Member News: The Long Road to Wembley……

This article has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to up-to-date member news.  If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in other newsworthy projects or events, please bring them to our attention via a “comment” follow up note at the end of this article and we will endeavour to publish further feature articles.

It all started way back on 15 Nov 2016 when the AIA UK Chapter held its first – of many it is hoped? – Pub Quiz Night, hosted by our generous sponsor, Armstrong. See Newsletter 80 HERE.

On the night, the competition was fierce and the disappointment at losing out to bigger, stronger (and younger) teams was bitterly felt by the coalition of Deborah Bartlett, Int’l Assoc; Lorraine King, AIA and Michael Lischer, FAIA. This veteran team had - after all - clearly “won” that Quiz section based on architectural expertise, but there was no award for such limited and specialist knowledge.  (See evidence of sectional victory below.  Could you have done better?  Is there anyone out there aware that Los Angeles actually now has a skyline?)  
 

‘Best in Quiz’ for Picture Round

However, other teams were simply far better at those tricky, general knowledge questions and the Bartlett, Lischer, King Team did not even end up with an honorary mention.  (We all know about the Apollo moon landings and the famous line “The Eagle has landed,” so is there any point in knowing the exact wording of the first lunar landing quote??? Most of the other participants were not even born at the time…)

However, the slight – very slight – air of disgruntlement at losing out so badly to other teams was soon dispelled when Bartlett, Lischer and King hit the jackpot at Armstrong’s generous follow up Raffle.  The two winning tickets where held by none other than - Deborah and Lorraine!  It eventually turned out that the prizes were two top-rate tickets for an England World Cup qualifying match against Lithuania at Wembley Stadium.

Opening events at Wembley.  Photo: Michael Lischer, FAIA

On sober reflection the next morning, both Deborah and Lorraine – with admirable self awareness – decided that others might actually enjoy a football match together more than they would.  Who better to give their tickets to than teammate Michael Lischer and fellow participant Robert Rhodes AIA?

On the 26th of March, Robert and Michael were finally treated to the thrilling Lithuania v England match.  The Lithuanian team put up a strong defence, but were ultimately unsuccessful.  Goals by Jermaine Defoe and substitute Jamie Vardy clinched the 2-0 victory for England.  Michael and Robert enjoyed a great evening with the Armstrong host Phillip Pabst, but at this late date cannot quite remember any further pertinent details!  

Thanks to Armstrong for their continued support of the AIA UK Chapter and their generosity to its members. Another Pub Quiz Night has now been confirmed for 8 Nov 2017.  Be prepared!

Written by: Lorraine King, AIA (with support from Michael Lischer, FAIA)

AIA UK Chapter Annual Bike Ride / Kent & the Low Weald

Photo Credit: L Barndt AIA (by remote control)

The AIA Chapter Annual Bike Ride was originally planned as an educational outing to chart “the development of British gothic architecture from the Early English to Decorated and then Perpendicular periods”. On the day, it also proved a celebration of all things quintessentially English – timber framed houses, medieval churches, picturesque villages, hospitable pubs, glorious countryside and – of course - unpredictable weather.

The ride – organised by Benedict O’Looney RIBA, architect and historian (See HERE) – was a leisurely tour of the Kent countryside with an extension for the more intrepid through Romney Marsh and along the coast to Folkestone. Six AIA members – Etain Fitzpatrick AIA, Lorraine King AIA and Chris Musangi AIA - completed the core ride (See Chris’ Relive route HERE), while three others – Lutz Barndt AIA, Maria Loring AIA and Alex Miller AIA - followed Benedict to Folkestone.

As usual, the tour benefited from Benedict’s local social and historical knowledge, judicious route planning and intense enthusiasm for architecture in context. The now quiet Kentish villages on the route were once part of a lively network of trade and cultural exchange that is reflected in the quality of their ancient buildings. Benedict always takes time to point out special
features one might otherwise overlook, this time in particular, stressing the continuing relevance of traditional materials and the opportunities for special artistic treatments.

