residential lofts as people began to migrate back to the city.

In the intervening two decades, the city was catapulted to global consciousness, riding on the wave of increased relevance following the 1996 Olympics. The metro area gained more than 2 million residents as one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Today, the BeltLine is wending its way around the city, new stadia are rising for both the Falcons and Braves, skyscrapers sprout across Midtown at a frenzied pace and an array of historic buildings are being re-envisioned as mixed-use centers.

While it might have been easy for visitors -- especially those familiar with architecture and design -- to look at today’s Atlanta and see a city stuck repeating the developments of the past, those who work daily to effect the changes in the city know better.

While the patterns may be similar decadeto-decade, to Atlanta’s architecture community, the dynamism of the city’s latest round of development is something new, exciting and worth sharing. And the AIA Convention offered us that opportunity if we were prepared to meet the challenge. Short answer: we were.

Even before the Convention opened in mid-May, countless hours had gone into the planning and coordination of tours and events which would highlight the best of the city and shape the perception of our visitors.

Mark Levine, the steering committee chair, and Chris Yueh, convention manager, led AIA Atlanta in rising to the occasion, mustering an army of volunteers totaling more than 200 from the ranks of members in the city to accomplish the task. While the national organization coordinated educational components of the convention, keynotes and the exhibition hall, AIA Atlanta set up tours, planned the annual convention party, and worked to ensure that attendees 24

were welcomed to the city.

When the first day of the convention arrived, the volunteers -- hard to miss in bright red polo shirts --were ready to take on an array of duties. From corralling tour groups to checking visitors in, and manning help desks, AIA Atlanta volunteers were everywhere.

The largest undertaking, and the greatest opportunity for sharing Atlanta’s dynamic architectural environment, was the array of convention tours. In the course of four days, guides led groups of up to 50 conference attendees on 110 excursions.

Including a range of sites, the tours offered a glimpse into not just Atlanta’s newest projects, but also some of our most treasured buildings and historic neighborhoods.

Among the new projects to wow visitors were the HOK-designed Porsche Headquarters, the new Georgia State University Law School

by Stevens & Wilkinson, the Zuckerman Museum of Art by Stanley, Beaman & Sears and the Center for Civil and Human Rights

by Freelon Group. Many building tours were led by architects involved with the projects, allowing for in-depth discussion of design principles and systems utilized in the buildings. Beyond the realm of just new buildings, the Atlanta BeltLine was a major draw, highlighting the transformative potential of urban greenspace and the reuse of former industrial infrastructure.

Tours highlighted not only the newest additions to the city, but some of Atlanta’s most classic and iconic buildings and neighborhoods. Visitors got to step behind the scenes of the Fabulous Fox Theatre, learn about the stately Herndon Home and the seedy past of Ponce de Leon Avenue as well as walk the streets of Sweet Auburn,

CENTER FOR CIvIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS TOUR PHOTO © TvSDESIGN

PHOTO © BRIAN REEvES

PHOTO © BRIAN REEvES

25 PHOTO © BRIAN REEvES

2015 CONvENTION The theme of the 2015 AIA National Convention was Impact, exploring the incredible local and global impact of architecture. Before a crowd of roughly 7,000 attendees at the Georgia World Congress Center, President Bill Clinton delivered a keynote address discussing sustainability, globalization and how architecture will impact the future globally.

“

“When we work together with diverse partners with a common objective, we have a greater chance to succeed.”

President Clinton at the 2015 AIA National Convention PHOTO © CARL BOWER

- PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON

PORSCHE HEADQUARTERS TOUR PHOTOS © MICHAEL KAHN

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

HALL OF FAME

PHOTOS © BRIAN REEvES

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2015 CONvENTION

hearing of the triumphs and troubles of the people who called the neighborhood home.

Reception for AIA National Convention volunteers PHOTO © BRIAN REEvES

”

“It is about fostering a global network of colleagues and other industry professionals, who are working to design good buildings ...

While traditional tours ran through the day, it was some of the evening experiences which proved the most popular. As night descended on the conference, AIA Atlanta made sure there were opportunities to keep seeing sights while enjoying food from some of the city’s leading restauranteurs and unwinding with a libation or two. Through a partnership with the Architecture and Design Center (ADC), four installments of the Dining + Design program allowed convention goers to enjoy a unique perspective of Atlanta.

Participants in one of the events plied the Eastside Trail of the BeltLine, visiting a range of restaurants which have popped up along the path. In downtown Decatur, visitors explored restaurants around the square, hearing about the design of the spaces as well as learning from the restauranteurs. Downtown, local architectural firm Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam opened up their offices for an event while, high above the Hyatt Regency a few blocks away, a lucky group of revelers got to spend the evening beneath the blue bubble roof of John Portman’s distinctive Polaris restaurant.

At all the events, the drinks flowed, the food didn’t disappoint and attendees heard from a range of practitioners in the city, learning about the spaces they were experiencing. The events offered a diverse perspective of Atlanta and highlighted both the local design and culinary talent that makes the city unique.

After four successful days of tours, seminars and keynotes, the biggest test for the AIA Atlanta volunteers was the largest event of them all: The AIA Tailgate Experience! Filling tvsdesign’s College Football Hall of Fame, the event rocked the conference, offering attendees the chance to dance, socialize, eat and explore the exhibits of the new facility.

A spectacular affair, the AIA Tailgate Experience broke attendance records and provided a break from the more serious side of the conference.

Among all the pageantry and success of AIA

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Atlanta’s undertakings at the convention, it was often not the parties or tours which best showed why our city is so special. Rather, among the hustle of the conference, in those incidental moments, volunteers stepped up to assist attendees as they navigated Atlanta -- a little Southern Hospitality goes a long way.

The 2015 National AIA Convention threw Atlanta into the spotlight for a few days in the architectural community, but it also highlighted that the American Institute of Architects as an organization is about so much more than providing forms, CEUs and lobbying.

It is about fostering a global network of colleagues and other industry professionals, who are working to design good buildings, solve problems through architecture, and bolster not only their cities, but cities throughout the world through thoughtful planning and productive collaboration.

It may have been 20 years since Atlanta hosted its last convention, but it would be hard to believe if the American Institute of Architects were to not bring the event here again sooner.

DINING + DESIGN

PHOTOS Š BRIAN REEvES

Dining + Design is a fun educational series allowing attendees to enjoy Atlanta’s thriving restaurant scene while also exploring the role of design in these spaces.

The series was organized by John Bencich, AIA, Holden Spaht, Blake Burton and Luke Wilkinson.

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CITY IN A FOREST

CITY IN A FOREST 10UP! 2015

BY BRYAN ALCORN

R

egional planning anywhere can be an arduous task. Judging by recent (and some not so recent) history, it is an especially tortured process in Atlanta. With the defeat of the TSPLOST a few years ago, it seemed like many metro Atlanta residents were questioning whether regional planning was a good idea at all, never mind a debate about what kind of transportation projects are important for Atlanta to pursue.

The architecture, planning and design fields need to find a way to communicate to the public how important planning and design are to the future vitality of our community. As a way of starting that conversation and telling a story, it can be helpful to remind ourselves that what is now the sprawling Atlanta metropolis essentially grew out of a civil engineering design exercise.

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Faced with a need to link the port of Savannah with the Midwestern United States via railroad, engineers performed surveys and ultimately settled on a zero-mile post near what is now Five Points. One interesting thing learned while doing research regarding this topic is that the zero mile point lies on the Eastern Continental Divide - rain that falls to the east of the divide flows to the Atlantic Ocean, water that falls to the west of the divide flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

Atlanta (formerly Terminus), grew around this point where two rail lines met. The “extents� of Atlanta ballooned as a series of concentric circles for many years, eventually distorting those circles by annexing areas outside of the circles and growing into the present day city limit.

But the city limit is not what we think of when we

think of “Atlanta” today. We think of Atlanta as a global city and hub for the Southeastern United States. The city of Atlanta has a population of 447,841. A bunch of great people I counted myself among for many years, but not really a significant number when compared to other globally significant cities. The population of the metropolitan area is 5,522,942. If we think “Atlanta” is and should be a major American city, it is only in the context of its metropolitan area. I lived without a car in Atlanta for many years which can really put a damper on your travel range, so believe me, there were many days when I felt like I could do without “OTP.” But the truth is my Atlanta would not be what it is without the rest of the region (and vice versa).

So why is it so difficult to build a consensus around the need to consider our metropolitan area as something that needs to be planned and designed?

One hindrance, in my view, is that “Atlanta” may simply be difficult to visualize and understand for many residents. With this in mind, I started looking

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at maps of the sprawling area of metro Atlanta and the different political constituencies within it, thinking that this line of inquiry might lead to a project for the 10UP! Competition to be featured at the 2015 AIA National Convention.

I ultimately settled on what I will call a situational construct. Somewhere between a scale model, installation, and a drawing - a didactic instrument for visualizing and inhabiting the sprawl of the metro Atlanta area. The project traces the history of Atlanta’s growth by plotting the expanding city limits out along a vertical axis and ultimately growing to a representation of metro Atlanta and it is multitudinous municipalities at the top of the structure. From a central ring - the city limits in 1915 - structural members rise up describing the contours of 100 years of growth in Atlanta. As they reach the top of the structure the turn out, tracing population contours along the top as they descend to the border of the metropolitan area and then to the border of the 10x10 site. The floor is a topographic

CITY IN A FOREST

surface so individuals in the structure can experience the medium on which this city has grown. The Eastern Continental Divide was illustrated using two different stain colors.

”

“I ultimately settled on

what I will call a situational construct.

Somewhere between a scale model, installation, and a drawing - a didactic instrument for visualizing and inhabiting the sprawl of the metro Atlanta area.

The assembly of the structure was its own unique Atlanta experience. The convention was at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) and had to be assembled in two days, taken down in one. That is because they are churning through conventions weekly. As someone that was in a war zone for the two-day madness that preceded the convention, I can attest that it was fairly surreal to walk around rigorously ordered and curated convention floor. The enterprise and effort that occurs at GWCC in a calendar year is daunting to me.

