AIANYS Winter 2016 Quarterly

WINTER 2016

In This Issue: Women Designing the Future Stem Ideology And Its Impact On Architecture A New Way Forward for Disaster and Recovery And much more

Credit: CSArch Renderings of Queensbury Union Free School District High School Classroom and Nanotechnology Suite at the New Center for Advanced Technology at Mohonasen

From the President

From the Executive Director

am honored to be the AIA New York State President for 2016. The State’s leadership is as strong as it has ever been and your Chapters are in great hands. Most of the elements of the strategic plan are now in place with a Vice President assigned to each portfolio and the staff has grown, bringing able support to the State Component. The new Board of Directors are bringing vitality, energy and many new ideas. I have great expectations for the year ahead.

he brain is a funny thing; just when you have some quiet time it decides to kick into high gear and you are off analyzing and planning for the next project, or initiative. Admittedly, I am an “analyzer”, not necessarily a second guess person, one who reviews projects we have finished and try to figure out if we might do something different the next time to make a program or service even better on the next roll out. A few weekends ago on a dreary Saturday with a bit of quiet, thinking time, my brain went into analysis mode.

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Now is a critical time for architects because many of the 21st century challenges concern the built environment. In Paris, COP 21 recognized how our buildings and cities are designed is critically important to curb GHG emissions and slow climate change.

It is heartening that our governmental leaders, from the Mayor of New York City to the Governor in Albany, are discussing resilient communities, low energy buildings, renewable alternatives. Now is the time for architects to show leadership in these fields and advocate for a sustainable future.

It is important the public understands the role of an architect in building strong communities and this year we will focus our efforts on illustrating the impact of sustainable and resilient architecture so the value of our work is understood. Our government advocacy efforts will continue to protect the profession of architecture and we will maintain a presence at all levels of government as we look to enhance our legislative agenda.

The upcoming year promises to provide you with improvements to your member benefits. AIANYS will be rolling out technological and educational enhancements to better serve you as AIA members. These services will help us communicate better, learn more efficiently and broaden your knowledge base.

I am privileged to be representing you on behalf of the AIA New York State Component. I look forward to hearing from you and welcome your feedback.

Margaret O’Donoghue Castillo FAIA, LEED, AP

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Many changes have come to the American Institute of Architects in the last few years.

Here at the State Component, progressive Boards have made decisions which will change how we operate, enhance our ability to interact with members across the state and have identified the staff resources necessary to put not only these decisions into action, but also keep the “move forward” momentum going.

In 2013, with a portfolio based plan in place, we started to build the staff team with the addition of Michael Burridge to work with the Government Advocacy portfolio. Mike came to the State Component after serving five years and six legislative sessions in the NYS Assembly. Mike started with AIANYS as its first Government Advocacy Coordinator and this year he was named Director of Government Affairs. He works closely with Richard Leckerling, Esq. and Kate Herlihy, Esq., the AIANYS Legislative Counsel. Mike is a graduate of the College of St. Rose with a major in Political Science/ History where he was recognized as Outstanding Senior.

David Hodgkinson joined the staff as the Director of Finance, and with the Budget and Finance Committee and Board is responsible for all of the financial reports and processes of AIANYS. Dave holds a Master of Science Degree in Accounting from the College of St Rose.

In 2015 Nicholas Isaacs came on board and has forged ahead to change the look of AIANYS to the public via our new interactive website and also launched a more profession focused newsletter that is published twice a month. During 2016 Nick’s focus will be to work with the Public Advocacy portfolio to further bring the message of the importance of architects and architecture to the public. Nick earned his MBA with a concentration in Marketing from the University at Albany.

With the Board’s strategic decision to more fully seek education offerings at the Annual Conference and develop education partnering opportunities as well as fulfill the initiatives of the Knowledge Portfolio, Cara Longobardi was hired to bring both of those programs to fruition. Cara brought to the position four years of experience working for another Albany based association. Cara holds a Bachelor of Arts from Marist College.

