PYLON: JAN|FEB|MAR 2021

PYLON

PUBLICATION OF AIA BROOKLYN WINTER 2021

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WINTER 2021

COMMITTEES

NOTES

EDITOR IN CHIEF

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

1 Letter from the Editor

Talisha L. Sainvil, AIA

Talisha L. Sainvil, AIA

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Nadeen Hassan, Assoc. AIA

CONTINUING EDUCATION COMMITTEE

4

Getting to Know You

COVER

CRAN COMMITTEE

8 Discussion Panel Summary

‘Shirley Chisholm’ mural and photo by Danielle Mastrion

David Cunningham, AIA Cortney Walleston, AIA

14 Upcoming Events

DESIGN AWARDS COMMITTEE

15 AIA National Announcements

DESIGN

KUDOS Design Collaboratory™ For future issues, we welcome submissions from our members that further our goal of supporting and guiding our community. Articles and notices may be submitted to the editor at secretary@aiabrooklyn.org. Material printed in the Pylon is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal opinion or advice.

Pylon is published by the AIA Brooklyn Chapter.

No portion may be reproduced without permission. © 2021

EXECUTIVE BOARD

David Flecha, Assoc. AIA EMERGING PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE

Nicole Gangidino, Assoc. AIA HISTORIC RESOURCES COMMITTEE Jeffrey Jacobson, Assoc. AIA MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

John H. Hatheway Jr., AIA president@aiabrooklyn.org VICE PRESIDENT

Raymond T. Peebles, AIA vp@aiabrooklyn.org

PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE

28 Urban Design: W.I.M.B.Y.

Susana Honig, AIA

38 CRAN

WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE COMMITTEE

39 Membership

Nicole Gangidino, Assoc. AIA Noushin Jafari, Assoc. AIA

40 BKYLN Design Awards

SECRETARY

PRESIDENT

Talisha L. Sainvil, AIA secretary@aiabrooklyn.org

Ida Galea, AIA VICE PRESIDENT

David Cunningham, AIA Sarah Drake, AIA David Flecha, Associate AIA Michelle Todd, AIA Pamela Weston, Associate AIA ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR

Susana Honig, AIA admindirector@aiabrooklyn.org AIA NYS REPRESENTATIVE

Jordan Parnass, AIA

35 Women In Architecture

Jane McGroarty, AIA

BROOKLYN ARCHITECTS SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC.

DIRECTORS

COMMITTEES 27 Historic Resources

Jane McGroarty, AIA treasurer@aiabrooklyn.org

TREASURER

23 Community Notes

Pamela Weston, Assoc. AIA

URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE PRESIDENT

16 Letters to Editor

Vincent Nativo, AIA TREASURER

FEATURES 152 AIA Brooklyn: Congratulations to our 2021 and 2022 Board of Directors!

158 Special Feature: A Women’s Work 178 Just One More Thing

Jane McGroarty, AIA SECRETARY

Anthony Marchese, AIA DIRECTORS

Ray Mellon Esq. Hon., AIA David Flecha, Assoc. AIA Pamela Weston, Assoc. AIA Nick Raschella, Assoc. AIA Joseph Tooma

INCORPORATED IN 1894 TO UNITE, REPRESENT, PROMOTE, AND ENHANCE THE PROFESSION AND PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE IN THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Be the Change I often think routine could be my downfall. I enjoy changing things up from time to time, ushering in the new and not settling for the mundane. Change and the element of surprise actually feels refreshing, sort of like a renewed sense of freedom and brings with it change of scenery, ideas and, for me at least, a change in spirit. After the year that we’ve had, I think we can all appreciate experiencing something new and there’s nothing like a new year to start switching things up and trying new things.

A year ago, I changed PYLON into the member magazine that it is today and with your help, I think that change was worthwhile. Many times we hold on to things as they are because that’s the way they have always been, but I believe in constantly seeking out change and innovation. This is the reason why we’re changing things up this year. In the spirit of creativity and making sure that PYLON can sustain different iterations into the future, we’ve decided to try putting out seasonal issues this year. I’m also trying out new ways of having members participate at a higher level–and I have started with having Nadeen Hassan, Assoc. AIA be a Guest Editor for this issue.

I’d like to continue making each issue this year a bit different while still holding on to the ideals that PYLON started with. I hope that you will shift gears and continue to go on this ride with me so that we can create meaningful change together! “ Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

— R OB SILTANEN

TALISHA L. SAINVIL, AIA EDITOR IN CHIEF

SECRETARY@AIABROOKLYN.ORG 718-797-4242 WWW.AIABROOKLYN.ORG 1

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Pockets of Celebrations

“ As a woman in architecture, you’re always an outsider, it’s okay, I like being on the edge.”

— Z AHA HADID

As I type my first Guest Editors letter, there are many things that I can dive into and talk about; however, the best thing I can come up with, at this very moment, is, “What a year this has been.” This past year was filled with surprises, grief, and hardships. To me, adaptation was a needed skill for many to push through.

Typically, right before the new year begins, it is a tradition for me to grab a piece of paper and pencil to set new resolutions and goals for the year. But I think it is safe to say that what we have learned from 2020 is life can be extremely unexpected and filled with surprises.

For this new year, I did not grab a piece of paper to document my resolutions for the year but focus on the small things that bring me joy. In 2021, I will try to enjoy every good moment that comes and find small pieces of joy that keep me going. This idea inspired PYLON’s first issue of 2021, reflecting on celebrations and joys that did happen in 2020: such as updates or new co-chairs from our committees including, Historic Resources, Urban Design, Women in Architecture, CRAN, and Brooklyn Design Awards.

With this issue dedicated to celebrations, I enjoyed reading about many women’s works within architecture in honor of Women History Month. It was refreshing to read about their journey, goals, accomplishments, growths, and advice for the next generation of women who want to pursue architecture.

Take a step in their shoes and read about their journeys as mothers, principals, students, and student advisors.

Finally, while you flip through this issue, I want you to think about how did you cope with all the unexpected events that happened, what brought you peace, what put you at ease, and what did you celebrate?

I think one good thing that did come out of the year was people’s connection and resilience. That personalized connection, meeting someone face to face, was missing throughout 2020. But it is remarkable to see how quickly people maintained some human interaction, even if virtual, amongst one another. I hope we connect beyond Zoom by writing and showcasing our work through PYLON. To all of my fellow AIA Brooklyn members, I urge you to continue participating in this publication. Say anything. I encourage you to celebrate and share your pockets of peace that keep you going every day.

NADEEN HASSAN ASSISTANT EDITOR

SECRETARY@AIABROOKLYN.ORG 718-797-4242 WWW.AIABROOKLYN.ORG 2

AIA BROOKLYN STATEMENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE AAPI COMMUNITY AIA Brooklyn Statement On Racial Hatred Dear AIA Brooklyn Members, The recent jarring murders of six Asian women begs the sad question, Will we ever learn to love each other? These women are hardly the first Asian people to be targeted this past year because of their race and ethnicity, but their terrible deaths have awakened us once again to the hatred, prejudice and injustice in this country that we cannot ignore and must act to end. As we stated just nine months ago and must restate now: As an organization of professionals and as human beings, we should demonstrate that we are willing to rise to the challenge that this moment in our history has presented. We must be actively anti-racist. AIA Brooklyn stands in solidarity with the Asian community by denouncing ALL racial inequality and violence.

We at AIA Brooklyn continue to be committed to intervening to bring about change. We are advocating for required continuing education to include credits in the subjects of equity, diversity, and inclusion; we are expanding the scope of our Scholarship Foundation to reach students at the high school level, in the hope of nurturing the growth of minorities in architecture while creating lasting bonds to support their success and we will continue to be an active voice in the chorus of equality, human rights and fairness for ALL. The importance of recognizing a hate crime and reporting it is made clear by Neal Katyal, Law professor and Supreme Court lawyer (from his “Courtside” podcast of 3/21/2021, on the Atlanta murders): A hate crime is “a crime of violence that is motivated by some sort of animus based on race or other characteristics; it is not a stand-alone offense, it is an enhancement of another crime… Criminal law is not just about sentences, it is about labels. It is about reflecting a person’s offense and labeling it the correct thing… The point of criminal sanctions is to make the community whole again…

You can’t bring the victims back, but you are able to reflect the gravity of the offense – to label it what it is and allow the community to repair itself. Calling these crimes just murder does not capture the gravity of what happened. The crimes are broader than the individual victim… If you see an incident, report it.”

JOHN H. HATHEWAY, JR.

TALISHA SAINVIL

PRESIDENT

SECRETARY

RAYMOND PEEBLES

JANE MCGROARTY

PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

January – March 2021

The Membership Committee asked AIA Brooklyn members to answer 10 questions in order to Get to Know Them Better.

Here’s what they had to say!

NEWLY LICENSED:

Allison B. Gorman, AIA David Y. Kim, AIA Aimee Lopez, AIA Lauren G. McClellan, AIA NEW MEMBERS:

Xian Chi, AIA Aanya Chugh, Assoc. AIA Erik S. Churchill, AIA Dennis V. Cook, Assoc. AIA Adam DeMura, Assoc. AIA Nicholas Duch, Assoc. AIA Carla Fuquene-Pena, AIA Sarah W. Gilliland, AIA Andrew D. Golson, Assoc. AIA Cheri Hawkins, AIA Sarah Holtzer, AIA Andrew Kim, Assoc. AIA Gregory J. Kiss, AIA Aman Krishan, AIA Deirdre M. McMullen, Assoc. AIA Clinton A. Miller, AIA Benjamin J. Morris, AIA Emre Ozdemir, Assoc. AIA Samantha Pearce, Assoc. AIA Aaron W. Polson, Assoc. AIA Angel Y. Rodriguez-Colon, Assoc. AIA Matthew Rosen, Assoc. AIA Gaurav Sardana, AIA Aaron Schlesinger, AIA Changyup Shin, AIA Charles V. Thornton, AIA John Tran, AIA Ursula Trost, Assoc. AIA Whitney Voss, AIA Sandra Wheeler, AIA Tom Xia, Assoc. AIA Sylvester R. Yavana, Assoc. AIA Sarah Young, Assoc. AIA Marissa N. Zane, AIA

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?

Adam Schiffmacher

I would say probably tree leaves rustling in the wind. Very calming.

Leo

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

The blend of technical building trades, art and function. The profession demands creativity, technical prowess and knowledge of how spaces function together - all tied together with the cultural ebbs and flows of society.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

The magic power to never lose any of my pens/pencils.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST WHO WOULD IT BE?

I would probably want to meet Gaudi, and talk to him about his design process.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ?

The lack of understanding by the general public about what architects actually do on a day to day basis. Close second is compromising design quality to make money - but then again, Architect’s do need to eat.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY?

A good story. Whether told through a book, film, work of art - we’re a world full of storytellers finding our own ways through different mediums to tell them.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT ?

Structural Engineer or Comedian. Those are very far apart, but you’d be surprised how much improv comedy training can bleed over into almost every aspect of life.

I think I’d try to be an Architect/Engineer that moonlights doing comedy. Or the reverse.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE?

A cabin on a lake in the middle of nowhere.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST ?

Ah that age old question. Right now, I would say Sir David Adjaye and Elizabeth Diller.

Sorry, that’s two.

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As previously stated by Sir David Adjaye, “architecture is ‘a social act’ - it’s about constructing buildings that acknowledge and understand their histories, whilst creating something entirely new, to serve communities into their futures.” This ideology is present in one of his projects, Sugar Hill MixedUse Structure located in Harlem, New York, designed by Adjaye Associates serves as a typology for affordable housing. Inspired by the neighborhood’s Gothic revival row-houses, Sugar Hill, created from a textured slab building circumscribed by graphite tinted pre-cast panels, achieves an ornamental effect.

In addition to housing, it also includes a mixed-use program of museum space, community facilities, and offices.

arrow-left D ID YOU KNOW?

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

Landry Bado

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

Aries

I wished I could teleport. It would make things so much more convenient for me!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST WHO WOULD IT BE?

My favorite part of the Architecture Profession is the impact that it has on non-architectural things. Architecture is connected to so many things and is such a big part of culture that it is part of those things that move the world.

If I could, I would want to meet Grace Jones, she’s such an icon! I imagine having a conversation about her youth and partying at Studio 54 with Andy Warhol, Naomie Campbell. etc.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

Farzam Yazdanseta Aquarius

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

Synthesizing ideas from a multitude of factors and disciplines, channeling those through representation and drawings, and bringing that to life through the physical construct.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ?

The mirage of deadlines.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ?

The field of Architecture feels very closed-off to me. In school, we would always be in studio and had very little interaction with the other students. I guess that gets carried over into the professional world. There is interaction between architects and their collaborators, but not really beyond the professional realm.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY?

Humility & Headstands.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT ?

Pilot.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY?

What I love to see the most is people that have a great sense of self and feel good in their skin. The more someone is themselves, the more inspiring they are to me.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO AT TEMPT ?

I think that pastry chef would be a very interesting profession to attempt.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE?

