2009 Third Quarter Report
September 14, 2009
Wow, what a second quarter for the AIA New Orleans. A lot of significant things happened that the AIA New Orleans’ members need to be aware of. Our events have been very successful. There are numerous opportunities for members throughout our organization to be involved. Some of the highlights are as follows:
Our crawfish boil in April, which was held in Covington at the new Tammany Trace Trailhead. This event was well attended with many members we do not normally see at our monthly meetings. The crawfish were awesome and the beer was provided by the local Heiner Brau Brewery. In May we had our golf tournament held at Audubon Golf Course. The weather cooperated and a good time was had by all. It was good fellowship, food and music provided after the event. In May also we began the Architecture + Furniture Design + Lecture series cosponsored and held at Design Within Reach. The building tours have continued at our monthly meetings and this quarter included the 200 Carondelet Condominium Building. Please stay tuned for more building tours as the year winds down. Of course, our big events are Canstruction & DesCours coming up in December. Please be prepared as more information is forthcoming. If you know of anyone interested in becoming a sponsors of these great events, please contact Melissa.
Also in the second quarter we had the AIA National Convention in San Francisco and the AIA Louisiana Conference in San Destin, Florida. The AIA National Convention was well attended by AIA New Orleans members. San Francisco is a stunningly beautiful city and the lectures, tours and product show were extraordinarily well organized and beneficial. I encourage you to attend the National Convention if you have not and remember to mark your calendar for 2011 as the AIA National Convention will be held in New Orleans. The state conference in San Destin was also well attended by AIA New Orleans’ members. The good news is that at the conference, Albert Ledner, AIA, received the Gold Medal. He was nominated by the AIA New Orleans. His presentation during the awards luncheon was a very informative history of his extraordinary work. Also, AIA New Orleans nominated the Make It Right Foundation which receive the Patron Award. Unfortunately, our nominees for State Officers were not elected though the elections were close and we appreciate Angela O’Bryne and Julie Brown for agreeing to run for state office representing AIA New Orleans. It should be noted also that AIA New Orleans architects received Design Awards from AIA Louisiana as well as AIA Gulf States Regional. Congratulations to our award winners. Please peruse the AIA Louisiana website to see these great projects.
I had the good pleasure of representing AIA New Orleans at the Tulane University School of Architecture commencement ceremony in May. AIA New Orleans annually gives awards to the outstanding architecture school graduates as selected by the Tulane faculty. It was a distinct privilege and honor to participate in the ceremony and the AIA New Orleans should be proud of its relationship with Tulane University. The new Dean, Ken Schwartz, FAIA, has already been very involved with AIA New Orleans and we look forward to a successful relationship.
Also in May, I attended a Board Meeting of the Priestly School for Design and Construction. The Priestly School continues to move forward to encourage the underprivileged and minorities of the New Orleans area to become educated in the design and construction industry. Increasing the diversity in our profession is a national AIA goal and the Priestly School is an ideal opportunity for the AIA New Orleans to help our profession achieve this goal. There are many outstanding individuals involved in helping Priestly School become a success and the AIA New Orleans’ members can assist in this endeavor. Please contact the Priestly School to volunteer in-kind services as volunteer instructors and guest lecturers. AIA New Orleans is working towards the Priestly School being our legacy project for the 2011 Convention. Stay tuned for more information on this subject. Also it should be noted that the Priestly School has been promised a new home in the old Booker T. Washington Senior High School. These efforts are continuing and hopefully the Priestly School can achieve success and find a new permanent home in this great old historic facility.
Our continuing lecture series for sustainability has been extremely successful and in May there was a presentation made by Geoff Gjertson, AIA, Associate Professor at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His lecture was on the ULL architecture students Beau Soliel House, which is one of twenty projects selected to participate in the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Competition to be held in October of this year on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The ULL architecture students should be commended for their efforts. They are the first school from Louisiana to participate in the Solar Decathlon and we wish them luck.
The most outstanding success story for the AIA New Orleans in the second quarter is we now have our permanent storefront. The AIA New Orleans Design Center is located at 1000 St. Charles Avenue overlooking Lee’s Circle. We could not be more pleased with this outstanding location. Please stop by and visit Melissa in her new environs. The job is not complete though, we are looking for support in outfitting the lease space to suit our specific needs. The new space is approximately 2,000 sq.ft. and will house our office space as well as exhibit hall and meeting space for future events. The extraordinary efforts undertaken by Melissa and her staff have allowed AIA New Orleans to increase income beyond just the dues to help support the cost of this new office. This is a primary goal of the Executive Committee in 2009 and we are very happy that we have successfully achieved this goal. If any of the members can help procure donations for interior improvements to the space, please contact Melissa.