This year Michele Brown, who has been a staff member for over ten years, took on the additional responsibilities of Special Projects Manager. Heading up the team effort for the Design Awards programs, Membership Directory, conference registrations and membership reports, she is our in-house software expert.

You can easily see that AIA New York State is an organization on the move.

Membership is at an all-time high, technology will continue to enhance the way we deliver services and actually improve more one-on-one communication with members.

We will always ask: what can we do better, how can we do it better and what do you need us to do?

Yes, there is nothing like a quiet day to focus on the road ahead, take a quick look back and always have a clear picture that you, the members of The Institute, are what we are all about. I hope to see many of you this year during my travels to Chapters and at AIA events.

Georgi Ann Bailey, CAE Executive Director

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Women Designing the Future

n doing research for this article on women in architecture, I had the opportunity to interview some dynamic women of the AIA who have very unique perspectives. Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA was the 2014 AIA National President, an AIA Fellow and currently is the Executive Vice President/ CEO of AIA Virginia; Kelly Hayes McAlonie, FAIA, who is the Director of the Capital Planning Group at the University at Buffalo and a past president of AIANYS, and given TEDx talks on women in architecture; Nancy Goshow, AIA, founding partner of Goshow Architects, a progressive leader and an advocate of women in the profession; Jessica Sheridan, AIA, Architect and Project Manager for Gensler, author and the AIANYS Regional Representative to the AIA Strategic Council; and Margaret O’Donoghue Castillo, FAIA, AIANYS President and the Chief Architect in the New York City Department of Design and Construction.

The Missing 32%, a report started by Rosa Sheng, AIA, was a jumping off point about inclusion in the profession. Her report empirically demonstrated a realized number of women in the AIA, between 12 and 18 percent. In speaking to these dynamic women, I asked how the profession could remedy this situation. Helene explained it just was not that easy or straight forward. She explained 50% of architectural programs are made up of women, yet only 18% of AIA members are female. Why? Helene points out major areas of improvement needed to bridge the inequality gap. First is the need to better prepare students in college programs. Schools

Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA

Kelly Hayes McAlonie, FAIA

Nancy Goshow, AIA

A major challenge in the profession is the lack of an acceptable work-life balance, a major hurdle to women in the field.

Helene explained a better work life balance is needed, “The typical life of an architect is not conducive for raising a family; women become more aware of the demands both personally and professionally.” She felt when women left the profession to start a family it was hard for them to come back into the profession.

Nancy noted that as women with young children, women planning on having children, younger professionals, and Millennials enter the workforce, “Old-school” philosophies, where only work defines you, will not entice a new generation of employees because millennials have embraced a fundamentally different perspective about work life balance.

The new generation expects a more balanced personal life than previous generations, as, for the first time, the millennials are outnumbering the baby boomers in the current workforce and will be even more prevalent in the future workforce.

Jessica Sheridan, AIA

Margaret O’Donoghue Castillo, FAIA

Photo: KC Pratt

must wholly invest in each student, including specific focus on programs which promote and support licensure, real-world experience and professionalism.

Helene explains there is a need for a better mentoring program geared towards women. Shared knowledge and a “how-to-succeed” road map would benefit women by learning through the experiences of other women in the profession.

Kelly Hayes McAlonie agrees, saying it is important to include diversity into what architects do, for the benefit of the built environment and the health of the general population. “When any profession is dominated by a single group, a culture of myopic views prevails.” The need for more mentorship programs for women in the profession is certainly needed.

Nancy Goshow explains, “You need to show women coming out of school or starting out in the profession a strategy to achieve success. We need to equip them with the tools required to become an architect and a business professional.”

Margaret O’Donoghue Castillo said, “I am glad to see the AIA is addressing this issue. There are very few women in leadership roles not only in our professions, but in many industries. We need to identify the problem in the corporate structure.”