The ride started in the village of Headcorn, with a review of the two architectural types to dominate the day – timbered houses and 11th to 13th century churches. Quick to recognise the educational insights, Lutz’s on-the- spot journal entry for the day (extract above) faithfully recorded some of the salient features we were to witness over the next few hours.

Headcorn and Smarden Photo Credits: M Loring, AIA, E Fitzpatrick AIA

Leaving Headcorn, we passed a WWII airfield on our way to the even more picturesque village of Smarden with a fine collection of vintage houses. Smarden’s local pub hosted the group on an outdoor octagonal table, perfectly suited for simultaneous lunching and sketching. The drawings below were accomplished quickly – albeit some with post-ride enhancements – under Benedict’s calm encouragement.

Smarden street scenes. Photo credit: E Fitzpatrick AIA / Sketch credits: C Musangi AIA, M Loring AIA, L Barndt AIA, B O’Looney RIBA

The next stage of the ride was undertaken in a gloomy “summer” shower, until we took refuge in Bethersden’s comforting village pub. The rain tried to dampen spirits, but most of us have lived in the UK long enough to appreciate English weather so we eventually just pushed on to Woodchurch with its striking windmill and fine church.

Woodchurch’s windmill and church
Photo Credit: C Musangi AIA

As we had hoped, the weather cleared along the way to the final village of Appledore. Although the weather did not quite achieve rainbow stage, the sunshine alone made the final leg as close to sublime as anyone could wish.

Glorious (flat) countryside
Photo Credit: C Musangi AIA

Written by: Lorraine King, AIA

AIA International Region 2018-2019 - First Vice President

On behalf of the American Institute of Architects' International Region Board of Directors, we are pleased to announce the results of our recent elections for the 2018-2019 positions of First Vice President and Treasurer.

Lester Korzilius, FAIA, RIBA

Director and co-owner of Ellis Williams Architects

Based in the UK, Lester has been elected as the AIA International Region 2018-2019 First Vice President.  A former AIA-UK President and Secretary to the International Region, Lester is setting out to:

• Improve communication to all IR members

• Strengthen ties and communication between the 6 existing IR chapters

• Create programs and opportunities for Unassigned IR members, including local events, webinars and social media

• Assist and nurture overseas areas wishing to become chapters

• Assist in building positive brand awareness overseas of US architects and US architecture

• Promote American values of design and project delivery internationally

• Strengthen ties with overseas professional architectural organizations

• Work with the College of Fellows to extend the influence of the AIA via mentorship, scholarships, and other similar programs

• Strengthen awareness of international issues and concerns among US based members of the AIA and related organizations

• Working with the International Practice Advisory Group, provide a resource of best practice for overseas projects

• Leverage sponsorship opportunities of the IR to fund the above programs

Join us in congratulating Lester and welcoming him back to the International Region Board of Director.

Mentorship One-On-One

On Monday 15 May 2017, the Herman Miller showroom opened its doors to the AIA UK for the third event in our 2017 mentorship series. The event aimed to help young designers and seasoned AIA members connect in an intimate setting to share their experiences and discuss the profession.

Karen Fugle, the Executive Coach of Sleeping Giant Consulting, guided the conversations by stressing the importance of defining career values and finding the right mentor or coach. 

When looking for a coach or mentor, Karen advised mentees that it was best to speak first to multiple potential mentors with a diverse range of experience and interests. Karen also recommended that mentees considered what style of mentoring or coaching would suit their own personality and goals before beginning. It was also important to be self-aware and consider personal motivations, working methods and challenges.

To assist attendees with clarifying their career values, Karen provided two worksheets. The first asked attendees to note how satisfied they were with their current position and then to rank a list of possible values in order of their importance. The values included autonomy, remuneration, ethics, inspiration, support and more. The second asked the participants to think of a time when they have been happiest and another time when they have felt most fulfilled – then to explain what made it the case in those two circumstances. 