I love being in my bathroom. It’s the space where I feel the safest and coziest.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST ?

My favorite architect is Francis Kere. I’ve alway looked up to him because I am originally from Burkina Faso, like him. His architecture feels mindful and down to earth.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?

I love all sounds of water: rain, waves, drip. all of it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE?

Lake Como. arrow-right D ID YOU KNOW? The

headstand, a form of exercise, involves turning your body upside down. Like a yoga pose, the headstand includes many health benefits such as improve concentration levels and vision.

Furthermore, it also prevents headaches, alleviates stress and depression, enhances digestion, strengthens the upper body, spine, and core, boosts digestion.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST ?

Francis Kéré, Founder of Kéré Architecture in 2005, is a Burkinabè contemporary architect known for his holistic design and sustainable construction approach. Amongst his fascinating design projects is a temporary installation, Colorscape, located at Skylit Atrium, Perelman Building, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Designed for the Creative Africa series at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Colorscape is constructed from a simple material, multicolor steel, that proves repetition of organic and geometrical patterns can produce a moving and symbolic space.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

arrow-left D ID YOU KNOW?

Peter Eisenman.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?

At the moment, the sounds of laughter of my 3-month old niece over WhatsApp, Frida, whom I have yet to meet.

Time Travel.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST WHO WOULD IT BE?

Giuseppe Terragni, about Como’s ugly past and beautiful presence, and how he led me to Peter Eisenman.

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GETTING TO KNOW YOU CONTINUED

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

Matthew Celmer

Ayan Askarbek

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

Buildings and spaces are instrumental in people’s everyday lives, I love the idea that a small design gesture or a thoughtful solution can live on in someone’s memories and dreams for years or even decades after they move on. As a profession we have the great opportunity and responsibility to create spaces that can and should influence the habits and memories of its users.

My favorite part of the architecture profession is seeing our 2D drawings develop into a 3D object. We don’t do 3D modeling in my office and I just enjoy seeing our plans and sections end up being constructed. I enjoy making something out of nothing.

Taurus

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ?

Being overly constrained by regulations, rules, and codes.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY?

Reading literature or watching creative films – I typically seek out artists work beyond our own professional boundaries for inspiration.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO AT TEMPT ?

Film Making

Sagittarius

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST ?

My least enjoyable part of the architecture profession is dealing with clients that don’t believe in our ability to produce a great project for them.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY?

I enjoy walking. It helps me to think and relax.

Usually during my walks I try to observe buildings around me and get inspired.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT ?

I would love to be a chef, but I’m not sure I can handle the stress and pressure of that job haha WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE?

One of my favorite spaces is the Roman wing at the Met. It’s so well lit and grand.

Love the scale.

Architect: Louis Kahn, Artist: On Kawaran.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?

The opening of a soda can.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST ?

My favorite architect is Bjarke Ingles. He was one of the first people I researched that got me excited about the profession.

I wish I could look at historical buildings and be able to literally read or see the events and people that were there before us.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST WHO WOULD IT BE?

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

The filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, I would love to sit with him while watching a series of his films to hear the process of how he constructs visual frames.

I would want to be able to control the earth and metals around me. Would make my life easier when I build.

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I’d like to meet the builders behind the European cathedrals. Also just witness the production.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE?

Washington Square Park

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST WHO WOULD IT BE?

I love the sound of rivers and ocean waves.

Something about it is just so soothing.

arrow-up D ID YOU KNOW? Built

in 1905, the Boathouse in Prospect Park is amongst the first buildings in New York City declared as a historic landmark.

Influenced by the Beaux-Arts style, the Boathouse is covered by a white terracotta façade with French doors leading to a terrace overlooking the lake. Facing west, the Boathouse maximizes the park’s beauty by capturing the sunsets. Now, the Boathouse is a rental, available for an average of 150 to 225 guests for many occasions such as weddings.

arrow-left D ID YOU KNOW? Designed

by Francisco Paula del Villar and later, Antonio Gaudi, Sagrada Familia is amongst the most breathtaking cathedrals located in Barcelona, Spain. With over 150 years under construction, Sagrada Familia, the largest cathedral in Europe, is estimated to be completed by 2026. Inspired by nature, the cathedral is one meter shorter than the highest mountain in Barcelona.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

Addie Suchorab Virgo

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

Drawing! To draw through ideas at any stage of a design is such a privilege. I also love getting immersed into the world of a project and learning about the users and the place. It is fascinating to learn about all the components of a day in the life of a doctor, patient, museum visitor, student, artist, researcher, etc.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION?

It is easy to become impatient with the necessary licensing process and paperwork required. And of course, there is a long game in becoming a well-rounded professional who can tastefully and sensitively design and yet know how a building gets assembled. Often, we can have infinite architectural ideas and passion but the technical skills, software skills, and experience are necessary for successfully sharing your ideas or even making them real.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST ?

QUESTIONS INSPIRED BY

This answer changes by the minute these days with all the access to imagery online and being virtually able to visit museums or places so easily. I recently discovered the early 20th century artist Hilma af Klint and her abstract work is captivating, even today.

WANT US TO GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BETTER?

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?

When your pizza slice is ready and the metal tool sound of transferring it from the oven to the paper plate.

Brooklyn’s own Notorious B.I.G.; James Lipton, Bernard Pivot and Marcel Proust

Send an email to secretary@aiabrooklyn.org to be featured in an upcoming issue of PYLON.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

To be able to pick up any musical instrument and just play.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST WHO WOULD IT BE?

A stroll through Florence with Michelangelo would be mind-blowing and maybe I could get him to spill gossip on the Medici’s. We might even ‘accidently’ run into da Vinci and then we could have a really good debate …on everything, actually EVERYTHING. Those two seemed to know a lot about all subjects and I suspect there are things they knew about that we still don’t understand.

Materiality always gets me! I can spend hours in a creative mind looking at paint, stone, fabric, wool, bricks, etc. Landscape/site is where I put a lot of effort in spiritual connection or emotional responses, whether it be for a specific architecture project or personal exploration.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO AT TEMPT ?

To have entire days as a maker/artist/ craftsperson with unlimited supplies and space would be a total dream.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE?

I always love a wide-open prairie field and big sky. There are tricks (squinting helps) to make the Brooklyn fire escape or rooftop feel like your own mini version.

arrow-left D ID YOU KNOW? During

the rise of the pandemic in New York during March 2020, many residents looked for alternative spaces for fresh air, while remaining safe and socially distanced.

Ever since March, the use of rooftops has been ignited and eventually, the most-wanted outdoor spaces.

Located in Pier 6, Brooklyn Heights, Fornino offers a great soundtrack with a view over Manhattan. Many Brooklynites recommend to try Fornino’s firewood pizza.

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DISCUSSION PANEL SUMMARY

JAN Thursday, January 28 6:00 pm, Free—1 AIA LU

The Futures of Gowanus NYC is planning to commence the official rezoning process for the Gowanus Study Area. The rezoning will address an 80 block area that has been under discussion for years.

Learning Objectives • Outline key steps of modifying land use in New York City (otherwise known as “rezoning”) • Identify the pros and cons of current land use policies and procedures in New York City • Introduce concept of environmental justice as an overlooked aspect of traditional land use policy • Develop awareness of the differences between urban zoning (a technical process) and neighborhood planning (developing a vision)

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Michelle de la Uz Executive Director, Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc

Michelle de la Uz is the Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc. (FAC) and has over 25 years of experience in public and community service. Michelle oversees the organization’s mission and comprehensive programs serving more than 5,500 low- and moderate-income people; a budget of nearly $8 million and several nonhousing affiliate corporations with annual budgets of over $6 million, real estate assets over $120 million, and a housing development pipeline of over 1,900 units, representing more than $850 million in total development costs. Under her leadership, FAC became a NeighborWorks America member.

Prior to FAC, Michelle was Program Director for the Center for Urban Community Services in Washington Heights and Harlem and was Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez’ first Director of Constituent Services and directed her South Brooklyn District Office. She was active in advancing transportation, environmental justice, immigration reform, and employment policy initiatives. Michelle is the first in her working-class immigrant family to graduate from college, is a product of bi-lingual education, a former trustee of Connecticut College, and recipient of the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World award.

Michelle serves on the National Board of Directors of the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), the New York Housing Conference, and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, among many others.

Additionally, Michelle was appointed to serve as a City Planning Commissioner on the New York City Planning Commission from 2012-2021. Michelle is an alumna of Connecticut College, Columbia University and of Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education Program. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Karen Blondel NICET Engineer Assistant and CADD Operator, Urban Manpower Program

Tom Angotti Founder and Director, Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development

Karen Blondel is a graduate of NEW Nontraditional Employment for Women and The NYS DOT Joint Urban Manpower Program where she became a NICET Engineer Assistant and CADD Operator. Karen joined FAC in 2016 as the Fifth Avenue Committee’s (FAC) Turning the Tide (T3) Environmental Initiative Community Organizer.

Karen is a long-standing environmental justice advocate and is educating residents around issues of environmental justice, climate change, social resiliency, social cohesion and equity. She is responsible for conducting community outreach and facilitating T3 Leadership Development Workshops and Tours, alongside advocating for social, economic and environmental justice for South Brooklyn Public Housing residents. This initiative has successfully amplified the voices of local residents in the implementation and policy decisions about environmental cleanup and climate adaptation.

Tom Angotti is Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He was the founder and director of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development. His recent books include Transformative Planning: Radical Alternatives to Neoliberal Urbanism, Zoned Out! Race, Displacement and City Planning in New York City, Urban Latin America: Inequalities and Neoliberal Reforms, The New Century of the Metropolis, New York For Sale: Community Planning Confronts Global Real Estate, which won the Davidoff Book Award, and Accidental Warriors and Battlefield Myths. He is an editor of progressivecity.net and Participating Editor for Latin American Perspectives and Local Environment. He is active in community and environmental issues in New York City.

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DISCUSSION PANEL SUMMARY

FEB Wednesday, February 24 6:00 pm, Free—1 AIA LU

Black Lives In Architecture Learning Objectives • Develop broader awareness of architectural history at both the national and local levels • Understand how communities of color were created from 1835-1885 (roughly a generation pre/post civil war) • Understand the connection between the built environment and political representation/power • Understand how historical context can facilitate design collaboration with communities that architects serve

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Carla L. Peterson Professor emerita in the Department of English University of Maryland Her field of expertise is nineteenth-century African American literature, history, and culture. She has published numerous essays and two books: “Doers of the Word”: African-American Women Speakers and Writers in the North, 1830-1880 (Oxford, 1995) and Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City (Yale, 2011), which was awarded the 2011 prize for the best book on New York History by the New York Society Library and was a finalist for the GilderLehrman 2011 Frederick Douglass Prize. With a fellowship from the Guggenheim fellowship, she is currently at work on a new project, “All Things are Becoming New: Taste and the Making of African American Modernity in Antebellum New York and Philadelphia.

Peterson has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, most notably from the Guggenheim Foundation, Ford Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, the New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Peterson’s scholarship also addresses non-academic audiences. She has published four essays for the online New York Times Disunion Project. She has served on several museum consulting teams, notably the New York Historical Society’s two exhibits on slavery and its legacy in New York City as well as its more recent Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, and the Museum of the City of New York’s permanent exhibit on the history of New York City.

Suzanne Spellen Columnist, Brooklyn blog Brownstoner.com

Louis P. Nelson Professor and Vice Profost, Architectural History and Academic Outreach, University of Virginia

Suzanne grew up in the village of Gilbertsville in Otsego County. She went to Yale, and then moved to NYC to pursue a career in opera and costume design. Living in Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights North Brooklyn inspired a new career in writing about old house restoration, and the history, architecture and people of Brooklyn. She is a long-time board member of the Crown Heights North Association, Inc. (CNHA), which has worked tirelessly for landmark and National Register designation for the neighborhood.

Suzanne is a columnist for the popular Brooklyn blog brownstoner.com, her early work written under the pen name “Montrose Morris.” Her expertise on the architecture and history of Central Brooklyn has led to books, lectures, walking tours and research projects for many organizations, individuals and causes. She is a 2015 recipient of the Historic Districts Council of New York’s “Grassroots Award” for her writing and historic preservation activities. Suzanne has also been a member of two teams receiving NY State Historic Preservation Awards. One in 2017, along with other CHNA board members and another in 2020 as part of the team writing the National Register designation report for all of NYC’s Carnegie Libraries.

In 2012, Suzanne left Brooklyn for Troy, NY. She quickly became a part of that city’s preservation efforts. She was on the city’s citizen’s advisory board for the 2018 Comprehensive Plan for Troy, is Vice-Chair of the Troy Community Land Bank, has a seat on the Troy Planning Commission, and has just joined the board of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway. She writes about Troy’s fascinating history and architecture in her blog Spellen of Troy.

He is a specialist in the built environments of the early modern Atlantic world, with published work on the American South, the Caribbean, and West Africa.