Jessica adds, “The younger generations, my generation included, still sees a large divide, though it has been getting better. I think we’re all in agreement it is still not quite an equal playing field for women. But Nancy is accurate where Millennials and Generation X’ers expect more flexibility, work-life balance, for both men and women.”

So how do we resolve the work-life balance? Nancy says, “It’s simple. We had to figure out how to manage projects in a different and, ultimately, a more efficient way. We introduced more flexible work schedule policies, by allowing our employees to work from home on an as-needed basis. We have found those staff members who choose to use our flexible work schedule work more efficiently and responsibly than those who do not.”

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Women Designing the Future continued from page 3 When speaking about a work share program for mothers, Helene explained, “There is a trend toward work and life balance in Australia right now. A firm there allows for shared work to give women more time with their family.”

This would give balance and alleviate time constraints in a demanding profession.

Kelly was one of the women, resulting in her being a research partner, urging Mattel to create a Barbie I Can Be….Architect, as a model in the professional line of dolls in 2012. She brought architecture to children, showing them what design was from the earliest of ages. She wants to show children what architects do and the importance of what architects contribute to our culture.

Nancy agrees in that, “being a mother, especially a single mother, and an architect is not conducive to life. Gone are the days where the wife is at home and if you don’t invest in women as mothers, good people will not stay. Babies are good for business.”

Beyond early childhood education, Helene explained higher learning institutions could do a better job guiding architecture students to licensure.

Investment in the students will pay dividends within the profession by getting a more rounded and prepared student coming out of schools.

Nancy and Goshow Architects have installed a childcare program within their office to support new families through those early years before Pre-K enrollment begins and to fill that stressful gap in childcare which often evaporates at the last minute. New parents bring their children to work to a shared childcare provider who cares for them in a special room outfitted with toys, books, nap mats, cribs, play-pens while the parents practice architecture just steps away. Progressive thought and action has allowed Goshow Architects to retain and recruit talented design professionals by investing in mothers and fathers, and showing them that they are all valued. Goshow Architects is a family friendly firm because they are excited about supporting new parents so they can have both family and profession. Nancy believes that “Babies are good for business because their presence is a morale booster, they foster a mood of optimism and joy in the entire staff. Everyone is smiling and happy to greet them, hold them, play with them. We get to watch them grow, learn to walk and talk. This has strengthened employee engagement at Goshow Architects. It is our way to develop women leaders in the profession.

Margaret explains, “Accommodations must be made to keep the talented women in architecture. It’s not about hours billed, rather quality of design and imaginative nature of problem solving. It’s about investment in your employees.”

So how do we change? Change is usually thought as uncomfortable. Can we think of this as less change and more evolution? There would be vast benefits, which would include personnel, the quality of design, innovative perspectives and, maybe most importantly, to the end user of the places and spaces designed.

Margaret tells, “We need to find out what happens between schools and partnership. If there are 50% women in school, why aren’t there 50% women partners? We need to research the career paths taken and see where the profession is losing these talented women.”

Helene also explained instilling architecture as a curriculum component and what it can bring into school age girls. “We need to bring architecture to children. I’d like to see STEAM instead of STEM”, referring to adding “A” for architecture into the trendy STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) acronym. Helene wants to see younger women and the younger generations more informed and interested about architecture. “We need to look broader, as it will attract women, yes, but we should also be looking at them as future clients.”

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She explained a change in firm culture is needed to encourage women to succeed. Firms need to take young professionals and survey, study and report on what methods are working and are not to make a better architect.

Previous behaviors have been learned in a male dominated culture and we need to, somehow, change the culture to become less stifling, creating a better environment to learn and nurture learning. Forming mentoring programs which foster relationships so younger female architects can facilitate knowledge sharing and a common bond around the challenges of being a woman in a male dominated industry.

Kelly expanded, in saying, “More women in peripheral industries are rising within the corporate ranks. This means an increasing number of women are becoming clients as well. They will not want to work with a singularly minded company.”

