I think everyone agrees that the next Architect should be FAIA. This surely means the Architect is selected by and above his piers as a designer of public buildings in the highest regard. Let's stand behind an FAIA candidate and give him/her our best effort, write in all!
Architect of the Capitol—Maximum Rate of Pay for Senior Employees
-- In 2005, level III of the Executive Schedule is $149,200
From the Appropriations BIll of '06 - After Congress revised the provisions setting the rates of pay for the SES, AOC raised the rate of basic pay for several of its employees above level III of the Executive Schedule. In 2004, two employees were paid at rates above level III.[5] Kushner Letter, at 5. The rate of pay of one was set at $152,000, while the other was set at $150,000. Id. In 2005, the rate of pay of three employees is set above level III;[6] their rates of pay are $158,000, $153,000, and $150,000. Id.
if non architect is appointed,
they should demolish all the buildings and open spaces in the capitol and rebuild by applying bernard rudofsky's principles (pun).
anyway,
in worst case scenerio;
they would appoint a developer, causing architects to go to capitol steps in masses and show america and the world what we are made of. bunch of revolutionary protesters throwing rocks and breaking some historical windows. as we know we have already a lot of bulldozers at our disposal that we can mobilize if the situation gets out of hand, while we are coming to the end of broadcasted speech beaming from the speakers 'i have a dream', by m. l. king.
or is it gonna be few gentiles holding placards saying this,
You should adopt a proactive role. All the descisions are made in the subcommittees. The CAD monkeys are the protesters in the street. Get inside, infiltrate, and make changes, ya baby!
cornellbox:I was really surprised that this point wasn't being made by the AIA or included in their talking points.
absolutely agree with the points you've made, cb, but this issue WAS in the aia talking points and even included in the things that you could address in the sort-of-canned letter segments that you could drop in if you chose to use their letter-to-congressperson tool.
q, i'm not sure if this would hold true while you're still a student, but i know that if you join within 6 months of graduating your first year is free...
I think they really need to hire a Janitor....to clean up the whole washington d.c. mess....screw architects, engineers, political appointment buddies....just hire the guy in charge of the persidents bathroom...and he will make it all right~~~~~
first year is free after graduating and includes free AIA convention membership, a subscription to Arch Record and lots of junk mail about liability insurance and vinyl windows.
from the newest AIA Angle (the AIA's government advocacy newsletter)...
The Mystery of the Missing Architect of the Capitol Candidates
It might not match the Harry Potter series for suspense, but congressional leaders have turned the search for a new Architect of the Capitol into its own chamber of secrets as they refuse to release the names of their candidates for the post.
According to Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, the Congressional Selection Commission, comprised of leaders of both the House and Senate, has submitted a list of three candidates to the White House. President Bush must then nominate an individual, who does not have to be one of the three recommended by Congress, for confirmation by the Senate. (Read the Angle's previous coverage of the Architect of the Capitol selection process here.)
"We've been hearing all sorts of rumors about who is or is not on the list," says Andrew Goldberg, Assoc. AIA, senior director of federal affairs. "We've heard that one of the candidates might not be a licensed professional architect, but that the two others are. We've also heard rumors that the commission has ranked the candidates in order of preference. But the fact is, nobody can evaluate the candidates without knowing anything about them."
In response to the lack of information, AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Christine McEntee wrote to the commission urging them to release the names. "The decisions that the next Architect of the Capitol makes over the next decade will have ramifications for the Capitol and the Congress, and by extension, the American people, for decades to come," wrote McEntee. "Therefore, we believe that the public has a compelling interest in, and right to know, who the nominees are so that the public can provide informed advice to their elected leaders about the selection process."
To date, the AIA has not received a response from the commission.
Need for AIA Members to Weigh In
According to Paul Mendelsohn, vice president of government and community relations, getting the commission to release the candidates' names is only the first step in helping to ensure that the president selects a licensed professional architect as the next Architect of the Capitol.
As Mendelsohn told Roll Call, "You are talking about an important position that has huge ramifications to public safety, to historic preservation, to the security needs of the people who work and visit Capitol Hill. Because of that, I think this decision has too much value and potential to be made in a vacuum."
Mendelsohn says that AIA members can help ensure that the next Architect of the Capitol is a licensed professional architect by contacting their members of Congress to:
Ask them to request that Congressional leadership release the names
Ask them to contact the White House to urge the president to nominate a licensed professional architect
"The only way Congress and the White House will act in the public's interest is if the public speaks up and demands that they to the right thing," says Goldberg. "AIA members have the power to ensure that the U.S. Capitol remains under the stewardship of an architect."
