A Request for Architectural Mentors:

This is my annual request for firms to volunteer to mentor the students in CRC’s Arch 332/334 design class, Spring, 2012.  I know that many of you have volunteered in past years and have reported that they find the process rewarding on many levels: 1) It gives you a chance to support and influence the development of the next generation of architects;  2) It is invigorating to the office to be reconnected to their education roots and the enthusiasm of the students;  3) It gives the office an opportunity to assist the students in learning altruism and giving back;  4) It can be educational for the office staff. 

We are going to take on  2 projects:  1) for the period of Jan 18-Mar 5, the student team (probably 3 students) will be researching and proposing for a Sacramento suburban and urban neighborhood.  If you have a particular project neighborhood that you would like them to evaluate, they can choose that as their subject, otherwise they will make a choice of their own.  What I am trying to do is to get them to compare and look holistically at the issues of creating a modern livable neighborhood.  There will be two stages for this project: 1) a research stage for them to evaluate existing conditions, what are the issues, and what is a livable neighborhood; 2) to propose and develop responses to the defined issues;  2) for the period of Mar 5-May 5, the same student team will be entering the ”Leading Edge Student Design Competition”  www.leadingedgecompetition.org where they will be designing a zero-net energy, 4-6 unit  townhouse style residential building with an outdoor children’s play yard and an internet café/juice bar open to the public.  The project site is in Merced.  Our students have won or placed in this international competition several times in past years.

I will give lectures, guidance and we will have guest speakers to help the students proceed with the research necessary for both projects.  For each stage, the mentors will hear progress presentations at some interval and propose areas or issues for the students to study and help “nudge” their proposals in appropriate directions.  Some architectural offices have weekly progress presentations of their office projects and just add the student presentations to this process.  So let’s say that it takes the students 20 minutes to present their progress presentation, one or a committee of professionals can offer as much critique time as they feel is necessary.  So I’m guessing that it will take anywhere from 1 ½ hours to 2 hours every two to three weeks, starting probably the middle of February and ending the middle of May.  We usually have a public power point presentation of the student work at the end of the semester.  Last year we had the presentations at SMUD.  Some offices sometimes pull in their consultants but this is not necessary.  The students then will prepare the boards for submission by June 15, 2012. 

The primary purpose of this class is to introduce the student to the concept of “livable communities”.  We will investigate how the settlements that we create integrate our values of community and resource conscious design.  Additional topics include resource conscious design, control of heat and light (passive and active strategies), building orientation for natural and mechanical heat dissipation and maximum lighting effectiveness; solar energy; human thermal comfort; climate, site analysis, energy flow, heating, cooling ventilating and day lighting of architectural environments. 

 If you are interested in participating, please contact John Ellis at ellisjd@crc.losrios.edu

 Thanks to all of you that have donated you time and energy in the past.  The benefit of connecting academia and the profession is extremely important to all of us.

FREE ADMISSION!
5:45PM – 7:30PM at the AIACV Gallery: 1400 S Street, Sacramento 95811

Soul of the City Dates and Topics (Dates have been revised):

February 29th ~ The Soul of Sacramento
What is it? Where is it? Let’s find it and celebrate it! Join us for an introduction to Soul of the City!
Facilitators: Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation, Saxon Sigerson, AIA and Jason Silva, AIA

April 25th ~ Urban Open Space
What makes a good place to visit in the urban environment? Where are the best places in our region? Join us for this lively discussion about where it is and where to find it.
Facilitators: Peter Larimer, ASLA and Marq Truscott, FASLA

June 27th ~ Street Food in the City
Appetite on the Run! A discussion on street food and its impact on Sacramento.
Facilitators: Costa Apostolos of Sacto MoFO and writes on, Living in Urban Sac and Catherine Enfield, a food truck advocate who’s written many articles on the subject, founding member of Sacto MoFo, and now has http://www.sacfoodtrucks.net
Food trucks will be present for you to enjoy!

October (Dates to be posted on Facebook):

 Urban Agriculture
The best restaurants in town have long preferred local source food, and the public appetite for it has increased steadily. Come to discuss the spectrum of urban agriculture, from edible front yards and urban farming community gardens.
Facilitators: Bill Maynard, City of Sacramento Community Garden Program Coordinator, Claire Napawan, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture at UC Davis and Marq Truscott, FASLA

Infill: How to balance the old with the new
A discussion of creating the new in traditonal neighborhoods; balancing respect, sustainably design opportunity and individuality
Facilitators: Bruce Monighan, AIA and Craig Hausman, AIA

Click here for the flyer with revised dates

Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SacSoul2012

or for more info email Chris Brown at cbrown@dlrgroup.com

Refreshments and drinks will be served.

The AAH Committee is focused on design and architecture in the healthcare field.

For more information please contact Keith Demaray at Keith.Demaray@hmcarchitects.com

Here is a bit more about him from his blog:

“I am a one person architectural firm in Fair Oaks, California. I am a former journeyman carpenter and construction superintendent.  I received my professional degree in architecture from the University of Southern California after studying in Florence, Italy.  I have been in practice on my own since 1999.  I also teach a one month architecture class to high school seniors each year.