Jessica’s insight, “I have optimism for the future. The generations moving up through the rank have a much more accepting outlook on gender and work-life issues. Holistically, we are changing the discussion about work and life, not just about family. Our generation, as managers, sees the value of work, life and family life, and the balance they all require for a successful employee.”

Nancy’s pragmatic view on architecture professionals is simply this: “A big issue right now is we are short on architectural professionals. Many firms will have no choice but to hire and promote women. This need for talent will drive change to work life balance demands of working parents. If talented design professionals are needed and those professionals seek greater flexibility in their work life, then the profession will be forced to change to support parents, especially women. Children deserve to be nurtured by BOTH parents. Employers need to focus on performance accountability and then trust their employees to perform their work responsibly within a flexible work schedule and not rely on the old idea that working long hours under a rigid task master will get the job done.”

There are many instances of how work and life parallel and affect us in many ways. We encourage our children to explore, to question, to be creative, to express themselves. Why are we not bringing those fundamental objectives to the workplace? We want our children to see mom as “my mom the accountant”, “my mom the teacher” or “my mom the architect.” Companies are becoming more progressive in the way all their employees are treated and their work environment is constructed. We should encourage change to include work life balance, acceptance of a family into the workplace family, not view somebody as an employee with a family. An inclusive work environment will encourage creativity.

Women are leading change. Helene said, “Women in the AIA have the desire and the will to transform not only their own roles but the profession as a whole, as well. The profession of architecture will be enriched by the differing perspectives that women bring, yes. But ultimately, the benefits of a more balanced profession will accrue to the advantage of those we serve – our clients and the greater public.”

STEM Ideology And Its Impact On Architecture An Interview with CSArch

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IANYS Staff had the opportunity to speak with two senior architects about STEM ideology and its impact on architecture. As design leaders of CSArch, an Albany, New York based firm that specializes in educational facilities design, Tina Mesiti-Ceas, AIA, and Ronald Bagoly, AIA, both of the Eastern New York Chapter, shared their insights on this interdisciplinary, handson approach to education.

spaces to serve multiple audiences. The intended users of the Center for Advanced Technology include high school students from Mohonasen Central School District, college students from Schenectady County Community College, and students from Capital Region BOCES. All intended users need to be thoughtfully considered when addressing the issue of facility access to ensure security.

The STEM acronym represents science, technology, engineering, and math, but CSArch believes STEM education truly applies to all subjects and influences all educational environments. As it becomes more mainstream and as new research is published, designers are challenged to remain relevant and meet client needs and expectations.

“This concept of a shared, multi-use facility aligns with the interdisciplinary approach to STEM education, but it also allows project owners to share project funding and combat the steep expenses of STEM design,” says Bagoly. The need for advanced equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters certainly impact overall project costs, but design expectations drive up costs, too.

“More and more, our designs are incorporating glass to support transparency.” says Bagoly. “Glass is expensive, but it’s important to allow others to see what’s going on in the specialized STEM areas and to attract students. It also supports supervision needs with clear sightlines.”

“Fundamentally, the design process for STEM spaces is the same,” says Mesiti-Ceas. “But it begins much earlier because of the complexities brought about by STEM. We go through an extensive planning period with faculty, students, and administration. This allows us to place a greater emphasis on investigation to explore how all the disciplines, departments and resources will interact, how the curriculum will ultimately be applied, and how the infrastructure relates.”

In addition to all of the current considerations and needs, designers are expected to consider the future, too, such as projected enrollment growth. That is why the design of flexible space is so crucial. “Furniture is so important,” Tina explains, adding that she often engages furniture companies in the process because their products are developed in response to STEM research. “Clients want more moveable furniture to support both formal and informal interaction, to stimulate discussion and collaboration, and to make it easy to transform a room’s configuration to accommodate instruction needs.”

What’s most challenging is balancing these considerations and expectations with the project budget, building code, energy efficiency, and safety needs. “Safety is paramount,” says Bagoly.

