Issue Oct 2018
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ISSUE ARCHJOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND 01 PROFESSIONAL DESIGN IN THE OCT SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY 2018 1 AIA SAN JOAQUIN PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By: Arthur Dyson, AIA People ask continually for me to offer The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura, a to consider in the production of spaces: an explanation about what I believe to small but potent volume given to me by solid and void, light and shadow, form, be genuine architecture. Sometimes Frank Lloyd Wright soon after first meeting scale, context, pattern, rhythm, balance, the question comes from reporters and him. The first chapter is titled “The Cup color, etc. Equally, if not more importantly, curious observers, but mostly I hear of Humanity,” and contains in eloquently is the effect of these elements on the this request from students who are distilled metaphor, the awareness that, people who must not just encounter but preparing a paper or report. All of us in the even when we choose to think otherwise, act through the results of our selections. If profession have our own insights that can we are all joined together as human beings we aren’t conscious of how the inhabitant define a response. I provide mine here to in the same inner passage. This is a scope will perceive these spaces, we are doing a begin a dialog and, hopefully, stimulate of action beyond aesthetics, reflecting the great disservice and missing an important conversation within the chapter about the intangible realization of a spiritual process. opportunity. We are often forced to make essence of what we do for a vocation. As tea pours into a cup, architectural less than ideal choices, adjustments, and The question is often about finding experience is how our being together flows compromises in design, so it seems to a label to describe what architectural into the here and now. me to be a prerequisite to consider more philosophy guides my practice. I tend to If we consider ourselves as spiritual rather than less in order to wind up with as avoid answering in those terms, because beings, then the ultimate meaning of much good as possible. The architectural such language can be misused to promote any building transcends mere visual philosophy that motivates me requires value judgment, bias, and division. Instead, appearance and delves into more that I start from the broadest possible my reply is that I attempt to create a empowered areas of existential depth and range of considerations, both tangible and life-enhancing, holistically responsive, sincerity. The physical image of a building intangible. By reaching in as well as out, and culturally relevant architecture. Of needs to be more than the whitewash of my goal is to produce the fullest possible course, that summary description requires a popular façade, but instead must be response to a given need to build. I don’t meaningful elaboration, but can be a modeled to establish a viable internal know if any one philosophical label covers good starting point for dialog about the connection through the perceptual system that sense of necessity, but it seems to me intentions and purposes present in the built of its occupants. As Pallasmaa has said, we can build a more beautiful, relevant, environment we create. “Modernist design at large has housed and meaningful future when we take a path Admittedly, beauty has always been the intellect and the eye, but it has left that, at least visibly in the world today, is a goal in my work. Like a well-known the body and the other senses, as well as less trodden. proverb intimates about the eye of the our memories, imagination and dreams, beholder, beauty is not a possession but homeless.” an experience. I sometimes refer to this To be truly whole, the buildings that we as visual poetry. Like a shiny apple that create must be meaningful encounters offers little taste, the effect of a building that unify the outer and inner realms of our design is to me unsatisfactory unless it being in balance and equity. Such buildings actively engages the human heart. To my cause us to interact with memories and mind, emotional involvement and personal aspirations, sometimes recalling previously identification are basic components in the suppressed or forgotten aspects of real completeness of a design. Beauty is an nature, character, and desire – perhaps indicator of successful connection with the even invoking a fruitful encounter with inner lives of people. the mystery of our own imagination. We Discussions about the importance of grow in consciousness, relationship, and imagery in a conceived space surfaced capacity through the guidance provided in recent conversations with Juhani in architectural design. If our buildings Pallasmaa. According to Pallasmaa, “the are devoid of these essential factors, Sincerely, senses not only mediate information for the occupants will and do suffer from Arthur Dyson, AIA the judgement of the intellect; they are the deprivation of sensory experience also a means of igniting the imagination necessary to healthy, nurturing human and of articulating sensory thought.” This development. brought back recollections of a book titled There are, of course, many elements 1 AIA SAN JOAQUIN 2018 EXECUTIVE BOARD INDEX PRESIDENT Arthur Dyson, AIA, 3 WHAT IS THE AIA? VICE PRESIDENT 5 AIA MEMBER BENEFITS N. Roger Davidson, AIA 7 COMPANY CULTURE: SECRETARY WHY IT MATTERS Hillary Benedict, Assoc. AIA 11 MAKE BETTER CITIES: TREASURER THIS YEAR’S THEME AT Jeff Berrios, AIA THE AIA ’18 CONFERENCE 13 MADERA COUNTY, 2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS FREE LIBRARY AIAC DELEGATE 13 WHAT DOES A HOUSE Paul N. Halajian, AIA LOOK LIKE? DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS 17 UPCOMING EVENTS Robby Antoyan, AIA 24 MEMBER SPOTLIGHT DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP Marvin Armstrong, AIA 25 2018 EVENT RECAPS DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION AND PR Xinyi Pan, AIA ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Sergio Martinez, Assoc. AIA DIRECTOR OF EVENTS Imelda Golik AIA DIRECTOR OF EDUCTION Robina Wright, AIA EDUCATION CHAIR COC Rolando L. Gonzalez, AIA EDUCATION CHAIR, COVER PHOTO FRESNO CITY COLLEGE “GALLERIA IN DOWNTOWN FRESNO” Ken Zamora, AIA BY MATT MEALER PAST PRESIDENT Matt is a freelance cinematographer and Julie Chips, Assoc. AIA video producer based in Fresno. He shoots and edits the locally-produced food/travel series EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “Dine Out Along The Road” (airing in Fresno on Haley Ward, Assoc. AIA KMPH/FOX26), as well as commercial and cor- porate television and video content for a variety of local clients. Learn more about his work at mattmealer.com. 2 by far the biggest and most well-known and respected organization in this country with the most to offer American architects. Cost of membership can be substantial and burdensome for many architects that wonder what they’re getting for membership fees and if it’s worth it. Of the total fees, 50% goes to national, 20% to State and 30% to the local chapter. So, if you are involved and taking advantage of the local chapter, that money comes back to you. The state share comes back too, but indirectly. AIA Contract Documents is a substantial revenue for the AIA, because we all pay for the documents as we use them, but a share of that revenue comes back to the chapter to help pay for our programs. What is the AIA? There are currently about 114,000 registered architects in the United States. There are about By: Marvin Armstrong, AIA 60,000 registered architects who are also AIA members. In the local region, there are about 100 registered architects and only 40 who are AIA members, well below the nation average. “The American Institute of Architects puttingThe AIA the benefits word ‘architect’ the profession after your as namea whole, so allThe licensed AIA is architects,not the exclusive member advocacy or not, are able (AIA) is a professional organization andto accessnot actually continuing be an architect.education, We construction call groupdocume fornt architects. forms and This many country other hasprograms. for architects in the United States. that(Although, fraud and being there an are AIA laws member prohibiting gets you accessat least to onethose other services union atof aarchitects discounted rate.) More Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it. 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By being The AIAa member of thethe same AIA, as you a tradeare helping union. toThe improve AIA is anthe mechanismhowever, that is byhelps far theus allbiggest enjoy and and most prosper in this I personally had a rocky relationship organizationprofession.