But before I unloaded and assembled pieces on the floor (with the generous help from a gaggle of AIA volunteers and the indispensable Frank Fralick), the installation lived in a warehouse just south of GWCC. For four years I have rented space in The Metropolitan in Adair Park where, when I had the energy, I built three Art on the BeltLine installations in addition this 10UP project. For those that have not been to the Metropolitan (go!), it is a fascinating cluster of concrete warehouses, built around 1915, chock full of all sorts of adventurous folks. It is the kind of massive indeterminate space that OMA might

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love. On one hand it is just a bunch of concrete.

On the other hand, it has totally endeared itself to me. Rent is relatively cheap which allows it to get packed with all sorts of enterprises - music and film studios, makerspaces, screen printers, mechanics, and artists to name a few.

It is also the kind of space we may have occasion to worry about. As the BeltLine and its attendant development begin to materialize just to the south, it is hard not to wonder what the long term fate of the massive complex might be. I am writing this from the San Francisco Bay, where I recently relocated, where the litany of propositions on the November 4 ballot made no secret of the all-out warfare over culture and gentrification that is taking place here. Some propositions called for freezes on market rate housing. Some propositions empowered citizens to sue Airbnbing neighbors that were suspected of renting their spaces in excess of 75 days a year. It may seem difficult or cumbersome to address the concerns of the Metropolitan eclectics and the long-term residents of Adair Park and southwest Atlanta, but it is an absolutely necessary step.

The BeltLine is the most significant planning and design project of recent Atlanta history. It has indisputably already changed the city for the better. In the manner of a sentimental reminder, it roughly traces the outline of the 1915 Atlanta city limit. Now, after achieving this major public works victory, an eye must be turned to the design of the implementation; as we keep in mind the importance of design for dreaming up big ideas, solving problems, and serving all the citizens of Metropolitan Atlanta.

BRYAN ALCORN has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Georgia Tech and a Master of Architecture from University of Michigan. He worked and kept a workshop space in Atlanta for many years during which, in addition to the 10UP! Competition, Alcorn completed three installations for Art on the Atlanta BeltLine under the tutelage of Frank Fralick, expert maker, kindred spirit. He now resides in Oakland, CA and works in the San Francisco office of Valerio Dewalt Train.

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INSPIRATIONAL STORIES

INSPIRATIONAL STORIES

OF ATLANTA’S MINORITY AEC TRAILBLAZERS

BY GARFIELD PEART, MBA, AIA, NOMA

T

he 1929 definition of “Negro” described a black man’s brain size and how he was thought to be incapable of individual thought.

In an interview with Atlanta architect Jeffrey L. Robinson, AIA, NOMA, he reflects on a conversation with his late father, Atlanta AEC Trailblazer Joseph W. Robinson, FAIA, who told him of a time when the “Negro” was considered to be subservient to his white counterpart.

This mindset represented an era in American society, especially in Atlanta, where blacks faced extreme discrimination and were often labeled as too unintelligent to be in a profession like architecture. Fast forward to year 2016 and many of Atlanta’s iconic buildings and transformative projects have been managed, designed, engineered and constructed by

minority trailblazers who overcame these prejudices.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the March of Washington for Jobs and Freedom by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2013, the Atlanta Chapter of The National Organization of Minority Architects launched the NOMAtlanta StoryCorps Initiative, which, in partnership with StoryCorps Atlanta, aimed to capture the stories of inspiration and success of some of the most prominent minorities in the AEC community.

This article provides highlights from the stories shared during interviews with six AEC Trailblazers who have all played significant 34

roles in the development and progress of Atlanta’s built environment: Cheryl McAfee, FAIA, CEO and principal of McAfee3 Architects; Oscar Harris, FAIA, past president of Turner Associates; Charles David Moody Jr., president and CEO of C. David Moody Construction; William J. Stanley III, FAIA, principal of Stanley Love-Stanley, P.C; Joseph W Robinson, FAIA, past principal of J. W. Robinson and Associates; and Zubaida Musharraf, AIA, retired MARTA transportation architect.

Cheryl McAfee, along with her father Charles McAfee and her sister Charyl McAfee-Duncan, are all members of the College of Fellows in American Institute of Architects (AIA), giving the McAfees the distinct honor of being the

only family where a father and two daughters are AIA Fellows. Cheryl McAfee was the senior program manager of design and construction for all 33 sports venues of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She recalls vivid descriptions of direct threats and attacks on her family due to her father’s work with the Civil Rights Movement in Kansas and, in one specific account, recalls a near death experience at age seven, involving her sister when her father’s office became the headquarters for United States Department of Education concerning the desegregation of schools. These experiences served as the foundation for her passion for justice. She states, “I [always] try to figure out what can I do to make

a difference … as an architect.”

Oscar L. Harris is a recipient of the 2014 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award by the Atlanta Area Council, Boys Scouts of America. Harris passionately describes his design philosophy rooted in architecture as “symbols of civilization.” Throughout his career, Harris strived to create these symbolic creations – symbols of Atlanta’s culture, its people, its politics, as well as its hardships and victories. Today, Harris’ symbols can be experienced all over the City of Atlanta from transportation projects like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to civic and urban projects like Centennial Olympic Park. Harris shares stories of overcoming personal

challenges, racial discrimination and systemic barriers to start his own practice.

Charles David Moody Jr. has received countless awards and recognitions as an entrepreneur and business leader, including being named Minority Contractor of the Year by the National Association of Minority Contractors and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Invoking his feelings on the glass ceiling that still exists in the profession, Moody draws inspiration from images of Jackie Robinson and he Tuskegee Airmen and uses these symbols to encourage today’s AEC professionals to move beyond the focus on race to develop a passion and love for the AEC industry.

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AwARDS & HONORS INSPIRATIONAL STORIES race and gender discrimination, the personal impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement and collaborating with his life partner Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA.

William Stanley III at The Olympic Aquatic Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Cheryl McAfee, along with her father Charles McAfee and her sister Charyl McAfee-Duncan

C. David Moody, Jr. with his wife and children at one of his projects

Thoughtfully addressing his own personal challenges, Moody also goes in-depth about his experiences as a childhood sexual abuse survivor and how he ultimately became a change agent for countless individuals.

William “Bill” J. Stanley III entered the world at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta on the same date as Joe Louis, Stevie Wonder and Dennis Rodman. A 1972 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanley challenged segregation head on and became the first black graduate of its College of Architecture. With his architecture, he was destined to break down the racial barriers of the times and challenge the establishment with his thirst for social justice. During his youth, his passion for architecture was inspired by three main sources: his father; the construction of his family’s new home; and the new sanctuary design at his family church, St. Paul African American Episcopal Church, by preeminent architect G. Lloyd Preacher. Stanley also explores issues of

Joseph W. Robinson Sr. founded J. W. Robinson and Associates, Inc. more than 45 years ago.

Robinson worked with many civil rights leaders like Ralph David Abernathy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the King family. Coretta Scott King credited Robinson as being instrumental in bringing international acclaim to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site by taking it from a dream to reality. In 1995, he became the first AfricanAmerican in the state of Georgia to be elected to the College of Fellows in the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He died in Atlanta at the age of 80 on September 14, 2008. Speaking on his behalf, his son Jeffrey and current president of J.W. Robinson and Associates, Inc. discusses his father exposing him to architecture at an early age. He vividly describes barriers his father faced in profession during the early 1950s and 1960s like the one described at the beginning of this article.

Zubaida Mosharraf was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and retired from the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) after nearly 29 years as a transportation architect.

She led a diverse architecture staff responsible for the design and construction of all transit station and facilities. Even though Mosharraf did not experience the civil rights movement directly, she recounts that the essence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches inspired people all over the world and highlighted the fact that inequality and discrimination were not just relegated to the United States; they were world issues.

Mosharraf developed a passion for social justice and proudly shared stories of her efforts to ensure culturally and racially diverse design teams on multi-million dollar public transportation projects.

In 2015, at the AIA National Convention in Atlanta, NOMAtlanta introduced a first-ever collection of these prominent minority AEC trailblazer stories in a special audiovisual experience entitled, “In Their Words: Inspirational Stories of Atlanta’s Minority AEC

36

Trailblazers.” You can experience all of the StoryCorps interviews and get more in-depth information on the trailblazers at the exhibit web page at nomaatlanta.org/storycorpsinterviews. These many accomplishments of our AEC Trailblazers, their passion for fighting social injustice, strong design leadership and advocacy as a champions for greater diversity and inclusion stand as not only a celebration for the City of Atlanta but an inspiration for the next generation of Atlanta minority AEC professionals.

GARFIELD PEART, MBA, AIA, NOMA is a registered architect and sustainable design consultant. He received his Bachelor of Architecture at Howard University and his MBA from Marylhurst University. He is a construction project manager for the City of Atlanta and is also president of his own sustainable design practice, Syntony Design Collaborative, LLC. Garfield is passionate about youth education advocacy, leadership development, creative arts, diversity and sustainable urban communities. Finally, he is currently the president of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects.

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PEOPLE OR PLACES?

PEOPLE OR PLACES?

EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN SUPPORTS HOLISTIC APPROACH

BY BONNIE CASAMASSIMA & SHANE TOTTEN, AIA

W

hy is it important – in fact, vital – to pursue sustainability benefits of physical structures in conjunction with the needs of the people who occupy those structures? For people to reach their potential and prosper while protecting the earth’s natural resources, the need for a balanced approach to building design becomes essential.

So what does that mean to architects, designers, builders, environmentalists and the companies who are their clients? The development of the green movement over the past four decades strongly supported the overriding principle of using best practices to reduce energy costs and create climate-neutral structures.

Now various evidence supports the concept that holistically considering the needs of the occupants of those buildings is desirable not only to protect their employees’ physical health but also to maximize their productivity and satisfaction in the

90%

O F A C O M PA N Y ’ S A N N U A L O P E R AT I N G C O S T S ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE COST OF HUMAN CAPITAL

workplace. As a result, the industry is beginning to recognize the value of a holistic approach to successful building design.

