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AIA Convention

gillespie

So I'm headed to Chicago later this week for the Convention. I'll have my laptop with me so I can archinect all day long. It might be cool to be able to talk about what we see there, or even predict which events ( read: lectures ) will be the most interesting.

 
Jun 7, 04 8:43 am
TED

yawn. i am signed up and going also, but having been there in the past, most of the events really are sleepers.

on some boards here, i feel i learn much more than some of the events, unfortunately cant get my CEU credits [unless paul figures out a clever way of doing it, hours logged on gets you 1 ceu].

interesting presentation on wednesday with the Architectural Review boys [hope its worth $85] and a few good presentations by Arup facades are on my agenda.

i wonder what a ARCHINECT convention would be like........

Jun 8, 04 12:00 pm  · 
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gillespie - i think it would be interesting to create a reportage of the day's events... for those who haven't attended an AIA event. you can upload images to the "Event Photos" section of the Archinect Image Gallery as well.

Jun 8, 04 12:05 pm  · 
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Cameron

I'm flying in for Neocon (I'm giving a talk w/ Interior Design magazine). I'll be stayign at the Hotel Burnham on Sunday and Monday night.
C

Jun 8, 04 12:16 pm  · 
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anatomical gift

Go check out the USG showroom...

Jun 8, 04 12:17 pm  · 
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anatomical gift

if you want.

Jun 8, 04 12:18 pm  · 
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Marc Pittsley

I like the suggestion of CEU credits for Archinect browsing. I surely learn more here than I ever learned from going to those horrible product vendor salespitc--er...presentations.

Jun 8, 04 12:22 pm  · 
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TED

take for example the rip roaring topic called:

'FR70 Steel Prices: Helping Your Clients Cope'

don't you think us ARCHINECT surfers would have a far more interesting dialog about the trauma.... the pain....the difficulty of steel prices....they are going to discuss it for 1 1/2 hours and offers 1.75 LU.

yikes!! is that what its all about!!! i want out!


Jun 8, 04 12:29 pm  · 
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Cameron

if we can't get CES credits for designers doing competitions then I think archinect-surfing will be waaay behind.

cas

Jun 8, 04 12:45 pm  · 
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cracker

cas - if it wasn't for archinect i wouldn't know about your organization. that's worth at least one ceu credit, isn't it?

Jun 8, 04 12:57 pm  · 
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Cameron

yeah, let's storm the AIA national office - who's with me!

then again we could all spend the afternoon doing a steel quiz

Jun 8, 04 1:05 pm  · 
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TED

CS, did you ever try submitting any of the comps as a CES provider? it has very little criteria. i cant see why it would be allowed......if i can answer a couple of crap Q&A's after reading a bad architecture magazine article, cant see the logic in the comps.....

and by the way if you go to the 'FR70 Steel Prices: Helping Your Clients Cope' you will be tested on those same steel questions.

Jun 8, 04 1:11 pm  · 
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Cameron

Cameron,

We do not approve of competitions for continuing education credit given by our CES Providers. Many state licensing boards will not accept this type of activity for mandatory continuing education (MCE)credit either.

Regards,

Thom Lowther
Director AIA/CES

-- feel the love.

Jun 8, 04 1:17 pm  · 
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gillespie

ill have my laptop with me, so ill try to talk about what I have seen. im ashamed, but i don't actaully own a digital camera, per se. just my camera phone. so ill try to borrow a digicam from my office.

Jun 8, 04 1:23 pm  · 
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TED

oh, so true, Thom Lowther, AIA.

why should we train architects how to think about other, think outside the box, explore their true wishes and desires about where architecture should be? best to keep all controlled within confines of there little office walls, not to seek new ideas. the word is CONTINUING ed, not FORWARD thinking ed. continue the mediocre.

clients coping. OH NO...NO....DONT TALK TO ME ABOUT THOSE HIGH STEEL PRICES AGAIN!!! I AM SOOO UPSET! thats what its all about. i vote to give 3 LU's for that seminar!

Jun 8, 04 1:31 pm  · 
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PS

i like the idea of an archinect conference. who would be willing to go, what could we do, what city would be the best?

Jun 8, 04 5:58 pm  · 
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A

an archinect conference sounds great. We should have it parallel to the National AIA conference in the same city. Rather than meeting at conference centers we could meet at local bars and learn over many glasses of beer and wine.

Jun 8, 04 9:10 pm  · 
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TED

yes!! make it global not national bs....

Jun 8, 04 11:56 pm  · 
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Cameron

I vote for an annual Archinect/ArchVoices/AFH drink-off.

1. Meet in a bar in the city which is holding the national conference.
2. Drink ourselves silly
3. storm the keynote at the conference and takeover.