Coming up soon the Nomination Committee will get together to develop a list of members to be involved in AIA New Orleans Executive Committee for 2010. President Elect, Charles Montgomery, is prepared to continue the success of the AIA New Orleans in the year 2010 and looking for volunteers to provide expertise and energy to continue the success. If you are interested in being involved, please contact Melissa, Charles or myself.
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2009 Second Quarter Report
April 15, 2009
The first quarter for AIA New Orleans has been an eventful one. The year started off successfully with our Awards Banquet on February 13th. This ceremony exceeded our expectations with over 220 in attendance, over 70 entries and 12 projects recognized. Please review our website to see the award-winning entries. AIA New Orleans would like to thank AIA Houston for hosting our awards jury this year, with particular thanks to the three jurors, Jim Evans, AIA, Andrew Vrana, AIA and Kimberly Hickson, AIA. Mike Piazza, AIA was the Chairman this year and his concept was to have the jury represent large, medium size and small firms and be primarily practitioners. Each year we will review the comments from the membership with regards to the annual Design Awards and the committee will continue to strive to provide a successful event. It is my belief that the Design Awards program is the most important event the AIA New Orleans provides to the membership on an annual basis.
Members of the AIA New Orleans Executive Committee attended Grassroots in February of this year. It was disheartening to meet with our colleagues around the country to see the difficult times our profession is having with regards to workload. Most of us here in the New Orleans area seem to be somewhat sheltered from the economic downturn happening nationally. The main focus of the Grassroots this year was to encourage President Obama and the U. S. Congress to use the stimulus package funds in a prudent manner to assist the construction industry throughout the nation. Will Tregre, Charles Montgomery, Melissa Urcan and myself visited our Senators and Congressmen on the hill with a message to spend the stimulus money on construction projects that are “shovel ready” in the New Orleans region. This message was delivered with great importance in an effort to continue our renewal and rebirth of the City of New Orleans.
To continue with advocacy, Michael Bell continues to chair this committee. He has worked successfully with other AIA New Orleans members to negotiate with the City of New Orleans regarding the Owner/Architect Agreement. Though the Advocacy Committee’s efforts fell short of convincing the city to use the AIA documents, the committee did receive concessions regarding uninsurable language in the Owner/Architect Agreement the city had drafted. The Executive Committee budgeted $2,000.00 for legal costs for membership to be represented in this effort.
A search for a storefront for our offices is ongoing. The Real Estate Committee has met several times in the first quarter and has reviewed numerous lease spaces available. Our goal is still to find a storefront approximately 1,200 sq.ft. and a rent of approximately $2,000.00 in the warehouse/arts district. We want to continue to thank Marcel Wizsnia for allowing us to occupy offices in his building. Melissa and the committee are being very selective to insure that AIA New Orleans finds the most appropriate space within our financial means. If any members have suggestions or is aware of a space available, please let us know.
The Nominating Committee has submitted names to AIA Louisiana for this years election. Angela O’Byrne has agreed to run for President Elect. We are still looking for members interested in being nominated for Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer. If any new members are interested in getting involved in AIA Louisiana, please let the Executive Committee know as soon as possible. Marcel Wisznia has graciously agreed to serve as the Selection Board Member from District 1, which is Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish. Merlin Leeret will serve from District 2, which includes Jefferson, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Terrebonne and Washington Parishes. Currently, Dennis Brady is representing District 1 on the Selection Board and Charles Silbernagel is representing the District 2.
AIA New Orleans is proud to announce that they are nominating the Medal of Honor to Albert Ledner and AIA New Orleans is nominating “The Make it Right Foundation” for the Patron of Architecture Award this year.
The next special event will be the Third Annual Crawfish Boil which will be held Saturday, April 25, 2009, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Heinerbrau Brewery in Covington. Special thanks go out to Keirin Weldon, Randy Aultman, and Brett Petry for co-chairing this event. The fundraising has exceeded our expectations so the event is free to all members. Please come out and enjoy the mudbugs on the Northshore. This should be an excellent family event for AIA New Orleans members.
