Architects looking to help in the disaster relief and civil response for the ongoing fire situation in Los Angeles County have been asked to contact local chapters/state disaster coordinators who actively are seeking to mobilize their expertise and structural knowledge to aid the public, state, and city agencies.
Those certified through the pre-existing AIA Safety Assessment Program (SAP) are encouraged to check in with the status of anticipated building assessment deployments across California. (Please note: you must be licensed in the state you are volunteering in order to do so.)
The AIA Los Angeles chapter will be hosting a virtual workshop on January 15th related to its formation of a Wildfire Disaster Response Ad Hoc Task Force. A Designer’s Guide to Navigating FEMA Programs will follow virtually the next day via AIAU.
Contributions to the nonprofit California Architectural Foundation, LAFD Wildfire Emergency, Communities by Design, and similar organizations are also being encouraged. The current published estimates from Los Angeles officials state that at least 9,000 structures have been burned.
The AIA|LA says to check back with the chapter for the announcement of a Zoom training on the AIA Component Disaster Response Toolkit, which can be accessed here.
32 Comments
The swift move by AIA. Disaster help made to sound like only an AIA member architect qualifies for assistance.
Is the AIA actually advertising it that way? The SAP program is State administered and to my knowledge it is neither associated by the AIA or limited to AIA member (you just have to be a licensed professional).
I found it a little claimant of AIA, a little too swift, that is all. When 'AIA and member' are mentioned together for gainful financial ends, there is an intrinsic monopolizing intention AIA often uses. I am looking at it from that point of view. I mean, in the end, it is usually said 'so be it', but, fuck them too for their built-in divisiveness.
I don’t disagree - this makes me feel old but I think there’s a lot of the marketing and self-promotion in our industry is misleading or inappropriate, while a lot of meaningful work goes unrecognized for lack of marketing/advertising resources.
And there is hierarchy within the AIA. Only favored members will be given the prominent roles in whatever AIA ends up doing in the rebuilding process. People with good ideas and expertise will be minimized or squelched if they haven't sufficiently ingratiated themselves to the incumbent AIA establishment.
Good initiative but why not ask architects to re-design buildings and master plan new communities that are resilient? Perhaps it is time to create a completely different model, perhaps pool all the land and plan and construct a resilient environmentally and socially sustainable community estate that lives in harmony with nature and is resilient and resistant to damage. perhaps read McHarg (1960) design with nature, penn u Press. Great opportunity to rise from the ashes rather than repeat the mistakes of the status quo. Don't wait for the same ol samo to burn again or face a further hazard.
Explain how you can "pool all the land" when the residential areas are mostly privately owned property.
expropriation then redistribution of property by a top-down government? Sounds like dirty communist thinking.
shameful rush to try to take advantage of a tragedy. Maybe wait till the fires are out before looking to capitalize on death and destruction
Disaster capitalism at its finest.
When disaster strikes, the AIA wants you to know they are thinking about the AIA
Jordan, no innovation needed. We know how to do this, we simply lack the leaders and clients with the will to do it.
zoning needs to change, and insurance companies are indicating what is going to happen in the future as well, and this will drive that change. Same thing will happen in coastal regions on the east coast.
Non licensed Architects would gladly offer their services free of charge if that’s helpful? Perhaps we can help with drawing or visualising services to support locally licensed Architects?
There is no such thing as an unlicensed architect. You are either licensed & an architect or you're neither.
Disasters do not need architects working as designers, especially when the disaster is still going on. Safety check makes sense. Being a human helping other humans is also useful. The ones looking to make coin are in the way. Recovery is a process and architects are not part of that til quite down the line.
Systemic change makes sense. A layer of building codes could help. It could also take too long. When the government in Japan wanted to clean up illegal builds and otherwise make sure buildings were safe in the face of disaster and storms they worked through banks. No loans for uncertified buildings. Faster and more flexible than building code. Its kind of what's happening with insurance already in the USA.
If there is anything I would hope for it is that the future is planned pragmatically and politics are left out of the picture just once.
Well said, Will!
Will, I agree with everything, until this last part "If there is anything I would hope for it is that the future is planned pragmatically and politics are left out of the picture just once." What does that mean exactly? We know what the problem is, we know what not to do, but saying that it's not political, is just begging to get stomped. When I say "we" I'm including a very small segment, even architects on this very site have denied the science, how is this not political??