His research engages the spaces of enslavement in West Africa and in the Americas, working to document and interpret the buildings and landscapes that shaped the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Nelson is working on a second collaborative project to understand the University of Virginia as a landscape of slavery.

That important work, combined with the events of August 2017, led to Nelson’s co-edited book of essays: Charlottesville 2017: The Legacy of Race and Inequity; and increased focus on outreach into the local community. His first-hand experience with the recent conflicts in Charlottesville combined with his enslaved labor research brings an informed scholarly perspective to global racial issues, historical and present, makes Nelson a sought-after speaker in Charlottesville, across the country, and internationally.

Nelson is an accomplished scholar, with two booklength monographs published by UNC and Yale University Presses, three edited collections of essays, two terms as senior co-editor of Buildings and Landscapes—the leading English language venue for scholarship on vernacular architecture—and numerous articles.

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DISCUSSION PANEL SUMMARY

MAR Wednesday, March 17 6:00 pm, Free—1 AIA LU

Banking on Banks Scattered throughout Brooklyn, palatial banking halls are slowly disappearing. These spaces date back to a different era when banks functioned as the backbone of the community.

Join AIA Brooklyn to visit a pair of recent projects which transform defunct banks to accommodate new programs. Is it possible for these buildings to function as community infrastructure once again?

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Drew Hartley, AIA Principal and Project Manager, Acheson Doyle Partners

Drew Hartley is a Principal and project manager with twelve years of professional experience at Acheson Doyle Partners. He has extensive experience with hospitality, commercial, institutional, municipal and residential clients, working on all phases of design and construction. Recent major efforts have been as the manager of both the Metropolitan Club and the University Club’s planning and design projects.

Drew has specific expertise working with historic buildings and landmark preservation issues and has recently represented ADP in their role as Executive Architect for a new 24-story condominium building in a New York City Landmark District on lower Fifth Avenue; led the team on the $15 million reconstruction of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral and was also the Project Manager for a private residence renovation at the penthouse of the Plaza Hotel, a project that included design studies prepared for The New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Drew coordinated Landmark Preservation Commission and City Planning Commission of NYC approvals for a complex restoration air rights zoning scheme for the Marble Collegiate Church with Moshe Safdie. He also managed coordination with three design firms, Land Use Attorneys, and Preservation Consultants and has worked on large international projects requiring coordination between many interest groups.

Rickie T. James, Associate AIA Text as submitted by Rickie James

Ward Dennis Partner, Higgins Quasebarth & Partners

Mary Jablonski President and Senior Architectural Conservator, Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc

I lived a beautiful life was born in Kings County Brooklyn New York the 4th child of 8 children was a talented left handed young teen we tried my talent in advertising, the demand as so on a young employee was so great I quit.

The attraction of freehand drawing brought me ever closer to my passion History of Art which is architecture.

In the years that followed the protest in demolish of great built structures the Frank Lloyd Wright office building and church and the older Grand Central Station and the now threats to the new Grand Central Station on 42nd Street.

Inch me towards Preservation of historic Property and gave me the strength to stand up and march under protest picket for preservation of many things of history.

As graduate from college my career was purchased by the Buffalo News from High School on into College SUNY Buffalo State as the City of Erie proclaimed a Design student. What brought me even closer to that goal of complete architecture were the young faculty and their interest in me personally, I was never short a team on construction workers and the internship of many prominent Architects, Engineers, Designers, Preservationist and Teachers were abound, which if you know me could not worn out and there was a thirst for that knowledge of still more.

Ward Dennis is a partner at Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, a preservation consulting firm specializing in the restoration, rehabilitation and adaptive use of historic properties throughout New York City. Ward’s work combines his training and background in materials conservation, urban history and land-use planning. He specializes in federal tax credit and local landmarks review, including design consultation on new buildings in historic districts and additions to historic buildings. Ward’s current and past Brooklyn projects include the residential conversion of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower on Hanson Place, rehabilitation of multiple buildings at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and approvals for new buildings in DUMBO and Fort Greene.

A resident of Williamsburg for over 25 years, Ward served as chair of the land use committee for Community Board 1 during the 2000s. He is a board member of North Brooklyn Parks Alliance and Friends of Bushwick Park, and past board member and co-chair of North Brooklyn Neighbors.

Ward lectures frequently on the history of Brooklyn. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Historic Preservation program at Pratt and previously taught at Columbia.

Mary Jablonski is the President and a senior architectural conservator of the firm of Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. She established the firm in 1995 to provide a full range of conservation services to a varied client base.

She holds a MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University, teaching conservation courses, particularly architectural finishes.

Ms Jablonski is a Fellow with The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works and Applied Preservation Technology International. Ms. Jablonski has presented numerous papers at conferences, published several articles on a variety of preservation and conservation topics, and edited two books on architectural finishes. She is involved internationally in architectural finishes research.

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UPCOMING AND RECURRING EVENTS

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EVERY 3RD WEDNESDAY, 6:30PM VIRTUAL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

EVERY 2ND THURSDAY VIRTUAL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

LUNCHTIME WEBINAR, 12:00–1:00PM RSVP ON WWW.AIABROOKLYN.ORG

AIA Brooklyn General Chapter Meetings + Discussion Panels

Brooklyn DOB Industry Meeting

On The Menu

See Virtual Meeting info on calendar at www.aiabrooklyn.org.

Ask the Borough Commissioner questions about NYC Code, DOB procedures, etc.

Email Ida Galea at galea.arch@gmail.com and have your questions discussed and answered by the Commissioner. 1 CEU. Check www.aiabrooklyn.org for time.

UPCOMING DATES

January 12, The Complete Masonry Wall January 14, Fire Retardant-Treated Wood (FRTW) and the International Building Code January 19, Air Barrier Systems – Understanding the Technologies and their Importance January 21, Long-spanning Steel Roof and Floor Deck Ceiling Systems January 26, Window Retrofits for Occupant Comfort and Energy Efficiency

6:00-8:00PM, MULTIPLE LOCATIONS RSVP TO CRAN@AIABROOKLYN.ORG

EVERY TUESDAY 7-8:30PM ZOOM INFO AT AIABROOKLYN.ORG

CRAN Meeting

Emerging Professionals Committee A.R.E. Study Session

Since the current COVID-19 situation is changing day-by-day, please check website calendar for up to date information on all upcoming meetings.

Contact: Nicole Gangidino at ngangidino.arch@gmail.com

February 2, How Sound Control Matters February 4, Delivering Accessibility - Exploring Why & How February 11, Customized Shower Solutions for Every Need February 18, Versatile Aluminum Railing Systems: Quick to Install, Designed to Last February 25,The Mechanics of Design: Insight into wall-mount concealed tank toilet systems technology, from space and water savings to ADA/code requirements March 2, Sintered Stone: The Healthy Material Choice for the Built Industry March 4, Water, Wellness, and Sustainability March 11, Integrating More Sustainable Practices into the Design and Construction Process March 18, Thermal Bridges & Efficiences March 25, Going Down? Understanding Today’s Smoke Protection Options for Elevator Hoistways

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AIA NATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Candidates For National Office PAM DAY | (202) 626 7305

The deadline for declaration of candidacy for AIA national elections is Monday, 2/15, 5pm ET; and the deadline for submitting resolutions is Friday, 2/26, 5pm ET. Find everything delegates will need to participate in the 2021 AIA annual meeting.

Learn More at https://www.aia.org/pages/6345869-2021-aia-annual-meeting

Senior Housing Designs Post-Pandemic ISABELLA ROSSE | (202) 626 7358

New strategies for health and safety will be crucial in the post-COVID designs for all senior environments, including multi-family housing, mixed-use, and hospitality. Join the Knowledge Community, Design for Aging, as we explore COVID’s impact on senior environment designs and daily operations and consider best practices to create safer spaces for residents, families, and caregivers.

Economic Resources From Construct Connect REBECCA GROUNDS | (202) 626 7390

Access complimentary construction economic news and construction forecasts from AIA Innovation Partner ConstructConnect. These trends can help firms and components strategically plan during unprecedented times.

Sign up today! https://www.constructconnect.com/economic-resources

Learn More at https://network.aia.org/events/event-description?Calendar...

Tips For Using AIA Contract Documents Online Service SARAH LUMMIS | (202) 626 2564

This live course will explore energy efficiency in traditional and heritage buildings and discuss emerging research on climate change and its effect on heritage buildings.

Learn More at http://acdpages.aia.org/WBN-2021FebTipsandTricks_LP.html

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LETTERS TO EDITOR

Buying Condominium Units Versus Co-op Apartments: Pros and Cons ARTICLE BY C. JAYE BERGER, ESQ.

Most new buildings these days are condominiums, as opposed to cooperative apartments or straight rentals. Condominiums are like owning a house.

There is a recorded deed. In a co-op, there are shares of stock and a stock certificate. If you purchase in cash, the stock certificate can just be kept in a safe place. If you get a bank loan, the lender holds the stock certificate for security. Most people who own shares live there. Subletting is allowed, but there are usually strict requirements, time limitations and sublet fees. While co-ops are very rarely owned by corporations or trusts, condo units often are owned by limited liability companies (LLCs). They may be formed by the individual who lives there or by a company.

They can and are purchased by many owners as investment properties. Many clients form limited liability companies to own them, which makes it easy for celebrities and high profile people who do not want their identities to be known to shield themselves from public property records.

The actual unit owners often do not live in them and instead rent them out to others. Many of the units are owned by people who live in other states or other countries. This is so frequently done, that condominiums sometimes have problems with having too high a percentage of the units being rented out to satisfy lenders. Sometimes different members of the family that owns the unit stay in the apartments at different times like a hotel. This worries people because they see different people with keys to the front door. Managements needs to keep track of such things.

They may give their proxies to others to vote for them on issues before the Board of Managers at annual meetings. This can create a disparity between the interests of the people who own the units and those renting them and actually living there. Thus, many condominium buildings are a combination of condominium units and freemarket rental apartments with tenants. There are no restrictions on the amount of rent that can be charged to these tenants, other than what the market will bear.

Co-op apartments, by contrast, tend to have very personally involved owners who live there. Since condos 16

can be owned by a company, there may be property mangers running them and the people in the unit next door unit are just renters. Co-ops increasingly have problems with absentee owners whose children live in them and have loud parties. These kinds of issues can be handled through the proprietary lease.

In the face of these kinds of fluctuations, condos have tried to model themselves increasingly after co-ops which have stricter acquisition, sublet and renovation requirements. Ownership of pets is a big difference between co-ops and condominiums. For example, many people buy condominiums, specifically because they can own pets, especially large dogs. Co-ops are more restrictive about the number, size, weight and type of pets.

As certain buildings have had problems, they have become increasingly restrictive. For example, when dogs start barking for hours on end and are aggressive towards neighbors, the Boards ask legal counsel about enacting fines for barking and having other restrictions. Boards and unit owners try to strike a balance so that their building is a desirable place for all the occupants to live in.

Everyone had heard stories about famous people whose applications have been rejected by co-op boards.

Condos cannot reject applicants who can afford to purchase the units. They only have the right of first refusal, meaning, they can buy it themselves. To address this, some condo boards have applications which must be

IN THE FACE OF THESE KINDS OF FLUCTUATIONS, CONDOS HAVE TRIED TO MODEL THEMSELVES INCREASINGLY AFTER CO-OPS WHICH HAVE STRICTER ACQUISITION, SUBLET AND RENOVATION REQUIREMENTS

submitted. They are not used to reject people, but as a vehicle to screen them.

Years ago, condominiums had no restrictions on alterations performed by unit owners. Alterations were only subject to New York City Department of Buildings rules and regulations. As certain buildings have had bad experiences with poor quality and unlicensed work resulting in damages, they have strengthened the rules on renovations to be more like those in co-op buildings.

They often also require unit owners to maintain insurance and present a certificate of insurance at closing.

For the first few years, most new condominium buildings are controlled by the sponsor who organized it.

As the sponsor sells off units he has retained, the Board of Managers of the condominiums comes to be controlled by the unit owners. Often the first thing unit owners do is change management companies from the one that was used by the sponsor, to one they select. They want to distance themselves from the sponsor and its team and create a new team. This often includes selecting new legal counsel.

The organizational documents for the building are usually boilerplate, since they were set up by the sponsor.

Probably every condominium set up by that developer has the same set of organizational documents. When the Board of Managers is comprised entirely of unit owners, they often find that the By-Laws and House Rules are not

as comprehensive and aggressive as what they would like and retain legal counsel to make changes.

Condominium buildings need to be careful of keeping track of where the actual owners live, since often they no longer live in the building and tenants live in the units. One building has a unit owner who owes common charges and they are uncertain where to send notice, apart from the actual unit, which may be occupied by a subtenant. Having that type of non-payment situation in more than one unit can create financial pressures in the building, since those unit owners are not carrying their weight regarding expenses and it can be difficult and expensive to pursue legal action. Sometimes the buildings can require the subtenants to pay their rent directly to the building.

Condominium buildings can file common charge liens to protect their rights.

