Dunn named to NCARB , p2…..Architect Finder upgrade, p4-5….Golf tourney results, p8 The newsletter of the American Institute of Architects, Arkansas Chapter Fall 2007 From the President NWA hosts ‘07 state convention Galen Hunter, AIA/Arkansas recognizes top designs aia Chapter issues CE draws ‘em in, inspiration keeps ‘em coming back Design Awards erhaps the biggest rchitects from boost AIA ever got in across the state regards to member- PP A convened in ship and participation in A Rogers Oct. 24-27 for the meetings and events was 2007 AIA Arkansas State when the requirements for Convention and Design architectural licensure were Awards. changed to include the re- The event was hosted quirement for continuing by the John Q. Hammons education on a yearly (or bi- Center and Embassy annual depending on the Suites Northwest Arkan- state) basis. sas, and more than 600 Suddenly all architects members of the architec- were looking for avenues to tural design community The 2007 Member Choice Award went to Polk Stanley for fulfill the requirements nec- the Acxiom Central Arkansas Data Center (above). attended. essary to maintain their li- Honor and Merit awards were presented to Arkansas architects for their work censes and livelihood. throughout the past year. It didn’t take long for AIA The 2007 Member Choice Award went to Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Por- to figure out that providing ter Architects of Little Rock for the Acxiom Central Arkansas Data Center in Little the mechanism to fulfill Rock [see photo]. The project also earned the firm an Honor Award. Members of these requirements might the design team are Reese Rowland, AIA, Joe Stanley, AIA, Jim Thatcher, Jane just be the ticket for in- creasing membership and See Message, p3 See Design Awards, p9 In the News Dunn named to NCARB board Fowler completes inaugural Leadership Arkansas class Blakely C. Dunn, AIA, of El Do- rado, was installed as the director of Daniel K. Fowler, AIA, recently completed the inaugu- Region 3 (Southern Conference) on ral Leadership Arkansas class created by the Arkansas the National Council of Architectural State Chamber of Commerce. Registration Boards' (NCARB) Board The first Leadership Arkansas commencement in- of Directors during its 2007 Annual cluded 62 graduates from across the state. Leadership Meeting and Conference in Denver in Arkansas is a program designed to take a statewide view June. of the economic and political challenges that face Arkan- Dunn is president of CADM Architecture, Inc. sas. The program offers leadership opportunities that expand the impact of community leaders across the state. Husband-wife team earn award Applications are now being accepted for the next class. For further information, or to apply, contact Susie Jonathan Opitz of Williams and Dean Architects and Marks at 501-210-4206 or email her at Patty Opitz of Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Ar- [email protected]. chitects, Ltd. Won the recent Emerging Green Builders Design Competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, Arkansas Chapter. Taylor joins Wilcox Group The Opitz team submitted a plan for the Woodglen Solar Subdivision model house which, “blends old south- The Wilcox Group Architects of Little Rock announces ern sensibilities with new materials for technology to cre- the addition of J. Richard Taylor, AIA, as Director of Con- ate spaces that embrace nature esthetically and me- struction Administration. chanically.” Taylor, a registered architect, has more than 34 years of construction administration experience on such pres- tigious projects as the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Insurance coverage goes green Arkansas Children's Hospital and the U.S. Postal Ser- vice. Previously, Taylor was in charge of construction The Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. is offering the first- administration at the former Gaskin, Hill, Norcross firm. ever insurance products designed to encourage and pro- mote green building. The new types of coverage are for commercial struc- Mueller joins Polk Stanley in NWA tures and include: • l Certified Green Building Coverage – Designed for buildings that have achieved Green Globes or LEED Heiko Mueller has joined the Fayette- certification, this coverage includes a 5 percent credit ville office of Polk Stanley Rowland Cur- for “green” features. zon Porter Architects, Ltd. • l Green Upgrade Coverage — This coverage allows Originally from Ehweiler, Germany, non-green buildings and personal property items to Mueller earned his Bachelor of Architec- be replaced with green alternatives following a loss. ture degree from the University of Ar- If the entire building is destroyed, it will be rebuilt to kansas in Fayetteville in 2002 and went Green Globes or LEED standards. on to complete internships with • Building Commissioning Coverage – Following a loss Jennings and McKee Architects and to a building system (i.e. HVAC, lighting, plumbing or Robert Sharp Architect, Inc, both of Fayetteville. Mueller safety), this coverage provides for an engineer to is the son of Joe and Gabriele Robinson of Cedarville commission the repaired or replaced system. (Crawford County). 2 | COLUMNS | AIA Arkansas | Fall 2007 Message from the president Continued from p1 filling seats at it’s lightly attended functions. Up until continuing education became an issue, participation in AIA events was the province of those individuals and firms who saw architecture as something more than just another profession – it was a calling that affected society far beyond the construction of buildings. A yearly convention for the entire state chapter could be held at any hotel that had a ballroom that would han- dle a hundred people. Fast forward to 2007, and the AIA Arkansas State Convention has grown to the point where very few lo- cales in the state have the capacity to accommodate the more than 600 persons signed up to attend this year’s convention. This year’s event marked our first visit to the city of Rogers. It was a great event in a won- derful new facility. An outstanding lineup of speakers and opportunities to learn and network were on this year’s agenda. The convention committee has spent a lot of time analyzing the feedback that was received from last year’s convention and made changes accordingly to provide something that should appeal to everyone. Of course, there will always be complaints. Either there will not be enough technical seminars to suit some, or maybe the keynote speaker is not relevant to all types or sizes of firms practicing in the state. Some mem- bers opted not to attend this year’s convention because they can get enough credits to maintain their license without spending the cash to participate. There are essentially three ways to view participation in the AIA and the convention in particular. One is cynically – it is a chance to fulfill the continuing-education requirements in the shortest and most pain-free manner so that one doesn’t have to attend any other seminars or presentations the rest of the year. It’s the “12 credits and I’m out of here” approach. Another is graciously – the convention is a chance to take care of those nagging CE requirements, and there is also the chance that one may come away inspired or learn some technical information about new systems or materials that could be incorporated into future work. It may not all be my cup of tea, but it’s that once a year kick-in-the-pants that reminds me why I chose architecture as a profession in the first place. And the third, of course, is enthusiastically. This is the best opportunity to learn what is new with the pro- fession. It is a chance to network with colleagues and exchange ideas. It is a chance to be inspired and a chance to celebrate the best of what our profession has achieved in the past year. And, oh yeah, the CEU’s are just an added bonus. Everyone has his own reason for attending, or not attending, the convention or participating in the activi- ties of AIA. So if an architect participates in an AIA activity only once a year, it is still worth it. Maybe they will come away a little smarter or a little more inspired to become a positive force in their own community. If that happens, it is mission accomplished. Galen Hunter President, AIA Arkansas COLUMNS | AIA Arkansas | Fall 2007 | 3 Letters to AIA Arkansas New Discovery Channel show Architect Finder feature needs architects’ feedback upgraded on AIA website Dear AIA Arkansas members: Dear AIA Arkansas members: My name is Alissa Carlton, and I'm working on a new pro- Greetings. This fall, AIA national will upgrade its Architect gram for the Discovery Channel. We are looking for people Finder feature on www.aia.org and finally shut down the cur- from a wide variety of career fields who would be interested rent, very cumbersome route members must take to be in- in being a host on the new show,“Hidden Cities.” cluded in search results. The members of AIA could be perfect for what we need. The new system ties directly to firm records in TIMSS to de- liver core firm information, then allows members to add con- We’re looking for anyone who is involved in the field of infra- siderable detail about their firms’ make up and capabilities, structure, architects, civil engineers, contractors or urban such as services provided, building-type specializations, firm- planners, etc. We would also like to meet any professors, principal names, number of employees, locations where li- teachers or people who are simply passionate about these censed, and project portfolios with images. Before we ask topics. We don't need an expert in every area, just someone members to build their listings, we’d like to make sure we who loves what they do.