Also, on May 22, 2009, AIA New Orleans will be hosting our Sixth Annual Golf Tournament at Audubon Park. The committee chair, Steve Braquet, is currently seeking sponsorships for this event. Please consider getting involved in this fun outdoor event.
Our monthly meetings will continue to be scheduled around tours of award-winning projects throughout the New Orleans region. This thoughtful design of a renovation and addition to a residence located on the Lakefront was well received by members in attendance. Also at this meeting, we had a brief presentation from Chris Elberson, AIA, our AIA Louisiana President. We also had a presentation from Jared Hueter, who is the Dean of Design Program at the Priestley Charter School. Please look out for future tours as our monthly meetings are both educational and fun, plus you can receive continuing education units.
I would like to conclude this report with a few words about the Priestley Charter School. While I was attending Grassroots this year, I heard a presentation from Courtnay Tyus, the Executive Director of . Charter High School for Architecture & Design (CHAD) in Philadelphia. I also met the AIA Philadelphia President who filled me in on some of the details with regard to the relationship between AIA Philadelphia and CHAD. AIA Louisiana President, Executive Director and Trula Remsen visited CHAD earlier this year and were thoroughly impressed with the success rate of the school in Philadelphia which is presently 10 years old. I am encouraging AIA New Orleans and its members to get behind the Priestley School to see if we cannot follow the example of AIA Philadelphia and create a first class charter school dedicated to design and construction in the New Orleans region. This charter school also addresses the AIA national goal of diversity in our membership. Since the Priestley School serves primarily minorities in the urban New Orleans region, it would give us an opportunity to address this important issue. As many of you may know, last year’s AIA Louisiana President, Jerry Hebert, was attempting to find a legacy project for Louisiana in New Orleans for the upcoming 2011 AIA National Convention. AIA New Orleans Executive Committee is pursuing with great interest all efforts to assist the Priestley School and we are asking all members to become active in this endeavor. The Priestley School has a sponsorship program where you can sponsor students, class, studio, study abroad or be a student advocate. The Priestley School also welcomes members at the school to give presentations and assist the students in learning about design and construction. Please contact Jared Hueter at the Priestley Charter School for Architecture & Construction should you wish to be involved as a sponsor or assist in any other way.
In conclusion, Melissa and I recently met with Dean Ken Schwartz at Tulane. Dean Schwartz is a AIA advocate and I am pleased with his desire to continue to associate Tulane University School of Architecture closely with AIA New Orleans. We recently met to coordinate grant applications to the federal government for stimulus package financing of projects affecting the New Orleans area. Scott Bernard, Tulane Professor who coordinates Tulane City Center, students who assist low income areas within New Orleans with planning efforts are submitting two worthy projects for consideration. They are the Viet Village Urban Farm project in New Orleans East and a Holly Grove Growers Garden and Farm. Melissa will be submitting for the AIA New Orleans AIA 150 Blueprint for America project. Tulane will also be associating with AIA New Orleans in a grant application for the Priestley Charter School.
As you can see, the AIA New Orleans Executive Committee is working diligently on behalf of the membership of the AIA New Orleans and we are always looking for members who are willing to get involved, so please contact Melissa Urcan should you have a desire to work within the present committees or to serve in a leadership capacity in the future.
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2009 First Quarter Report
January 21, 2009
As New Orleans continues in the rebuilding process, AIA New Orleans stands as a vital organization prepared to assist the community in this continuing effort. As architects, we hold the knowledge and experience that can assist our community to ensure success. In the book ALeadership by Design@, written by architect Richard M. Swett, AIA, he encourages architects to use their skill to help lead our government. Mr. Swett is the only architect to be elected to U. S. Congress in the 20th century. He has used the organizational skills and creative thinking from his architectural training to help lead our government. All great endeavors require planning and planning is the key to success in the rebirth of New Orleans. If you are not already, I implore you to get involved. You can do this in numerous ways, beginning with the block on which you live, expanding to your neighborhood, your region of greater New Orleans, or all the way to the state and federal level. Architects usually sound a voice of reason when dealing with the complex issues that are affecting our society. The built environment impacts the psyche of all human beings. Lets strive for excellence and lead by design.
As a result of membership involvement, AIA New Orleans has recently received a letter from Mayor Ray Nagin agreeing to review the use of AIA documents for Owner/Architect Agreements with his staff. The advocacy committee headed by Michael Bell, AIA, has worked diligently with the City of New Orleans in an effort to achieve this goal. Little by little we are moving forward on behalf of the membership and hopefully we will develop an Owner/Architect Agreement based more closely on our AIA documents. We thank all of the members who have worked diligently on this effort.