Understanding more about this form of property ownership and working with knowledgeable legal counsel is helpful when deciding about making a purchase of one.

C. Jaye Berger, Esq. focuses on real estate, corporate, construction and co-op and condo law and litigation. Copyright © 2020, C. Jaye Berger, Esq. C. Jaye Berger, Esq., Principal, Law Offices C. Jaye Berger, is a real estate, litigation and construction attorney located at 110 E. 59th St., 22nd Fl.,New York, New York 10022, (212) 753-2080.

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LETTERS TO EDITOR

Congratulations Peter Zuspan on your 2021 Arnold W. Brunner Grant for your project, Performance of Shame: The Desegregation Renovations of Downtown Atlanta!

Gleaming escalators transport some passengers Photograph by Charles Pugh of the lobby of the Bank of Georgia Building, published in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, April 2, 1961.

SCAN QR CODE TO READ THE BRIEF! 18

Architects, Stop Calling It “Managed Retreat.”

ARTICLE BY DANIEL HORN, AIA, LEED GA, SEED

The majority of U.S. coastlines are being threatened by sea level rise at an alarming rate.

Architects are now more engaged in a discussion about managing the “retreat” of entire communities away from vulnerable coastlines. But the language they continue to use is perpetuating a topdown approach.

Nuisance flooding in Lindenhurst, NY, 2018.

Image credit: Dan Horn

Sea level rise and the compounding risks of climate change will bring the greatest risk to front-line and environmental justice communities in modern times. The overwhelming science shows that the current and future increase in sea levels, projected through 2100, will be detrimental to low-lying areas. One thing is certain, these communities will bear the brunt of the impacts if nothing is done about it.

Moving is financially, psychologically, and politically difficult, however it will need to be considered to protect the communities that reside there. And while it may be easier to talk about elevating homes, building large and expensive infrastructure to protect the areas with interventions like sea walls and offshore wave attenuation structures, these are simply costly temporary fixes, putting off the inevitable.

Communities face an ever-increasing risk of largescale governmental initiatives tearing generations of rich culture, character, and livelihoods apart. “Managed retreat” is to blame, the ‘official’ policy terminology for the relocation of entire neighborhoods out of high-hazard, repetitive loss areas. The verbiage depicts the destructive approach taken by nationwide programs to change the way people reside near coastlines.

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LETTERS TO EDITOR BUYOUTS VS MANAGED RETREAT Built environment professionals have talked about relocating entire communities away from vulnerable coastlines for decades as the science behind climate change evolved. The discussion of relocating coastal communities rose out of necessity after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the East Coast of the US in 2012.

In its aftermath, the federal government, through statesponsored programs, provided affected homeowners financing to rebuild, and in the most severely damaged areas offered to “buy-out” these high-risk properties in the floodplain. Several hundred homes in the communities of Fox Beach, Ocean Breeze and Oakwood Beach in Staten Island, New York, were a few in particular where a majority of the residents collectively chose to leave for good. According to Next City, “Under the program, properties that were purchased should have been maintained as open space or transformed into coastal buffer zones, parks and other non-residential uses that will help protect nearby communities from the impact of extreme weather.”1 The term “buyout” has been around for decades. It is the policy term FEMA and other governmental authorities use to describe areas where individual residential properties within a state run recovery & resiliency program voluntarily opt to be purchased by the state. Where the terms “buyout” and “managed retreat” differ is in their scale. Buyout can mean as little as one property or as many as a few hundred. Managed retreat, on the other hand, talks about entire coastal towns having to leave because it becomes impractical to remain. This could involve thousands of properties and families. As the climate has evolved in its grim predictions, so has the language to describe interventions to combat it.

Managed retreat has become the seemingly official policy and architectural lexicon.

As called out in POLITICO, “Experts agree that “managed retreat” is a terrible term that gets in the way of selling the idea to coastal communities and their elected representatives. After all, who wants to give up and “retreat”? Terminology may seem silly, but given that political decisions are driven by public sentiment, finding a less defeatist alternative for managed retreat may be key to making it viable.”2 Experts in the field of climate change science and members of the Architecture/Engineering/ Construction (AEC) community seem to have adopted “managed retreat” without fully comprehending the

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current and future implications of doing so. It implies a top-down, government directed approach. Front-line and environmental justice communities who are the most at risk from sea level rise and other hazards deserve a more inclusive and thoughtful title for something that may upend their lives forever. The time is now to begin to realize the impact language can have on these conversations with communities moving forward.

There are current precedent communities leading the change with regard to terminology in their own indigenous language. One example in particular is the village of Shishmaref, Alaska. Annauk Denise Olin is a graduate student in linguistics in the MIT Indigenous Language Initiative (MITILI), a program for members of communities whose languages are being threatened.

Her family’s community is threatened by constant erosion, flooding, and permafrost thaw due to increased sea level rise. In response to this they have been attempting to relocate for the past decade. The program could use indigenous languages and knowledge as a means to shape policy, making it work within the context of local social, ecological, and spatial conditions. One of the new words that Annauk helped created lies at the intersection of three main threats: coastal flooding, erosion, and permafrost degradation, which combined have been contributing to land loss for Shishmaref. This is just one of many examples happening around the country where communities can take charge of changing and modifying language to benefit their future.

ENACTING CHANGE NOW To understand the impetus for changing this term and why it matters, there are a series of critical questions to ask: Who is managing the retreat? What are they “managing?”

What is the level of community involvement and how is it sustained? How will the local/state government gain the trust of those slated to “retreat?” Who decides who stays and who goes?

Communities, local leaders and advocates, and design professionals must come together now to begin forming more empowering and empathetic terms of engagement.

This will all stem from earning the community’s trust.

Unfortunately, architects overall have a poor history of connecting with the communities that they serve.

Community engagement is usually granted only a small part of large projects. It requires much more than that.

A thoughtful and sustained campaign to hear the

Graham T. Beck, “This Staten Island Neighborhood Is About to Become a Wetland”, (Nextcity.org, 2013) Yuliya Panfil, “The Case for ‘Managed Retreat’”, (POLITICO, 2020)

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community’s concerns and ideas can bring alternative solutions to the table. The issue ahead is twofold: Residents that will be affected by coastal flooding need the information and tools necessary to make their own informed decisions, and architects need to be more attuned to what community priorities actually are, instead of driving their own prerogative.

A top-down approach does not fully recognize the priorities and needs of the community. Professionals involved in outreach typically only scratch the surface, cost more time and money, something that proper outreach and engagement is never afforded. Trust is earned when the outsiders can understand both the positive and negative impacts of the proposal. They hear stories, gather data, hold meetings, and synthesize all of the information given to them by the community. This can take years, sometimes decades in some situations. It can never be rushed to simply fulfill artificial project requirements.

ARCHITECTS, STEP UP A Realistic Guide for Starting A Conversation Architects have both an ethical and moral responsibility to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. They can be uniquely positioned to earn the community’s trust if they approach it the right way. Envisioning all the opportunities within a project is exactly what is needed at this critical juncture and must be done with communities lighting the path ahead. By encouraging ground up conversations within the community, they can help members navigate tough decisions. Everything that architects do, or don’t, will affect these conversations moving forward. So how can architects be involved?

Architects work in the built environment and must go through many regulatory hoops to get projects approved.

Every interaction with a plan examiner, inspector, client, community advocate, and contractor is a means by which architects can begin a small conversation about the impact to the adjacent community. The best time to have this conversation is at the beginning of the design process because that’s when the community’s vision can be the most realized. However, advocacy is impactful at any stage of a project. Architects must recognize that the people most impacted by decisions around this so-called “retreat” play a pivotal role in these conversations moving forward.

First, the profession must revisit how it serves communities. Architects must put them at the center of decision-making, realizing a holistic and equitable approach to addressing sea level rise and other consequences of climate change. Then, through working together, the community should inform a new term to replace “managed retreat.”

Buyout properties that have been abandoned in South Lindenhurst, NY, 2018.

Image credit: Dan Horn

Bergen Beach was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and remains vulnerable to future storms.

Image credit: Dan Horn

Daniel Horn, AIA, LEED GA, SEED is a New York- based architect at ESKW/ Architects who focuses on sustainability and long-term community resilience. Dan is also co-founder of ORLI+, an emerging design collective working at the intersection of community engagement, empowerment, and resilience.

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LETTERS TO EDITOR Congratulations Peter Hsi on receiving the Burton L. Roslyn, FAIA Memorial Scholarship!

I’m very grateful for being the recipient of the Burt Roslyn Memorial Scholarship.

As of early February 2021, I have passed three (3) exams (Practice Management, Project Management, and Construction & Evaluation).

Currently, I’m studying for Project Planning & Design, scheduled for May 1st. I feel motivated more so than ever since the receipt of this award, it has been a bumpy ride thus far as I have couple fails in my journey also, this has been a much needed push.

Ultimately, I’m extremely honored for this reward, and I hope to use this to build on top of the passes and finish the rest of the ARE divisions in 2021.

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COMMUNITY NOTES

We encourage you to get involved in your local Community Boards and that’s why we’ve listed all 18 Community Boards that serve Brooklyn right here.

Visit their websites, office locations, send them an email or give them a call to find out when the next meeting is or to learn more about how you can serve your Community.

Don’t forget to let us know if there is something we’d be interested in going on in your neighborhood!

COMMUNITY BOARD #5

COMMUNITY BOARD #12

East New York, Cypress Hills, Highland Park, New Lots, City Line, Starrett City & Ridgewood

Boro Park, Kensington, Ocean Pkwy & Midwood

bk05@cb.nyc.gov (929) 221-8261 www.brooklyncb5.org

bk12@cb.nyc.gov (718) 851-0800 twitter.com/BrooklynCB12 5910 13th Ave.

404 Pine St., 3rd fl.

COMMUNITY BOARD #13 COMMUNITY BOARD #6

Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Gowanus & Cobble Hill info@brooklyncb6.org (718) 643-3027 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb6/index.page

Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Bensonhurst, Gravesend & Seagate edmark@cb.nyc.gov (718) 266-3001 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb13/index.page 1201 Surf Ave., 3rd fl.

250 Baltic St. COMMUNITY BOARD #14

SARAH DRAKE, AIA

COMMUNITY BOARD #7

Sunset Park & Windsor Terrace bk07@cb.nyc.gov (718) 854-0003 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb7/index.page

Flatbush, Midwood, Kensington & Ocean Parkway info@cb14brooklyn.com (718) 859-6357 www.cb14brooklyn.com 810 East 16th St.

4201 4th Ave. COMMUNITY BOARD #1

Flushing Ave., Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Northside & Southside bk01@cb.nyc.gov (718) 389-0009 www.nyc.gov/brooklyncb1 435 Graham Ave.

COMMUNITY BOARD #15

Crown Heights, Prospect Heights & Weeksville

Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Kings Bay, Gerritsen Beach, Kings Highway, East Gravesend, Madison, Homecrest & Plum Beach

info@brooklyncb8.org (718) 467-5574 www.brooklyncb8.org

bklcb15@verizon.net (718) 332-3008 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb15/index.page

1291 St. Marks Ave.

Kingsboro Community College, 2001 Oriental Blvd, C Cluster, Rm C124

COMMUNITY BOARD #8

COMMUNITY BOARD #2

Boerum Hill, Bridge Plaza, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Farragut, Fort Greene, Vinegar Hill & Wallabout

COMMUNITY BOARD #9

Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Garden & Wingate

COMMUNITY BOARD #16

Brownsville and Ocean Hill

cb2k@nyc.rr.com (718) 596-5410 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb2/index.page

bk09@cb.nyc.gov (718) 778-9279 www.communitybrd9bklyn.org

bk16@cb.nyc.gov (718) 385-0323 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb16/index.page

350 Jay St., 8th fl.

890 Nostrand Ave.

444 Thomas Boyland St., Rm. 103

COMMUNITY BOARD #3

COMMUNITY BOARD #10

Bedford Stuyvesant

Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights & Fort Hamilton

East Flatbush, Remsen Village, Farragut, Rugby, Erasmus & Ditmas Village

bk03@cb.nyc.gov (718) 622-6601 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb3/index.page

bk10@cb.nyc.gov (718) 745-6827 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb10/index.page

bk17@cb.nyc.gov (718) 434-3461 www.cb17brooklyn.org

Restoration Plz., 1360 Fulton St., 2nd fl.

8119 5th Ave.

4112 Farragut Rd.

COMMUNITY BOARD #4

COMMUNITY BOARD #11

COMMUNITY BOARD #18

Bushwick

Bath Beach, Gravesend, Mapleton & Bensonhurst

Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Marine Park, Georgetown & Mill Island

bk04@cb.nyc.gov (718) 628-8400 www1.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb4/index.page

info@brooklyncb11.org (718) 266-8800 www.brooklyncb11.org

bkbrd18@optonline.net (718) 241-0422

1420 Bushwick Ave., Suite 370

2214 Bath Ave.

1097 Bergen Ave.

COMMUNITY BOARD #17

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COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

OU! Y S D E E N L N STIL Y L K O O R B AIA

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HISTORIC RESOURCES COMMITTEE

AIA Brooklyn Formed Historic Resources Committee with Jeffrey Jacobson as Chair!

