AIACNY

Project Architect: VIP Architectural Associates
Project Criteria Consultant: King & King Architects

The Central New York Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization that grants more than $5M annually to local organizations through its endowment, sought to preserve and renovate the 90-year-old former University Club Building in downtown Syracuse using the Design-Build/Bridging project delivery method. The project team worked collaboratively with the foundation’s team on planning, finalizing the design and constructing the $3 million, 24,140 SF project. It was completed on October 29, 2010 on time and on budget.

The renovation and restoration of the building included roof replacement, new windows, brickwork, renovation of former ballroom space and new offices on the first floor with 9,000 square feet of existing office space on the second floor. Upgrades were made to security, communication, lighting, electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems. Engineers documented the existing building mechanical systems and determined that the most cost-effective option considering life-cycle costs of the building was to replace the dated building systems in their entirety with systems of much greater energy efficiency. The team also ensured that all applicable inspections and permits were obtained.

The project included the challenge of preserving the architectural integrity of the building’s exterior and architectural elements in the interior while incorporating modern upgrades. This was a fast-track construction project which required overlap between design and construction to meet the owner’s occupancy deadline. Progress was further challenged by the discovery of asbestos containing materials during demolition, requiring asbestos removal which challenged, but did not change, the production schedule.

The project is now seeking LEED Silver certification for various aspects including reduction in energy consumption and water use, utilizing materials with high recycled content, and recycling the vast majority of waste generated during project demolition and reconstruction.

Although deemed "non-historic" by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the building was considered of historic significance for the Syracuse community by the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board, which created many challenges for the team in protecting historical elements while upgrading the building for modern use. The team worked closely with the foundation board to ensure that the renovations preserved the historical integrity of the existing facility while accommodating the owner’s programming needs in the expanded design.

The team conducted a holistic assessment of the project including design, program, site, materials, constructability, life cycle costing and environmental sustainability. Through value engineering, the firm concentrated on lowering project costs while maintaining quality and performance. Project design and cost estimates and the were routinely re-examined relative to the project budget for adjustment and cost-tracking.

The team adhered to a detailed schedule for completion of planning, finalization of design, and construction of the project. The schedule incorporated the project criteria consultants program manager’s intermediate and final milestone dates. Weekly progress and coordination meetings were held throughout design and construction. To keep the project on the approved schedule.

The President's Message

I hope that this first newsletter of 2012 finds you in great spirits having “weathered” the Holidays and ready for the adventures of things to come. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Architects, as the “trailblazers” of ingenuity and creativity, are in a unique position to lead in this New Year with a renewed spirit towards economic recovery and a keen focus on strengthening our communities.

In the past year the AIA CNY Chapter has accomplished many things that continue to help expand the programs and resources necessary to support our members. One of those initiatives is related to rallying sponsors to provide the necessary income so that all of these programs can flourish. If you are aware of a vendor, contractor, and/or consultant who you believe would be a great partner with our chapter please let Sarah Testa (Component Executive at the Resource Center) know and she will make the necessary connections.

We will be undertaking a strategic planning retreat on January 20 and 21 as an AIA CNY Board. Our areas of focus, for charting that path for the future, will be associated with Board Structure (Roles/Responsibilities/Program Areas), Emerging Professionals (Young Architects Forum and related programs), and Public Relations (How we can better serve as leaders in our community and support our members). The retreat will be facilitated by a representative from the National AIA and we will post updates on this endeavor to the website. We want to take full advantage of the National AIA representative’s time here in Syracuse and hope to schedule a Town meeting so that our members can interact and speak openly about services that the National, State, and Local organizations can provide more of and/or strengthen.

The first Social function and Happy Hour of 2012 will occur on Friday January 20th at 5:30 PM at PJ Dorsey’s. This event will coincide nicely with the conclusion of our first day of our strategic planning retreat. It would be great if you could join us in this social setting for some friendly conversations and to hear about some of the elements of strategic planning that we might get some feedback on.

