September 2006

We’re well into September/October and everyone gets back to work, including volunteer organizations such as AIA NH. Conferences are scheduled for this time, and it’s always valuable to explore new ideas. It makes for a very busy Autumn...and oh, yes, there are those pesky project deadlines. It has been a while since I wrote about our activities, and there are several that merit special attention.

• AIA New England Regional Conference. The annual conference, held this year in Newport, Rhode Island, revolved around historical buildings. The venue for events was spectacular and included the Touro Synagogue, the Colony House, Vernon Court, Ochre Court, and tours of Kingscote, the Isaac Bell House and the historic area. The “Cottages” of the Gilded Age speak to an era in architectural history rich in exploration and new directions. The conference was especially successful in renewing the excitement of why we are architects. Congratulations to AIA Rhode Island for a superb event. Hopefully, more of us will attend the conference next year in Connecticut. Word has it that there will be a tour of Philip Johnson’s Glass House!

• IDID4. Sustainable design is the focus as architects adopt environmental strategies into building design. Scheduled for October 5-7, there is still time to register for seminars and tours. This is the fourth annual conference, which in the past has been well attended by architects and many outside the profession. Learn about the advantages of Integrated Design and Development.

• AIA 150. The American Institute of Architects is approaching its 150th year anniversary in 2007. AIA 150 is intended to be a national event celebrating architecture through public activities. The choice of activities is designed by each individual chapter. AIA NH has chosen an ambitious and worthy endeavor of creating true workforce housing in a selected community. We have submitted a grant application to AIA to help fund this process. Tasks include reviewing past charrettes completed with Plan NH to find out why they work, finding a community interested in developing workforce housing, developing design concepts for the housing, and implementing the designs through zoning, permitting and, hopefully, construction. Teaming up with a non-profit housing organization will likely be a part of this process. There have been several meetings to date to identify our goals and the process. We have numerous architects from firms throughout the State involved, as well as several Plan NH members. The next meeting of this group is scheduled for 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, 10 October 2006, at the office of the Stahlman Group in Concord, New Hampshire. Plan NH also has a breakfast discussion on past charrettes planned for Tuesday, 24 October, 2006 at the Holiday Inn in Concord, New Hampshire. Our goal is to provide a gift of our talents for the benefit of our community. The AIA 150 Committee welcomes the involvement of all.

There are many other activities ongoing through the efforts of our members. Again, I encourage all of our members to find that one element of interest and to contribute your time and talent to improving the profession of Architecture.