Melissa Urcan, our energetic Executive Director, is planning an exciting 2009. The first, and I consider one of the most significant events, is our Design Awards Ceremony scheduled for February 13, 2009. The theme this year is AAgeless Architecture@ and the design awards committee is developing a program with speakers who will be able to address this topic. Ageless architecture fits hand and glove with sustainable design objectives which are the National AIA=s number one goal. Details of the upcoming design awards are forthcoming so mark your calendars and be prepared for an exciting evening of fellowship and enlightenments.
The number one goal of my presidency for 2009 is to find a permanent storefront for AIA New Orleans. As I have visited other communities throughout our nation, I have noted other component’s storefronts and have been very impressed with the visibility that the architects achieved in those communities. We have targeted the downtown New Orleans area where foot traffic is prevalent, in an effort to find such a space. Monies are budgeted to accommodate this cost and through the efforts of our Executive Director and her staff, we are able to raise the funds necessary for the Chapter to have a permanent home. Imagine a storefront with a gallery displaying the work of our members. We are also in discussions with the Dean of Architecture at Tulane University, Mr. Ken Swartz, AIA, in an effort to possibly team with City Center, a Tulane architecture school initiative to help offset the cost. Any suggestions, ideas, or other comments from the membership will be greatly appreciated.
Keep an eye open for the upcoming events throughout the year, such as a Tulane lecture series, lunch and learns, and continuing education opportunities. These items are rated highest by the membership in our survey results. In conclusion, find an area of our profession that interests you and contact Melissa, myself or any of the executive board members and get involved. With your efforts, we can make AIA New Orleans a model component.
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AIA New Orleans – 2007 Year-End President’s Report
December 18, 2007
By Michael J. Bell, AIA
As 2007 draws to a close, it is fitting that we look back and assess our accomplishments for the year. In December of 2006 your outgoing and incoming Board of Directors spent a full day planning the direction of AIA New Orleans. We knew that 2007 was to be our first full year with a full-time Executive Director, Melissa Urcan, and that she would allow us to serve our members in unprecedented ways. I am pleased to report that we made much progress towards our goals.
We wanted to make our members aware of all that was going on at AIA New Orleans, so we worked hard to improve our communications. We launched a new website with new features, the most notable being an Architect-finder. We conducted two surveys to help us determine how best to serve our members. We sent out countless emails informing our members about upcoming programs. And there was no shortage of programs.
Our first program of 2007 set the tone for what we hoped to accomplish. Our Annual Awards Dinner drew a record crowd and a record number of submissions. Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu and Secretary of Economic Development Michael Olivier were among those presenting awards. Their participation demonstrated their belief in the event’s theme, which was “Good Design is Good Business.”
Soon afterwards we launched AIA New Orleans’ AIA150 Blueprint for America Initiative. Panel discussion, lectures and workshops focused on a greener and more sustainable downtown, with particular emphasis on the Rampart Street corridor. Follow-up and implementation of this initiative is ongoing. A featured guest that weekend was Jeremy Harris, a former Mayor of Honolulu and an international expert on sustainable cities. Mayor Harris soon returned to New Orleans to speak to us and participate in a panel discussion regarding a more sustainable New Orleans.
We conducted a panel discussion on our difficult-to-keep-up with building codes. In the spring, we hosted a very successful golf tournament and a crawfish boil. During the summer AIA New Orleans presented the Regional Modernism exhibit at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The exhibit was book-ended by opening and ending parties and included a panel discussion on regional modernism.
In October we partnered with the Traditional Building Conference in the New Orleans Convention Center and members also participated in presentations. We hosted a feature film at the New Orleans Film Festival. In November our members participated in Canstruction. In November we also participated in our offspring City-Works’ SDAT initiative. It focused on the revitalization of the South Claiborne corridor.
In December AIA New Orleans sponsored DesCours, an eight-day event featuring contemporary architecture and art set within traditional New Orleans courtyards and buildings. Our annual Holiday party was well attended and took place within one of the DesCours courtyards.
Throughout the year, we provided our members with unprecedented continuing education opportunities. We also partnered with Tulane on a lecture series. We visited several important works of architecture that we would have never been able to visit if not for AIA New Orleans.