As summarized by Terrapin Bright Green, in their publication, “The Economics of Biophilia: Why Designing with Nature in Mind Makes Financial Sense,” generally, almost 90 percent of 38

a company’s annual operating costs are directly related to the cost of human capital – training, salaries, benefits, etc. Additionally, the amount of money a company spends on average for energy makes up approximately less than one percent of the annual operating budget. These values are noted not to place more prominence on the importance of one area over the other but to reinforce the significance of pursuing a holistic approach with our built environments. These percentages support a substantial business case for emphasizing design principles leading to more engaging, productive and healthier environments, in addition to energy- and water-efficient buildings.

Though there is much room for growth, evidencebased design has expanded the essential conversation that our buildings be designed to support the wellbeing of their occupants in addition to resource conservation.

Today, the concept is advancing the design industry by confronting concepts that good buildings are those that are simply energy-efficient or aesthetically appealing. For example, recent research in healthcare and education suggests encouraging designs resulting in a plethora of natural light, indoor courtyards and garden spaces improves building occupants’ health and wellbeing.

In 1964, psychologist Erich Fromm was ahead of his time when he coined the word “biophilia,” which he described as “the passionate love of life and all that is alive.” It would take two decades before the term was popularized by American biologist Edward O. Wilson, who refined the definition as “the urge to affiliate with other forms of life” in his book, “Biophilia.”

In 2008, industry research leaders Stephen T. Kellert, Judith Heerwagen and Martin Mador published “Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life,” considered by many to be the groundbreaking text to guide the development of biophilic building design

39

principles. A collection of 23 essays from foremost engineers, scientists and designers, the book explores not only the connections between the built environment and human behavior, it also supports the benefits of biophilic design on healthcare outcomes, child development and wellbeing.

Perhaps one of the best examples of biophilic design – and the pioneers of the adoption of the concept – is the field of healthcare. Over the past decade, architects specializing in the healthcare field have incorporated evidence-based design into their projects as this was one of the first environments where research showed a direct correlation between a person’s ability to connect with nature and the process of wellbeing and healing. From determining the best site orientation to incorporate solar orientation strategies for optimized building performance to enhancing views to the outside, architects and designers can incorporate best practices that address sustainability as well as health and wellbeing. Interior courtyards, patient rooms and staff break areas with windows having intentional views to natural elements

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Another study, conducted in 2011, by Ihab M.K. Elzeyadi, Ph.D., LEED AP, with the School of Architecture & Allied Arts at the University of Oregon in Eugene, details the effects of incorporating daylighting into healthy sustainable building design. His study of 120 office spaces and workstations and the 175 employees, all having similar positions, responsibilities and workloads, working in them analyzed the availability of daylight versus artificial lighting and its influence on productivity and the number of sick days taken. Findings supported that employees who had views of trees and landscapes took an average of 18 percent fewer sick days than those with no view from their work area. The results further support the hypothesis that providing access to natural light and views of nature through windows can create healthier occupants.

and common areas filled with natural light and plants have replaced traditional spaces that were once designed to protect people from the influences of outside world. Medical institutions now create both interior and exterior environments that can transport patients, families and healthcare workers beyond the historically antiseptic and sterile environments into a place that engenders a sense of reduced stress and enhanced healing.

The necessity of the human connection to nature as a critical key to performance is born out in a number of studies. Of particular interest, research by Heschong Mahone in 1999 draws conclusive evidence about the relationship between daylight and human performance. The report sites, in part, “students in classrooms with the most daylighting were found to have seven to 18 percent higher scores than those with the least daylighting. Further, the study confirmed that “students in classrooms with the most daylighting were found to progress 15 percent faster in math and 23 percent faster in reading than those with the least.”

From the strong business case to the growing availability of scientifically-driven evidence, it is easy to appreciate the profound opportunity we have to continue pushing the envelope in pursuing a holistic approach with the creation of our built environments. Today’s architects, designers and engineers have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers and specialized consultants who can bring diverse insight to enhance the success of each project. Undeniably, using an integrated evidence-based approach that optimizes such initiatives as solar-orientation strategies, energy modeling to influence design, and engaging key consultants early in the process can increase validation for designs, ensure the advancement of the sustainability industry at large and benefit communities. Perhaps most importantly, this approach also elevates the holistic wellbeing of building occupants, who, after all, are the reason for which we create our built environments in the first place.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Kellert, S. et al, (2008). Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life. Hoboken, New Jersey Terrapin Bright Green, (2012). The Economics of Biophilia: Why designing with nature in mind makes financial sense.

41

BONNIE CASAMASSIMA, LEED GA, Project Manager of Commercial Sustainability Services at Southface, holds undergraduate and a graduate degrees in Interior Design. With a strong background in evidencebased biophilic design, environmental psychology and also environmental behavior, she currently works with sustainability programs providing research and technical consultancy leadership.

SHANE TOTTEN, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Commercial Sustainability Services at Southface, has more than 26 years of experience in architecture, interior design, building systems and sustainability forms a strong background for consulting and managing programs for Southface that include Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge, Grants to Green, EarthCraft Light Commercial and EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation.

THE POLITICS OF STAIRS

THE POLITICS OF STAIRS

BY JOHNNA S. KELLER, AIA

A

few months ago, a friend sent me an image on Facebook. It shows a wheelchair user facing an elevator confronted with the words, “Today is the day we take the stairs.”

This example demonstrates how the concept of “human-powered living” fails to include all humans, and unfortunately, this example is part of a growing trend in architecture. Stairs have been reborn as the energy-conserving and health-promoting sister to the elevator, especially in sustainable design. However, if stairs and stair users have been re-imagined as the preferred sustainable building occupant, then it appears that occupants with mobility impairments, relegated to using an energy-consuming elevator, have become marginalized as undesirable occupants. Ironically, this is occurring at a time when social equity is re-emerging as an integral part of the triple bottom line of sustainability, which inspires the question: How can we best bring together sustainability with social equity?

In a growing number of new building projects, energy conservation measures are implemented via rigorous design strategies and energy-saving programs. In a Seattle project that has been called “the greenest commercial building in the world,” the design team created the “irresistible stairway” with panoramic views of the city in the name of health and energy conservation, meanwhile locating the elevator at the back of

42

the building and accessible only via keycard.

In addition, the tenants must abide by strict energy usage budgets and are fined for any overages. Imagine an employee in a wheelchair in a building like this, or an important client who uses a cane, or a parent with a sick toddler in a stroller visiting a doctor’s office, and you begin to see how a tucked-away elevator with controlled access can be problematic.

Preferred stairways, like the “irresistible stairway,” incorporate the design approach called the “pull strategy,” which promotes desired behavior via information, aesthetic quality, or sensory appeal.

For example, by locating the main stairway in a visually more prominent location than any motorized vertical circulation elements (i.e., elevators and escalators), providing increased lighting or sensory stimulation elements, like artwork and music, and installing motivational signage, building users are “pulled” or encouraged to use the stairs rather than hunting down the elevator. The intent of these pull strategies is to improve occupant health through physical activity and to reduce environmental impacts associated with energy consumption.

Pull strategies such as these are integrated into the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program as the pilot credit, “Design for Active Occupants,” and recently introduced as a requirement for the “Human Powered Living” Imperative in the 43

THE POLITICS OFSTAIRS STAIRS THE POLITICSOF

The bottom floor of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, which offers three modes of vertical transport: an elevator, an escalator, and a flight of stairs. The designer has chosen to integrate these three into a triptych, so that each mode of transport is visible from a single vantage point on the floor. Photo © Margaret Price.

Living Building Challenge (LBC) 3.0 and the “Interior Fitness Circulation” Precondition in the newly introduced WELL Building Standard v1.0.

However, these growing programs have imagined pull strategies that benefit only one type of user—those who want to and are able to climb stairs—and in this way, have created an unequal standard of access.

In such situations, architects are applying accessibility in a “check-thebox” way, that is, an effort to comply with the bare minimum of ADA Standards for Accessible Design, and nothing further. At times, this creates architectural designs that border on the nonsensical—for example, locating accessible restrooms on the second floor of a building with no elevator. The ADA Standards do not detail how to create equal access, which is why we often find the accessible entrance in the rear of a building or, as in the case of “the greenest commercial building in the world,” elevators hidden in the back.

If we are not creating sustainable buildings that are equally accessible by all occupants, then there is a fundamental flaw with our sustainable

44

building standards and their future within our field.

The foundation of sustainability is built on best practices, rather than minimum guidelines. It is about going above and beyond to create better buildings for the occupants and our environment.

For instance, the LEED rating system’s bare minimum requirements, or prerequisites, are already based on achieving percentages beyond minimum design requirements for water and energy use, and earning points towards certification requires going above and beyond that. The LBC goes even further than the LEED rating system in almost every respect, even social equity. If that is the case, then why are we “checking a box” when it comes to accessibility, especially if it marginalizes a portion of our building occupants? What might happen to the way our buildings look if we re-imagined access as the priority end use, allowing it to inspire new and creative design strategies?”

For example, what if we incorporate more passive heating and cooling strategies to accommodate less

“What if we install

”

different vertical circulation elements, like ramps—not as an afterthought, but as a central design strategy?

available energy, or if we have different user expectations of what conditioned spaces feel like? Or, what if we encourage manufacturers of elevators and escalators to use less energy, or possibly even no energy, the way we are transforming the marketplace for building materials? What if we install different vertical circulation elements, like ramps—not as an afterthought, but as a central design strategy?

There are many what-if questions that we could ask ourselves as creative designers of the built environment, but perhaps, a foundational question is: what is sustainability without equity?

Architects might benefit from rethinking equal access and designing user choice among vertical circulation elements. What if, instead of signs that read, “Take the stairs!” there were signs that read, “The temperature in this building is set to x degrees in order to prioritize our energy use for access for everyone.”