Hello, I am Jeffrey Jacobson, Associate AIA. I am chairing the newly formed Historic Resources Committee in the AIA Brooklyn Chapter dealing with historic resources within Brooklyn. Look for Historic Resources Committee in the ABOUT page of the aiabrooklyn.org website.

My interest in historic preservation started right after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in the mid-1970’s which was also the height of the Post Modernist Movement. The Movement drew my attention to architecture history and historic preservation which I went on to study at the University of Virginia. I now work for the NY City Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development where I have been for the past 30 years.

Besides being an AIA Brooklyn member, I am a member of several organizations such as The Park Slope Civic Council, CB 6: Land-Use and Historic Preservation Committee, Brooklyn Historical Society, The New York Preservation League, The New York Historic Districts Council, The New York Landmarks Conservancy, The Association for Preservation Technology, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, and The Society of Architectural Historians always with an eye to historic preservation.

We will mostly focus on Brooklyn’s individual Historic Landmarked buildings as designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), Brooklyn historic districts also as designated by the LPC, and on the AIA Brooklyn Archives. Brooklyn has a very rich and diverse history. It contains 41 Historic Districts and Brooklyn Heights specifically, was the first Historic District designated by the LPC in all of the five boroughs.

So, there is a lot to research and document.

Other educational events we would like to offer are discussion panels that would address such arts as masonry restoration, materials preservation, design of interiors in town houses located in historic districts, etc.

These panels would be led by historic preservation specialists in their fields.

The vision for the Historic Resources Committee is quite grand and will need on-going work over many years to come to fruition. Join us in sharing your passion for Historic Preservation, research, and help create a new Library that will be a rich resource for fellow architects and others in the industry.

To join this committee or for more information, contact info@aiabrooklyn.org.

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URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE

What’s In My Back Yard (W.I.M.B.Y.) ARTICLE BY JANE MCGROARTY, AIA

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Is There A Future For Social Housing?

In a recent NY Times Op-Ed, Gianpaolo Baiocchi and H. Jacob Carlson proposed that the federal government establish a Social Housing Development Authority.

Dr. Baiocchi is a professor and director of the Urban Democracy Lab at New York University. Dr. Carlson is a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University’s Population Studies and Training Center, and Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences.

The Covid crisis has resulted in financial distress for landlords. Particularly hard hit are small “mom and pop” landlords who operate in the affordable market. If these vulnerable properties go into foreclosure, they will be purchased by investors who will turn them into market rate housing. Baiocchi and Carlson maintain that there was a huge transfer of wealth from families and communities to Wall Street because of the 2008 fiscal crisis and that we need to foster and protect social housing to prevent a similar outcome again.

Isn’t social housing just another example of creeping socialism? Not really. Housing cooperatives have been around in the United States for over one hundred years, and in Europe for even longer. In 1916, a group of Finnish families pooled their resources and built two co-operative apartment houses based on the European model of limited equity housing in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It was an idea that caught on and the Finns built around 50 coop buildings between 1917 and 1940.

Union organizations also built many limited equity apartment cooperatives in the first half of the 20th century in New York City. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union (ACWU) developed the union’s first cooperative housing in 1927 in the Bronx adjacent to Van Cortlandt Park. Over the years ACWU member Abraham Kazan built additional buildings on the Bronx site and today the complex houses 1500 families. In 1930, the Kazan went on to develop Amalgamated Dwellings on the Lower East Side. It is an attractive Art Deco complex modeled after the block housing in Vienna where the residential blocks faced the street and created a courtyard at the center. Other union sponsored cooperatives followed including Hillman Housing, Seward Park Houses, and East River Housing. Architect Herman Jessor (1894-1990) established a long association with the union, and he designed or was associated with the

design of numerous other co-operatives including Rochdale Village and Penn South.

In the post war period, the electrical workers union (IBEW) built Electchester, a large housing complex in Queens in 1949. It was the brainchild of Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., a powerful union man and one-time treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. According to Ari Paul, a journalist and labor historian, the second half of the title, “-chester …lends an air of gentility to what might otherwise evoke a rugged world of wire strippers and cable cutters inhabited by New York City electricians. Electchester, in short, is an estate meant for those workers without whom the city would be, quite literally, stuck in the dark.” Today Electchester is run by the cooperative company that has

Alky Tonien Cooperative c. 1916 823 43rd Street, Brooklyn Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, M.D.

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URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE

strong ties to Local 3, the electrical workers union. Today only about 50% of the 2500 units are occupied by union members and their families and the complex is much more diverse than it was in 1949 when most Local 3 members were white.

In 1954, Columbia University President Grayson Kirk and David Rockefeller teamed up to clear ‘slums’ near Columbia and replace them with a middle-income development called

Amalgamated Dwellings, Grand Street Designed by Springsteen & Goldhammer Photo: Joel Raskin

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Morningside Gardens. It was the model that was used for the Mitchell-Lama program. Today, Morning Side Gardens and similar affordable housing have become N.O.R.C.s (Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities). This is a NYC Department of the Aging initiative to assist older adults in aging in their homes and communities. In 2015, Morningside Gardens voted to allow residents to sell their apartments on the open market.

The Mitchell-Lama program was created by a 1955 New York State law intended to foster the building of low and moderate rate housing, both rentals and cooperatively owned. The meat cutters union developed a cooperative, Concourse Village, in the Bronx and the printers union, the International Typographical Union, erected six towers in Woodside, Queens under the Mitchell-Lama program.

There were over 100,000 units built under Mitchell-Lama but a sunset provision in the law allowed rental building owners and co-operatives to leave the program after 20 years. By 2005, one third of existing Mitchell-Lama units had been privatized, and the number has likely grown since then. Alfred Lama, a Brooklyn architect and State Assemblyman, was the co-sponsor of the Mitchell-Lama bill. Lama was a member and president of the Brooklyn Society of Architects.

The Penn South complex in Manhattan was a cooperative housing project of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) that was completed in 1962.

In 1951, Abraham Kazan had formed the United Housing Foundation whose mission was to provide broader sponsorship for cooperative housing. In an improbable alliance, Kazan teamed up with Robert Moses and together they created Rochdale Village, a large housing complex in southern Queens that provided integrated cooperative housing for low and middle-income families. When it opened in 1953, it was the largest cooperative in the U.S. The so-called “father of US cooperative housing,” Abraham Kazan, was born in the Russian Empire and emigrated with his family to the Lower East Side around 1904. After a short time, the family moved to a Jewish agricultural community in Carmel, New Jersey (there were close to one hundred Jewish agricultural settlements formed in the US during the late 19th and early 20th centuries). The Carmel community also engaged in cooperative garment production and through that enterprise, Kazan met labor organizers and went on to a career in the ACWU. Developing co-operative housing was only the beginning of Kazan’s vision.

He wanted to have co-operative businesses, stores and factories, and imagined a whole sector of society that was cooperative.

The philosophical divide between the cooperative movement and private market housing has widened significantly since the early 20th century. The association of the cooperative housing movement and socialism began in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution.

As communism took hold in Russia, there was widespread international fear of Bolsheviks and anarchists. As US labor unions gained power and went on strike for better

President John F. Kennedy Speaks at International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union Housing Project (Penn South) Dedication, May, 1962 Photo: Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston President John F. Kennedy (at lectern) delivers remarks at the dedication of the Penn Station South Cooperative Houses, a cooperative housing project of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU). Also pictured: Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller; former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt; Executive Vice President of the ILGWU, Louis Stulberg; Vice President of the ILGWU, Luigi Antonini; President of United Hatters, Cap, and Millinery Workers International Union, Alex Rose. New York City, New York.

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URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE

conditions and higher wages, the press blamed strikes on immigrants who were threatening the American way of life.

This sentiment intensified during the Cold War and many citizens became convinced that the “Reds” would take over the country as they had done in Europe and Asia.

Anything that smacked of ‘cooperative’ housing or worker owned enterprises was questionable except for the luxury co-operative apartment buildings on Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. The first luxury coop was built in 1883 on Gramercy Park. It was followed by the Dakota at 72nd Street, so far north of the city it was like being in the ‘Dakota Territory’. Coop apartment buildings designed by Rosario Candela, Emery Roth and others were built on the Upper East and West sides of Manhattan. Not just anyone can live in these cooperatives. Prospective buyers are screened to make sure they are suitable for the building and have the right pedigree.

The Dakota Apartments Photo: By David Shankbone

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Founders of IMPACCT (Pratt Area Community Council) in 1964. IMPACCT was founded by citizens living in Fort Greene, Wallabout, Clinton Hill and later Bedford Stuyvesant. Founders included Reverend Richard Johnson, Amos Taylor and Furman Walls. In 1963 Professor Ron Schiffman founded PICCED (Pratt Institute Center for Community and Economic Development) to provide community-based organizations in low-income neighborhoods in the Pratt area and throughout New York City with access to the technical resources of its faculty, staff, and students.

Photo: IMPACCT Brooklyn

Over the past twenty years, exclusivity has become more expensive as large apartments in the “best” buildings sell for as much as $70 million dollars. The high price tag apartments, especially in newer buildings that are mainly condos, are being sold to very wealthy buyers from overseas. These “safety deposit boxes” in the sky are seen as a safe (and untaxed) place for entrepreneurs, oligarchs, and political figures to keep their funds away from the prying eyes of government.

By all accounts, New York City has a severe shortage of low and moderate rate housing units. Forty-four percent of all New York City families are rent burdened, meaning that they pay more than 30% of their income for rent.

Half of the 44% are severely rent burdened since they pay more than 50% of their income for rent. Overcrowding is a problem in neighborhoods such as Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Bushwick, East New York, Sunset Park and Borough Park. New affordable housing has not been enough to meaningfully reduce homelessness. There just is not enough of it and too much of what is built is not affordable for the poorest families. It is only recently that

the city has come to understand the relationship between domestic violence, mental illness, and incarceration as triggers for homelessness.

What can we do? I think we just need to look at some past examples that have been successful.

One is the impressive effort by IMPACCT Brooklyn (originally the Pratt Area Community Council). A model of comprehensive community development, IMPACCT was founded in 1964 and initially worked to fight demolition of existing buildings. It went on to renovating buildings, assisting tenants in becoming homeowners, and developing supportive and new affordable housing. Along the way, IMPACCT fought for services such as libraries, better police protection, and economic development opportunities.

The fact is that in NYC, the squeaky wheel gets attention.

Under the Bloomberg administration, the City was vastly improved for its wealthy inhabitants while poor communities did not fare as well.

Breaking Ground is another successful model of a nonprofit that develops and maintains supportive housing to homeless people with mental diseases, veterans, recovering 33

URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE The Schermerhorn Ennead Architects, 2009 Developed by Breaking Ground, this was a public-private collaboration with Hamlin Ventures, LLC and Time Equities, Inc. This is an award winning 217-unit residence in Downtown Brooklyn with 116 units for formerly homeless individuals with special needs and, including individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The remainder of the units are for low-income community residents, the majority of whom are actively pursuing careers in the performing arts and entertainment industries.

Photo by Breaking Ground

drug or alcohol users, and formerly incarcerated people. Their philosophy is that “everything begins with having a home” and that rehabilitation will not take place without a safe, supportive home.

The first project of Breaking Ground was the renovation of a one-time grand hotel in Times Square in 1991. Since then, the non-profit has built over 4000 units of permanent supportive and affordable housing and over 300 units of transitional housing. Breaking Ground estimates that it costs $24,000 per year to provide a single adult with supportive housing compared to $56,000 - NYC’s annual cost for a homeless person, ranging from $74 per night to house a single adult in shelter, $125 per night to imprison someone in a NYC prison, and $1,185 per night to treat an inpatient in a New York City hospital.

Another model like IMPACCT Brooklyn is the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), that was formed in 1978 as a community development corporation (CDC). To date, the Fifth Avenue committee has developed more than 600 units of affordable housing for low and moderate-income families 34

in over 100 buildings and has brought more than $300 million in direct investment for community development into South Brooklyn neighborhoods. Fifth Avenue’s affiliate, Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, a social purpose staffing company, helps more than 750 individuals a year to access decent jobs.

WIMBY isn’t convinced that we need another agency, such as a Social Housing Development Authority, as much as we need to revamp and streamline the agencies that exist such as HUD, HPD, NYC Department of City Planning and the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

We need to fund and assist those successful organizations and non-profits who can make a tremendous difference in providing housing, support, and economic development in low-income communities in New York City.

WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE

Women in Architecture Committee Welcomes Noushin Jafri as the Newest Co-chair!

Noushin Jafari is an award winning, experienced designer and project manager in firms both in Europe and the United States.

Noushin was born and raised in Tehran, Iran and later went on to study architecture at École Spéciale d’Architecture de Paris (Paris, France). It was during these undergrad years that she developed her passion towards creating unique spaces while being inspired by great contemporary artists and architects. In 2006, Noushin entered the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris La Villette (Paris, France) to study architecture-Cinema.

