Speaking of Architecture - AIA Grassroots

Special Guest blog by Michael Metzger, President of AIA EPA

 

Each year the AIA holds its Grassroots conference in Washington, DC.  This event provides us with an opportunity to speak with our representatives on Capitol Hill regarding the future of our profession.  This year, much of the discussion centered around the AIA’s “Repositioning” efforts, which will be the focus of the organization in the next few years.  Marketing strategists LaPlaca Cohen  and Pentagram presented their findings in a presentation that took a brutally honest look at the Institute and its operation.  By collecting over 31,000 points of information, the strategy team offered suggestions and a direction to move the AIA forward.  The presentation concluded in a pointed 100-second video.

 

The presentation and final video was very well received by all members present, addressing many of the concerns with the current state of the Institute.  We heard that we must take care to change the dialogue from one of “I” to one of “we,” both as an organization and as architects.  Simply put, as an Institute we are our members; each member has a voice and a responsibility to share our message.  The perception of the AIA being a private, members-only club must change. We must communicate our message more clearly, open our doors, and embrace the public.  As architects, we can no longer be the Howard Roarkian “great figure,” but must instead be team members working with clients to create projects with enduring value.  Whether those final products be brick-and-mortar or ideological, the architect’s role remains an important one. 

This is an exciting time within the AIA, one with the promise of change.  The future of the AIA will be defined not strictly by leadership, but by its members alongside the public.       

More about the AIA:

The AIA is a visionary member organization providing advocacy, leadership, and resources for architects to design a better world.  Based in Washington, DC, the AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1857. With nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA serves as the voice of the architecture profession and the resource for our members in service to society. 

 

 

SFA News - Architizer A+ Award Win for Artsquest

Spillman Farmer Architects (SFA) is honored to announce that the Architizer A+ Awards jury has chosen the ArtsQuest Center as a winner in the +Urban Transformation category.


 

The Architizer A+ award is an important level of global recognition for the ArtsQuest Project.  As you know, the project anchors the redevelopment of the Bethlehem Steel brownfield site, where SFA, ArtsQuest, and the City of Bethlehem have been pursuing the revitalization that has brought new cultural life to our city. As the country’s largest privately-owned brownfield, the project’s success is an important lesson for similar post-industrial sites across the region and the country.

“Honoring our country’s industrial past is a critical first step to healthy and vibrant revitalization. We are fortunate to work in a community comprised of visionary and steadfast leadership working together toward a common goal,” Spillman Farmer Design Principal Joseph Biondo said. “Embracing our history while introducing a diversity of arts, culture, and technology will always become a catalyst in transforming urban areas.”  More project information can be found at: http://www.spillmanfarmer.com/#/artsquest%20center

We would like to give special thanks to ArtQuest, our client on this project. Our collaboration and shared vision for the project was extraordinary.  We’d also like to thank the City of Bethlehem for rallying behind the project and supporting its continued life. Many, many people contributed to the success of the project, and we’d like to thank every one of them! Here are just a few:

Living in the Brownfield - City of the Big Shoulders

As an architectural element, the cantilever has often been used to evoke strong feelings; Walter Netsch’s design for University Hall at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is one of brutalism’s most compelling cantilever designs. Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), under the leadership of Walter Netsch, designed and completed the first phase of UIC’s campus in 1965. UIC is a landmark campus that deserves greater public exposure, careful rehabilitation, and acknowledgement for its role in defining an era for Chicago, the firm of SOM, and Brutalist architecture.

William Deegan - University Hall 2012

The “Save Prentice” movement began as a grassroots effort to save Prentice Women’s Hospital, another Chicago Brutalist masterwork, but grew into an examination of brutalism’s role in modern cities. For many, Chicago and UIC are foundaries of architectural thinking, places where architectural history, academic theories and modern practice come together in Netsch’s built forms.

William Deegan - University Hall 2012

After a recent trip to UIC, and in pursuit of a re-examination of Netsch’s work, I called upon mobile artist and SFA favorite Lynette Jackson. Lynette and I collaborated to create a photographic essay in shared admiration of Netsch’s efforts at UIC.  As a crucial element of this country’s architectural history, UIC is shockingly underappreciated. Our collaboration attempts to distribute images of Netsch’s work to a wider audience, building awareness of the need to preserve these landmarks.

William Deegan - University Hall 2012

On a 100-degree day in June 2012, I took and edited photographs of UIC completely on my iPhone. Through an all-digital collaborative “architectural iphonography” process, Lynette and I worked to develop the images into the graphic interpretations they became. In the final product, University Hall’s projecting, cantilevering mass is framed as the upward rising set of “big shoulders” that Netsch cited in Carl Sandburg’s 1914 poem “Chicago.”

Lynette Jackson - University Hall 2012

"Chicago" by Carl Sandburg

Lynette Jackson - University Hall 2012

Lynette Jackson - University Hall 2012

As always, we advocate supporting the arts and the artist. Please see more of Lynette Jackson's work at her Flickr site and follow her on Instagram: 

Instagram  @_lynettejackson

Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/p67/

For more information on Walter Netsch and the UIC Campus visit:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walkingtour/index.html

https://www.som.com/walter-netsch

I'd like to thank Lynette for collaborating with us on this project and being a creative friend to many on Instagram.  

Special thanks to Kate Carter at Spillman Farmer Architects for collaborating with me in both word and idea. Kate's push to refine and focus brings out the best in our teams.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Douglas Garofalo whose teaching inspired many students throughout his tenure at the UIC School of Architecture.