Great thanks to our departing Board members Joe Piraino, Bob Haley, Claude-Louis Boisnier, Pete Sorber and Neel Garofano for their tremendous efforts over the past many years and to Craig Polhamus for supporting the activities of the Resource Center. They have all kindly expressed interest in continuing their involvement with the programs and activities of AIA CNY in the future. Also special thanks to our immediate past President Ed McGraw who did a wonderful job leading the organization in 2011 and from whom I’ve learned so much regarding the do’s and don’ts of the presidency.

I am looking forward to leading this Chapter in 2012 and the prospect of blazing some new trails. I am also excited and privileged to be working with the very diverse and capable 2012 AIA CNY Board of Directors and Officers. The new board members were identified in the October 2011 newsletter. Please visit our AIA CNY website (http://www.aiacny.org) frequently to receive updates on activities and to identify with all the people who volunteer and continue to represent our membership as well as the entire CNY design community.

“American Journeys, An Anthology of Travel In The United States”, published by Travel Vision in 1975. It is a compellation of articles and stories of the evolution of travel in America. “Standard Time, an American Invention”, by John J. White, notes another wrinkle in the traveler’s life ironed out. A minister, Charles F. Dowd, head of Temple Grove Ladies' Seminary (now Skidmore College) in Saratoga Springs, New York began a one-man crusade for a logical time system.

In 1869, Reverend Dowd envisioned a world theoretically divided into twenty-four time zones, each including fifteen degrees of longitude, the distance the sun appears to travel from east to west in one hour. In any given zone, all the clocks would show the same time. In 1883 telegraphers in New York, on a signal from the Naval Observatory at Washington, flashed noon to other cities in the Eastern Time Zone and Central Zone 11 o’clock, Mountain Zone 10 o’clock and Pacific Zone 9 o’clock.

Other nations quickly realized the advantages of Standard Time. In 1884 delegates from twenty-six countries met in Washington to discuss it and Standard Time was soon extended virtually to the rest of the globe. To us today it is a fact of our daily life. The standard, since its inception, has only one revision, in its 142 history and that is Day Light Saving Time.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson each wished to create building regulations. New York City adopted the first city building code. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) was formed in1896. From 1900 on, model building codes were developed by code officials within various communities.

In 1905 the National Board of Fire Underwriters (UL) was created. By 1927 ICBO published the Uniform Building Code (UBC). BOCA soon followed is 1930 and by 1940 SSBCI followed suit. The Council of American Building Officials came in existence in 1972. In 1992 the European Community’s Initiative movement brought a global code consciousness.

The International Code Council was created by BOCA, ICBO and SBCCI in 1994. With the new century the International Building Code was in place and began to be accepted by many of the States in this country. New York State was one of the first to adopt the code with modifications. With the help of Welcome to the Virginia Community Association Net Work, you are now up to date on how the bureaucratic code process came to be.

No one person, or group can accept responsibility. No group wishes to accept responsibility. Standard time was an ingenious solution and easy to accept. It made sense for humankind to accept it. Codes are made to change human habits. Code writers look to provide a healthy, safe and improved welfare for all living in the built environment. They cannot expect monuments, plaques or to be recognized for services rendered. Reverend Dowd is an example to us all.

A commemorative large bronze plaque is located in Washington Union Station to William F. Allen who published The Official Railway Guide. “Neither the railroads nor a supposedly grateful public ever got around to erecting a monument to the Reverend Charles F. Dowd. Ironically, he was killed by a train at Saratoga Springs in 1904 at the age of seventy-nine.” John I. White.

www.appelosborne.com

Professional Development Corner

By: Nicolette Feldser Email: feldser@ashleymcgraw.com

AIA Documents Free Though My NCARB for ARE Candidates

In cooperation with the AIA, NCARB is offering ARE candidates free access to key AIA documents for the purpose of preparing for the Construction Documents & Services division of the ARE. This is another great resource to help you prepare for the ARE.