Through all these years of school and later in practice, Noushin kept developing her passion towards social sciences and published several international papers on the intersections of sociology and urbanism.

In March 2015, Noushin Jafari won the bronze prize in urban design at the International A’ Design Academy in Milan, Italy. Later that same year, Noushin redefined her career path when she moved to New York City to work on retail design and commercial buildings. Since then, she has worked on several stores for Tiffany & Co. in the US and North Asia; design and project management for Tory Burch stores, Rothy’s on Bleecker Street in NYC; a few Burlington

stores as well as other recognizable brands. Noushin finds retail design very dynamic and versatile and most compatible with her background in Architecture-Cinema.

In December of 2020, Noushin joined the AIA Brooklyn Women In Architecture Committee as a Co-Chair, where she intends on developing her all-time passion and purpose of empowering women in architecture and building a platform for current and future generations of women in this career to learn from each other’s experiences and mentor each other towards a more inclusive and diverse future in architecture.

In 2021, Noushin registered her design firm in Brooklyn, to bring together all her knowledge and experience in design through all these years and countries. The firm is focused on interiors, fixture and object design. Outside of her work, Noushin enjoys visiting art galleries, museums, drawing and painting. She had a couple of her works exhibited at New York Center for Architecture in benefit of nycobaNOMA in September 2020.

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CRAN COMMITTEE

The CRAN Committee Welcomes the Newest Co-Chair!

Cortney Walleston, founder of C.Wall Architecture, is a Registered Architect in New York and New Jersey with 20+ years of construction, architecture and design experience.

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She holds degrees in Engineering and Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and has decades of practical experience both in the field and in multidisciplinary firms.

C.Wall Architecture started as an architectural studio located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 2009, and has expanded to a second studio in Bradley Beach, NJ in 2019. We provide architecture and design services for residential clients, both singular and multi-family development, as well as hospitality design services for hotel, restaurant and entertainment uses.

From our initial feasibility studies for comparative asset selection through architectural design our clients benefit from a consistent design vision and construction management guidance.

Our studio provides unique contemporary design detailing on new construction which is often mixed with a respectful upgrade to existing historic structures. Custom details include new and modified exterior envelope solutions, spatial arrangement, interior furniture, architectural detailing and lighting.

We provide management services including energy modeling, construction management, and marketing renderings for a holistic package of planning, design and project management.

Cortney Walleston was named Co-Chair of the AIA Brooklyn CRAN Committee in 2021.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Total Members 900

850

800

750

700

2/20

3/20

4/20

5/20

6/20

7/20

8/20

9/20

10/20

11/20

12/20

1/21

2/21

3/21

Total Members

874

876

887

719

755

783

796

815

830

842

851

887

900

907

Total AIA

564

566

573

497

512

516

520

525

530

533

539

561

570

574

Total Assoc. AIA

300

300

304

214

235

259

268

282

290

298

301

315

319

323

Total Fellow

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Total International

9

9

9

7

7

7

7

7

9

10

10

10

10

10

Total Unassigned

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Newly Licensed

0

0

0

6

0

0

3

0

2

6

1

0

2

2

Total Emeritus

27

27

27

26

27

28

25

25

25

21

21

21

25

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS

AWARD PRESENTATION 2020

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The BKLYN Design Awards (BKDA) is established by the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Institute of Architects to encourage excellence in architectural design, to make the public more aware of the human-made environment and to honor the architect, owner & builder of significant projects. It is the goal of the AIA Brooklyn chapter to promote its respective members, affiliates, and non member architects through the display of their design and service accomplishments in Brooklyn.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Clinton Hill Carriage House NEUHAUS DESIGN ARCHITECTURE PC PHOTO CREDIT: ALLYSON LUBOW

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Clinton Hill Carriage House NEUHAUS DESIGN ARCHITECTURE PC PHOTO CREDIT: ALLYSON LUBOW CONTINUED

This neglected 1870’s carriage house was converted to a home for a family of four and their car. The scope of work included all new structure, mechanicals, and finishes within the historic masonry shell as well as a hidden rooftop addition with a magnificent view. The central design feature is an open riser, u-shaped center stair with a skylight above. This stair serves as both a light well and a connector creating a sense of openness and continuity through the building. The end result is a comfortable family home that takes advantages of a unique opportunity and restores a portion of a landmarked streetscape.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Clinton Hill Carriage House NEUHAUS DESIGN ARCHITECTURE PC PHOTO CREDIT: ALLYSON LUBOW CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Clinton Hill Carriage House NEUHAUS DESIGN ARCHITECTURE PC PHOTO CREDIT: ALLYSON LUBOW CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 78 Amity Street CWB ARCHITECTS PC PHOTO CREDIT: FRANCIS DZIKOWSKI/OT TOW

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

MULTI FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 78 Amity Street CWB ARCHITECTS PC PHOTO CREDIT: FRANCIS DZIKOWSKI/OT TOW CONTINUED

78 Amity Street is a demonstration of how a modern apartment building can be sensitively built in a historic district. The 50,000-square foot, twenty-seven-unit condo building sits outside the Cobble Hill Historic District on one site of the former Long Island College Hospital. The larger development sites have much larger buildings planned by another developer. The client, a resident of the historic district sensitive to the enormous controversy surrounding the larger project, wanted the building to be elegant and attractive but not alienating to the neighbors. First, we reconfigured initial floorplans that were vastly different between floors. We produced efficiently designed layouts for each apartment that were more functional and allowed for regularized systems, kitchen and bathroom layouts, and structure. With the floorplans set, we then designed a modern facade that is elegantly appropriate for the historical and aesthetic context of the neighborhood.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 78 Amity Street CWB ARCHITECTS PC PHOTO CREDIT: FRANCIS DZIKOWSKI/OT TOW CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS CUNY New York City College of Technology Academic Building

BY PERKINS EASTMAN PHOTO CREDIT: ANDREW RUGGE-PERKINS EASTMAN

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

INSTITUTIONAL AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS CUNY New York City College of Technology Academic Building

BY PERKINS EASTMAN PHOTO CREDIT: ANDREW RUGGE-PERKINS EASTMAN CONTINUED

This architecturally distinctive building significantly improves the face of Brooklyn’s lauded City Tech by creating a new campus gateway that enhances the surrounding Downtown Brooklyn context, supporting core and emerging sectors of NYC’s economy, and serving as a path to economic mobility for generations of students.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS CUNY New York City College of Technology Academic Building

BY PERKINS EASTMAN PHOTO CREDIT: ANDREW RUGGE-PERKINS EASTMAN CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS CUNY New York City College of Technology Academic Building

BY PERKINS EASTMAN PHOTO CREDIT: ANDREW RUGGE-PERKINS EASTMAN CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The POD Hotel

BY GARRISON ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: GARRISON ARCHITECTS

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

COMMERCIAL-INDUSTRIAL AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The POD Hotel

BY GARRISON ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: GARRISON ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

The Pod Hotel Brooklyn is a mixed-use hotel and commercial development in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The building is located in an old manufacturing district that is transforming into one of the liveliest cultural centers outside Manhattan. It provides an affordable place to stay for visitors to NYC travelling on a budget.

The idea of the Pod Hotel is to reduce cost by minimizing individual room sizes and to maximize social opportunities by providing generous communal spaces.

Therefore, the building includes shared amenities, such as planted courtyard spaces, a restaurant and bar, a roof garden, and a roof terrace bar.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The POD Hotel

BY GARRISON ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: GARRISON ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The POD Hotel

BY GARRISON ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: GARRISON ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The POD Hotel

BY GARRISON ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: GARRISON ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The POD Hotel

BY GARRISON ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: GARRISON ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 370 Jay Street, NYU

BY MITCHELL GIURGOLA PHOTO CREDIT: ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

ADAPTIVE REUSE-HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 370 Jay Street, NYU

BY MITCHELL GIURGOLA PHOTO CREDIT: ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO CONTINUED

As part of New York City’s Applied Science Initiative, NYU and the NYCEDC partnered to revitalize 370 Jay Street, the former headquarters of the MTA built in the late 1940s, and transform it into a vibrant hub where engineering, media, tech and the arts can co-exist and collaborate. 370 Jay Street is home to leading programs in computer science and engineering, data informatics, gaming, digital media, and recorded music, among others. The flagship building contributes to the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn and is an integral component of the emerging Brooklyn Tech Triangle.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 370 Jay Street, NYU

BY MITCHELL GIURGOLA PHOTO CREDIT: ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 370 Jay Street, NYU

BY MITCHELL GIURGOLA PHOTO CREDIT: ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 370 Jay Street, NYU

BY MITCHELL GIURGOLA PHOTO CREDIT: ALBERT VECERKA/ESTO CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Slatted Hollow

BY ASSORTED A/D

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

INTERIORS AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Slatted Hollow

BY ASSORTED A/D CONTINUED

Creating a flexible, finished space reclaimed from a previously unfinished cellar, the design capitalizes on the space’s inherent formal character by integrating rough, unfinished elements into the architectural design. The framing and accentuating of exposed stone foundation walls and structural concrete footings within a more contemporary design provided a welcome contrast of tone and texture, as well as afforded the space a broader sense of context: a nod to its subterranean setting.

The space opens to the rest of the house through a pronounced, uncovered stair opening, allowing for a direct visual connection from a long distance, and forming a natural extension of the house’s finished space.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Slatted Hollow

BY ASSORTED A/D CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Slatted Hollow

BY ASSORTED A/D CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Slatted Hollow

BY ASSORTED A/D CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Greenlight Bookstore Lefferts Gardens

BY FREDERICK TANG ARCHITECTURE PHOTO CREDIT: AMY BARKOW/BARKOW PHOTO

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

LOCAL FIRM-LOCAL PROJECT 2020 WINNER

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When Greenlight Bookstore opened their second location on Flatbush Avenue in Lefferts Gardens, they wanted to make sure the retained the recognizable spirit and atmosphere of the original store even though the new space was in a very different site. This shop occupies the ground floor and cellar level spaces of a new construction building on Flatbush Avenue in Lefferts Gardens. Our design creates a series of rectangular and angled lighting coves in the ceiling to mimic the feeling of natural light clerestories and skylights.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Greenlight Bookstore Lefferts Gardens

BY FREDERICK TANG ARCHITECTURE PHOTO CREDIT: AMY BARKOW/BARKOW PHOTO CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Greenlight Bookstore Lefferts Gardens

BY FREDERICK TANG ARCHITECTURE PHOTO CREDIT: AMY BARKOW/BARKOW PHOTO CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Greenlight Bookstore Lefferts Gardens

BY FREDERICK TANG ARCHITECTURE PHOTO CREDIT: AMY BARKOW/BARKOW PHOTO CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Old St. James Episcopal Church Redevelopment

BY CWB ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: CWB ARCHITECTS

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

UNBUILT EXCELLENCE AWARD 2020 WINNER

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Old St. James Episcopal Church Redevelopment

BY CWB ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: CWB ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

The new campus for the landmark Old St. James Church will serve as the center of religious worship for the immediately surrounding Parish, as the new central campus for the Church’s mission in the broader community, and as a flexible community resource that adds to the assemblage of cultural institutions in the downtown Elmhurst area. The design includes a new 18,000 sf building, a publicly accessible garden, and meeting spaces for the community. The structure is conceived as a mass timber building, with a solar array on the roof, and targets Passivhaus Institut Certification as a Low Energy Building.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Old St. James Episcopal Church Redevelopment

BY CWB ARCHITECTS PHOTO CREDIT: CWB ARCHITECTS CONTINUED

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Star Garment Innovation Center Katunayake, Sri Lanka

BY JORDAN PARNASS DIGITAL ARCHITECTURE PHOTO CREDIT: GANIDU BALASURIYA AND JORDAN PARNASS

AWARDS BKYLN DESIGN

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Star Garment Innovation Center Katunayake, Sri Lanka

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The Star Innovation Center is a product development facility located outside of Colombo in Katunayake, Sri Lanka. Planned as a global model for the entire garment industry, the project sets a new high bar for sustainability, energy efficiency and worker comfort.

By choosing to renovate an obsolete building to Passive House standards, the project dramatically reduces the waste, carbon emissions and fossil fuels typically required for demolition and a new build, and promotes the client’s commitment to maintain high standards in social, environmental, ethical and safety compliance within the global fashion industry.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Pandemic Retrofit Design Prototypes

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The project’s goals were: to develop a design and construction process to help small cafes expand their revenue under pandemic conditions; and to build these solutions into a rapidly repeatable process to aid small businesses and non-profits at no cost with donated labor and materials. Solutions were based on elements such as planters, condiment stations or trash cans that double as barriers to enforce social distancing. Materials and finishes are simple and accessible; clear visual communication about what the “new normal” would mean for the client’s way of working was essential.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS The Institute for the Study of Human Resiliency

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The Queens Botanical Garden is a 39 acres garden located in Flushing, Queens at the end of a vibrant and busy stretch of Main Street. The garden intends to serve as an educative site of plant life for visitors and researchers; however, it also includes spatial qualities found in sanctuaries and healing gardens. Adjacent to the main entrance of the botanical garden is a water channel, circular garden, and ellipses that reference a labyrinth. The intersection of these axis leads to the point of location, near the busiest corner at Main Street and Dahlia Avenue.