To contact members of Congress, click here. For more information, contact the AIA Government Advocacy team or call 202-626-7403.
thank you for contacting me regarding the selection process of the next architect of the capitol. it is helpful to hear your insights regarding this process.
as you know, the architect of the capitol leads a large organization that is charged with maintaining, preserving, and improving the grounds and buildings within the united states capitol complex. in this capacity, the architect of the capitol has broad responsibilities, ranging from operating the capitol power plant to serving as a member of the capitol police board.
the 10-year term of the former architect of the capitol, alan hantman, ended in february of this year. by law, a bi-cameral, bi-partisan commission of congressional leaders selects three candidates to replace mr hantman. the president then nominates one of the three to be the next architect of the capitol, after which the senate rules and administration committee holds a confirmation hearing.
i am a member of the senate rules and administration committee. although the commission's consideration process was confidential, i can assure you that it considered a host of candidates with a wide range of backgrounds, including architecture. it also consulted with the aia and solicited names of candidates from the aia. some members of congress have urged the selection of a candidate with extensive experience in facilities management, in light of the slow pace of some ongoing projects such as the construction of the capitol visitor center and the resolution of health and safety concerns related to utility tunnels under the capitol.
you can be sure that i will keep your thoughts in mind when the rules committee holds a confirmation hearing after the president nominates a candidate.
again, thank you for contacting me. please keep me informed of issues that are important to you.
sincerely,
mitch mcconnell
united states senator
bold face type mine. i'm sure my comments will be remembered when they consider placement of some construction management exec formerly of turner or something.
i find it interesting that he implies that they need an administrator and that the last architect was incompetent in this regard, or at the very least not very efficient...
i find it interesting that - if that was the case - that somehow hantman's performance colors the impression of ALL architects.
also that these individual project concerns would determine who fills a federal position - and a presidential appointment! - under the title Architect - for the next 10+yrs.
Next Architect of the Capitol NOT an Architect?!
Here would be [MY] nominee - Ed Feiner
doh.
Totally agree with your second post too, cornellbox.
Ed Feiner rocks, but didn't he specifically get OUT of government when he left the GSA?
I think everyone agrees that the next Architect should be FAIA. This surely means the Architect is selected by and above his piers as a designer of public buildings in the highest regard. Let's stand behind an FAIA candidate and give him/her our best effort, write in all!
From the gubment:
Architect of the Capitol—Maximum Rate of Pay for Senior Employees
-- In 2005, level III of the Executive Schedule is $149,200
From the Appropriations BIll of '06 - After Congress revised the provisions setting the rates of pay for the SES, AOC raised the rate of basic pay for several of its employees above level III of the Executive Schedule. In 2004, two employees were paid at rates above level III.[5] Kushner Letter, at 5. The rate of pay of one was set at $152,000, while the other was set at $150,000. Id. In 2005, the rate of pay of three employees is set above level III;[6] their rates of pay are $158,000, $153,000, and $150,000. Id.
Dunno about you but that is triple my salary.
Superintendent of the Capitol Grounds - $110K-$148K
General Engineer - $94K - $122K
PLUS ALL THESE BENEFITS
More research. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode02/usc_sup_01_2_10_28.html
if non architect is appointed,
they should demolish all the buildings and open spaces in the capitol and rebuild by applying bernard rudofsky's principles (pun).
OA:
I would prefer a rebuild by a disciple of Rube Goldberg:
Yes! now if we could get rube to adopt to this life stylin'.
anyway,
in worst case scenerio;
they would appoint a developer, causing architects to go to capitol steps in masses and show america and the world what we are made of. bunch of revolutionary protesters throwing rocks and breaking some historical windows. as we know we have already a lot of bulldozers at our disposal that we can mobilize if the situation gets out of hand, while we are coming to the end of broadcasted speech beaming from the speakers 'i have a dream', by m. l. king.
or is it gonna be few gentiles holding placards saying this,
i'd prefer this though.
BTW,
i have decided to join AIA when i get a next project that pays a little more than just paying the rent. for a year, and take an active role.
OA:
Ya, bang, bang.
You should adopt a proactive role. All the descisions are made in the subcommittees. The CAD monkeys are the protesters in the street. Get inside, infiltrate, and make changes, ya baby!
cornellbox:I was really surprised that this point wasn't being made by the AIA or included in their talking points.
absolutely agree with the points you've made, cb, but this issue WAS in the aia talking points and even included in the things that you could address in the sort-of-canned letter segments that you could drop in if you chose to use their letter-to-congressperson tool.
glad that you guys are still kicking this around.
contact your congressperson!
I think I will also try to join soon... I guess I qualify as an associate member:
national:
http://www.aia.org/about2_template.cfm?pagename=join%5Fcategories
for boston:
http://www.architects.org/membership/index.cfm?doc_id=12
q, i'm not sure if this would hold true while you're still a student, but i know that if you join within 6 months of graduating your first year is free...