My design philosophy

For me architecture is more than function and more than form.  Architecture is about making places with meaning that resonate in the soul.  Wonderful form making and crystal clear functionality can contribute to that special quality but it is an understanding of the client, the site and universal truths of the human condition that are needed in making a beautiful and memorable place.

I also believe that buildings need to be good citizens not only from a sustainable and energy efficient point of view, but also from an urban perspective in considering how a given building can contribute to making a better city.

Lastly, there are times when a client needs a very simple and functional design, or a store layout just like the one they did last year.  That is fine too.  I totally understand and embrace the fact that architecture can’t be making a profound artistic statement all the time.”

Periodically we will be sharing his posts on the Chapter website, and will provide a direct link back to his blog.

Enjoy!

~   ~  ~

I discovered this building while cruising Santa Cruz looking for some architectural entertainment.  The front elevation is pretty straight forward but come around the north side and whoah!  There is this cut away at an angle where the roof stays straight and the wall is angled back.

I love the little opening in the front elevation that takes you through to this funny space.  It is a little like the Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole.  Except that the reality seems to be the same on each side of the threshold.  There was a service going on inside and I was not able to see the impact of the outside geometry on the plan.  I love imagining the decisions that went into this building’s design.  Who made the call to create this geometry and what was the reaction when that idea was shared with others?  Then what did people say when they saw the finished building?  I make no assumptions that it was an architect involved here although if you look at the symmetrical, hierarchical composition of the arch top window and the two rectangular side windows,  there is clearly some design sensibility at work.  So many questions!  This one is on the list for future research.

Vist: http://saxonsangles.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/a-mysterious-little-santa-cruz-ca-building/

Join the AIA Central Valley Chapter at the Skinner Howard Contemporary Art Gallery for an extra special evening to kick off the new year! Don’t miss out on the experience of this inspiring space.

In addition to installing our 2012 Board of Directors, we will recognize our Corporate Partners and members who keep our Chapter active and relevant.

To cap off the evening, we have invited photographer Stephen Johnson, contributor to the book as well as editor, designer and co-photographer of, “The Great Central Valley: California’s Heartland.” Following an introduction from President Ogrydziak, Mr. Johnson will present images to our group that will explore the sense of place in our region and provide understanding of the physical and visual essence of the valley. The presentation by Mr. Johnson is sponsored by Canon.

To view Mr Johnson’s work you may visit his website at: http://www.sjphoto.com

Attendees will also enjoy appetizers from Plates Café and Catering and pieces of the current gallery exhibition:  NEW WORKS

Don’t miss out! Register today!

Click here for flyer

Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012

Time: 5:30 to ~8:00 p.m. (5:30-6:00 registration/appetizers/social time; followed by awards ceremony, board installation and presentation).

Location: Skinner/Howard Gallery located at 723 S Street (in the back) in mid-town Sacramento. Entry is located in Gallery parking lot.  Limited free lot parking, ample street parking. Click here for directions: http://www.skinnerhowardart.com/contact.php

CEU: AIA members will received 1.5 AIA learning units for attending.

Cost: Members/ Significant Others         $20
Non-Members                                                 $30
Corporate Partners                                        FREE
Invited Guests / Honorees                         FREE

Register: By Monday, January 23^rd online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/219948

For reasonable accommodations or alternate formats, please contact the Chapter office at least 48 hours prior to the event: info@aiacv.org or call 916-444-3658.

Posted By: Mark Huck

Historic Maydestone Apartment Reuse and Retrofit Tour

Tour and panel discussion, Thursday, February 9, 2012, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Meet at 1001 15th Street, Sacramento in the lobby.
Tour concludes in basement community room for snacks and networking.

The Maydestone is a historic building in downtown Sacramento that has been redeveloped into affordable apartments using the affordable housing and historic preservation tax credits. It provides an excellent example of how a historic rehabilitation can also be an energy efficient project. The Maydestone is applying for LEED Silver certification and features sustainable elements such as solar thermal and photoelectric panels, a rain harvesting and irrigation system, clear solar film on original window glass, and energy-recovery braking installed on the original cage elevator. The reuse of the building itself ensures the continued use of all the original material of the building, representing old growth timber and minerals mined, processed and transported over 100 years ago. It makes good use of its existing urban site, situated close to amenities and near light rail and public transit.

This event has been approved for 1.5 GBCI CE hours for LEED credential maintenance, and may be self-reported for 1.5 hours of AIA SD credit. Instructions for self-reporting are distributed at conclusion of tour. Tickets are $16.29 for NCC members and $31.59 for non-members.

For more details and to register go to the USGBC-NCC events website

Members have until January 31, 2012, to self-report any remaining HSW or HSW/SD credits from 2011. Please make sure you don’t lose any HSW credits earned in 2011.

You may self-report eligible activities online at CES Discovery. Log in using your email address and AIA password

CES DISCOVERY LINK

Beginning in January 2012, AIA architect members will be required to complete 12 hours of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) education, which includes four (4) hours of sustainable design (SD) education; previously 8 HSW hours were required.

The total number of continuing education hours required remains unchanged and is 18 hours. The AIA Board will re-evaluate the SD requirement in 2012. Emeritus members are not required to report any CES activities.

FAQs AND DETAILS ON ALL CHANGES (link)

For more information, please contact AIA Member Care CES at 800-242-3837, option 3. Please note AIA National is on Eastern time (three hours later than Pacific.)