The Institute for the Study of Human Resiliency proposes a mixed-use project composed of the main research building, classroom pavilion, and a labyrinth garden. It employs concrete material to create different spatial characteristics through thin and thick walls to block street noise at the dense street corner, while being porous, through a perforated screen, looking to the garden. The path to the institute, influenced by the perforated screen pattern and its shadows, is derived from the extended elliptical axis.

The main building includes research, study, and service spaces, adjacent to the street corner. Through curves, the meeting room, collection room, and research rooms are strategically placed to create a sense of public and private.

To ensure the users are comfortable, there are slits within walls for them to feel the presence of others moving through the building. The perforated screen is open to the garden to gain as much green view and light as possible The classroom pavilion is a cell that merges a contemplation and sanctuary space. The contemplative portion is adjacent to the perforated screen for its flicker lights which change throughout the day while the sanctuary, circumscribed by a thick wall, includes a skylight that brings in a pool of light.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Macon Street Passive House

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS Macon Street Passive House

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Passionate about giving our older building stock the ability to take us into the future, the owners and architects set out to retrofit this two-family townhouse, built in 1889, into a Passive House. The renovation resulted in a building that is net zero, eliminates the use of fossil fuel and draws fewer resources from our vulnerable planet. Visible features such as exterior operable shades and an electric vehicle charging station make it a conversation starter on its quiet Brooklyn block. The house exemplifies that fortifying the beauty of our past is an important part of creating a sustainable future.

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BKLYN DESIGN AWARDS 511 Macon

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From Architect: This project we must admit, we were concerned the day we started it; it has been abandoned for years, it is a landmarked building and the front façade on the front (cornice, roof) has partially collapsed; Carefully working with the client (owner) and the landmark preservation, we were able to secure a landmarks approval to restore the façade to its historical condition.

This is in the district of Stuyvesant Heights, a very small region of landmark protected residences in Brooklyn; so, I feel it was important to restore this building to its glory; and give the street back its beauty it deserves.

Brooklyn is going through & has gone through a major face lift in the recent years. We as a firm have seen the work done in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens & Ft. Greene; so, it was vital to create a holistic blend of the existing neighborhood and weave it together where it could stand out, but not as an eye sore.

The Clients budget was tight for rehabilitation, and even through a pandemic; the owner was able to sell the property—on schedule and within the cost. The new home owners fell in the love the moment they walked in; witnessing that joyous moment is what keeps us going for the next project and take pride in all the work that was done.

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AIA BROOKLYN

CONGRAT

ULATIONS! To Our 2021 and 2022 Board of Directors!

Let’s celebrate AIA Brooklyn’s new leaders!

In the following pages, we wanted to introduce you to our directors and showcase their interests, vision, and path within architecture. Welcome, Directors!

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1 David Cunningham • Born in the Bronx, raised in Upstate, New York.

• Family: Married to Oana, who was raised in Romania, raising our 6-year-old daughter, Maxine.

• Education: Studied at Princeton University, liberal arts major before he pursued architecture at Syracuse University.

• Resided around the world including, Thouars, France; Athens, Greece; Jackson, Mississippi; Baltimore; Florence, Italy; and London.

• Interests include biking, soccer, fall color palette, ruins, and his daughter, Maxine talking in her sleep.

• Dislikes include broccoli, idea of time, and furniture.

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2

Sarah Drake After graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from CarnegieMellon University in 1985, Sarah has worked in New York City and the tri-state area, focusing primarily on high-end residential projects, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments. In 2001, Sarah started working independently and began her small architecture practice in 2010.

Besides working with private clients on their home and apartment renovations, Sarah also provided consultation services for other architects, engineers, contractors, and building management teams at multiple dwelling apartment buildings in Manhattan.

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Pamela Weston Architecture and volunteering have been an integral part of Pamela’s life from a very early age. Her distinguished grandfather (AIA Brooklyn President 1949-1951) and father (AIA Brooklyn President 1965-1966) paved her way for a life in the design community. Pamela’s creativity was nurtured by working at Martyn & Don Weston Architects during summer vacations. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Vassar College followed by a Bachelor of Architecture from the New York Institute of Technology.

Pamela has been on the boards of many social organizations and has stage-managed in local community theatres. She has always enjoyed working behind the scenes.

As an integral part of AIA Brooklyn for many years, the chapter and its members came to feel like a part of Pamela’s family. She has fond memories of balloon making at the NYS Conventions in the Catskills with

Harry Soled, Will Lupo, and her parents. She is grateful for the privilege of sharing chapter meetings and learning from Irving Marks, Nat Anzelmo, Tony Giacobbe, Gil Gigliello, and Pat Raspanti.

One of Pamela’s greatest mentors is her grandmother Betty, who tirelessly volunteered her time with charitable organizations. One of the groups that she helped establish is Convalescent Homes, a predecessor to today’s nursing homes. Her other great mentor is her father, who has remained active in AIA Brooklyn and the architectural profession since the 1950s.

Pamela is one of the founding members of the National Associates Committee, which has led to the placement of an emerging professional on many local, state, and National AIA Boards. She enjoys her many roles at the chapter and hopes she can impart her knowledge and wisdom to present and future architects.

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Michelle D.Todd The value that each member brings to the chapter is priceless because of our diverse backgrounds and experiences.

I hope to assist in promoting more engagement with the AIA members to be advocates by soliciting input on local-level legislation impacting the profession and wider issues affecting the profession like equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Design is derived from climate, technology, culture, and site, and as architects, we need to truly be engaged by respecting and considering nature when applying our profession and moving forward to improve the quality of the environment by deepening our understanding and correcting our ways of mishandling the earth’s milieu is an important topic to share.

Finally, to continue the trajectory of the chapter to build meaningful relationships with a diversity of architects, students, and industry professionals that might not have otherwise met on their services for other architects, engineers, contractors, and building management teams at multiple dwelling apartments buildings in Manhattan.

5. David Flecha, Assoc. AIA (Not pictured) was also voted in as a director, but he declined to submit materials for this feature.

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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

In honor of Women’s History Month, PYLON is sharing stories from women who are changing the narrative, in the built industry. In the following pages, women share their journey as mothers, principals, designers, and student advisors, through architecture, their hopes and accomplishments, their growth, and advice for the next generation of women who wish to pursue architecture as a career.

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Annie Coombs I’m having trouble sitting down to write this piece. As the principal in my studio and mother in my household, it’s been a busy week: I’ve done two site visits and had two client design meetings, with a third tomorrow; the Architecture League has just published a report I’ve been working on for a year; and my child seems to have gone for a reverse daylight savings. Before starting a family, I worked tirelessly at Diller, Scofidio + Renfro. When I left, I decided to find a better work-life balance, but here I am: the only time I’ve found to write this piece is Thursday night around 9pm.

Architecture is by nature a labor of love. That love is no stronger or weaker because I’m a woman. What’s different, being a woman and a mom, is that I’m trying to succeed in both roles. Sometimes it doesn’t work out for either.

In architecture school, we all dreamed of having our own practices, but we were never taught how to do it. The hardest part isn’t the designs or the drawing—it’s feeling like you’re making every decision on your own. Figuring out how to run a business, from managing clients to paying staff, can be as hard as the actual design work. But in truth, I’m not on my own: I’ve had fantastic mentors who have helped me in those efforts. My most valued mentors are my parents, who are both architects, but I’ve also been fortunate to have mentors in every job I had prior to running my current practice. To say I did it alone wouldn’t tell the whole story.

As principal of my own studio, I want to re-think what it means to be a woman and to have a family in the field of architecture. I encourage people who work for me to have a boundary with me, to enjoy their weekends, to enjoy their

vacations, to be there for their families—to take care of themselves. I know what it’s like to sacrifice that, and I think we need to break that cycle. There’s often an expectation that we show up at work as only part of ourselves, leaving our personal issues aside as we get the job done. While COVID’s school closures and social distancing have made work-life balance harder, they’ve also normalized that we have personal lives. The reality is we’re all humans, and we’d be a lot more productive if we leaned into being human a bit.

A few years after finishing my masters, I remember being shocked by a statistic in the Architecture Journal: while graduating architecture school classes are around 50/50 split between women and men, only 21% of registered architects are women. As a historically male-dominated profession, architecture is struggling to adapt to all these talented women that are now a part of it. Both men and women have families, but it’s far more socially acceptable for men to not share domestic labor and to keep on working than women. If we want to be at the cutting edge of architecture, we have to be on the cutting edge of work culture. That means being more comfortable with people working from home, giving employees more flexible hours, trusting employees to do work even when you can’t see them, and welcoming families into the practice instead of pretending they don’t exist.

If you’re a woman pursuing a career in architecture, I have three pieces of advice. First, you’ve got to love it; it’s way too much work to not love. Two, be on the cutting edge of changing working culture and if you’re somewhere that 159

doesn’t seem open to that change, move on and move on fast. Three seek out mentors in the profession, find someone who’s doing what you want to be doing, and learn from them.

Manhattan apartment renovation.

Photo: Devon Banks

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Catherine Chattergoon From a young age, I loved to play with Legos, and my passion for architecture has continued to grow ever since.

I was born in Brooklyn, NY but mainly raised in the suburbs of Elmwood Park, NJ and Prosper, TX. My exposure to different living environments helped me see how our understanding of the world comes from diverse lived experiences. I was really interested in how our environments shape us and how architecture has the ability to tell stories. Architecture is an integral part of our culture, our history, and our identity; my realization that architecture could be a catalyst for change drove me to pursue an education in architecture at Pratt Institute.

When I started my architectural education at Pratt Institute, I entered school with the idea that architecture is a field that could only influence positive social change through buildings, but my experiences at Pratt helped me see the potential for architecture to change the current narrative and become a reflection of our idealized society.

Architecture is a system of thinking and a new way of understanding the world. We as architects possess this language of influence and can help people understand who we are, how we organize, and how we connect with people.

We are storytellers, artists, and activists.

It is important for me to put as much love and energy into my academic work as I do into helping others around me. I have been aiming to achieve this by centering care and using joy as a tool for transformation. Since I am only in my second year of my undergraduate education, I am still exploring the ways in which architecture has the potential to build a better world; however, I am certain that I want to use my education and my career to advocate for justice and support underrepresented voices.

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change. I am currently the Student Advisor to the Dean in the School of Architecture at Pratt; the inspiring leadership of our dean, Dr. Harriet Harriss, has helped me see the power within myself and my ability to empower others. The future of architecture can be transformed through education, and I am so blessed to work alongside Dean Harriss who has shown me that pedagogic change can create an inclusive canon and influence an equitable world.

My role as the Student Advisor to the Dean as well as being an undergraduate student representative have allowed me to advocate for student involvement and bring the voices of the rising generation into critical conversations. I am also a firm believer in the beauty of community, and my participation in the Mistresses of Pratt Archive and the Pratt NOMAS Chapter have given me the opportunity to elevate underrepresented voices and honor the contributions of women and people of color in the field of architecture. This work has allowed me to reflect on myself as well as the changes I want to see in our world, and I would not be where I am today without everyone who has supported me on this journey.

For women who are considering a career in architecture, I would encourage you to let passion lead you in the direction of your dreams. You belong in this profession, and your words and ideas do matter. Architecture will not reach its full potential until it includes and supports all voices.

Change will only come from working together to design an

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inclusive and equitable future for all. It gives me great hope to be surrounded by a generation of future architects that are genuinely invested in making a difference. The radical solution lies in us working with inclusivity, equity, and collective consciousness in mind, and we will play a significant role in shaping our history and future. I believe that we can build a better world together as dreamers and makers. I hope we can be united in the future and honor the differences that make us beautiful.

Cemre Durusoy I came into architecture by way of stage design which has shaped my approach to architecture as an act of creating places within which life can freely play out.

Having lived in very large cities almost my whole life, I have developed an urban dwellers’ natural ability to navigate a constantly shifting landscape of sights, sounds and other tactile stimuli, first in Istanbul, then in New York City. The urban context within which I primarily work presents me with a series of design problems to tackle and parameters to respond to. Over the many years of practicing architecture in New York City, I have come to enjoy the process of renovating as a transformative experience for both me and my clients.

My inspiration to pursue architecture further came from my small community of friends and professors in the architecture studio. Together we migrated from a freewheeling liberal arts program at Bennington College in Vermont to the Graduate School of Architecture at Rice University in Texas. We dispersed across the US after graduation, I moved to New York in 2001, adopting Brooklyn as my forever home. After interning at BKAA and Rockwellgroup, I chose to take a more hands-on approach to architecture at MADE Design Build in Red Hook, Brooklyn where I found another close-knit community of designers and builders with whom I collaborate to this day.