JOHNNA S. KELLER, AIA is a registered architect specializing in sustainable design. Her deep experience with the LEED rating system has helped MARTA pursue its first LEED facility for its fleet of mobility vehicles, Brady Mobility Paratransit Facility, DeKalb County Schools build their first LEED certified high school, Arabia Mountain High School, and has helped Emory University to be named Best of Green Schools 2013. She has worked with the USPS’s ADA Assessment and Renovations Program, and provided preliminary analyses and design upgrades to USPS facilities nationwide. Most recently, she worked with Mohawk Group on what will be the first project in Georgia to achieve a certification under the rigorous Living Building Challenge standard. Ms. Keller is currently working for M+A Architects in Columbus, Ohio.

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DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

DESIGNING A DOWNTOWN DISTRICT WITH A HEART

BY W. MARK CARTER, AIA

D

owntown Atlanta today is a bustling entertainment district that welcomes millions of visitors each year. They splash through Centennial Olympic Park’s fountains, stand in awe of the Georgia Aquarium’s whale sharks and enjoy an iconic cold drink at The World of Coca-Cola.

It has not always been that way, though, and downtown Atlanta’s turnaround is one of the best comeback stories of any major American city.

In the past 50 years, our downtown has experienced not one but three renaissances, and at the center of each one was the creation of entertainment attractions that are just as appealing to locals as they are to visitors.

Over the years tvsdesign has experienced the evolution of the downtown district firsthand, as we have been fortunate to have a hand in designs or

master plans for a number of projects: the Omni Coliseum and CNN Center complex, the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, Centennial Olympic Park and now Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

A quick reflection shows us how far we have come and how we are continuing to improve.

GENESIS The paint had barely dried on our firm’s proverbial shingle when we landed our first major project, the Omni Coliseum. Bill Thompson, Tom Ventulett and Ray Stainback were still new to running their own business, and I was still quite a few years away from graduating from Auburn University’s College of Architecture and joining what today is known as tvsdesign.

City leaders knew that attracting new NHL and NBA franchises to complement the Braves and the Falcons would further propel the city onto the 46

national stage. Cousins Properties founder Tom Cousins envisioned the perfect place for the new sports arena. He was confident it would be created by developing the air rights above the railroad tracks in downtown Atlanta and creating an anchor destination.

As principal architect of the Omni, we were fortunate to play a role in bringing that destination to life. The arena’s weathered steel and glass façade, as well as its upside down egg crateshaped roof, made quite the impression when it opened its doors in 1972 and became the focal point of downtown. The opening of the Omni Complex (now known as CNN Center) followed in 1976.

Later that year, arguably the biggest contribution to downtown Atlanta in that era was completed – the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC). At

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the time, large public meeting centers were widely perceived as cold, monolithic and introverted. Visitors to GWCC, however, were greeted with a light-filled linear concourse and clear wayfinding, both of which created a warm, inviting space. It also put Atlanta on the map as a firstclass meeting destination.We have been master planning the convention center campus since the 1970s and have been a part of every expansion.

The 3.6-million-square-foot center since has become the economic enginefor downtown, generating $1.4 billion in 2014 alone.

Thanks in part to these projects, downtown Atlanta now had a heartbeat.

RENEWAL The two decades following the opening of GWCC were not kind to downtown. More and more Atlantans moved to the suburbs. Many businesses similarly relocated away from the urban core. Others closed their doors.

By the early 1990s, downtown Atlanta was a patchwork of industrial warehouses and surface parking that lacked a distinct identity or personality.

That began to change in 1992 with the opening of the Georgia Dome, which

at the time was the largest enclosed dome stadium in the world. But the 1996 Summer Olympics would change Atlanta’s trajectory forever.

The Centennial Olympic Games injected energy and resources into the area, laying both literal and figurative foundations for it eventually to become the exciting, active area it is now. The creation of the 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park shifted the heart of the district from the Omni, which was soon to be replaced by Philips Arena, to the park itself. In our role helping to master plan the park, we sought to answer the question, “How can the critical energy of the 1996 Olympics be sustained and carried into the lifeblood of Atlanta’s future?”

We recommended remaking downtown into a mixed-use destination – a term just starting to enter the parlance of urban planners – with the park as the focus. New housing, dining and retail options and high-tech office space would surround the park and maintain the momentum created by the Olympics.

ACCELERATION The development everyone expected to accompany the Olympics did not materialize immediately, but

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DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

Centennial Park led the way for the current boom of downtown development.

Georgia Aquarium debuted in 2006 as the world’s largest aquarium. Our team’s design for the Aquarium created a symbolic vessel of conservation, preservation and education amid the building’s land-locked address.

The Georgia Aquarium established the downtown district’s western edge and led to downtown’s third renaissance. The World of Coca-Cola opened its new location adjacent to the aquarium in 2007. The National Center for Civil & Human Rights rounded out the area (renamed Pemberton Place) when it opened in 2014. In addition, hotels and restaurants have blossomed around the park, creating an ever larger expanse of fun things to do downtown.

Also in 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame relocated from South Bend, Indiana, to the hometown of the SEC Championship and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Visitors are transported to

the center of the college football universe upon entry, greeted by the exposed steel and concrete common to football stadiums and an aweinspiring three-story helmet wall. From there, they are treated to an immersive experience through attractions like interactive, RFID-customized exhibits and a 45-yard turf field.

Today, we are working with three other firms on the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will breathe new life to the GWCC campus when it opens in 2017. I am Principal in Charge of our scope of work, which includes site and streetscape design and focuses on incorporating the new stadium into both the GWCC campus and Centennial Olympic Park to create a contiguous, pedestrian-friendly downtown district. We are also responsible for the architectural detailing and structural coordination of the entire exterior building envelope as well as the design of all hospitality, premium interiors, and concourse food destinations.

Atlanta now has an active urban core that

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creates an economic engine for the city and impacts the quality of life of our residents. But our work is not done. The Atlanta Streetcar has restored the connectivity between downtown and the Old Fourth Ward that was severed with the construction of Interstate 75/85, but the obvious next steps are to connect the Streetcar to the Beltline and continue creating a viable alternative transportation network.

Revitalization efforts are underway on the Westside, but what will be the catalytic project that finally provides lasting change to those historically underserved communities just west of downtown? We know greenspace brings people together, and as a new downtown landmark rises, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the greenspace that will be created when the existing stadium comes down will serve as the green front door to the entire Centennial Olympic campus while liinking neighborhoods of inner-city Atlanta and especially the Westside. What was once a wall is now an open and inviting space—a welcoming gesture to the community. The Westside Reservoir Park

is a great idea, but not only will the city have to commit to making this dream a reality, but private investment will have to show a similar commitment to the area. Downtown is still rife with opportunities to be activated and expanded, especially along the East edge of Centennial Olympic Park.

Atlanta has come a long way and we are so proud of all that we have achieved. And with more hard work and vision from our design community, developers and city leaders, our best days are truly ahead of us.

W. MARK CARTER, AIA is a principal at tvsdesign with an architectural career spanning more than 33 years. His work focuses on the design of large retail centers, documented by an expansive portfolio featuring department stores, specialty stores and mixeduse centers. Carter’s portfolio includes the Plaza and Court at King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania, plus Plaza Norte, Plaza Egaùa, Plaza Los Dominicos, Plaza Vespucio and Plaza Tobalaba in Santiago, Chile.

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THE EDIFYING EDIFICE

THE EDIFYING EDIFICE: DESIGNING FOR CULTURAL RELEVANCE

BY LOUIS B. SMITH JR., AIA 50

I

f you are reading this, you are interested in improving your design skills and results. You are no longer satisfied with what you normally do. Do not be dismayed to find that what you normally do is not enough. Go beyond it. Achieve excellence.

Perhaps you design normal buildings? Perhaps you consider that all your clients and projects are pretty much alike. You expect that the interpretations of a common culture are what matter. You expect that everyone who uses your buildings likes the same things: the way you use light; where the carpet is placed; the flow; the organization; the cleanness or the detail. You would be wrong.

Anyone who marries into a different culture or who comes from a diverse cultural background can tell you that focusing on commonality reduces the relationship to a banal subset of cultural losses. Consider these cultural pairings: a Greek marries a Sudanese; an Englishman marries a Belgian; a New Yorker marries a Southerner; a Chinese man marries an Indonesian; an introvert marries an extrovert. In each of these there are cultural tangents and cultural differences. They may share or differ in ethnicity, nationality, family structure, social tendencies and more. Despite the influence that draws them together, they find that their perspectives on the world are different.

These differences go far beyond ethnicity to include many things: Privacy; ordering systems or the lack thereof; conspicuousness of wealth; the value of social contact; the connection to the earth; the recognition of the mystical; the sense of time in an eternal scale; how to love; how to die; all these and more are the client cultures seeking to be expressed.

With all these differences how can you say that by ignoring these differences to focus on the commonalities that you have enriched the world with your design? No, rather you have

impoverished the world by hiding differences that can allow us to learn from each other and to grow ever richer in our ability to seek out and understand the people around us. You think perhaps that you cannot address all these things at once. Yet, that is not needed. Let your design express one or two aspects so well that all can learn from it. Some will find the result comfortable and be lifted up by the recognition of their culture and beliefs. Your design will become one of their favorite places to be; a place they cherish for how it honors them. Some few will find your design so different they abhor it. A great many people in between will find the building a wonderful lesson in how to enjoy something unexpectedly different.

Consider for a moment the difference in cultural expression of a gothic cathedral and a modern big box church. Or consider the difference between Maya Lin’s National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Capitol Mall and previous war memorials. What I am advocating here is not the cloning of particular creative works or their aspects, which has happened with the memorial, but the creation of new works that are equally expressive. How, you may ask, do you unleash your creativity in a culturally relevant manner?

First, know your client. Learn about the organization’s culture and the way it does business. Learn about the organization’s values and the way they would like to express them.

