Melvin L. Mitchell, FAIA made the case for "a new national African American affordable housing industry...A new Black affordable housing industry...to radically alter the vast economic disparities between Black America and the rest of America...Black wealth creation must be prioritized in any redevelopment endeavors in America."
In other words "What we need is an Equity Urbanism movement".
Mr. Mitchell later reflected "Written a year ago. Now thinking 2 mil (half homes, half apartments). Black America can't just be consumers. Wealth creation requires massive engagement as builders- makers - in addition to all other things needing to happen." Michael marshall AIA, NOMA believed Mel is "right on target" and reinforced the idea that "Diversity and inclusion in our profession of architecture is an imperative!!!"
Plus, when David West tried to prognosticate on The Future of Zoning in New York City, jeromemorleylarsonsr articulated a more fundamentalist position "Zoning is dead; it has fulfilled its sole function of segregating white people by making housing too expensive for poor blacks and denying them access if they had the money...its resultant sprawl has destroyed our entire planet..it is a lie a sham and a delusion".
NCARB announced that it will begin remote examinations for the Architect Registration Exam (ARE) on November 16th, 2020. While some were looking "forward to the online proctoring" others such as Bench were "Honestly...just going to keep taking them in-person."
Will Galloway really liked SO-IL’s nearly completed work on a six-story social housing project in León, Mexico. They've "been a great office from the start but this one feels more like its venturing into territory not already looked at by Sejima. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next." Chemex was also "lovin it".
midlander thought the new Taipei Music Center by RUR Architecture "looks wonderful up close and from the interior. that first view of the front plaza is disappointing though - everything blocked by a clumsy bridge." archanonymous agreed, "I've always loved their work and ‘Atlas of Novel Tectonics’ is one of my favorite arch books ever... I always teach from it heavily when I have studios."
Atelier Peter Zumthor shared new images of their interiors and gallery plans for LACMA, which generated lots of commentary. Orhan Ayyüce opined "People will love it for sure" but also "maybe it's the curse of the mammoths underground, nothing ever quite looks right on that site." sameolddoctor added "Zumthor has a certain scale + context he is most comfortable in...not sure it will work here. But then again, Orhan is right. Its all about the instagram moment anyways these days".
Folks lamented the loss of DnA: Design and Architecture hosted by Frances Anderton, to be discontinued after being on the air for 18 years. hodgepodge eulogized "Oh Frances, dear Frances...say it isn't so. We won't know what to do without your perspective, wisdom, and appetite for what's worth noting in the world of architecture, the environment, and design...You will be well and truly missed - I only hope you find a way to continue to press issues you find important, and help us help the city we love".
Business conditions remained stalled at architecture firms in August, with the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) recording a score of 40 for the third consecutive month (a score below 50 indicates declining firm billings).
R.I.P., architect John Calvin "Jack" Portman III, along with George Eugene Kostritsky, one of the founding members of the architecture firm RTKL.
Back in September, Adina S. Banayan was working on designing a "Millennial Playground" while Javier Benavides was working on "Kukuihaele, a new work in progress with Patrick Tighe Architecture" specifically "roof scheme iterations for this house on the northern coast of Hawaii."
ICYMI Log 49, was released.
If you are looking for work, Ware Malcomb has multiple openings across the country, and that is just for the position of Architectural Job Captain. Or for something a bit more senior, at least three firms in the NY metro are hiring Senior Architects/Designers (defined as "at least five years" and up to "12+ years’ experience") including; Bowerbird Architects, Nelligan White Architects, NELSON and Snarkitecture.
#BACbuzz blog celebrated "the two newest BAC graduates to complete their licensure requirements by graduation" under NCARB’s IPAL program. This brings the total (since 2015) to three, with another student who has already completed NCARB's AXP and ARE requirements, prepared to graduate in December 2020.
The archive of renowned architect and USC alumni, Paul Revere Williams, was jointly acquired by the University of Southern California School of Architecture and Getty Research Institute. While it will be "housed at Getty" at USC "the Paul Williams Archive Initiative will be a central feature of the forthcoming USC Center for Architecture + City Design".
‘Make. Act. Resist: A Teach-In on Borders & Migration’ is a cross-departmental project supported by Creative Citizens in Action at CCA, the college’s Architecture and Fine Arts divisions, the President’s Diversity Steering Group, CCA’s Film program, and the CCA Libraries. The now virtual program will run from October 19th through 26th, with keynote lectures by Ronald Rael and Sarah Lopez.
Bammerdon is throwing in the towel "I am taking my belongings and going home. I have taken PPD and PDD each 3 times now and failed each time." Non Sequitur pointed out "It's worth noting that this is mostly an american problem. Plenty of other countries have modernized the licensing process AND subsidize post-secondary education." tduds agreed "The process sucks, and I'm sure it locks out as many potentially great architects as it allows in extremely incompetent architects. I'd love to see some major overhaul of the licensing process." tintt and others offered encouragement "Sounds like you are almost there. Don't give up just before you finish!...I think you are writing here because you don't want to give up. Don't" but then noticed "the original author hasn't come back to converse." Chad Miller was eventually forced to long for a "'report Balkins' button."
Wood Guy is thinking of raising rates/changing their billing model and curious "How are others billing? What are pitfalls of a fixed fee? How do I get around them?" proto has tried other options but keeps "coming back to hourly, because it's just me, no drafting staff...it's easier to bury the ups/downs when you have staff (overhead profit buffer) to smooth out the lumps". mightyaa suggested "You could do what I did on light commercial; hourly through DD (estimated fees), then fixed fee for CD and CA. Basically, I’d give them a CD and CA estimate of the fixed fee, but the initial contract only went through DD".
The thread also touched on blended-rates and direct labor multipliers, with the consensus seemingly that fixed-fee was most common. Ultimately as gwharton argued "whatever fee model you choose should closely align with your value proposition as an architect. What business are you in? What are you selling? I do not sell my time. I sell ideas and delivered quality design and buildings."
Finally, archi_dude asked "Just curious if anyone has turned down a promotion before?...Any similar experiences?" Everyday Architect started things off with a reference to the Peter Principle. Many thought Aluminate was spot on when they answered "This type of promotion is often a strategic expense-limiting move by the firm, especially during difficult or uncertain economic times...It sounds like you're already being tossed into the role, so if you turn down an official promotion then you're likely to find yourself doing the PM job anyway, but without the salary and title to go along with it."
The OP later provided an update "This is probably the most messed up job I've seen in my career, theres plenty of budget for more staff but god forbid we hire anyone...Concerns were brought up to management and were quickly belittled...Sadly I'm coming to the conclusion, government job + side business might be the answer."
The Buell Center published an essay by Amelyn Ng, as part of a larger initiative focused on Green Reconstruction and Infrastructure in America. In it Amelyn explores the conjoined present/future of 7d BIM and Public Works, concluding
"there remains a significant opportunity for BIM workers everywhere to leverage their expertise in solidarity...For better or for worse, BIM and its cadre of integrated technologies are accelerators of production, and they could be put to work restructuring the industry for climate justice and labor equity, rather than simply acquiescing to a business as usual of global construction."
No Comments
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.