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AIA KnowledgeNet: Achieving Certainty in Documents; An Introduction to Post Occupancy Evaluations; RE: Let it breathe or seal it tight?

By Kathleen McCormick posted 03-23-2012 12:12 PM

  

Knowing the Unknown Unknowns: Achieving Certainty in Documents
By Micheal J. Lough, AIA

The single action that architects can take to improve the “certainty” which they expect of their Construction Documents is to increase the frequency, quality, and extent of reviews of the documents. Too often, documents at all design phases and the Construction Documents phase are issued without sufficient review. Insufficiently reviewed documents are a firm’s “Unknown Unknowns:” important details that firms don’t know that they don’t know, which can bite them later in the project. Read full article in the Practice Management Digest.

Boxes on the Light Shelf: An Introduction to Post Occupancy Evaluations
By Larry Hartman, AIA

Last spring, I had the opportunity with other architects to visit a recently occupied justice facility. It was a very good looking and well functioning building (it will remain anonymous). Prior to our walk-through, the designers explained the numerous sustainability features that we would see such as south facing glass with deep light shelves. These light shelves provided solar shading for the bottom glass lights as well as a horizontal surface for daylight to bounce off and reflect toward the high ceiling. When the tour group stepped into a large open office where the light shelves were installed, we were surprised to see the light shelves filled with empty cardboard boxes. The occupants told us they placed the boxes on the light shelf to help shield excessive daylight from their computer screens. We wondered why this was necessary and what could be learned from the occupant’s action. Read the entire article from the AAJ Journal.

RE: Let it breathe or seal it tight?
Asked by Eric Rawlings, AIA

The debate over allowing a house to "breathe" a little or to seal it up as tight as possible has been argued ever since the advent of sick building syndrome. Read the thread on TAP Discussion Forum and COTE Discussion Forum.

John Kreidich, AIA Selected as Healthcare Webinar Leader
From the Academy of Architecture for Health

Specializing in healthcare building for the last 25 of the 37 years he has been planning, designing, constructing, and operating hospital, research and university facilities, John Kreidich is the go-to resource for all hospital-related safety, infection control, sustainable building, and material/equipment procurement matters at McCarthy Building Company’s Central Healthcare Unit. Read full announcement.

The Opportunity is in the Eye of the Beholder
By Associate Professor Peter Jamieson, Strategic Adviser, Learning Environment Design, University of Melbourne

The greatest potential for transforming the educational experience in schools, or universities, resides in the thousands of existing classrooms that comprise the bulk of our institutional campuses. How do we overcome the stifling claustrophobia of the standard school classroom resulting from insufficient space and far too many students? A large part of my work as a Learning Environment Designer in my role at the University of Melbourne, or via my contributions to projects at schools or other institutions, has been directed at the transformation of existing spaces rather than the creation of new buildings.  Read full article from the CAE article of the month.

 

Public Architects Workshop

The Public Architects Workshop (PAW) explores the roles and responsibilities of architects who are involved in the design of public buildings, as well as some of the latest ideas in public architecture.

You must register as a PAW attendee in order to register for PAW sessions.  Your PAW registration provides admission into PAW sessions as well as keynote presentations, most continuing education sessions available Friday through Saturday, exhibit floor education programs, AIA business meetings, and AIA Expo2012.

A full list of workshops, including titles, times, and LU information, will be available here soon, but you can search these workshops now via the AIA 2012 Session Search.

Preservation Education in American Schools of Architecture
There Is a Market for a School of Architecture Where Students Can Learn to be Preservation Architects
By Ashley Robbins Wilson, AIA

This is our second annual Preservation Education issue of Preservation Architect and the March publication date is especially timely as across the country, applications are being reviewed for undergraduate and graduate programs. Sitting on the admissions committee for our graduate Historic Preservation program, I was once again awed by the number of applications (over 20%) we received from unsatisfied architecture students. Read full article in Preservation Architect.

Get a Jump Start on 2012 with FREE CEH Webinars!
View an AIA Knowledge Community Webinar at your office. Upcoming webinars include:

Proving Your Point: Researched Sustainable Strategies in Historic Housing

Sponsored by the AIA Housing Knowledge Community
Monday, April 1 | 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET | 1 HSW/SD CEH

Beyond the ADA: How to incorporate Universal Design principles in commercial facilities
Sponsored by the AIA Universal Design member created group on AIA KnowledgeNet
Wednesday, April 11 | 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET | 1 HSW CEH

BIG BIM Bang – Enterprise BIM and BIG Data – Sharing Data
Sponsored by the AIA Technology on Architectural Practice Knowledge Community
Friday, April 13 | 1:00 PM-2:30 p.m. ET | 1.25 CEHs

View full webinar calendar.

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