How much time is listed in your proposals for learning how the organization’s culture(s) play out in practice? If your building program does not address the cultural background, current cultural practice and the cultural context of the site and the clients who will visit the site; if it does not seek to understand the meaning behind what you see happening in that organization; you may have missed your opportunity for greatness.

Culturally relevant expression should exist no

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THE EDIFYING EDIFICE

“

You cannot achieve EXCELLENCE in architecture unless you are willing to leave behind the normal.”

matter whether the organization is a family of two or a corporation of 20,000. Every group of humans has their own existing or idealized cultural norms. Your design can either support or undermine the norms of that organization.

Second, use your creativity to convert program and materials not simply into form and enclosure but into meaning and expression. That requires an understanding of how Inspiration can be managed and developed as a primary skill. Inspiration is simply making associations between values and the objects, forms, and materials which might express those values. Practice being inspired daily by the things and people around you. Stretch the associations beyond clichés: a client’s high value on connection to the earth may cause you to envision a structure that interlaces with the land rather than simply resting on or being built into it; a client’s value on organic simplicity might result in an entry which beckons with a sculptural form without directly replicating the flower bud or the curvature of the human form that was its inspiration.

The third technique is to spend time honing your broader creative design skills: the awareness of culture; the ability to recognize different expressions of the same meaning; the ability to express meaning though spatial order and material selection. Do not be trite. The culturally relevant building does not depict the cultural value as applied images. It can better express the culture as a set of holistic experiences.

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To edify is to provide moral or intellectual instruction. An edifice which does this goes far beyond shelter and even further beyond mere visual composition — however artistic that might be. To learn from the experience of being in or near a structure means that there is a lesson to be taught. The lessons are numerous: who we are; who those around us are; what is important in life; what is needed to connect to others; what is the value of the least person and more. To teach these lessons your design cannot simply be your artistic expression.

It cannot simply be a testament to the miraculous capabilities of latest design software. It must be your expression — as an artist not as a technician — of who the client is and how they want to relate to the world.

This is not normal.

Normal is, by definition, what we expect. Yet, to truly learn something we do not know, we are learning about the unexpected. We are seeing things, hearing things, experiencing things we had not considered before. In learning something from an edifying edifice we become more than we were. We see the world from a different perspective, one of the heart.

The late motivational speaker Jim Rohn says, “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” In the same way you cannot achieve excellence in architecture unless you are willing to leave behind the normal. Be careful. Not only is this not to be taken lightly, it is the edge of disaster to address this with only lip service for effort. The expressed meaning which will make a culturally relevant building valuable may be many layered and complex. It may be simple.

It may be hard for some to grasp. It may achieve a level of excellence which makes it a landmark in the community. It will not be normal. May you achieve excellence.

LOUIS B. SMITH JR., AIA lives and practices small project architecture in Charlotte, North Carolina through his firm, Microtecture, LLC. He has been active in AIA Michigan, in his home state. He is a former Chair of the AIA Small Project Practitioners Knowledge Community. He has worked for firms large and small on projects including community development; mixed use buildings; single and multi-family residences; commercial projects; government sector; and retail up-fits. He has taught at both the secondary school and college level. He currently eschews work with larger firms, in favor of writing fiction and non-fiction, learning music and striving to understand the relationship between creativity, profitability and happiness. Louis advises that better design comes not simply from a creative mind but from a heart filled with joy and divine compassion.

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AC HOTEL BUCKHEAD

AC HOTEL BUCKHEAD MARRIES EUROPEAN STYLE WITH ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY

BY MATTHEW CARR, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

H

ow do you introduce an upscale European hotel brand to bustling, modern Atlanta? This is currently the challenge faced by my firm Cooper Carry, which is overseeing the design of the AC Hotel Buckhead at the corner of Peachtree and Wieuca Road.

Founded in 1998, AC Hotels by Marriott is largely concentrated in Europe, but in 2013 began to expand its contemporary style brand in North America under a partnership with Marriott International. Upon opening in early 2016, AC Hotel Buckhead will be the chain’s first in Georgia and the second in the United States, built from the ground up.

Given the Buckhead property will be many travelers’ first experience with this chic brand, AC Hotels by

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Marriott aims to provide the best product to its new clientele. That started with the location. As a joint venture between Noble Investment Group and Simon, the hotel was able to secure a premier location in the heart of Buckhead, adjacent to Phipps Plaza. The six-story hotel, built by Winter Construction, will be situated by the epicenter of luxury retail in Buckhead and join a number of its fellow European brands in the area, such as Valentino, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Versace. It will offer Buckhead a new luxury hospitality option for the destination traveler who also wants high-end shopping and dining.

For this space, AC Hotels by Marriott sought to cater to a wide range of sophisticated travelers, with a particular emphasis on millennials. In general, millennials value trendy design, resulting in a building with clean, crisp aesthetics. We wanted the hotel to

be approachable and modern, while marrying the brand’s sleek European appeal with the culture of Buckhead.

Given half of business travelers will be millennials by 2020, the hospitality industry is starting to prioritize this generation in the way it designs everything from guest rooms to lobbies and dining spaces. In the fight for attention and dollars among this coveted demographic, hotels not only face competition from each other, but also from companies like Airbnb.

It has created a new, growing niche market for “millennial-minded hospitality” that is more efficient and streamlined in comparison to industry predecessors. AC Hotels is one of the emerging brands in this space, as are others like Moxy, Edition, CitizenM and Canopy. They achieve greater efficiency

AC HOTEL BUCKHEAD

“

The design community must be aggressive in pursuing and implementing technologies that enable hospitality organizations to achieve a double bottom line.”

largely by prioritizing investments in technology, such as automated check-in kiosks and keyless room entry.

For this project, we deployed a number of innovative technologies that served to both enhance the guest experience and reach an ambitious LEED certification. More so than any other generation, millennials want the brands they support to be committed to positive social and environmental impact.

To provide greater controllability of systems and showcase AC Hotels’ commitment to the environment, we installed more than 11,000 square feet of View Dynamic Glass, a technology that allows windows to act somewhat like transition sunglasses. These intelligent windows maximize natural light and unobstructed views to the outdoors, while reducing heat and glare.

Unlike traditional glass, View Dynamic Glass tints automatically in response to environmental conditions – or on command from a mobile device – providing greater thermal comfort and energy savings without the need for blinds or shades.

We set a goal to optimize energy performance by 28 percent. Implementing dynamic glass in the project played a pivotal role in these efforts by helping reduce the hotel’s energy consumption by 20 to 25 percent. Water efficiency was another main pillar of our design and we implemented water reclamation techniques to significantly reduce water use from baseline projects.

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As the demographics of the typical business traveler evolve, design is poised to play an even more instrumental role in a hotel’s ability to attract savvy guests. The design community must be aggressive in pursuing and implementing technologies that enable hospitality organizations to achieve a double bottom line.

MATTHEW CARR, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP is a senior associate at Cooper Carry, one of America’s most dynamic, context-driven design firms focused on the creation of exceptional places.

He brings more than 20 years of experience and has worked as Project Architect and Project Manager on several projects for the firm’s Hospitality Specialty Practice Group. Carr has additional experience in aviation transportation, retail, and office market segments, and more than $3 billion of construction contract administration under his belt. He is registered to practice architecture in four states, and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). Carr graduated from the University of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

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PROGRAMS

TOUR & The Tour and Sketch program allows approximately 20 to 30 middle and high school students to tour the High Museum of Art, under the guidance of volunteer docents and mentor architects.

Following the tour, students break into groups of four to five and work directly with a mentor architects to sketch until their heart are content. Better said, the students learn to transfer visual subjects to paper.

PROGRAMS

It is interesting to see the various techniques exhibited by mentors and the students are always amazed at their very own handiwork. AIA Atlanta welcomes volunteers!

DISCOVER ARCHITECTURE Discover Architecture was created by Phillip Alexander-Cox and Melody Haclerode, AIA with a goal of raising awareness of architecture among school-aged children. The program was inspired by the successful Portland, Oregonbased Architects In Schools, which demonstrated students’ desires for an education in architecture.

Resulting from collaboration between design professionals in AIA Atlanta, school administrators and parents, Discover Architecture is now an after-school program that fosters engaging design creativity, introduces students to dynamic guest speakers to and enriches classroom activities.

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HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION The High School Student Design Competition (HSSDC) began in 2006 and has grown tremendously over the years. Past winners have been subsequently accepted to architecture schools throughout the country, interned with local firms and even traveled around the world with international design firms.

2015

HSSDC aims to engage students in the design process, raise awareness for the built environment and foster interest in careers in architecture. In 2015, the competition featured two levels of design difficulty. The introductory competition offered students exposure to the basics of architecture as they designed a shelter for the Appalachian Trail’s Augerhole Gap site near Suches, Georgia. The advanced competition called for an Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail visitor center, awarding scholarships of $2,000, $1,000 and $500 for the first, second and third place winners, respectively.

WINNERS INTRODUCTORY APPALACHIAN TRAIL SHELTER 1st Place: Tehilla I., Parkview High School 2nd Place: Sami R., North Cobb High School 3rd Place: Daiyun L., McIntosh High School ADVANCED ATLANTA BELTLINE VISITOR CENTER 1st Place: Montana R., Union Grove High School 2nd Place: Neil C., Allatoona High School 3rd Place: Michael T., North Cobb High School

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PROGRAMS

Vision for Atlanta is a groundbreaking forum on design and development issues. Forum discussions include community development, affordability, design excellence, codes and zoning. AIA Atlanta was honored to have Council President Ceasar Mitchell and City of Atlanta Councilmembers Yolanda Adrean, Kwanza Hall and Mary Norwood as our distinguished panelists. A lively conversation was the centerpiece of the night surrounded by issues that affect the quality of life for residents throughout metropolitan Atlanta.

PHOTOS Š BRIAN REEVES

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PROGRAMS PROGRAMS

AREÂŽ WORKSHOPS

The Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) addresses unique issues related to improving the quality of healthcare through design. As a forum, it provides the exchange of ideas, concerns, failues, successes and resources to advance the practice of healthcare architecture.