Couldn't agree more b3. Will: there's no such thing as something being only pragmatic and not political. The world is scary, yes, but you'll be ok.
How about all AIA members instead of renewing AIA fees, we send in that money and donate to the victims. Im willing to send mine in. I can do one year without checking how many CEUs I have on the AIA website.
Jupe
Just waiting for them...
The new version this time will come in 3D printed packaging.
this is a surprisingly vibrant site
What architects could be doing, and should be doing maybe the same things. First, stay out of the way, our egos consume too fucking much natural resources. Second, stay out of the way and work collaboratively to create an open source manual for improving community resiliency, something akin to what I, and S. Surface was part of, after the Ghostship disaster a number of years ago; we were part of a collective that created a Zine for DIY squatting safely, It wasn’t just squatting, it was also for arts collectives creating live-work spaces in warehouses, that weren’t able to afford architectural services.
Architects can make books, guides, zines, none of these things get in the way, and afford architects to do things they do so well; ideas, write and make books.
Lastly, stay out of the fucking way. The capitalist vultures are already circling, further distressing those in distress.
Stay. Out. Of. The. Way. AIA.
I have read some earlier posts and I agree with some of them. This is not a "only licensed architects" sort of a situation so anyone saying "you are either a licensed architect or you are not and only those licensed know what they are doing" is really silly if that is what you think. There are tons of people out there who infinitely MORE qualified than a licensed architect in this situation. Some people that fora variety of reasons (like me) never got their license, but (like me) have 35 YEARS of experience in both residential and commercial design, construction and real estate! I have run all over job sites, managed them, walked countless acres upon acres of properties for building sites whereas I know architects who have never even left their desk let a lone their Revit program where all the info is fed in to it for them. That does NOT give you experience. It might make you licensed, but not necessary qualified so be careful who you run around bashing! And I am just going to say that in this scenario, it is going to take every single one of us to get these people through this! There are going to be so many designs that need to be done for homes right here and right now that there is no way for only "licensed" architects to do it all. EVERYONE needs to help! Or these people will never get back in to a home. Plus we ALL need to stick together and work as fast as possible because otherwise you are going to get every scammer known to man descending on these poor people. You have to remember that most of them know nothing about the design process or where to even start. Let alone how to build a house! Do you know how many people I have helped over the years that got stuck in that sort of situation and do you know how many of them were a victim OF a LICENSED architect? Not saying there is anything wrong with licensed or unlicensed. I am saying there are bad actors EVERYWHERE! So do not knock down anyone right now! Work TOGETHER! And help these people. That really is the point isn't it?
womp womp. no one cares
False equivalency. Being a licensed architect means one has met through rigorous testing and practical experience requirements a quantifiable level of
False equivalency.
False equivalency. Being a licensed architect means one has met; through education, rigorous testing, and practical experience requirements, the regulated standards to legally practice architecture. This demonstrates a quantifiable level of competence to design buildings that prioritize the health, safety and welfare of the public. There are not "tons of people out there who infinitely MORE qualified than a licensed architect". There are perhaps a few that might be, but they are not architects and cannot legally practice architecture. Boasting that one has 'x-years of experience' or 'trust me, I know what I'm doing', is exactly what is not needed to address this catastrophe.
Actually I am one of the "few" who actually does :) I just never had time to get licensed, but I am doing it now.
Project for USA schools of architecture spring semester: design an array of structures for a hilly urban area prone to fires - see: 100 coastal towns of the Mediterranean that all burned down 1,000 years ago and kept burning down until residents got smart and began using less flammable building materials. and building among highly flammable trees and shrubs Instead of spending a billion dollars to pump seawater to wooden free-standing homes and small buildings - spend HALF a billion on implementing Mediterranean ideas of town planning, material use, i.e. real architecture. Note to residents of L.A. hills: The freestanding single family home on a lot surrounded by fire fuel is a dysfunctional model. We know this now.
BTW - It is architects over the past 75 years who have designed and built flammable structures on single-family lots surrounded by dry vegetation in this intense fire country. either re-think the architecture required for this area or just do the world a favor and stay away.
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