AIA Film Challenge

AIA Film Challenge 2020 is open!

Design has the power to solve some of the biggest issues facing cities today. We believe these stories are among the most important stories we can tell. The AIA Film Challenge is a film contest that amplifies these stories—architects partnering with communities and civic leaders to design a healthy, sustainable, just world that improves lives. 

The challenge is open to everyone. Use your smartphone or computer to produce a 60- to 90-second mini documentary. You could win up to $7,000! Learn more from AIA Film Challenge website.

Important dates

• Films due: August 24

• Public voting: August 31-October 4

• Winners announced: late October

Sample video

Check out this 90-second sample video from Dan Hart, FAIA, to see how it’s done.

Register from here

RESOURCES FOR YOUNG ARCHITECTS AND FAMILIES

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, CHINATOWN BRANCH

AIA's programmes are not just for grown-ups - some are specially made for kids! Here is a selection for budding young architects and their families to enjoy.

AIA’s K-12 Initiative

The K-12 Initiative is all about supporting design programmes to get young people inspired. This includes a collection of free online resources for children and families.
Browse resources HERE. 
 

AIA Cleveland Home Architecture Camp

AIA Cleveland has created an Architecture Camp for all ages which you can download and take at your own pace. Young people can sharpen their drawing skills, think about how sustainable their home is and learn about structure with the help of spaghetti and marshmallows!  
Learn More HERE.

AHMM Summer School 2020

Another online opportunity, for young people aged 15-19 who want to study architecture. Apply to join AHMM's online summer school and they can spend a week working with a mentor, taking part in group workshops and learning about the industry. The deadline for applications is Friday 10 July at midnight.
Download the application form HERE

Portview Fitting Remarks Q&A with AIA UK President Christopher Musangi

In March, AIA UK President, Christopher Musangi, was delighted to join our sponsors Portview for their first #FittingRemarks Q&A of the year, to chat about the latest industry trends and current projects.

Follow Portview on Twitter @PortviewFitOut for more news.

1.    Portview: The @AIAnational has been a professional society of architects for over 150 years. Can you tell us more about it?

Chris: The AIA was founded in 1857 by 13 architects & now has over 95,000 members, in over 200 chapters worldwide. In 1993 @AIAUK became the 1st international chapter. The AIA advocates for the value of architecture & gives architects resources to do their best work.

2.   Portview: How did you get involved with the @AIAUK and what opportunities does it provide members?

Chris: I got involved with the @AIAUK when I moved to London from New York. It has provided me with a variety of programmes I need to attain my needed Continuing Education credits, as well as helped me network with industry professionals in the UK & worldwide.

3.  Portview: Entries are now open for the @AIAUK Excellence in Design Awards, which we are delighted to sponsor! Can you tell us a little bit more about them? Is it just for @AIAUK members?

Chris: We are honoured to partner with @PortviewFitOut for the awards which recognise & honour design excellence. They are open to all architects & designers who work in the UK with projects here or abroad, or those who work abroad but have a project in the UK.

4.   Portview: What are your three top tips for writing an award-winning submission?

Chris: There really aren’t any top tips because it all comes down to the jury’s review of a submission, and this always varies depending on the jury and project type. In short believe in your work and do submit your amazing projects.  

5.   Portview: Is there a previous #ExcellenceInDesign winner that you were particularly impressed by? If so, what stood out to you?

Chris: There are so many impressive submittals each year, but last year for me among the many amazing submittals, it was @davidleecharch (David Leech Architects) ‘A House in a Garden’ which is a lovely contemporary translation of the ordinary suburban house.

6.    Portview: @AIAUK run a number of unique #networking events throughout the year, such as your film nights. Can you tell us more about these and what’s coming up? 

Chris: The film nights are one of our more exciting ways to earn Continuing Education credits. We watch an architecture/design film & then discuss it. On 10 March @ BFI screening room we screen ‘Precise Poetry’, a documentary on Italian-Brazilian Architect Lina Bo Bardi.

7.    Portview: Can non-members attend also?

Chris: Yes, very much so. We open these film nights to non-members as well, and they actually make up almost 50% of our attendees which is really great, and good to know our programmes reach out to the wider community.

8.    Portview: Outside of @AIAUK, you work as a Senior Architectural Designer for #luxury #interiordesign house, @goddardlittle. Together, we are working on an exciting new project for @CanaryWharfGrp. What can you tell us about that?

Chris: This is a super-luxe prime residential spa & health facility at the new Southbank Place development, across the river from the Houses of Parliament. It has a 25m pool, vitality pools, thermal cabins, spacious state of the art gym & studios, and treatment rooms.

9.    Portview: What are the key challenges of a project this size and spec?

Chris: The 25m swimming pool & vitality pools have been the most challenging aspect of this project, as there is so much to account for with these exciting features, and you can’t afford to go wrong. You need a good focused team working on it.