“Opening hallways and adding glass provides visibility, but when you’re in a lockdown situation, it’s no longer desirable.”

Mesiti-Ceas adds, “While we try to accommodate the wants and needs of everybody, sensibility must prevail. And part of that means going back to the basics – designing spaces for student success, spaces that inspire and challenge students and engage them in STEM early on.”

Modern technology is integral to STEM design and applying it to flexible spaces can be challenging. “These spaces require an extremely thorough examination of the technology integration,” says Bagoly. “The technical considerations happen right from the get-go.” Bagoly referenced the Mohonasen Center for Advanced Technology, a project designed by CSArch, which, upon completion in Fall 2016, will incorporate writable, magnetic surfaces, smartboards, 3D printers, and multiple projectors that students will access wirelessly from their own personal devices. The facility will feature state-of-the-art, high-tech labs and classrooms to support 21st century learning.

Technology and infrastructure play an important role within and outside these spaces. “Our engineers are involved early in the planning stage to integrate technology and infrastructure to support research, instruction, experiments and, individual and group study,” says Bagoly. “We recognize the importance that infrastructure plays on producing high-quality results for experiments and research and on creating a healthy and safe environment for students and faculty.”

Access is another key technical and design consideration. In addition to serving multiple disciplines, it’s not unusual for STEM

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A New Way Forward for Disaster Response and Recovery

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espite the outpouring of support from AIA New York State (AIANYS) members and extensive lobbying efforts, legislation to extend liability protections to licensed design professionals during times of disaster continues to be challenged in the State Assembly. In the State Senate the story has played out differently, as the chamber passed two different bills this year—the Good Samaritan Act and the Emergency Responder Act. The latter bill would extend protections to both licensed design professionals and individuals providing materials and manpower. With the severe weather season approaching, response and recovery capacity must be expanded, and if it cannot be done through the Legislature, then it is imperative to look toward other opportunities to help our communities in times of need.

The Code Enforcement Disaster Assistance Response (CEDAR) program within the Department of State’s Division of Building Standards and Codes, provides an opportunity for licensed design professionals to train and become certified in Rapid Evaluation Safety Assessments for buildings damaged by man-made and natural disasters. The program was formalized in 2012 and added to the State’s Disaster Response Plan. The Department of State provides workman’s compensation and indemnification for responders while they are deployed.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, fifty-three CEDAR volunteers were deployed to Long Island to assess the damage. Some 13,000 residential and commercial buildings were evaluated over the course of eleven days. Combine that with the response efforts for Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, and the number rises to 148 volunteers and 26,000 assessed structures. Hurricane Sandy alone damaged or destroyed about 305K housing units in New York and 346K in New Jersey, highlighting a gaping hole in civilian response capacity.

The Department of State recognizes the value of having a partnership with the design professional community and is looking to partner with AIANYS to broaden outreach and interest. In order to become a CEDAR volunteer you must: (1) Complete two national Incident Management System (NIMS) prerequisite courses (ICS-700 and ICS-100); (2) Complete the CEDAR Application and Employer Release Form; (3) Successfully complete a 6-hour orientation training course.

For more information on how to become a CEDAR volunteer contact Eric Bradshaw, Disaster Response Coordinator at (518) 474-4073 or Eric.Bradshaw@dos.ny.gov

What You Need to Know About the State Budget Proposal CONSTRUCTION

Infrastructure Investments The 2016-17 State Budget lays out an ambitious plan to address the infrastructure needs across the state. The governor is seeking design-build authority to expand the Javits Center, and redevelop Penn Station and the James A. Farley Post Office into a transportation hub called the Empire Station Complex. In order to establish parity between the investments downstate, the governor also proposes to make significant infrastructure investments upstate.

The NYS Design & Construction Corporation Act Under the governor’s proposal a new DASNY subsidiary called the New York State Design & Construction Corporation would be created to provide project oversight on all state construction projects costing $50 million or more.