Networking and education events are held regularly, with a goal of strengthening the local knowledge base of healthcare design expertise that will ultimately improve healthcare environments within the region and beyond.

MENTORING PROGRAM Sponsored by AlA Atlanta, the mentoring program allows students from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Kennessaw State University to be mentored by design professionals varying in years of experience and areas of expertise.

Students meet with mentors to gain insight on the field, attend AlA events together, enjoy office tours and visit college studios. Students are matched with professionals with similar interests, offering a glimpse of the world beyond graduation and a chance to develop a long-lasting relationship with a fellow practitioner.

Each year, AIA Atlanta contracts experts in the field to conduct various Architectural Registration Exams. Professor David Thaddeus brings his well-regarded General Structures workshop annually.

BOX LUNCHES The Box Lunches series allows education providers and small architectural firms to meet and discuss the latest trends in design and construction. AIA Atlanta hosts these programs at five locations in the area, including in Midtown, Cobb County, Buckhead, the Northeast Section and Suwanee.

Wednesday

Night

Drafting Club

Wednesday Night Drafting Club (WNDC) is a monthly social networking event where professionals passionate about the built community learn how to get more involved with AIA Atlanta and are made aware of upcoming educational events. Open to members, potential members, and allied professionals.

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The AIA Atlanta Committee on the Environment hosts a Lunch & Learn Continuing Education Program, which meets on the second Friday of each month. Sessions feature presentations on various sustainable design issues.

Presenters are professionals with expertise in their various fields.

AIA Atlanta COTE sponsors the Design Showcase, offering Atlanta firms an opportunity to showcase their sustainable design projects at Southface’s annual Greenprints conference.

PROCRASTINATION

DAY

With the fast pace of our professions, among other personal obligations, it is no surprise that some of us wind up short of annual learning units. Held twice yearly, Procrastination Day is a solution to your continuing education needs. These days feature relevant and inspiring all-day seminars for which you can earn up to 6.5 AIA Health Safety and Welfare learning units if you participate throughout the entire seminar.

S

SUMMER SOCIAL Now in its fifth year, Summer Social is AIA Atlanta’s an annual networking event for more than 500 attendees. Held in June, the soirée is attended

by Atlanta’s most influential architects, attorneys, bankers, contractors, developers, marketing pros and more.

PHOTOS © BRIAN REEVES

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PROGRAMS

URBANFRONTS URBANfronts Creative Expressions is a one-night gallery exhibit created to encourage design conversations in a public forum utilizing the work of local Atlantan designers and artist. It provides an expression of AIA Atlanta’s commitment to public educatin and awareness by offering an exhibition platform to display the works of local designers. URBANfronts is focused on producing collaboration and creative parterships with other

PHOTOS Š BRIAN REEVES

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art and design groups and fostering youthful talent through design students and enthusiasts exhibiting and attending the event. URBANfront Creative Expressions is a collaboration with URBANfronts Storefront Galleries, the latter of which provides a platform for expression through adapting empty retail storefronts.

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PROGRAMS

RED & GREEN SCENE Several years ago, USGBC and AIA initiated a singular holiday event for their members. As momentum grew over the yearly event, several additional industry related associations joined in the hosting efforts. This event has now grown to include ASHRAE, ASID, CSI and IIDA, in addition to its two founding associations.

The event jointly offers members of all six host organizations the opportunity to gather socially and enjoy the company of the allied organizations. In addition, this event is used to collect toys for Toys for Tots, as well as launch a post-event community service project led by SDCA.

PHOTOS Š BRIAN REEVES

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WINNERS

Canstruction® is a unique charity which hosts competitions, exhibitions and events showcasing colossal structures made entirely out of full cans of food. After the structures are built, the creations go on display to the public as a giant art exhibition.

This year, 64,470 pounds were donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

BEST USE OF LABELS

EYE OF HUNGER, HKS, Inc.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

CANYON, CARVING AWAY AT HUNGER, tvsdesign

JURORS’ FAVORITE & MOST CANS

BEST MEAL

WE CAN THINK GLOBALLY & ACT LOCALLY, Preston Partnership

MILLENNIUM FALCAN, Randall-Paulson and PES Structural Engineers

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

HONORABLE MENTION

HUNGER IS NOT A GAME, BRPH

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION AGAINST HUNGER, Whiting Turner and Stevens & Wilkinson

PROGRAMS

SLATE OF READY TO ASSIST ARCHITECTS Rocky Rothschild, FAIA, Cecil Alexander, FAIA and Sally Price hosted the first SORTAA meeting on October 4, 1989 with the goal of gathering architectural knowledge from the “Old Guard” and sharing experiences through mentoring of the next generation of associates and new practitioners.

PROGRAMS NOMA ATLANTA

Established in 2004 to provide women in architecture, engineering, and the allied professions an opportunity to gather on a quarterly basis, nWW’s mission is to promote, expand, and encourage the role of women in the industry and to help retain top talent.

The National Organization of Minority Architects promotes quality and excellence of minority design professionals, with NOMA Chapters throughout the country and NOMAS (Student) Chapters on college and university campuses.

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PRT Each month, principals, executives and senior leaders from Atlanta architecture firms meet at Principals Roundtable (PRT) to discuss matters of mutual interest and relevance to the design industry. Each meeting begins at 7:30 a.m. with a hot breakfast buffet, followed by a presentation and a moderated roundtable discussion relevant to attendees’ work and positions.

Topics discussed at PRT fall into at least one of the following categories: • Design • Business Trends/Best Practices • Architectural Education/Generational Issues • Local/Political Issues • Environmental Issues & Sustainability • Technology & Innovation

AIA members attending PRT meeting may earn CEU credit for qualifying topics. Attendance is open to all AIA Atlanta principals, executives and senior leaders, allied members and their guests. PRT meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Midtown’s Ansley Golf Club.

The Young Architects Forum (YAF) is a free public forum created to address issues and topics relevant to architecture and design professionals who have been licensed for 10 years or less. YAF is a joint program of AIA and the College of Fellows (COF), with roots dating back to 1989. Here, YAF encourages the development of national and regional programs tailored to the particular interests of young professionals including the creation of local YAF chapters. Today, YAF has over 150 members and continues to expand and provide opportunities for young professionals.

In addition to their contribution of time and energy, many members provide financial support to specific causes that align with the Institute’s objectives and values. In Georgia, the Architecture Foundation of Georgia exists to encourage and support construction or renovation of housing facilities for the physically or economically disadvantaged; promote and highlight those activities of AIA architects in Georgia which advance public understanding of the value of architecture and the beneficial role of the architect in their community; and improve and enhance educational opportunities in the field of architecture.

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The local chapters of AIAS at Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State University are extremely active and well respected around the country. The chapters hold socials, networking events and job fairs throughout the year, and also participate in the Freedom

by Design program, leading small projects transforming the lives of disabled members of the community. Volunteer architects are a fundamental part of these projects, helping ensure that they meet health, safety and welfare needs. In return, these professionals are satisfied knowing that they are mentoring future leaders. AIAS is the proving ground of our future leadership and they will always have our full support.

APRIL TOUR

TOURS

CURVE:

COLLABORATIVE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND VISUALIZATION ENVIRONMENT G

eorgia State University’s Collaborative University Research and Visualization Environment (CURVE) can be described as a space that has emerged from the ashes, previously housing endless stacks of books and videos that were rarely used by students or faculty. The rows of dusty materials acted simply as a connector from one space to another, adding little functionality to the wealth of resources and services the University Library provides.

This passive space has been transformed into an engaging, technology-rich digital research center that inspires educational campuses across the nation to rethink the ways students can successfully conduct research.

Many projects start with an idea, but Georgia State’s CURVE began as a visionary dream that aspired to pursue a flexible space and program that was still unknown to the University. This uncharted path was embraced by the members of the library and design team at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, and fueled the potential discovery of a flexible environment that adapted to the ever-changing flow of students and faculty year after year.

To understand what GSU’s vision meant 70

in terms of space, CCCA and Sensory Interactive, a global-thinking leader in technology, lead an extensive deep dive conversation into the programmatic needs of GSU’s visionary space. The community of students and faculty were heavily involved in programming discussions, continuously engaging in the futuristic thought process that would become CURVE. All fear aside, GSU’s willingness to try different things in order to meet the needs of the students and faculty molded and expanded the possible functionalities and provided a futuristic backbone that will aid the growth of CURVE and surrounding areas.

The challenge was to fit GSU’s dream of a visible and vital space filled with cuttingedge interactive technology into a 3,300GSF footprint. By removing interior walls, molding space with vibrant colors, and allowing natural light to flood the space, the design team created an energetic environment and incorporated a 29-foot retractable glass partition that can be opened to embrace the public or closed to transform into a secure, more intimate format. A diversity of technology can be found throughout the space, strategically placed so the flow of movement blends

the individual learning and collaboration spaces together.

This technology includes immersive large-scale displays with interactive touch, supported by visualization & modeling software, and high-end graphics processors. The most innovative piece to the technology package is the interactWall, a stateof-the-art, 24-foot-wide, touch-enabled video wall designed to support collaborative visual and datarich research. CURVE also features several high-end computer workstations that allow students and faculty to work with and manipulate large images and data sets, and its unique design encourages interactive and interdisciplinary research and learning. Each workstation is equipped with a large display, including an 84-inch touch-enabled 4K Ultra-HD display linked to the interactWall, allowing multiple student groups to work collaboratively. Many of the technology monitors also act as a partition to offer varying levels of privacy between working groups.

By inspiring researchers to engage with the space, CURVE is a showcase for technology at the forefront of college research methodology and is attracting national attention. Each component within CURVE embraces those who are redefining what research can become and continuously expand beyond present capabilities. Since its opening, many researchers have employed specialty software packages for quantitative, qualitative and spatial data analysis, as well as geospatial and visualization tools to support simulations within their area of study. With the growing emphasis of analytics, data visualization, GIS and digital scholarship in all fields, CURVE is fostering new interdisciplinary connections and research collaborations among previously disparate groups. Results of these interdisciplinary collaborations aid in the “future proofing� of the space, creating a backbone for further adaptation while the needs and scope constantly change through time.

