Perspective is now a monthly electronic edition. It is available to members via email and it is also posted on our website, www.aiahouston.org. Please email your suggestions and comments to membership@aiahouston.org.

appy New Year to you all! As we begin the year, I want to share some reminders, expectations, and encouragement. When I left the Board Retreat in October, I realized how enthusiastic and cooperative our 2006 Board of Directors is. Building on the work of prior years, we have an opportunity to make huge strides this year.

The Long Range Plan, crafted by Randall Walker and adopted last year, will be the main tool for focusing our priorities and efforts on what is relevant to AIA Houston. Our LRP, in keeping with AIA national, is structured in three areas: Community, Advocacy, and Knowledge. At the retreat we organized ourselves into these three areas and in so doing, did away with the titles used by previous boards (“Director of Education” and so forth).  This realignment allows each Board Member to work in an area reflecting interests and passions, rather than an automatic assignment. Each active committee was also placed under one of the three areas most appropriate to its activities. Additionally, we identified issues to address in 2006 and categorized those issues appropriately. The following is a summary of that effort:

Community
Board Members: J.Alexander, D. Bankhead, G. Brune, L. Hoogeboom, R. Walker
Committees: AIA/AGC, Design Awards, Fellowship, Gala, Interns/Associates, Young Architects Forum, Architecture Center, Architecture Month, a new SDAT
Issues: Architecture Center for Houston; certification; identifying future leaders; minority involvement.
Advocacy
Board Members: J. Brown, G. Hagstette, K. Hull, S. Jovicich, G. Quan, R. Wang,
Committees: Codes & Standards, Honors & Awards, Michael Myers Competition, Sandcastle, Texas Architects Committee (TAC), Government Affairs, AIA Houston Design Collection at the MFAH.
Issues: AIA 150; Local, County, and State issues.
Knowledge
Board Members: A. MacPhillimy, B. Malarkey, M. Morton, C. Parra, G. Roberts, D. Robinson
Committees: Continuing Education, Contracts, Committee on the Environment (Gulf Coast Green), Health, Historic Resources, Residential, Small Firm Roundtable, Urban Design
Issues: Sustainable design, Building Envelope Council; BIM, urban planning and preservation.

This structure will be a working tool. I encourage each of you to join with some segment or committee this year to share your energy and ideas. If you are interested in any of the issues listed, but don’t feel you have the time to work on a specific committee, please contact one of the board members in your area of interest. We want to hear from you, even if it is just through a quick email. Stay in touch with us. This is your organization and can only meet your needs if we know what they are. To this end, each Board member will be visiting one architecture firm in the next month to present our Long Range Plan and other AIA Houston materials and, most importantly, ask what AIA Houston can do for you.

This year we will alternate Board meetings between firms and the AIA office. You are all welcome to attend a Board meeting at any time. Please contact Barrie (barrie@aiahouston.org) to be put on the agenda if you would like to attend and introduce a new idea or get more involved in something we are already doing. I plan to split each meeting into two sessions to allow for more emphasis on content. The first half of each meeting (11:30 - 12:30) will be dedicated to the business of the Chapter -- approval of minutes, treasurer's report, executive committee report, and general business. The second half of each meeting (12:30 - 1:30) will be used to explore one of the issues we identified at the retreat. In January, we will review our relationship with the Chapter by discussing firm visits and the Architecture Center. In February, we will explore our relationship with the City of Houston -- perhaps inviting Peter Brown and/or Issa Dadoush to join us. In March, we will move on to Harris County -- can we establish a dialogue regarding a merit based selection process and code issues? In April, it is up to the State Level with David Lancaster and a local legislator.

I hope this gives you some idea of how the organization will work this year and the contacts who will be able to help you plug in. I am looking forward to working with all of you, and I am proud to serve as your President for the coming year. It will go fast, so let’s attack our opportunities aggressively.