PROCUREMENT

Procurement Stewardship Act and Procurement Lobbying This year’s budget seeks to permanently extend these laws which were enacted in 1995 which place restrictions on communications in the procurement process between bidding vendors or potential bidders and contracting agencies.

Vendor ID Study The governor is seeking authorization to study the feasibility of assigning a single identifying code for contractors, vendors and other payees in an effort to track expenditures.

M/WBE Utilization Expansion While not included in the governor’s budget proposal, the governor announced his intentions to introduce legislation to extend the 30% M/WBE utilization goal for state agencies and public authorities to school districts and municipalities.

ENVIRONMENT

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Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Account The governor proposes to establish a new Climate Change

Mitigation and Adaptation Account within the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) in order to fund: • Projects to reduce greenhouse gases • Local waterfront revitalization plans • Adaptive infrastructure • Resiliency planning projects • Climate resilient farms • State vulnerability assessments –and• Projects to implement the Community Risk and Resiliency Act of 2014.

The proposed funding level for the new account is $32.5 million.

LABOR

Minimum Wage The governor proposes to phase-in an increase to the minimum wage statewide to $15 by 2021. The full phase-in for NYC is set for 2018.

Paid Family Leave The governor is proposing a plan to require employers to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave to participate in or provide care for a family member with a serious health condition or to bond with a child in the first 12 months after birth or adoption. The benefit would be based on a percentage of the average weekly wage as calculated by the NYS Department of Labor. The percentage would begin at 35% in 2018 and rise to 50% by 2021. The benefit would be funded through a payroll deduction assessed against the employee.

Small Business Tax Cut The governor proposes to reduce the corporate income tax rate for small businesses from 6.5% to 4% for small businesses with incomes less than $290,000 and creates a blended rate between 4% and 6.5% for businesses with incomes between $290,000 and $390,000.

Hire-A-Vet Credit The governor proposes to extend the Hire-A-Vet tax credit by 2 years. The credit is 10% of wages paid to qualified veterans.

Conquer the Code Before it Conquers You

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e are pleased to announce the first “Conquering the Energy” Code sessions have been scheduled.

Conquering the Energy Code is the essential energy code in-person training curriculum. Drawing on high-performance building and energy code expertise, the course provides participants with a vital understanding of every major change and challenging provision of 2015 IECC. The program is developed and managed by Urban Green Council, owned and funded by NYSERDA, and delivered through AIA New York State and local chapters and firms across the state.

Under contract with NYSERDA, Urban Green Council has developed an interactive curriculum and delivery process with the goal of training over 5,000 architects and engineers between October 2015 and August 2017 across NYS to comply with the new state energy code based on the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) 2015.

What will you learn?

• Describe the structure and rationale behind the energy code; • Differentiate the various compliance pathways and describe the requirements for compliance; • Recognize the interdependence of the building envelope, mechanical and lighting systems and their impacts on energy consumption; and • Sharpen communication and coordination practices as related to clients, the design team, code officials and the construction team to remove barriers to compliance Conquering the Energy Code is offered in two versions – Commercial and Residential. Each class is available for just $75 and will earn participants 7 LUs/HSW & 7 GBCI CE Credits.

The Commercial version of the course was initially offered

by AIANYS during our 2015 Design Conference in Saratoga Springs last fall. The course sold out and garnered some of the most favorable reviews of the 3 ½ day event.

AIA Central NY is sponsoring first session at King + King Architects in Syracuse on February 9. Register here - http:// urbangreencouncil.org/content/events/conquering-energy-codecommercial-architects-and-engineers-15 Chianis + Anderson Architects, PLLC is sponsoring a session in Binghamton on March 10, at the Double Tree- Binghamton.

Register here- http://urbangreencouncil.org/content/events/ conquering-energy-code-commercial-architects-and-engineers-19.