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CURVE acts as a catalyst amongst educational institutions across the nation, and is becoming a reallife example of what data visualization and immersive technology looks like to not only researchers, but students and educators that congregate to continue the excitement of discovery in a very new and distinctive way. The curiosity of what can and will be discovered in the space can only be answered by those who are changing the space themselves, engaging and employing the constant evolution of the learning atmosphere.

Bryan Sinclair, Associate Dean of the University Library at GSU, shares what he thinks is the future of this facility, saying, “We are only at the very earliest beginning of understanding how data visualization, virtual reality, augmented reality and other visual media will transform how we understand and interact with the world and each other. CURVE is unique in that it represents a partnership between the library, central IT, and institutional leadership to develop a

TOURS collective understanding of what information technology can deliver.”

The centerpiece of the project is a touchenabled, 24-foot-wide visualization wall.

What was once a traditional library is now an innovative space at the heart of the Georgia State University Library. CURVE is a technology-rich digital research center that includes visualization and modeling software, high-end graphics processors and immersive large-scale displays. It serves as a resource for researchers and students at all levels.

CURVE’s mission is to enhance research and visualizations by providing technology and services that promote interdisciplinary engagement, collaborative investigation, and innovative inquiry. he client’s vision was to provide a state-of-the-art workforce development training center. The project encompasses both industrial trades, and allied health science programs under one roof. The architecture respects the college’s desire for a sophisticated ‘collegiate’ experience, whilst also reinforcing and showcasing the industrial aspect of the programs.

Looking to create an energetic and dynamic environment, Collins Cooper Carusi removed interior walls, introduced vibrant color and allowed natural light to fill the space. A 20foot curved glass partition separates CURVE from the library lobby. Not only does it invite passersby to become users, but the segmented partition can open up completely to transform the space for large group events or instruction.

This flexibility allows for multiple functions within a relatively small footprint. The design also includes offices and a conference room, each enclosed on one side by interior glazing.

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KEY SPEAKERS Fiona Grandowski, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, Collins Cooper Carusi Architects PROJECT STATISTICS - Completed 2014 - 3,300 square feet PROJECT TEAM Owner: Georgia State University Architect: Collins Cooper Carusi Architects Contractor: New South Construction PHOTOGRAPHER Rion Rizzo – Creative Sources Photography

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JUNE TOUR

TOURS

JE DUNN CONSTRUCTION EAST REGION HEADQUARTERS

J

E Dunn recently completed a full interior demolition and renovation of this 34,000-SF, two-story office building in the Cumberland business district of Atlanta. Originally built in 1974, the new facility now serves as the East Region headquarters for JE Dunn Construction.

This adaptive reuse building is targeting LEED Gold certification and features various sustainable features including locally harvested cypress and reuse of a 74

non-ADA compliant bridge originally used at the building entrance. Additionally, solar panels located on the roof are projected to produce 17% of the energy that the building uses. The solar panels are strategically located on the roof to mask the rooftop HVAC system and add to the aesthetic appeal of the building. Water saving fixtures in the restrooms save more than 40 percent versus a typical office building of this size.

The open plan interior of the office space features all new low E floor-to-ceiling windows and provides 90% daylight views. The space was designed to create a collaborative work environment, with workstations featuring adjustable desks to accommodate both sitting and standing during the work day. Eighteen breakout and conference rooms of varying sizes provide private areas for meetings and telephone calls. Technology throughout the office is designed to encourage collaboration. This includes flat 75

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PROJECT STATISTICS - Completed October 2014 - 33,000 square feet AWARDS - LEED Gold and CMAA Project - Achievement Award 2015 PROJECT TEAM: Owner: JE Dunn Construction Company Architect: Clockwork Contractor: JE Dunn Construction Company Structural: Ellinwood Machado MEP: McKenney’s (mechanical and plumbing design-build and Allison Smith (electrical design build) Landscape: Clockwork PHOTOGRAPHER Brillance Photography Design

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screen monitors in all the break out rooms as well as mobile video conferencing technology.

Amenities of the building were added to tie into the company’s “work hard, play hard” mentality and include a fitness center with lockers and full shower/ dressing rooms, break areas with adjacent outdoor spaces and a game room with billiards, foosball, shuffleboard and an outdoor putting green and bocce ball court. And just installed, a stainless steel slide allows employees and visitors an alternate way to get from the upper floor to the lower floor.

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AUGUST TOUR

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LANIER TECHNICAL COLLEGE BARROW COUNTY CAMPUS

T

he client’s vision was to provide a state-of-theart workforce development training center.

The project encompasses both industrial trades, and allied health science programs under one roof. The architecture respects the college’s desire for a sophisticated ‘collegiate’ experience, whilst also reinforcing and showcasing the industrial aspect of the programs.

CREATING CAMPUS THROUGH COLLABORATION AND CONSENSUS BUILDING – THE MASTER PLAN VISION The site is a serene gentle sloping agrarian pasture in Barrow County shared by two Owners; Lanier Technical College, and Barrow County Schools. The architect facilitated discussions between stakeholders which led to a master-plan that offers students a “collegiate” experience.

Organizing primary facilities with shared programs between users around a central campus quad supports this methodology. The quad was situated to respect views of the existing

pond located on the lower end of the site. A perimeter loop road defines the inner campus.

The initial first phase of this college campus is a 68,000 SF workforce development training center which includes a dichotomy of program under one roof. These programs include both industrial trades (welding, automotive, mechatronics, and refrigeration controls), along with health sciences (nursing, medical assistant, occupational therapy). In addition, this stand alone “campus” building features an administrative suite, library, and a student lounge / bookstore / café.

Siting of the facility respects the master plan and offers outstanding views of the downhill pond, while establishing the boundary for both future quad and buildings.

A PROGRAM DRIVEN RESPONSE The floor plan organizes the two primary programs in two distinct wings around a dramatic

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two story lobby that serves as the organizational nucleus. The exterior lobby curtainwall designed in a Mondrian motif helps to reinforce a more sophisticated experience to the visitor.

Transparency throughout the facility was an important aspect to the project, not only to promote connectivity between spaces, but to also showcase the research and technology within.

Areas to promote student connectivity beyond the classroom are also afforded in both wings, and via the incorporation of a sheltered outdoor student courtyard, adjacent to the lobby.

FORM & MATERIALS THAT REINFORCE PURPOSE Both the form and the materials palette were designed to reinforce the diverse nature of the programs in a cohesive manner. For the automotive and welding programs, conventional and cost-effective pre-engineered sheds were used to nod to the industrial nature of

KEY SPEAKER Doug Hannah, AIA, Pond & Company PROJECT STATISTICS - Completed November 2014 - 66,700 square feet AWARDS Outstanding Design, American School and University Architectural Portfolio, 2013 PROJECT TEAM Owner: Technical College System of Georgia / Lanier Technical College Architect: Pond & Company (Mark Levine, AIA and Doug Hannah, AIA) Interior Design: Wakefield Beasley Associates, WB Interiors Contractor: JE Dunn Structural: Pond & Company MEP: Pond & Company Civil: Pond & Company Landscape: Pond & Company Audio: Visual: TSAV Cost Estimator: Palacio Collaborative PHOTOGRAPHER Jim Roof Creative

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the programs. Whereas a conventional two story steel frame structure houses the sciences and administrative components.

Metal siding, combined with brick further fuses together both the trades and sciences wings resulting in a cohesive building skin. Translucent panels infuse the think labs with daylight and are also utilized in a dramatic welcome canopy.

The rear (service) side of the facility further incorporates metal as a cost effective envelope solution.

A GOOD STEWARD OF THE ENVIRONMENT The building complies with the State of Georgia Energy and Environmental Sustainability Act of 2008, and incorporates low water consumption fixtures, and local materials. A wellinsulated envelope and extensive use of daylight throughout, further contribute to long term energy savings.

OCTOBER TOUR

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ZUCKERMAN MUSEUM OF ART I

n just the last year, an unlikely arts scene has emerged more than twenty-file miles north-west of downtown Atlanta. On the campus of Kennesaw State University (KSU), the state’s third-largest public institution of higher-education, the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA) has been the impetus for this renaissance in an area of the metro formerly known more for exurban sprawl than exquisite sculptures. The ZMA, designed by Atlanta-based firm Stanley Beaman & Sears (SBS), not only brought the first art museum to a University System of Georgia institution in more than 30 years, but planted the seeds for the growth of a new cultural district in the greater Atlanta area.

In 1966, Kennesaw State University opened as a junior college; fueled by unbridled growth of the northern suburbs in the last two decades, the school has fostered an academic reputation attracting not just Georgians, but students from across the southeast. To meet the needs of the blossoming student population, KSU has focused on bolstering basic campus needs such as dormitories, dining halls and academic spaces as the campus flourished — construction on campus has been omnipresent in an attempt to provide for the student body, now numbering more than 30,000.

By 2010, the University’s permanent art collection, established in 1984, had grown to fill three galleries spread across the campus. With almost 1,000 students enrolled in the College of Arts, the arrangement was less than ideal and did little justice for the growing

prestige of the program. Bernard A Zuckerman, a local philanthropist, benefactor and widower of sculptress Ruth V. Zuckerman — whose works are held in the permanent collection of KSU — recognized the need for a consolidated arts space to unite the university’s collections. In 2011 Zuckerman donated $2 million to see the dream to fruition, with further support from the KSU Foundation.

The location for the museum was selected adjacent to the existing Bailey Performance Center, a music and performing arts space constructed in 2007 to serve the nearby College of Arts. Small but prominent, the selected site sits on a hill above a main street through campus, envisioned to become a tree-lined pedestrian mall, which connects the residential and academic districts of campus. With the location, the University, planning to build more than just an art museum for the campus, intended the Zuckerman Museum to “be a strong addition to the cultural fabric of the community,” said director Justin Rabideau, who, with his staff, played a hands-on role in the design process.