10.   Portview: What finish or feature in particular do you love and why?

Chris: There are many aspects of the project I love as spas are very exciting projects, but I particularly love the thermal cabins – the saunas & steam rooms. Designing and working on them has been especially exciting, as well as seeing the designs being realised.

11.   Portview: When it comes to project teams, what is the key to a successful partnership?

Chris: A dedicated Construction, Client and Design team, with mutual respect & understanding, and all parties coming together to achieve the desired goal.

12.   Portview: Interesting - we hope we fit the bill! When it comes to first impressions, what do you look for when deciding to collaborate with a contractor?

Chris: Very much so! @PortviewFitOut have been extraordinary. The presentation of past project experience, their technical expertise and how they plan to tackle the project at hand is key.

13.   Portview: How would you summarise your experience of working with #TeamPortview?

Chris: The best construction team I have ever worked with! Very respectful, detail oriented, hardworking & honest. They’ve been supportive & always achieve the design intent. It’s been a very pleasant experience & they’ve become more like working family. It’s that good!

14.   Portview: Are clients’ expectations changing? Do they differ from sector to sector?

Chris: They are changing and they do differ from sector to sector. I think in this next decade sustainability is going to become an even bigger expectation.

15.   Portview: How do you go about meeting client expectations?

Chris: Listening to them and working closely with the client team at all times, that way they are abreast with developments, and know why certain decisions were made.

16.   Portview: How do you get the best out of people who work for/with you to achieve project goals?

Chris: Treating everyone with respect & understanding first, and then working hard at what you do. In return they do the same and project benefits greatly from it.

17.   Portview: How has the industry changed in the last 10 years – what have been the challenges and opportunities?

Chris: Technology has influenced the industry in project delivery & new products. One new & exciting product is the @irisceramica marble looking large format porcelain tiles we are using in the spa which look like real marble, are quicker to install & more sustainable!

18.   Portview: What trends in design and architecture do you expect to see more of in 2020?

Chris: A bigger interest in sustainable projects, project delivery, materials, suppliers… generally a bigger push towards sustainability.

19.   Portview: Have you anything exciting planned for 2020?

Chris: Finishing the Spa with @PortviewFitOut, which I have been working on for over 3.5yrs. It has been a challenging project, but it is coming to fruition finally, and I am excited to successfully deliver this most exciting project with this team.

20.   Portview: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Chris: Always believe in yourself, give your level best, and don’t stress out about things you cannot control.

21.   Portview: What advice would you give someone wanting to get into interior architecture?

Chris: Architecture/Interior Architecture is very demanding and there are many times when the remuneration isn’t that good.  However, it is an exciting field, and the rewards of creating amazing spaces are immeasurable.

AIA UK Board Statement On Systemic Racial Injustice

Dear Members,

I hope this message finds you well. At our AGM in January, I mentioned the updates to our mission statement, which now reads:  

To serve members and the architectural community of the UK by:

• Providing relevant and innovative educational opportunities;

• Promoting ethical and inclusive practices in the architectural industry;

• Promoting good design in all aspects of the built environment;

• Advocating on behalf of the profession in the context of our position in the local community;

• Acting as a liaison between AIA jurisdictions and local UK organisations;

• Facilitating interaction and communication between members, other professionals and industry leaders; and

• Leading and supporting the adoption of progressive initiatives that address the urgent challenge of climate change.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are key tenets of our organisation's mission statement. 
As we slowly emerge from the current pandemic and the debates that this has provoked regarding the environment and new sustainable ways forward, we must also address the issues prompting the racial injustice protests and debates taking place in the US, here and abroad. These events are a clarion call to action for all of us to tackle these deep rooted structural inequality issues, and as an organisation, we will look within and double our efforts on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Our design juries, speakers, lectures, movie series and other programmes have been getting more diverse and inclusive, but we have a lot more to do! 

We will continue our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, and keep working harder to ensure that our programmes reflect diverse heritages, life experiences and backgrounds. We will push to ensure that our programmes bring together the different people who make and shape our cities and towns, from members of the community, to students and educators, civic groups and local authorities, as well as architects, designers and developers. Architecture and the design industry is for people of all backgrounds, capabilities, ages and identities, and as such our programming will encompass this.

As AIA National recently stated: The important work starts with each of us. It is our responsibility to work together to break down the barriers that exist in architecture school and continue into the workplace. (Please read the full statement from the AIA National Board HERE).

To bring these issues to the forefront, we have revised and added to our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion resources on our website HERE. Additionally we have implemented the position of an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion chairperson to drive this mission further. Please email: edi@aiauk.org for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion matters.

Please let us know if you have any ideas on how we can improve as an organisation in achieving these key tenets of our mission statement, or if you can assist in any way with helping us achieve them. 

Thank you!

On behalf of the Board,

Christopher S.M. Musangi, AIA
2020 President.