C

Jun 9, 04 7:45 am  · 
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futureboy

Now that's continuing education! what better than a good old fashin drink fest to help in the gathering of ideas and professional comraderie...the big question in a drink off, who would win...and how do you sign your allegiances...i do stuff with all three.
(do i get three times as many drinks?)

Jun 9, 04 8:52 am  · 
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Cameron

futureboy, I think it will be a 2 horse race - those Archvoices kids can't keep up with us.. we did get thrown out of our hotel in SF last month!

Jun 9, 04 8:55 am  · 
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TED

my picks for the convention [and if i can squeeze in the coping with steel clients i will]

1-5 Wednesday ken yeang / max Fordham greening architecture.

2-4 Thursday arups façade
5:45-7:15 thurs evening exchange with thom mayne [morphosis]

10-11:15 Friday helmut jahn
2-3:30 Friday, green costing with davis landon adamson [good guys]
8:15-9:45 Friday architecture light and the eye with Ryerson who is from William mcdonough office

4-5:30 Saturday arup façade



Jun 9, 04 10:26 am  · 
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TED

well, we could start with this convention, here and now.

it looks as if the average age of the convention attendees is about 50-60 and since it really is quit pricey to go i doubt few archinect surfers attend.

but if we want to organize the first unofficial archinect convention and storm the leaders along with a big drink up, i'm game. and we will give ourselves all 5 CES.

Jun 9, 04 7:45 pm  · 
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Cameron, let me warn you that the Archinect crew cheats in step 2; however, this should in no way affect the proper implementation of step 3.

Jun 9, 04 7:48 pm  · 
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TED

ok cs.....

am going to go to the 'DEsign' for\um and put up an arguement about why comps dont get any CES....


just looked at my f'ing program.....i can talk to a vendor for 15 minutes and get .2 CES......ha ha ha

any suggestions [as u have thought 'bout it a bit] would b appreciated....

cheers.

Jun 9, 04 11:58 pm  · 
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mdler

AIA SUCKS

Jun 10, 04 12:17 am  · 
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soleproprietornow

I let my AIA membership expire about 4 years ago....when they decided to levy a surcharge in addition to the already way too high dues in order to pay for the TV ads....which was an ill advised program. I formerly was VP of a chapter, and active in it, on committees, etc....the best AIA program was the Grassroots conference held in January in DC....the convention is generally boring, with a few worthwhile seminars, and an over priced "party"....but when you work for a large corporate type firm I could usually get them to spring for the tab to send me...so it was like having a few days off. Now as a one man office, the dues are just too expensive, and the benefits way too few....when I can't afford health care insurance, AIA dues take a low priority.

Jun 10, 04 5:24 pm  · 
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TED

just came back from an incredibly worthless day of seminars [but got 5 CES for going] incredible medicore presentation which originally was to have thom mayne talking about his SF GSA building, but he pimp out because he said the weather was bad. [huh??]

i could see coming to chicago for a convention because there are some interesting things, new and old that are worth seeing, a few good restuarants and when its not raining cats and dogs the weather this time of year could be good.

next year the convention is in las vegas. isnt it an oxymoron to have the national aia convention in las vegas? and the aia convention already has to have some 6 or so diversity seminars to teach us to get along with one another and treat people fairly like blacks and women......and then we can leave the aia LV diveristy seminar [which we will get 2 CESs] and go to that strip club at the casino and see diverstiy in action!!! YAH BABY!!! thats like putting salt on a open wound.

i dont know why i keep my aia up.

i do like allison janneys voice. thought the advert stuff was really bad, tacky and i was angry it cost $50 more per year. what angers me more is that they play it on the right wing radio station here.

there is a firm[small] that i advertises on the radio in chicago. residentail practice [says have been in business for over 130 years so the prinicpal MUST be quit old]. says you can come in and look at one of the over 5000 completed sets of designs they have on their shelfs, or work with the owner on your special home. the complete set of drawings will cost you $500!!!

Jun 10, 04 9:57 pm  · 
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Cameron

well as a protest for not being invited to the AIA conference I will be at the IIDA Black and White ball on Monday night in a kilt. - i will flash any AIA execs. and shout "here's 2 CES credits for ya'"

i call it my pasty white legs for humanity project.

TED,
as for the competition if you get the chance ask them that if a competition has no monetary gain and is purely an educational exercise that deals with a real situation and with a real site and budget - shouldn't that be considered a learning credit. I mean if you get credits when I can give a lecture about AFH competition should you get them for actually doing them???

my keynote talk is 8am on Monday - if anyone is up that early, bring me a freaking coffee!!!

Cheers
C

Jun 10, 04 11:44 pm  · 
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Cameron

well as a protest for not being invited to the AIA conference I will be at the IIDA Black and White ball on Monday night in a kilt. - i will flash any AIA execs. and shout "here's 2 CES credits for ya'"

i call it my pasty white legs for humanity project.