I think they really need to hire a Janitor....to clean up the whole washington d.c. mess....screw architects, engineers, political appointment buddies....just hire the guy in charge of the persidents bathroom...and he will make it all right~~~~~
first year is free after graduating and includes free AIA convention membership, a subscription to Arch Record and lots of junk mail about liability insurance and vinyl windows.
from the newest AIA Angle (the AIA's government advocacy newsletter)...
The Mystery of the Missing Architect of the Capitol Candidates
It might not match the Harry Potter series for suspense, but congressional leaders have turned the search for a new Architect of the Capitol into its own chamber of secrets as they refuse to release the names of their candidates for the post.
According to Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, the Congressional Selection Commission, comprised of leaders of both the House and Senate, has submitted a list of three candidates to the White House. President Bush must then nominate an individual, who does not have to be one of the three recommended by Congress, for confirmation by the Senate. (Read the Angle's previous coverage of the Architect of the Capitol selection process here.)
"We've been hearing all sorts of rumors about who is or is not on the list," says Andrew Goldberg, Assoc. AIA, senior director of federal affairs. "We've heard that one of the candidates might not be a licensed professional architect, but that the two others are. We've also heard rumors that the commission has ranked the candidates in order of preference. But the fact is, nobody can evaluate the candidates without knowing anything about them."
In response to the lack of information, AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Christine McEntee wrote to the commission urging them to release the names. "The decisions that the next Architect of the Capitol makes over the next decade will have ramifications for the Capitol and the Congress, and by extension, the American people, for decades to come," wrote McEntee. "Therefore, we believe that the public has a compelling interest in, and right to know, who the nominees are so that the public can provide informed advice to their elected leaders about the selection process."
To date, the AIA has not received a response from the commission.
Need for AIA Members to Weigh In
According to Paul Mendelsohn, vice president of government and community relations, getting the commission to release the candidates' names is only the first step in helping to ensure that the president selects a licensed professional architect as the next Architect of the Capitol.
As Mendelsohn told Roll Call, "You are talking about an important position that has huge ramifications to public safety, to historic preservation, to the security needs of the people who work and visit Capitol Hill. Because of that, I think this decision has too much value and potential to be made in a vacuum."
Mendelsohn says that AIA members can help ensure that the next Architect of the Capitol is a licensed professional architect by contacting their members of Congress to:
Ask them to request that Congressional leadership release the names
Ask them to contact the White House to urge the president to nominate a licensed professional architect
"The only way Congress and the White House will act in the public's interest is if the public speaks up and demands that they to the right thing," says Goldberg. "AIA members have the power to ensure that the U.S. Capitol remains under the stewardship of an architect."
To contact members of Congress, click here. For more information, contact the AIA Government Advocacy team or call 202-626-7403.
why not karl rove, he's an 'architect' and i hear he's looking for work
i got this letter from my senator:
thank you for contacting me regarding the selection process of the next architect of the capitol. it is helpful to hear your insights regarding this process.
as you know, the architect of the capitol leads a large organization that is charged with maintaining, preserving, and improving the grounds and buildings within the united states capitol complex. in this capacity, the architect of the capitol has broad responsibilities, ranging from operating the capitol power plant to serving as a member of the capitol police board.
the 10-year term of the former architect of the capitol, alan hantman, ended in february of this year. by law, a bi-cameral, bi-partisan commission of congressional leaders selects three candidates to replace mr hantman. the president then nominates one of the three to be the next architect of the capitol, after which the senate rules and administration committee holds a confirmation hearing.
i am a member of the senate rules and administration committee. although the commission's consideration process was confidential, i can assure you that it considered a host of candidates with a wide range of backgrounds, including architecture. it also consulted with the aia and solicited names of candidates from the aia. some members of congress have urged the selection of a candidate with extensive experience in facilities management, in light of the slow pace of some ongoing projects such as the construction of the capitol visitor center and the resolution of health and safety concerns related to utility tunnels under the capitol.
you can be sure that i will keep your thoughts in mind when the rules committee holds a confirmation hearing after the president nominates a candidate.
again, thank you for contacting me. please keep me informed of issues that are important to you.
sincerely,
mitch mcconnell
united states senator
bold face type mine. i'm sure my comments will be remembered when they consider placement of some construction management exec formerly of turner or something.
i find it interesting that he implies that they need an administrator and that the last architect was incompetent in this regard, or at the very least not very efficient...
i find it interesting that - if that was the case - that somehow hantman's performance colors the impression of ALL architects.
also that these individual project concerns would determine who fills a federal position - and a presidential appointment! - under the title Architect - for the next 10+yrs.
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