ARCHITECTS ON THE FRONTLINE / Fabrication via Scrub-Hubs

This article has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to member news.  If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in newsworthy projects, research or events, please bring them to our attention via chapterexecutive@aiauk.org and we will publish the story.  Remember we will not know what has been achieved unless someone tells us!  

Fabrication is ‘the action or process of manufacturing or inventing something’.  Of course, fabrication does not have to involve real fabric, but – when it does – it can doubly fulfill an architect’s potential.  It turns out a sewing project can be as complex as any design-build one.

Deborah Bartlett, Int’l Assoc AIA RIBA - architect and (sometimes) seamstress – has also been an AIA UK Chapter Board Director for the past several years.  Below is a personal story of how she put her architectural and organizational skills to use during the coronavirus crisis:

‘I have been using a sewing machine since the age of three.  My mother had resisted my pleading and wheedling for several weeks (my sister and I were at home, in quarantine, after my sister’s closest school-friend had contracted and died from poliomyelitis), but finally relented and - warning me to keep my fingers away from the presser foot and needle of her hand-cranked Singer - talked me through the workings of the machine.   And I was off!  Making endless, scrappy clothes for my teddy bear and doll.

And ever since then, using a succession of ever more versatile machines - I have been making dresses and jackets, skirts and trousers, shirts and suits, curtains and cushion covers, soft toys, theatrical costumes, and even – once - a wedding dress. 

So one morning in March when a Royal London Hospital doctor in an interview on Radio Four’s Today programme highlighted not only the critical lack of PPE in general, but also the huge surge in the need for medical scrubs given their increased use by ALL hospital staff rather than just the usual cohorts, I understood that I just might be able to do something - very small - to help.

I could make scrubs…

Working from home. Pattern cutting chez architect Gianni Botsford. Setting up shop chez Deborah Bartlett.

Getting started was not straightforward; what pattern should be followed? what fabric should be used? what colours are approved? how could completed scrubs be delivered? and to which hospitals?  

Meanwhile, a group of young women based in Hackney Wick, east London, and working in the clothing and fashion industry, got together to establish first one and then a network of scrub-making hubs - voluntary community groups of people who love to sew and would make scrubs to help meet the sudden and massive increase in need.  Read more about scrub-hubs HERE.

They established a website; secured NHS approval to a pattern for each scrub-hub to follow; and developed guidance notes on making up the garments.   Guidance notes were also developed for setting-up a hub and for raising funding for fabric, thread, elastic, tape and interlining, which needed to be procured by each hub independently.  

I downloaded the pattern and forwarded it to Timothy Hatton Architects (Tim and I have been friends since high-school days) who kindly used their plotter to print it out at full scale and then had it delivered to me by courier.  I had ordered the materials and was ‘all set’!

In due course, I became part of a small scrub-hub that was established near my house in west London and, for four weeks, spent my days - but not the weekends - making scrubs in dark green, crushed-raspberry-pink, and navy blue.

Medical scrubs look like the simplest, most basic garments imaginable. But as with all thought-through designs there is more to them than meets the eye.  The V-necks are faced with a softly stiffened facing; tops and trousers have patch-pockets; tops have side-vents; and trousers have waistbands that are partly elasticated and partly drawcord-adjustable.  Making more than three sets each week - for an amateur working alone, at home – was challenging.

For the time being, our scrub-hub’s activity is paused: the NHS trusts we have been supplying now have adequate stocks. Things could change, but the volunteers are ready to go into action again if and when the need arises.’

Anahi Copponex (Gianni Botsford’s wife) hard at work.

Written by Deborah Bartlett, Int’l Assoc AIA

NCARB - US Licensing Webinar

Even as the majority of the UK workforce remained under lockdown -  a number of local architecture candidates were readying themselves to take the leap and start the involved process of becoming fully licensed by attending the latest NCARB Webinar on 30 Apr 2020.  

The Webinar content’s paralleled that of the earlier one held last year, which was fully documented at the time, including details of the optional routes to licensure and their requirements.  For an update, please check out the possibilities HERE. More details can be also be found on the Prometric website HERE.

This time – however – the NCARB speakers Harry M. Falconer, Jr and Patricia Ramallo also gave an update on the COVID requirements.  Before actually signing up for the exam, it is essential that candidates check out the Prometric guidelines on the social distancing HERE.

If there are readers who are only starting on the licensure path, the AIA UK Chapter is here to help.  Feel free to contact us at emergingprofessionals@aiauk.org.  We offer encouragement and support (via hosting workshops and peer mentoring events as well as maintaining a resource library) and we can put you in touch with other UK-based ARE takers or others who have experience with the full process.

Visit the AIA UK Chapter website HERE for more information and join our mailing list. 

Written by Elaine Wong, Master in Architecture, 2015, University of Pennsylvania Design School