Following the period of personal reflection, mentors and mentees came together in small groups spread around the Herman Miller showroom to discuss what they had discovered about themselves. In keeping with Karen’s recommendation to facilitate exposure to the diverse range of potential AIA UK member mentors, the conversations were timed and - after 15-20 minutes - mentees were asked to rotate to another mentor for further discussion. Since the meeting, we have been happy to hear that some of the mentees have been in touch with selected mentors to continue their conversations.

Many thanks to Herman Miller for hosting the AIA UK, to Karen Fugle for her guidance of the session and to all our participants for joining us. 

If you would like to learn more about what the AIA offers young professionals, you might be interested in the Young Architect’s Forum journal HERE. Also see HERE for an article published in the YAF journal, which includes a summary of the UK Chapter’s commitments.  For information on upcoming mentorship series events in the UK, please get in touch with us at chapterexecutive@aiauk.org.

Written by: Katharine Storr, AIA

BARBICANIA

Due to popular demand for an additional movie screening in the summer, we were able to screen this movie about some of London’s most recognisable buildings on the Barbican estate. On the specific request of the Art Gallery of the Barbican Centre, Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine, internationally known for their unique take on architecture and whose films we have screened in the past, settled themselves for a month in the heart of one of the most important european art centres and most representative achievements of Brutalist architecture.

The film, built as a personal diary, recounts on a daily basis all that the two directors discovered during their urban trip from the top floors of the towers to the underground levels of the art centre. Through an impressive gallery of portraits, the film draws an intimate human map of the place, breathing life into this harsh district and questioning the durability of this utopia from the 50s.

This film gave us an insight into daily life and activities on the Barbican estate, and we were lucky to have two members in the audience who lived at The Barbican and could give us their first hand views on this film.  Attendance was high and the debate lively, and we thank you all for your continued support of the movie nights. We shall return in the Autumn with more exciting architecture screenings, and as always welcome any suggestions for movies you would like to see. Thank you!

Written by: Chris Musangi, AIA

Lunchtime Webinar Report: Consultants – Is your duty of care under attack?

On the 3rd of May AIA UK members were invited to attend another of Beale and Company’s popular lunchtime legal webinars. The subject was how the use of new standard owner/consultant contracts place a more onerous duty of care requirement on architects than the traditional “reasonable skill and care” clauses of earlier contract versions. Entitled, “Is Your Duty of Care Under Attack?”, the webinar was presented by Will Buckley and Simi Sivapalan. Attendees received one continuing education learning unit for attending.

Traditional standard forms of contract, such as those provided by the RIBA and ACE make statements such as “exercise reasonable skill and care in conformity with the normal standards of the Architects’ profession” and “exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence in the performance of the Services”. Architects need to be aware that new versions of standard forms of contract from the ACE, FIDIC, NEC4, and the RIBA provide for an elevated duty of care! These contracts have moved beyond the use of “reasonable skill and care” with clauses such as those shown in the slides below.

The new contracts also have more onerous requirements regarding fitness for purpose, specification of deleterious materials, and use hard to define terminology such as “in the spirit of mutual trust and cooperation”. The webinar also addressed non standard contracts like those often provided by clients. These must be reviewed carefully as they often contain clauses that impose an even higher standard of care. Watch out for clauses such as those illustrated in the slides below.

The presenters discussed several recent legal cases to illustrate the challenges an elevated duty of care can present to design professionals. The important “take aways” from this fascinating webinar are:

• Where possible, try and limit standard of care to “reasonable skill and care”
• Include an overarching duty to exercise reasonable skill and care
  •  But remember, an obligation to use reasonable skill and care is not an overriding provision unless stated
  • Best practice to qualify strict obligations by “exercising reasonable skill and care” “subject to” wording may not always be sufficient
• Check for hidden obligations - strict and fitness for purpose obligations may not always be obvious Civil liability policy is much preferred to a negligence based one!

For further information on this subject, Will Buckby can be contacted at 020 7469 0411 and w.buckby@beale-law.com

Also, AIA UK members have access to the free Legal Helpline provided by Beale & Co at (0) 20 7469 0400 (please quote “AIA UK Helpline”).

By Michel Lischer FAIA