Interns may download the sample documents through in My NCARB through their NCARB Record. Learn more in the August 2011 ARE e-News.

To access documents:

Log into My NCARB
Click "Go" to access your NCARB Record
Follow link for ARE Candidates: Construction Documents & Services Resources visible in the lower left of your Record.

Updated ARE Exam Guides

NCARB has released new exam guides to include expanded information regarding the makeup of the multiple-choice sections of the Architect Registration Examination^® (ARE^®). The newly released editions include a detailed breakdown of the test content areas and a percentage outline for the major content areas of each multiple-choice section. You can use this information to better outline and focus your preparation.

Newly Registered Architects!

If you are a newly registered Architect or if you know someone in your firm who has recently passed the ARE please contact the Chapter’s Resource Center if you would like to be recognized for your efforts in reaching this milestone in your career! Please include a photograph of yourself and brief biography of your accomplishments and interests and we will announce you in our newsletter and recognize all newly Registered Architects who have informed us at a major AIA event during the year.

AIA National is also collecting feedback on what various firms and Chapters are doing to recognize the following:

· Graduation from Architecture School

· IDP Completion

· “New” Architects upon passage of the ARE

If your firm celebrates these milestones please let us know!

Also, we are still collecting stories about what you value the most about your AIA membership. What would you like to see us do as a Chapter in the future? Why did you join the AIA and what do you value most about your membership? Send any responses or thoughts on these subjects to feldser@ashleymcgraw.com and I will compile them for everyone’s enjoyment. Thank you for your continued involvement in our profession and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Upcoming Study Sessions

Please stay tuned for more information on upcoming study sessions following the holiday season! We look forward to you joining us for these lively and informative events at the AIA CNY Resource Center. Fliers announcing the study sessions will be sent to all members prior to each session and we encourage you to spread the word to your peers since everyone is welcome!

Opening of the Meeting: This meeting of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects Central New York Chapter was held Thursday, November 10, 2010 at the AIACNY Resource Center . Ed McGraw, AIA called the meeting to order.

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them."

Ann Landers

Component Executive News

On the National level, I have been informed, as your brand-new Component Executive, that the education requirements for AIA will be modified as of this month (January 2012). In short, they are realigning the National requirements to be more closely paralleled with the State requirements. The thinking is, per AIA, that by raising the level and quality of your continuing education and professional development, not only will you be considered the best, you will also “stand out from the competition” in the architectural profession as AIA members. They are also modifying the self-reporting option which may affect some of you.

In that case, our members are still allowed to self-report Learning Unit (LU) credits but HSW credits must be reported by the Vendor or Presenter from here on. Of these LU credits, the AIA has realized that their members need more than information about buildings and is pushing to have its members learn about things outside what is learned in school. AIA CNY members should feel very lucky because of the efforts of the AIA CNY board to bring you presentations such as Alternate Career Paths in September and all the Code classes. Did either of these have to do with buildings? Maybe, but more than that, it is the hope of the AIA and AIACNY’s board to educate its members in realistic terms beyond windows and roofs.

In closing, 2012 will have even more fun learning activities brought to you by your AIA of Central New York.

For more on Education requirements, please visit:

http://www.aia.org/education/ces/AIAB088935

And, for more from New York State’s Education requirements please see:

http://www.aia.org/education/ces/mcerequirements/AIAS074645

Trends in ceramic tile & natural stone continue towards larger & larger formats. In addition, new tile manufacturing technology is providing tiles as thin as 3mm to the market. This program identifies the challenges and provides solutions for these trends.

Resource Center
State Tower Building
109 South Warren store 11
Syracuse, NY 13202

AIA New York Chapter’s public calendar is also a great place to promote both this Chapter’s events and other outside events: http://www.aiany.org/calendar/index.php