TED,
as for the competition if you get the chance ask them that if a competition has no monetary gain and is purely an educational exercise that deals with a real situation and with a real site and budget - shouldn't that be considered a learning credit. I mean if you get credits when I can give a lecture about AFH competition should you get them for actually doing them???

my keynote talk is 8am on Monday - if anyone is up that early, bring me a freaking coffee!!!

Cheers
C

Jun 10, 04 11:44 pm  · 
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soleproprietornow

Ted: too bad about Mayne wimping out...weather? talk about a lame excuse. Hope you have better luck on Friday with Helmut and the guy from McDonoughs office. I don't know the guy from McD's office, but McD himself is way too arrogant and haughty for my taste (my humble opinion of course, but when he was Dean at UVa, my alma mater, he basically took that attitude that we mere alumni were worthless unless we kissed his *** big time or donated large sums of money....at least that was the impression I got at a few functions....so I hope that attitude doesn't rub off on the folks in his office.
Ah, but I digress from the topic....enjoy the rest of the convention....have you seen any good product booths with stuff worth knowing more about?

Jun 11, 04 12:27 am  · 
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TED

cs, i think they should see the diffence between and 'idea' comp v. one for 'commisssion' with or without an honorarium. maybe just have to do a 1 page multiple choice or something. or maybe the competition has to sell some lame item along with it like posties or something so that there is a parrellel lame effort for an excuse going on that can be granted the ces credit.....maybe its a losers prize.

i did see one presentation on wednesday which was pretty good. max fordham, always entertaining brit and larry scarpa with ken yeang. yeang was dissappointing, had a scripted somewhat linear approach / attitude to sustainability. talked as if he was late for something and he really couldnt be bothered. i have seen McD speak. he is truely full of himself. i missed a discussion yesterday [for crap i had signed up with where mayne was a no show] that included hertzberger, ban, and zumthor. hertzberger is a great speaker, ban cant speak english and i havent seen zumthor. obviously made a bad choice.

cs, the 'big and green' exhibit at the architectural foundation is worth seeing, but it should be called 'big, ugly and green'. the exhibit design [i cant remember where the exhibit came from] but has large overscaled 'cardboard ban tube' with far too many panels for the space. there are some interesting projects though. dont know if i will make neocon....that place is packed although they usually have better talks than the aia.

Jun 11, 04 6:43 am  · 
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soleproprietornow

gillespie....any thoughts, comments, or observations from your convention experience so far?

Jun 11, 04 7:55 pm  · 
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TED

ok.....

went to the design committee forum and raised the point with regard to getting CES credits....thold them to contact you directly CS. they commpletetly agreed with the whole notion and will take it up as a misssion. SCORE 1 AEECHINECT...HEY SOMEONE PUT IT ON THE NEWS PLEASE!!!!! [AFTER THIS COMMENT

point 2.

they spoke of the distasterous 'GORD CALUMENT COMPETITION' in chciaton and stated becuce of the unfairness of the competition, they were going to re-evaluate

Jun 12, 04 2:40 am  · 
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gillespie

just got back in from a stroll down michigan avenue. im soaked, which is not too surpising to those of us in chicago at the moment. ive been staying at the dorms at uic with some other students / interns. and the number 12 roosevelt bus is the bane of my existence!!!

thursday:

expo: yah for useless crap. i think i let too many vendors convince me to swipe my card. i complain about never getting any mail at the office. I have a feeling that is going to change quite quickly. between my $5 smoothie and my .25 LUs for listening to some guy talk about something, im quite happy. the blues brothers are apparently performing at the aia trust booth, so that's a plus. also, the aia is test-driving the emerging professional's supplemental education thing. looks pretty spiffy.

the aias ( i think ) cardboard chair competition winners are on display.

200: architecture as performance art I : sharpening your presentation skills. quite enjoyable, actually. david greusel was very entertaining. as an architect / actor, he had quite a bit of stage presence. i will spend the rest of the convention, im sure, comparing the other speakers to this guy. he included a top ten list of things not to do with your power point. you would think that, as architects, we would have better sense than to have flying text and silly noises in the background. but apparently some design professionals lack any self-control when it comes to powerpoints.