Courses in Rochester, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Additional courses in the Southern & Central NY Chapters are also forthcoming. All additional offerings will be posted on the AIANYS Calendar and sent via the biweekly AIANYS Newsletter.

Be prepared for the upcoming changes and continue to offer the service that your clients have come to expect. If you are interested in learning more about these programs, please call Cara Longobardi, Education Programs Manager, at 518-449-3334 or clongobardi@ aianys.org.

Please visit the Urban Green Council’s Conquering the Energy Code website for further details about the classes and curriculum. http://urbangreencouncil. org/education/energy-code.

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Sustainability

By: Marcus Marino, AIA, Staten Island Chapter

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ustainability goes far beyond the mere protection of our built environment from the ravages of Mother Nature’s storms. A multiple approach to life as we move forward is required to be able to leave the next generation a healthy earth to live on.

These areas include: storms, global warming and pollution, recycling and landfills, basic human health and urban environment.

STORMS

Superstorm Sandy was the rallying cry of sustainability in our country and held a special place in hearts here in New York. Over twenty people died from the storm, hundreds of thousands of us were left in the dark for days, as the electrical system failed due to flooding of a major electrical facility in Manhattan, and hospitals, which are most needed in times of crises were unusable and needed to be evacuated.

More recently winter storm Juno intensified with unexpected speed leaving a swath of the most densely populated part of our country from North Carolina to Boston with a hazardous layer of ice, under forty inches of snow and damage from wind gusts which approached seventy-five miles an hour. Communities on Long Island and New Jersey experienced coastal flooding from a combination of higher than normal high tides due to the coincidence of a full moon and the wind driven waves of seawater.

In fact, some communities in New Jersey experienced higher tides then they even did during Superstorm Sandy.

The AIA was at the forefront of informing the citizenry and government officials of the dangers we face from future storms starting over a decade ago. The AIA had started to spread the message through a program for its members titled “Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk” encouraging sustainability in all areas.

GLOBAL WARMING AND POLLUTION

We are presently enjoying the financial benefits of crude oil around thirty dollars a barrel (as I am writing), yet we must remember fossil fuels by definition are a limited resource. Fossil fuels were created over many millions of years and even though we keep finding more as we enhance the technology of drilling there will come a time when we will be using up the reserves far faster than we are finding new sources and the supple will run out. There is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine or unlimited resources of naturally found substances from under the ground. Even though you may be among the limited number of people who do not believe global warming is at least partially caused by the burning of fossil fuels, you must acknowledge the fact that burning fossil fuels causes air pollution. Cleaner air is better for all of us and even more so for the children and the elderly.

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In coordination with New York State’s Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) the AIANYS is arranging for training seminars throughout the state on various methods of attacking energy efficiency in buildings. These include passive house design, reducing a buildings carbon footprint and a healthier indoor environment.

RECYCLING AND LANDFILLS

Landfills throughout the country are closing as they are reaching capacity, as well as, effecting the environment by pollution seeping in to the land and water systems around them. Recycling, although taking a foothold here in the United States is far from where we have to be going forward. The AIA signed on to the idea of “Cradle to Cradle” as a philosophy of looking at building materials some time ago. The idea behind “Cradle to Cradle” was a response to a growing movement of “Cradle to Grave” for building materials which encouraged the design industry to consider what would come of building materials as buildings are renovated or demolished in the future. The AIA’s take was it was too limiting. What we should be considering in selecting materials and what manufacturers should be considering as they develop products is how materials in buildings which are renovated or demolished can be used again, in some form, instead of simply heading for a landfill. This is a great start, however we have a long way to go in making our society sustainable.

BASIC HUMAN HEALTH

For our society to be truly sustainable we need to review and inspect the most basic elements of sustainability of life. That is the wholesome food chain and water resources we all need on a daily basis to sustain life and keep it healthy. According to some medical researchers, we may be entering a period of time in the United States when the children alive today may not live as long as the previous generation. We may be able to cure many childhood diseases, but cancers are on the rise. Our industrial farms are using an unprecedented quantity of insecticides and herbicides. Some ninety percent of wheat harvested in this country is done so by drenching the crop with sufficient herbicide to kill the plants. This is done so to merely make it easier to harvest with machinery than it would if the plants were still alive.