I discovered the satisfaction one can get from figuring out the smallest details and that scale was relative. I was inspired to pursue my own practice where I could let my personal design process develop and flourish.

One of the biggest joys of my life, my daughter, also brought the biggest challenge to my career since children

and architecture both require constant attention. Over time I learned to explore ways of making the two crosspollinate each other instead of competing for my limited resources, which stretched ever so thin during the early days of the pandemic.

Despite the hardships so abruptly brought about, the pandemic has also been a positive force in hastening the much-needed conversation to address challenges facing women who work. I am hopeful that an acknowledgement of the extraordinary demands on women in architecture will lead to meaningful change and more structural support from society at large that will help equalize the playing field. Architecture is a life-long investment. My advice for women considering architecture as a career is to foster relationships that will support and sustain you while staying confident in the choices you make to determine your own unique path.

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Cafe Grumpy Stone St. 164

Emma Greenberg My name is Emma Greenberg and I am the founder of Emma Greenberg Architect, PLLC. I grew up in New Jersey in a family of artists including painters, bookbinders, and ceramicists. I am also artistic and always took drawing and painting classes while growing up. I received my Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and my Master of Architecture from LSU. After graduating, I moved to New York City and worked for six years in small firms on residential, commercial, and retail projects. I obtained my architectural license and started my own firm, Emma Greenberg Architect, PLLC where I work on residential architectural, interiors projects, and consult with other architects on their work.

My entrepreneurial journey began with content creation. I developed my personal brand and created an architectural Instagram account @emmasarchitecture.

This allowed me to share my passion for the artistic side of architecture, such as materials and finishes, and details relating to storage and organization. I post photos, diagrams, and comments to explain the reasoning behind design decisions.

I also created a YouTube channel, ‘Emma Talks Architecture,’ to host interviews with other architects creating content and leaders. I also share my videos on home organization, and other topics that I explore on my Instagram account.

I attracted my first client through my Instagram account.

A friend saw my work on Instagram and asked me to work on her bathroom renovation. The client had a strong vision for the bathroom, which I refined to meet her aesthetics and goals for resale. I developed the schedules in accordance with the budget and schedule, created the construction drawings, and observed construction remotely due to the constraints of the pandemic. My attention to detail in design and my interactions with the client and passion for having a comfortable home have inspired me to continue working on residential projects.

I consult virtually on the design of home offices. Now that people work from home, I saw a need for this. I worked on a great deal of commercial interior projects and designed the furniture layout, storage, ergonomics, and decor of the room to provide comfort and promote productivity. I discuss with the client over video calls about how design components can support their professional goals. Meeting virtually removes geographical limits and is time efficient.

I would give two pieces of advice to young women pursuing a career in architecture: get licensed and make your own opportunities. Being licensed allows for 165

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EMMAGREENBERGARCHITECT.COM EMMA@GREENBERG-DESIGNS.COM (225) 276-5997 IG @EMMASARCHITECTURE 166

professional opportunities, career advancement, and the option start your own firm. Also, studying for the Architectural Registration Exams teach you a great deal about detailing, code, and the profession.

Furthermore, I have had the most success by putting myself out there. I have gained opportunities because I consistently created content on my own social media platforms. While this initially felt uncomfortable, I gained confidence with time, practice, and eventually success. My efforts led to proposed architectural projects, professional connections, speaking engagements, podcasts, and blogs. The revelation that putting myself out there would lead to growth was empowering!

Kiamesha Robinson I‘ve had a meandering path that ultimately led me into architecture. I’ve always loved art but couldn’t foresee how that passion could be sustainable at the time. Although, I was always encouraged to pursue whatever it is I wanted in a career yet the knowledge of all possibilities seemed farfetched. That all changed when my church worked on developing its second senior housing that I realized there’s lots of possibilities to art and design. From then on, I worked hard preparing myself for a Masters degree in Architecture, since I missed my opportunity in college. That hard work paid off when I was accepted into the City College of New York Spitzer School of Architecture.

As I was going through my studies, there were many challenges that arose being thrust into using new programs and gaining knowledge of the architectural field. It was support from family and school peers that helped. It was a great friend named Glenn Bell during my time in graduate school that helped me see a newfound potential I hadn’t noticed in myself.

He later became my husband and he is my greatest supporter as I am his. Pursuing this career path has been one of the most important decisions in my life.

After having been working for a few years now, I see myself halfway towards my goal for licensure in the coming year.

I’m currently an Assistant project Architect/ Designer at SLM Architecture, P.C. who are making many strides to help communities in need. This work experience has been helping me grow my knowledge professionally and preparing me for a personal goal of having my own firm one day. I also hope to create more housing for those who need it, like seniors. My church really works to help aid the community in Harlem in ways that those who live in the community would benefit. I want to work with my church one day and continue that success. It’s like going back to what started my interest and giving back in the best way. It’s freeing to know this is in my reach especially when I started, I did not know where my love for art and design would lead me. I’m looking forward to what’s to come.

If there is a woman who is going back and forth about pursuing a career in architecture my advice to you is “if you want/can do it, just do it!” The architectural field needs more women like you and me. Life is about taking a risk for yourself sometimes...why not just try it? It will get you one step closer to your passion or career either way. Life is about knowing more about yourself, both things you like and dislike. You will only find out if you try. So, sometimes you just have to do it! And do it without regrets and with the notion that whatever you learn no one can take that away from you. Understand that there are many women like yourself out there including me. I took those risks on myself and now I can only see the benefits.

ART WAS THE IMPETUS OF MY PURSUIT IN ARCHITECTURE

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Exterior rendering of PRC NYCHA Manhattan at 1504 Amsterdam Avenue

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Laura Carter I think this is a piece of good advice for anyone, but especially important for people who aren’t cis men: never be afraid to say when you don’t know or don’t understand something.

I think every female architect I know would say they feel a lot of pressure to prove that they deserve to be where they are, professionally, especially when surrounded by contractors. There’s a deep fear of making a mistake or being caught not knowing something, lest your ignorance is used in a broader argument about where women do and don’t belong. We often have this knee-jerk reaction to not ask questions, admit to being confused, or ask for something to be explained again or differently, etc. And that fear isn’t unjustified – you will be talked down to or mansplained to or assumed to be of lesser importance or have less authority on a project than you do, simply because of your gender presentation and especially if you’re younger. It sucks. It’s getting better, but it sucks.

I’d say that roughly 10% of the time I say I don’t know something, it’s met with mansplaining or some other flavor of condescension.

The other 90%, though, can be pretty great. When you say, “I don’t understand,” what you’re doing is validating someone else’s expertise; you’re giving them an opportunity to feel smart and valuable and be heard for what they bring to the project. They not only will like you for that (because no one doesn’t like being told “hey, you’re smart, tell me how this is done”), but also, they’ll remember you as a person who cares about the work, is curious about the right way to do something, and values the expertise of the other people on the team. That immediately translates into respect for

you and makes it far more likely that that person will come directly to you someday to ask for your help with something.

It’s the best kind of quid pro quo—you show someone that they are valued and respected, 90% of the time they will show you that same thing right back.

Attached is a response to one of the short essay prompts for Women’s History Month, as well as a photo of me and a rendering of a project I’m currently working on, as project manager. It’s a model home for a residential development in the Catskills, with all homes designed to Passive House standards and designed to be operationally Net Zero: thecatskillproject.com

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Neha Hegde Our family’s home, constructed in 2002 and built using alternative energy sources, was designed to be energy conscious. The modern concept of “going green” was yet to become part of urban lifestyles. I was only 12, which is young for lifelong commitments, but I knew then that I wanted to become an architect—because a designer with essential skills can influence a necessary change in principles. Construction has the third-highest carbon footprint among all industries, but architects, like the ones who built our homes, were making a dent in that statistic. Architecture seemed a compelling career to my young earth-loving self. My interests in shaping the built environment persisted and I went on to receive my Bachelor’s in Architecture from India, where I also worked for 4 years, focusing on sustainability by reimagining vernacular materials with modern techniques in construction. Innovating from the grassroots level, I see the site as a resource for material and the building as a placeholder for the community. During my time with Biome Environmental and Manasaram Architects—two practices (both happen to be led by amazing women!) pioneering innovation in stabilized earth masonry and bamboo, respectively—I came to understand the challenges associated with “materializing a material.”

Working in the realm of sustainable construction, very quickly, can become a highly satisfying hyper-local pursuit.

For example, we were making building blocks from the soil excavated on the same site of construction- the idea being to minimize carbon footprint. It allowed me to go deep into the life-cycle assessment of building materials and implement conscientious systems at a residential scale.

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Anchored in this conscience, and wanting to gain a global perspective on design, I studied at Pratt Institute in New York. There, my thesis explored the relationship of form vis a vis performative system for greywater remediation and the materiality of found objects in the Anthropocene within the residential scale. I interned at the Collective for Culture, Community, and Environment in New York and invested my time in an urban intervention called “Cool Streets” by the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at Columbia University with the RETI Center for the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Currently, I work remotely as a project manager at Daniel Beck Architecture where I am honing my skill set with custom residential design and historic renovation projects based out of Charleston in South Carolina.

Incidentally, I was inspired by an amazing woman to pursue architecture. I didn’t know then, but I was relating to a strong female force in a male-dominated space.

My one piece of advice is not going to be specific to gender. It is important to be constantly motivated and inspired. Find your inspirations early and take the time to pursue them, going all-in for a set time. After graduating, do not try to find your identity but just watch and learn.

Identity will follow organically.

Courtyard Home ANEKAL, INDIA

Firm: Biome Environmental Role: Project architect, Design development;, Project coordination Typology: Residential Area: 3500 sft

(In)Formal Inquiries PRATT INSTITUTE

Instructor: Ariane Lourie Harrison Team: Don Dietsche

Embedded Hydromorphology PRATT INSTITUTE

Instructor: Nathan Hume Team: Don Dietsche Location: House 16, Governor’s Island, NY

Cocoon TRICHY, INDIA

Firm: Manasaram Architects Role: Design development with Bamboo Typology: Institutional, experimental Area: 800 sft Design team: Neelam Manjunath, Suman Das 171

A WOMEN’S WORK

Sarah Gordon Drake One thing I’ve learned about design is that sometimes the best solution is not the one in front of you, the one you are searching for and expecting—it is the one next to you, behind you, the one you happen to glance at and discover it has been there all along. Similarly, my thirtyfive-year career in architecture continues to be a balance of ego-driven plans and goals with those developed by reflex, intuition, and coincidence.

How and when do we start picking up on the clues of who we will become, what we will do? We look around: at our families, neighbors, teachers, and relatives. Since beginning grade school, I considered having a professional career of any type a requirement, a foregone conclusion to the years of education ahead. My mother was a single mother who majored in zoology, worked as a teacher at the Museum of Natural History, and became a professional medical writer. My older sister worked in banking and now runs an internet-based company. My father worked in government. His mother had been an artist, his father a writer. My mother’s father had a real estate company and a wood-working shop set up in his basement that I loved to explore. This was the world I knew, and the clues that led to the private practice I started twenty years ago are just apparent to me now.

Architecture was not among my first choices as a career, which included inventing, writing, or specializing in a field of science. I discovered architecture while taking a course in mechanical drafting in middle school.

Architecture, as an academic study, combined my love of drawing, with that of physics and math. My specialty in residential architecture was a fluke of timing—needing to 172

take the one job offered during a recession—but the clues I find, again in retrospect, pointed in that direction all along: love of the hardware of homes, the texture of materials that surround us, relish in the tools of daily life expressed in kitchens, studies, libraries, dens, desks, chairs, bathing, gardens and envisioning the settings of living as is done through literature.

I was fortunate to have been raised in an environment in which the idea of being a working woman was taken for granted. I never doubted I would be capable of working in a field that might be considered a male-dominated trade— it’s a sense of confidence, the right to sit at the table, that is essential to being an architect. I hope to be a similar role model to family members, those I work with, and those who work for me. In that vein, the sense of legacy is the next aspect of my career that I’d like to offer over the next ten years to younger architects—sharing what I’ve learned about developing project solutions for clients and revealing others they did not yet know could exist.

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Upper Eastside Townhouse

A WOMEN’S WORK

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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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JUST ONE MORE THING: ABOUT THE COVER

“I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO PAINT SHIRLEY CHISHOLM!”

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This was Brooklyn-based painter and muralist, Danielle Mastrion’s response when she was asked to paint the great Congresswoman on the buildeing at the entrance of the new Shirley Chishalm State Park.

This unique project brings together Mastrion’s focus on social justice, specifically women’s rights and youth education, with her passion for bold bright colors. The design challenge was right up tthe artist’s alley. Mastrion

honored Chisholm through her vivid portraiture while surrounding her with the flora and fauna native to her namesake park.

“I have lived in Brooklyn all my life and this community offers me endless insiration. I am proud to be part of bringing Chisholm’s legacy to life through art.” Mastrion’s work can be seen in Latin America, the Caribbean and throughout Brooklyn.

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