400: jumpstart your drawings with high technology. i bought jim leggitt's book a couple years ago at the charlotte convention and have found it really useful in sharpening my rendering skills. he notes that there is an increasing divide between the old and young architects in respect to drawing. the older generation doesn't know cad, and we do not know how to sketch. he describes a new type of drawing called "tradigital imaging." using sketch up, you can create a building in short order, giving it texture then exporting it into photoshop for manipulation. as a final step, marker and colored pencils are used to breathe life into the drawing and give it texture. the result is a drawing that can look completely hand-drawn in a few hours. its a new technique to try, at least.

the process is chronicled on sketch up's website

700: my architect. this film is really great, and its a blast watching it with several hundred architects. god love philip johnson: " frank lloyd wright was cantankerous ( or something ) , and le corbusier was just mean. but lou was quite a guy." im terribly paraphrasing this, sorry. the roosevelt audituorium was absolutely beautiful. a truly magnificent space. made me wish that we still had more of the picture palaces of the early 20th century in operation. watching a movie in such elegant surroundings was quite an experience.

the interview with robert ivy and nathaniel kahn afterwords was nice enough. mr. kahn received a standing ovation. he joked ( maybe? ) that the dvd would include lots of footage from interviews with other architects that didn't make it into the film. couldn't tell whether he was serious or not.

it rained ( big surpise ) on the way back to the dorms.

ill talk about friday when i wake up in the morning.

gnight all, gillespie

Jun 12, 04 2:56 am  · 
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TED

ok.....sorry, hit submit b4 ii finished.....

went to the design committee forum and raised the point with regard to getting CES credits....told them to contact you directly CS. they completetly agreed with the whole notion and wiill take it up as a mission.

SCORE 1 ArCHINECT...HEY SOMEONE PUT IT ON THE NEWS PLEASE!!!!!

point 2.

they spoke of the distasterous 'FORD CALUMENT COMPETITION' in CHICAGO [loyal fans will remember] and stated because of the unfairness of the competition, they were going to re-evaluate and re-issue the 1998 design committee competition guidelines....

i raised my hand and said....'er, excuse me but the AIA is a sanctioned member of the UIA and they have developed a very good detailed international competition guideline so why would you re-invent the wheel?' plus told them some other stuff that i wont post on this board [decrete aia stuff].......but really should have said .....hey, dont you all surf archinect????'


'well good point .....didnt even know that UIA had a competition guideline....do you want to join our committee?'

SCORE 2 ArCHINECT

Jun 12, 04 3:13 am  · 
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TED

ok.....sorry, hit submit b4 ii finished.....

went to the design committee forum and raised the point with regard to getting CES credits....told them to contact you directly CS. they completetly agreed with the whole notion and wiill take it up as a mission.

SCORE 1 ArCHINECT...HEY SOMEONE PUT IT ON THE NEWS PLEASE!!!!!

point 2.

they spoke of the distasterous 'FORD CALUMENT COMPETITION' in CHICAGO [loyal fans will remember] and stated because of the unfairness of the competition, they were going to re-evaluate and re-issue the 1998 design committee competition guidelines....

i raised my hand and said....'er, excuse me but the AIA is a sanctioned member of the UIA and they have developed a very good detailed international competition guideline so why would you re-invent the wheel?' plus told them some other stuff that i wont post on this board [decrete aia stuff].......but really should have said .....hey, dont you all surf archinect????'


'well good point .....didnt even know that UIA had a competition guideline....do you want to join our committee?'

SCORE 2 ArCHINECT

Jun 12, 04 3:13 am  · 
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Cameron

woohoo! - that's more like it. Let's see if they follow through.. ..remember the AIA has a reputation of being all mouth and no trousers.

I'll be in town tommorow (staying at the Burnham) perhaps I'll sneak in later in the afternoon after watching England vs. France in the Euro 2004 footy.

Jun 12, 04 7:48 am  · 
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TED

unfortunately, the thing ends on saturday so a bit out of luck. dont know if your watching the football in the hotel [they probably have sky tv] but if not there are a number of irish bars do irish breakfast to try,

Ginger's Ale House
3801 North Ashland Avenue
(1600W at Grace)
Chicago, IL 60613

theres another one closer to downtown....cant think of it yet...they all do irish breakfast but might charge a 10er to see the game.

blues fest i think is still running in the park. free. take a walk through the big frank shocker and look out for the kapoor bean....you sould be able to get in the rem project on sunday although school is out so it might be closed.....

bring an unbrella although it might be getting brighter next week

Jun 12, 04 10:05 am  · 
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Cameron

well I better not go to a Portuguese bar, they just got shocked by Greece.
I'm busy packing the kilt and listening to Spain vs. Russia (I'm guessing 3-1)

Jun 12, 04 2:39 pm  · 
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TED

cs, dont know if you still will be in chi town on the evening of the 16, but burhnam prize announcement and reiser + umemoto lecture at IIT, starting at 5:30. see http://www.chicagoarchitectureclub.org

Jun 13, 04 5:33 pm  · 
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Cameron

I'm in town but leaving on the 15th.
If anyone is up early enough my talk is at 8am @ Neocon.
Cheers

Jun 13, 04 9:01 pm  · 
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Cameron

that would be 8am tomorrow

Jun 13, 04 9:01 pm  · 
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gillespie

i got a cold and missed out on most of saturday. i know that archvoices is supposed to be sending out a convention wrap-up sometime today.

Jun 14, 04 8:37 am  · 
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