As a side effect of using pesticides, European scientists have concluded pesticides are partially to blame for honey bee hive collapse, otherwise known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

Without honey bees the majority of plants cannot be pollinated which will result in crop collapse, resulting in a major interruption in the food supply chain.

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Sustainability continued from page 8 Also, some ninety percent of the corn crops in the United States are a GMO product. Unlike seedless oranges, where a single odd tree had the branch clippings grafted to other orange trees (a somewhat “natural” process), the GMO corn has had its genetic code altered to include a strand of DNA from an insecticide to repel insects.

These techniques may increase yield, however it may be shortening our life span and quality of life.

We have many communities in our country that are literally running out of water. This has not been a constant problem here in the northeast part of the country as our droughts are few and far between. To have a truly sustainable community we must learn to conserve and reuse our fresh water supply. There are many current products and systems in the market which can be utilized for this purpose.

URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Today cities take up approximately only 2% of the surface of the earth yet they are populated by more than half of the earth’s people.

Cities produce approximately 70% of the world’s GDP. Their population is responsible for 60% of the global energy consumption and the production of 70% of all greenhouse gases and 70% of global waste. The estimates are by the middle of this century will see the four out of five people living in cities. As we have learned in our county from the last big migration to cities during the Dust Bowl days of the Depression, this leads to a mental disconnect of the

population from nature and where our food comes from. The AIA is at the forefront of helping cities reconnect with nature through our Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) Program.

Our cities need more parks and the parks should not only be areas of recreation and a natural oasis, they should become areas where we can become more connected to where food comes from. Some “green roofs” in New York City now grow vegetables, which are sold to local restaurants and grocery stores. This should be encouraged to permit the “Farm to Table” movement to become part of the fabric of the world’s cities.

CONCLUSION

Throughout history, major advancements that improved society has always started at the grassroots level and worked up through to reach government. It is our responsibility as architects to lead our communities in areas of our built environment. We should make sustainability an all-encompassing philosophy, which includes protection from the ravages of Mother Nature’s destructive events, energy conservation, renewable energy sources, recycling of natural resources and construction materials and the inclusion of the protection of our water and food chain. We need to become more aware of the latter and help educate the general public of this issue. This can all be accomplished with and through good design, without compromise, to the aesthetic nature of architecture and our built environment.

State Launches “Energy to Lead Competition”

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overnor Cuomo recently announced a new $3 million competitive grant program aimed at encouraging studentled coalitions from New York colleges and universities to design and develop innovative plans for campus and community clean energy projects. The program is being administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and will be awarding $1 million to three of the best design and business proposals.

The best proposals will provide a detailed analysis of how the project will reduce or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and how the $1 million will be used to achieve the project’s objectives.

From the Editor: The Spring issue of

Architecture New York State is looking for authors! The Spring theme is Sustainability/ Green Design/Energy Efficiency. If you have an article idea or want to author, please contact Nick Isaacs at nisaacs@aianys.org.

Each project must feature at least one undergraduate or graduate student from the college or university and be submitted by a faculty member or staff member from the participating institution. In order to broaden community collaboration, the grant program encourages the use of community members and external consultants to assist the development of the proposal.

Informational webinars will be held on Feb. 10th and March 1st.

Applications for the grant are due by 5p.m., April 4th, 2016. To register for the webinars and learn more about the program please visit the NYSERDA website www.nyserda.ny.gov/energy-to-leadcompetition .

Save the Date:

Excelsior Awards, Albany, NY May 2 AIANYS Advocacy Day, Albany, NY May 3 Design Conference, Saratoga, NY September 29 – October 1

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