Rediscover Columbus, Indiana with the AIA Committee on Design
By Steven Risting, AIA
Last year Columbus, Indiana was rediscovered in the national media with the public opening of the Miller House and Gardens. An exquisite design collaboration of Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard and Dan Kiley, completed in 1957, the landmark has been declared “America’s most significant modernist house”. While the house is now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) and public tours are available through the Columbus Visitors Center, the tours are often sold out, limited in numbers and access. The IMA is providing the AIA-COD the opportunity to visit the house and gardens as an “open house”, with guides distributed throughout to provide information, and is allowing us personal photography. Read Steve’s complete letter. Learn more about the conference and register now.
Mobilizing The Cube
By Lira Luis, AIA
Quintessential start-up companies had been traditionally started out of one’s garage or that spare bedroom in the house. It seems likely that the virtual office, with the blending of home and work where the ultimate goal is that of efficiency, becomes a natural alternative to setting up an office. Technology plays an important role in the emergence of the virtual office concept. It dates as far back as the Industrial Revolution where telecommuting was first introduced. With the advent of the Information Age, we saw how it evolved to what it is today from when it was first conceptualized by Alf Moufarrige, Founder of Servcorp, as an offshoot from the executive suites industry. It is essentially space utilization complemented with professional live communications. Overhead costs are minimized, while professionalism gets maximized, partly because of the non-existent burden of health care costs of employees, records, payroll, insurance and rent, and the traditional paid time-off. Read the complete blog entry.
RE: Client Communications
By Gerald Morosco, AIA
Learn how Gerald was published and who contributed to his book. Read the thread. Read the article. See if you have a Custom Residential Architects Network in your area or download the toolkit to start one.
Upcoming Knowledge Community Webinars
Detailing for Durability
Monday, March 5, 2012 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Earn 1 HSW CEH| Register Now at No Cost
This is a part of the AIA Housing Knowledge Community research webinar series. Controlling moisture, rain and ground water are the most important factors in the design and construction of durable buildings. The shell of a house serves as the first line of defense between the occupants and the outdoor environment. Walls function as a weather barrier, nail base for finish materials and an energy conserving boundary. A sensible wall system is durable. And this requires all components in a wall assembly to be compatible for the long haul. Siding, siding finishes, housewraps, insulation and wall frames must work together while achieving distinctive goals.
This webinar will discuss the detailing of houses as part of an overall strategy to control moisture. These strategies will reduce maintenance and lengthen the working life of structural components in wood-frame structures. The webinar will focus on moisture transport mechanisms, relative threats, primary actions, prevention and control.
BIM for Small Projects II
Friday, March 9, 2012 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM | Earn 1 CEH| Register Now at No Cost
This is the second in an ongoing series of “BIM for Small Projects”, where architects sharing their experiences. View the first webinar.
There is a widely shared perception that small firms and sole practitioners cannot take advantage of Building Information Modeling due to such factors as its cost, complexity, training time, and productivity for small projects. These case studies, presented by architects who work in small firms or as sole practitioners, will demonstrate how BIM has enhanced their practices and enabled them to create excellent projects. This session is scheduled to have two Revit and one ArchiCAD users to speak.