The board entertained and nurtured our very important and fruitful relationship with the AIA National Executive Committee when that committee held its meeting here in June. We made new and furthered existing relationships at AIALA board meetings, Grassroots in DC, the AIA National Convention in San Antonio and at the AIALA Design Conference in Lafayette. Several of our members made our presence felt before public officials at all levels of government and we anticipate ever-increasing cooperation from them as to issues that are important to us.
We took steps towards becoming a regional chapter. AIA New Orleans’ territory covers eleven Louisiana Parishes. We embarked on a mission to better serve all members in our region. Three of the 2008 Board members are from either St. Tammany or Tangipahoa Parishes. We expect that they will work with their colleagues from Jefferson and Orleans Parishes to make a reality out of our vision of a more regional chapter. We all know that our future is as a region and not as stand-alone cities or parishes.
We are thankful to our members who recognize that AIA New Orleans is more committed than ever to providing value to its members. Our members responded to our efforts with increased attendance, greater involvement in committees and by becoming members of AIANO.
I am thrilled to have worked with a Board whose members found time in their busy lives to selflessly serve our profession. We are fortunate to have a talented and energetic executive director, Melissa Urcan, who is devoted to advancing our profession. Melissa enthusiastically handled all of the administrative duties of AIA New Orleans while simultaneously curating two major exhibits, Regional Modernism and DesCours.
AIA New Orleans is committed to representing, promoting, advancing and strengthening the region’s architectural profession in this most critical time in our history. We hope that you will see fit to join us and work with us to advance the architectural profession in Southeast Louisiana.
Michael J. Bell, AIA
2007 President, AIA New Orleans
First Quarter Report
February 10, 2007
2007 is off to a terrific start at AIA New Orleans. If we keep up this kind of momentum I have no doubt that the close of 2007 will find all of you excitedly proclaiming the good things happening here and the value that AIA New Orleans provides to us all.
In December of last year your outgoing and incoming Board of Directors spent a full day planning the direction of AIA New Orleans. Several goals for 2007 came out of this meeting [click here for a copy of the 2007 Strategic Planning Goals summary]. We immediately set about recruiting from among our members those who were willing to give some of their time to benefit us all. The result is a full slate of committees [click here for 2007 Committee List], all of which are showing that they are up to their charges and willing to think anew about what AIA New Orleans can be. I encourage all of our members to join one of these committees and to be a part of building an AIA New Orleans that is up to the task of furthering our profession at this most critical hour in our region’s history.
Our first program of 2007 set the tone for what we hope to accomplish. Our Annual Awards competition drew 70 Submissions and a crowd of over 250 guests to the Awards Dinner at the Marriott Hotel. Twelve awards were presented to our members by guest speakers including Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu and Secretary of Economic Development Michael Olivier. Their participation demonstrated their belief in the event’s theme, which was “Good Design is Good Business.”
Early February brought us the annual AIA Grassroots Conference in Washington, D.C. You were represented by your Executive Director, Melissa Urcan, your President-Elect, Dick Fullerton, and myself, as well as by other AIA LA members from around Louisiana. I wish that all of you could attend Grassroots to see how effectively your interests are advanced before our elected officials. We met with all of our Representatives and our two Senators or their staffs and talked to them about upcoming legislation that will affect us all [click here for Grassroots website]. We also attended seminars to help us more effectively lead AIA New Orleans into the future.
We are obviously off to a big start in these first six weeks of 2007. I do not expect things to slow down. Please take a look at our calendar to get an idea of all that is happening at AIA New Orleans. It will be updated constantly as we plan new ways to serve our members. [click here for 2007 calendar].
I am thrilled to be working with a Board whose members are finding time in their busy lives to selflessly serve our profession and to provide value to our members. This year and beyond we plan to continue improving our communications to our members. We plan to reach out to architects across all of AIA New Orleans’ 11 Parish region. We will increase the opportunities for continuing education. We expect the rebuilding of our region to provide us with an abundance of new projects to tour. We will continue to advocate passionately on your behalf, and we expect to build on recent accomplishments.
We are fortunate to have a talented and energetic Executive Director, Melissa Urcan, who is devoted to advancing our profession. If you have not already done so, please join us at an upcoming event and meet her. She is doing a terrific job for us all.
AIA New Orleans is committed to representing, promoting, advancing and strengthening the region’s architectural profession in this most critical time in our history. We hope that you will see fit to join us and work with us to advance the architectural profession in Southeast Louisiana.
Michael J. Bell
President, AIA New Orleans
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