Stanley Beaman & Sears rose to the challenges presented by site, budget, project scale and the ambitious goals of the institution. With community outreach a primary goal, Betsy Beaman, AIA, a principal of SBS, stated that the architects conceived the building to stand out from the predominantly red-and-beige brick buildings which compose the campus. In that goal, the museum is a resounding success.

Distinctive, though far from out of place, SBS contextualized the building

KEY SPEAKERS Betsy Beaman and Teresa Bramlette Reeves, Stanley Beaman & Sears, Inc. PROJECT STATISTICS - Completed November 2012 - 9,200 square feet/ AWARDS AIA GA Annual Design Awards - Citation, 2014 PROJECT TEAM Owner: Kennesaw State University Architect: Stanley Beaman & Sears, Inc. Contractor: Possibility Construction Structural: Uzun & Case MEP: Newcomb & Body Civil: Eberly & Associates Landscape: Eberly & Associates PHOTOGRAPHER Katie Bricker Tessaro, Katie Bricker Photography Jonathan Hillyer, Jonathan Hillyer Photography, Inc.

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to its surroundings through appropriation and redeployment of proximate campus design elements — the cadence of an existing retaining wall, the striations on the big brick volume of the theater of the Bailey, etc. — onto the façade of the Zuckerman Museum.

Although the 9,200-square-foot building slips into the side of a hill crowned by the much larger mass of the Bailey Performance Center, the museum immediately asserts itself with its striking bold black and glossy white façade. Rotated off-axis, the building directly addresses a main vehicular entry to the campus, announcing arrival at the new “Arts District.” A two-story glass atrium highlighting the public circulation space and entrance stands at the corner of the building, adjacent to the parking lot and primary pedestrian path. The entrance is marked by an unobtrusive awning created by a subtle outward cant of the upper portion of the façade.

The exterior materials indicate the function of the straightforward interior spatial arrangement. Most of the façade at ground level is composed of black concrete block, lending a sense of stability and rigidity to the edifice, appropriately enwrapping the storage and support spaces. The second floor, which contains the gallery space, is veiled in light white metal panels, providing excellent contrast to the heavy massing below. The parapet is crenelated in a pattern based on the Fibonacci sequence. Adding a layer of texture, the design move pays homage to the importance of the mathematical phenomena in nature, visual art and music.

Inside, the highlight of the building is the light-filled second floor gathering space, which connects the entry stair to the Bailey Performance Center. Light filters through frosted glazing on the east side of the building, while across a terrace to the west, patrons catch a glimpse of Kennesaw Mountain. The space is used for visual art exhibits as well as

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performance art pieces; Rabideau likens it to a “laboratory” for all art forms. In expectation of further growth, the space is situated to become a central lobby between two wings of an expanded museum.

A space as much for education as exhibition, the “laboratory” is often used for lectures and outreach programs in conjunction with the adjoining single gallery space. The gallery is a large room painted a light gray with polished concrete floors and a ceiling of exposed systems: an understated space designed for flexibility while allowing the focus to be decidedly on the art. For the opening exhibition, Seeing Through Walls, the space was divided by semi-permanent partitions with the perimeter walls painted a deep-blue to serve as a backdrop for works from the collection, hung salon-style. The gallery has since demonstrated its versatility, having been reconfigured to accommodate both larger installations and multi-media displays.

The opening of the museum was hailed by the greater arts community and noted by Architectural Record, the Atlanta JournalConstitution and Arts Atlanta — the city’s preeminent art news and critique publication.

Success was not without controversy, with a highly publicized art censorship debate which arose surrounding the removal of Ruth Stanford’s “A Walk in the Valley” before the opening of the gallery. No great triumph can be without adversity, and upon reinstatement of the installation, the museum has garnered nothing but positive attention with a myriad of exhibitions in the intervening year.

Recognized by AIA Georgia with a Citation of Excellence for 2014, the museum has attracted attention from the architectural community among nationally recognized high-profile projects which also opened in Atlanta last year. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the greater-Atlanta community has recognized the importance of the space. Patron numbers have tripled in the year since the opening and the

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museum was recognized as the “Best New Art Museum” by Atlanta Magazine. In December 2014, Curbed Atlanta listed the Zuckerman among the top ten “Biggest Development Debuts” of the year, putting it among high-profile downtown developments such as Freelon Group’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights and tvsdesign’s National College Football Hall of Fame.

The ZMA was built to be an iconic addition to the KSU campus. The goal was ultimately realized through major collaboration of University stakeholders, museum staff, donors and the design team of Stanley Beaman & Sears. A small fish in the big pond of Atlanta cultural institutions, the Zuckerman Museum of Art at Kennesaw State University has, in just a year, established a name for itself and has already become a beacon for art for the region.

NOVEMBER TOUR

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MONASTERY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT T

he Monastery of the Holy Spirit soars with beauty, brilliance, and a remarkable history. In 1944, twenty-one monks left Kentucky to establish a Trappist monastery in the idyllic hills of Conyers, Georgia. They began the construction work of the Gothic-inspired Abbey Church, Cloister, and the Dormitory in 1945 as mere amateurs. Using the exterior shell design from the Atlanta-based architectural firm Logan & Williams, the monks at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit poured the concrete structure, constructed the deep walnutfinish ceiling, and installed the terrazzo floor to complete the “Georgia’s Most Significant Concrete Structure” in 1961.

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A walk inside the Abbey Church provokes awe and amazement. Blue, purple, and rose tones of filtered light from upper- and lower-level stain glass windows cascade into the Nave. Each window expresses the individual stain glass design created by a monk during construction. These cool tones amplify the contrasting color of the pointed concrete arches supporting the dark wood ceiling. Soothing to the spirit and the eye, the tranquil light also makes a beautiful contrast with the warm light at the Apse.

The yellow, red, and orange tones of the stain glass light around the altar exude the inspiration and joy of the monastic community.

Each year, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit attracts visitors by the tens of thousands to reflect, relax, and learn about the monastic experience during retreats, field trips, and community events in partnership with a non-profit Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance. To better promote their tradition, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit hired Jones Pierce Architects, LLC for the design of the Monastic Heritage Center on the grounds of the monastery. The architect welcomed the ambitious project goals, and created a graceful composition of LEED-targeted new buildings, rehabilitated 87

structures, and refined outdoor spaces at the site called the Monastic Heritage Center using a primary palette of concrete, wood, plaster, and metal siding.

Visitors walk through a modern colonnade framed in concrete columns around a greenspace to enter the Visitor Center at the Monastic Heritage Center.

The elegant Lobby radiates with sunlight providing a visual and spatial anchor to the exhibits, the Media Room, and the Conference Room. Adding warmth to the Lobby, a wooden ceiling references the ceiling finish in the historical Abbey Church.

More impressive exhibits await the public as they proceed into the Bonsai Garden and the Monastic Museum. Formerly the barn where the monks lived for six months, the Monastic Museum showcases historical artifacts from the construction of the monastery, thought-provoking displays about the monastic life, an amazing structural system for this adaptive reuse project, and magnificent stain glass windows designed by one of the monks who helped to build the Abbey Church.

Visiting the Monastic Heritage Center and the Abbey Church motivates the public to make a stop into the Abbey Store and Cafe at the border of the colonnade.

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KEY SPEAKERS Cooper Pierce, AIA, Jones Pierce Architects; Father Methodius, Monastery of the Holy Spirit; Father Callistius, Monastery of the Holy Spirit; Melody Harclerode, AIA, Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance PROJECT STATISTICS - Abbey Church, Cloister and Dormitory completed 1961 - Monastic Heritage Center completed 2011 - 24,400 total square feet consisting of: - Visitor’s Center: 4,800 - Historic Barn: 2,700 - Big Barn: 7,200 - Abbey Store: 5,100 - Abbey Café: 1,800 - Greenhouse and Bonsai Center: 2,800 PROJECT TEAMS Owner: Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance Consultant: Silverman Construction Program Management Abbey Church, Cloister and Dormitory Shell Design Architect: Logan & Williams The Monastic Center Architect: Jones Pierce Architects Contractor: Gay Construction Structural: Stability Engineering MEP: Leppard Johnson & Associates Civil: SEI – Southeast Engineering, Inc. Landscape: Sean Murphy with SEI PHOTOGRAPHER Lee Grider

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Jones Pierce Architects accents the exterior plaster finish with aluminum siding referencing the roofing material on the historical barns. Taking cues from the historical Abbey Church and Refectory, Jones Pierce Architects employs exposed wood trusses, terrazzo flooring, and Shaker-style dining furnishings. With the displays in the Abbey Store, exhibits throughout the Monastic Heritage Center, and upcoming monthly public architectural tours, visitors appreciates how the times change, but the diligent spirit of the monks at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit endures.

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2016

AIA ATLANTA EVENTS AIAATL.ORG/EVENTS

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

BOX LUNCHES NORTHEAST SECTION MEETING PRINCIPALS ROUNDTABLE SORTAA

BOX LUNCHES COTE LUNCH NORTHEAST SECTION MEETING NWW WINE TASTING PRINCIPALS ROUNDTABLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT DRAFTING CLUB YAF/MODA DESIGN CONVERSATION

BOX LUNCHES EMERGING VOICES NETWORKING WOMEN NORTHEAST SECTION MEETING PRINCIPALS ROUNDTABLE SORTAA WEDNESDAY NIGHT DRAFTING CLUB YOUTH ARCHITECTURE FAIR

BOX LUNCHES COTE LUNCH HSSDC AWARDS CEREMONY NORTHEAST SECTION MEETING PRINCIPALS ROUNDTABLE RESIDENTIAL DESIGN SUBMISSIONS TOUR SERIES VISION FOR ATLANTA WEDNESDAY NIGHT DRAFTING CLUB YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM