1.16 AIAVT News
AIAVT Annual Design Awards: A Fun Time at the Middlebury Inn
If you missed AIAVT’s Annual Meeting and Design Awards on December 10, you missed out on some really good fun. More...
Preparing for the Upcoming Launch of ARE 5.0
To help you and your employees prepare for the upcoming launch of ARE 5.0, here a few updates from NCARB about exam content, scheduling policies, test prep materials, and more. More...
AIAVT Launches AIA+2030 Online Series: Reaching the Goal of Carbon-Neutral Buildings by 2030
On November 11 of last year, AIA Vermont held a studio social and learning opportunity at Dore & Whittier Architects in Burlington. More...
Earn 5 LU HSWs at ACX 2016: Theme Is Health & Evidence-Based Design
AIAVT and the Construction Specifications Institute (CSIVT) will present ACX 2016—Vermont’s Architecture & Construction Expo—at Champlain College, Burlington, Vermont on Friday, May 13, 2016. More...
Net Zero Projects Highlighted at 2016 Better Buildings by Design
Commercial Net Zero Design and Construction was the focus of an extended session at this year’s Better Buildings by Design conference, hosted by Efficiency Vermont February 3 and 4 in South Burlington. More...
AIAVT Annual Design Awards: A Fun Time at the Middlebury Inn
If you missed AIAVT’s Annual Meeting and Design Awards on December 10, you missed out on some really good fun. AIAVT’s outgoing President Lisa Rovner recapped a year full of accomplishments, AIAVT’s Public Policy Chair Dan Goltzman urged members to join him in helping to pass meaningful legislation, and President-Elect Gary Corey elicited profound laughter as he described how he had come to be an architect.
Corey said, “I am a principal at Centerline Architects from the deep south—Bennington! That’s where I was born and raised. My dad was a farmer and as a young adult, I said, ‘There is no way in hell that I want to be a farmer—they work really long hours, they deal with piles of s__t, and they get very little pay.’ Without much research, I decided I wanted to be an architect! Now, I work really long hours, deal with piles of s__t, and get very little pay.”
After the meeting part of the evening, AIAVT Design Awards Committee Chair Diantha Korzun took to the podium to announce the award winners in the Large, Medium and Small Project categories. If you haven’t already looked at these beautiful awarding-winning projects, check them out soon.
Thanks to the event sponsors: Windows & Doors by Brownell (underwriter) and Charron Inc., Poole Professional Ltd, and Wallboard Supply Co.
Thanks to TopKat Photography for capturing the good times had by all: complete event photos here.
Preparing for the Upcoming Launch of ARE 5.0
To help you and your employees prepare for the upcoming launch of ARE 5.0, here are a few updates from NCARB about exam content, scheduling policies, test prep materials, and more.
Video: New Question Types and Case Studies
NCARB will be retiring vignettes in favor of two new question types: hot spots and drag-and-place, plus the addition of case studies. Watch these short videos to learn more!
ARE 5.0 Test Duration
Each division will include between 80 to 120 questions, with one to two case studies per exam. You will continue to schedule exams and access score reports through My Examination. Learn more about the number of questions on each division.
Important Reminders
- Test Strategically: Remember, ARE 4.0 will be available until June 30, 2018, so you have plenty of time to finish. If you do eventually transition, you could complete the ARE in as few as five tests. Learn more about planning your approach.
- Use the ARE 5.0 Transition Calculator: This interactive tool can help you develop a personalized testing strategy by showing how 4.0 divisions will be credited in ARE 5.0.
Join the ARE 4.0 Community: Be sure to join the ARE 4.0 Community—a space where candidates can come together to ask questions, share best practices, and interact with our experts!
Stay Tuned
NCARB will begin the final stages of exam development and administration testing this spring, which will allow them to determine the official launch date of ARE 5.0 in late 2016. In the meantime, they are exploring exciting opportunities with test prep providers and developing a NCARB Blog series on the new divisions. Stay tuned!
AIAVT Launches AIA+2030 Online Series: Reaching the Goal of Carbon-Neutral Buildings by 2030
On November 11 of last year, AIA Vermont held a studio social and learning opportunity at Dore & Whittier Architects in Burlington. The learning session was the launch of the 10-part AIA+2030 online series produced by Architecture 2030 with support from AIA. Nearly 40 AIAVT members attended the showing of Course 1 and became energized about the 2030 Challenge, which provides a path to reducing the design and building sector’s negative impacts and reaching carbon neutral design as the standard practice.
In 2016, AIAVT plans to offer subsequent sessions in the series, as they become available. The first showing of 2016, Course 2, is scheduled for April 18 at Contois Auditorium in Burlington and is titled The Power of Targets and Load Reduction. Stay tuned for details via email.
Course 3 is tentatively scheduled for June, and the months of July, September, October and November are under consideration for future showings. While the series is available online through AIAU to viewers who wish to watch at their own locations, participants may earn only 1 LU on their own. As was the case in November, AIAVT will complement each session with a group discussion, allowing members to receive an additional half-credit and benefit from discussing the material—including how to create 2030 Districts within Vermont municipalities—with other interested colleagues. The group cost will be less per person than the cost to view a session on one’s own.
If you’re not familiar with the 2030 Challenge or the online series, read more:
Climate Change is Real. Architects Have Solutions
Credible scientists give us 10 years to be well on our way toward global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Fifty percent of those greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to buildings. With proper tools and training, architects can help make a difference.
To impact the threat of climate change, Architecture 2030, a non-partisan, national not-for-profit started by renowned architect Ed Mazria, has issued the 2030 Challenge asking the global architecture and building community to reach the goal of carbon-neutral buildings by 2030.
In order to meet the 2030 Challenge, the AIA has teamed with Architecture 2030 to create the AIA+2030 Online Series. Based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series, the Online Series offers strategies to achieve dramatic reductions in building energy consumption and fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions. These energy-consumption reductions result in significant savings in energy costs, and the ability to design such high-performing buildings provide firms with capabilities that set them apart in the marketplace.
The AIA+2030 Online Series goes beyond theory-based education by providing practitioners with actionable tools and methodologies that directly impact building design and performance.
Those who missed the group showing of Session 1 last November may wish to view it online on their own. For more information, see: http://www.aiaplus2030.org/online/online
Earn 5 LU HSWs at ACX 2016: Theme Is Health & Evidence-Based Design
AIAVT and the Construction Specifications Institute (CSIVT) will present ACX 2016—Vermont’s Architecture & Construction Expo—at Champlain College, Burlington, Vermont on Friday, May 13, 2016. The focus is on research, wellness, health and evidence-based design.
The event is likely to once again attract 100+ attendees from across the region, bringing together architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, business leaders and regulators. Take a look at the exciting roster of presenters:
Keynote “The Culture of Health”
Presenters: Alberto Salvatore + Breeze Glazer, Perkins + Will
This presentation will introduce the concept of redefining what health is, and identify the direct relationship between the built environment and health. These effects will be addressed at a range of scales—from the design of rooms, buildings, campuses, cities and beyond. Designing for health promotion can be directed at both specific health challenges such as obesity, or toward more holistic solutions ranging from changing product chemistry to neighborhood design. The session will also identify an implementation strategy to embed a “Culture of Health” in architecture projects. Case studies from around the world—on how healthcare organizations and designers are working to remake health-promoting places, spaces and things—will be shared.
A1 “Evidenced-Based Lighting: Research We Can Use”
Donna Leban, Light/Space/Design
In lighting applications, the adoption of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs has many potential benefits beyond reducing energy use. In 2002, scientists learned of new types of photoreceptors in the retina that have complex functions not related to vision. Although new research continues to reveal complexities, this presentation will discuss usable, evidenced-based, lighting techniques and their benefits. While much of lighting research is published in scientific journals and in publications of the Illuminating Society of North America (IESNA), the findings are very important to architects, not only for healthcare, elderly housing design, and workplace lighting, but also in providing an understanding of unintended consequences of brightly-lighted night-time environments and computer screens.
A2 “Energy, Air Quality + Health in Existing Buildings”
Mary Jane Pynter + Ethan Bellavance, Efficiency Vermont
Identifying air quality, energy efficiency, and overall performance of a building is crucial during the preliminary design phase of a project. Mechanical systems are one of the key building components that provide a healthy, comfortable, and efficient building. However, market research has shown that mechanical equipment is not being maintained, understood, and operated correctly. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the most commonly installed mechanical system, explain how this system is directly tied to occupant health and comfort, and instruct architects on the right questions to ask the engineer or contractor working on the project. Participants will walk away with a three-step process to enable them to make educated decisions for creating a healthy, efficient building.
B1 “Creating Healthy Places”
Chris Dunn, Certified Healthy, LLC
Creating healthy places is the next evolution of designing and building projects that benefit people’s health and lives. The basis of creating healthy places and buildings is to make the healthy choice the easy choice. A number of buildings that are “certified healthy” will be presented.
B2 “Think Better / Where’s the Big Idea”
Owen Milne, Red Thread (Steelcase) + M. Serrato, Herman Miller
Part 1: In workplaces throughout the world, scenarios of near-constant distraction have become the norm. People text during conversations, email during meetings, skimp on lunch breaks to catch up on work—always trying to process faster and handle more, often without realizing just how much they’re degrading their mental capabilities in the process. Thankfully, our ability to focus is salvageable. Thanks to recent neuroscience research, there’s hard evidence about what attention is, how it works, how to attain it and how to use it productively. Researchers have applied this new science to create concepts for how thoughtfully designed workplaces can help workers better manage their attention. By leveraging the full capacity of our brains and our environments, it’s possible to “think better” at work.
Part 2: As global competition increases, organizations understand that they must create a collaborative culture that supports innovation while still responding to ongoing project demands. Workplace research has identified that effective informal communication is a common feature of organizations that have managed this transition well. The challenge for interior designers is to understand how planning affects where and how often informal interactions will occur space. This presentation explores the nature and importance of informal interaction and demonstrates the practical application of Space Syntax, a method for predicting patterns of movement and interaction.
C1 “The Practice of Biophilic Design”
Elizabeth Calabrese, Calabrese Architects, Inc.
The focus of this presentation is on the current empirical evidence, research and analysis of biophilic design's impact on physiological, psychological and cognitive health. Biophilic principles, experiences and attributes will be reviewed; how to weave the attributes together to create a coherent whole will be demonstrated’; and case studies will be shown.
C2 “Color 202: Functional Coloration from Nature to Architecture”
Arthur + James Bemis, The Mastery Institute
The Mastery Institute is a school for higher learning in the fields of color psychology and the physiological effects of color in the built environment. The session explores sets of relationships derived from nature’s construct, and how to utilize this knowledge to create systems, tools, and methods based on patterns of interconnections. The presenters then show how to integrate these methodologies based on naturally-occurring relationships in nature and apply them into functional systems within the architectural environment. This supports the function of the architecture visually, but also supports the well-being of the people that work and live in these environments.
Mark your calendars and plan to join us! Registration details will soon be provided.
Net Zero Projects Highlighted at 2016 Better Buildings by Design
Commercial Net Zero Design and Construction was the focus of an extended session at this year’s Better Buildings by Design conference, hosted by Efficiency Vermont February 3 and 4 in South Burlington. Five Vermont-based architects presented recently completed (or nearly completed) projects that took part in Efficiency Vermont’s Net Zero Pilot program, focused on encouraging high efficiency design and a goal of net zero energy performance. With the projects ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 sq. ft., the presentations delivered over the three-hour session were:
Northfield Savings Bank (Berlin), Jeff Stetter, AIA, Gossens Bachman Architects
Middlebury Town Office, Chris Huston, AIA, Bread Loaf Corporation
Waterbury Municipal Complex, Ashar Nelson, AIA, Vermont Integrated Architecture
Vermont Public Radio (Colchester), David Roy, AIA, Wiemann Lamphere Architects
Waitsfield Town Offices, Bill Maclay, AIA, Maclay Architects
Energy Consultants Nick Thiltgen and Craig Simmons from Efficiency Vermont also described their involvement and the pilot program support provided to the projects. Nick also summarized the “lessons learned” across the projects and the updates incorporated into the Net Zero Program that will continue to be offered by Efficiency Vermont. The session, overall, provided an excellent perspective on state-of-the-art design in Vermont and an opportunity to compare the various approaches taken and challenges faced on the five projects. In the final Q & A segment, Bill Maclay noted that one indicator of the progress made in sharing results effectively was that each of these presentations provided Energy Use Intensity (EUI) values for the projects. The full slide deck for the session, titled “Commercial Net Zero: Design and Construction Lessons Learned through Efficiency Vermont’s Commercial Net Zero Pilot Program,” is available here.
Other AIAVT members presenting at the conference included Jesse Beck, Brian Leet, & Jesse Robbins (Freeman French Freeman), William Ryall & Ted Sheridan (Ryall Porter Sheridan Architects), John Rahill (Black River Design), Joseph Cincotta (LineSync Architecture), Laz Scangas (Arnold & Scangas Architects), Donna Leban (Light/Space/Design), Megan Nedzinski (Maclay Architects), and David Pill (Pill-Maharam Architects). Congratulations to all for sharing your expertise and providing educational opportunities for your colleagues and partners throughout the region!
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Joint VT/NH Meeting Scheduled for October 19
The Harpoon Brewery in Windsor is the site of the AIAVT/AIANH meeting to be held onOctober 19, 2016. Our colleagues in New Hampshire are trying to secure Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, as a speaker. Grandstaff-Rice, a senior associate at Arrowstreet, Inc. in Boston, has a broad range of academic, hospitality, institutional and commercial project experience. Her leadership includes serving as 2014 president of the Boston Society of Architects and chairing a national commission on equity and diversity in architecture.
Joseph Architects’ Capital Candy Project Recognized By Efficiency Vermont
Waterbury-based Joseph Architects, LLC, received the Efficiency Vermont “New Construction— Merit Award in Commercial Building Design and Construction” for designing a cold storage facility for Capital Candy Co., Inc. “We’re truly honored,” said firm principal, Joe Greene, AIA.
At 14,260 sq. ft., the project consists of the adaptive reuse of a former granite shed (approx. 4,000 sq. ft.) for refrigerated storage and the construction of a new, state-of-the- art 32’-0” tall, 7,000 sq. ft. freezer building capable of sustaining a temperature of -20°F. “Other components of the project,” said Greene, “included a refrigerated loading dock as well as a sub-slab heating system that utilizes waste heat from the freezer condensers to prevent the ground from freezing under the building slab.”
The Efficiency Vermont Best of the Best Awards recognize innovative and integrated design approaches for energy efficiency in Vermont’s commercial and residential buildings. Awards are given out in four categories at the annual “Better Buildings by Design Conference.” The category in which Joseph Architect’s project earned an award recognizes innovative and integrated design approaches for energy efficiency in commercial, institutional, industrial, and multifamily buildings in Vermont.
“I’m very grateful to the team that contributed to this wonderful project,” said Greene. The team included Connor Contracting Inc., Vermont Heating and Ventilating Company, Bates & Murray, Dewolfe Engineering and others. “I’d also like to give a special thanks to Capital Candy Co. for allowing us to work on such a great project.”
new MEMBERS
Architects
Taryn Barrett, AIA, Duncan Wisniewski Architecture, Burlington
Josh Crandall, AIA, Freeman French Freeman, Burlington, is an architect with experience in a broad range of markets, including: healthcare, higher education, hospitality, commercial, and residential. He was licensed in Vermont in 2015 and graduated from Pratt Institute in 2005. Originally a Vermonter, Crandall has returned to the area after a number of years working in New York, D.C., and Raleigh.
Thomas Karlhuber, AIA, Karlhuber Design, Shelburne
Associates
Evan Amato
Jessica Gardner, Assoc. AIA, recently moved to Burlington from Boston to start working at Gossens Bachman Architects in Montpelier. Gardner graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology’s MArch program in 2014 and worked for a year at AECOM Boston. She enjoys solving design problems and continuing to learn about architecture and construction.
Levon Manuelyan, Moore Design Builders, Waitsfield
Nick Skwira, Cushman Design Group, Stowe
Chris Snyder, Haynes & Garthwaite Architects, Norwich
Jayson Sterba, Winooski
AFFILIATE news
NEW MEMBERS
Advance 2000—Advance2000 is focused on the cloud computing needs specific to the AEC industry. The company offers solutions that provide real-time collaboration capabilities in a virtual environment. Freed of the hassles of moving data to the people, Advance 2000 allows organizations to set up a Collaborative HUB and invite users to the data. Data is secure and accessible from any device, at any time, and always current. Contact: Bill Buress, NE Sales, bburess@ advance2000.com, www.advance2000.com
The Mastery Institute—The Mastery Institute is an organization made up of design and color specialists dedicated to the ongoing research and development of tools, methods and systems that utilize and integrate color into our environment. Contact: Art Bemis, bemisresourcegrp@ aol.com, http://themasteryinstituteonline.com/
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Carol Miklos, Executive Director, AIA Vermont
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