Jeffrey Brown

WELCOME 2006 AIA Houston Board of Directors

President Jeffrey Brown, AIA, a Principal with Powers-Brown Architecture, is an experienced designer with graphic communication and strategic planning skills. In addition to his architectural practice, he is also an Adjunct Professor of Design at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, University of Houston, where he teaches Programming and Advanced Architectural Design. brown@powersbrown.com

President-Elect Kurt Hull, AIA, LEED™ A.P., is a Principal with Ziegler Cooper Architects and has been with the firm since 1980. Kurt has over 24 years of proven leadership and project management experience. He is currently a Vice President of TSA. khull@zieglercooper.com

Secretary and TSA Director Ronda Wang , AIA, is a project manager with WHR Architects. She recently returned from a trip to China with great stories to tell. rwang@whrarchitects.com

Treasurer Michael Morton, AIA, is Principal of mARCHITECTS, an award winning architecture firm that focuses on healthcare projects. A graduate of the UH College of Architecture in 1994, Michael is active with the Young Architects Forum, and the Small Firm Roundtable. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Rice Design Alliance. mmorton@m-architects.com

Past-President Randall Walker, AIA, is a Design Director at Kirksey, where he has worked his entire career since graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979. His work has been focused on the fully integrated practice of architecture and interiors. Randall has served on the AIA Houston board since 2001 and authored the Long Range Plan. randallw@kirksey.com

Director Marjory Alexander, AIA, ASID, a graduate of Rice Architecture School, is an Associate with Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc. specializing in architectural interiors. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Rice Design Alliance, of which she is a Past-President. jalexander@kendal-heaton.com

Director Daniel Bankhead, AIA, is a Senior Associate with Rey de la Reza Architects. A graduate of Rice University, Dan is a Board Member of CSI and Secretary of the Construction Industry Council of Houston. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Prairie View A&M University School of Architecture specializing in architectural practice management. dbankhead@rdlr.com

Director Geoffrey Brune, AIA, is the owner and Principal of Geoffrey Brune Architects and a full-time member of University of Houston, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. gjbrune@swbell.net

Director Guy Hagstette, AIA, is the new Director of the Houston Downtown Park Conservancy. ghagstette@houstondowntownpark.org

Director Andy MacPhillimy, AIA, LEED™ A.P., a Principal of Morris Architects and Director of the firm’s Education Studio, Andy received an MArch and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rice University. In 25 years at Morris Architects he worked on a broad variety of projects including medical, hotel, convention centers, office buildings, detention facilities and an aquarium. andy.macphillimy@morrisarchitects.com

Director Brian Malarkey, AIA, is a Vice President at Kirksey, where he practices architecture and interior design. He co-founded the Greater Houston Area Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and is currently on the board of the Citizen’s Environmental Coalition. He is active with the Rice Design Alliance and leads Kirksey’s Eco-Services Group. Brian won the 2004 Young Architect Award. brianm@kirksey.com

Director Camilo Parra, AIA, founded Parra Design Group, Ltd, a design and development company, in 1998. A member of the Houston Minority Business Council and the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Camilo enjoys soccer, especially as a coach to his young daughters. cparra@parradesigngroup.com

Director Greg Roberts, AIA, is a Principal with WHR Architects, a firm specializing in healthcare facility design. Greg serves as WHR's Specifications Manager, is a Certified Construction Specifier (CCS), and is Past President of CSI, Houston Chapter and on the Board of the CSI Foundation. groberts@whrarchitects.com

Director David Robinson, AIA, chairs the Urban Design Committee for AIA Houston.  In that capacity he has served the chapter with his involvement in the Housing Strategies for Houston initiative.  David has also served on the Municipal Art Commission since his appointment by Houston City Council and Mayor Bill White in 2004. dwr@raworks.com

Houston Architecture Foundation Liaison Stephen Jovicich, AIA, a practicing Architect and Partner with Heights Venture Architects, L.L.P., has served on a variety of outreach and professional committees. He taught courses on Sustainable Architecture and Development at the University of Houston for 13 years and continues his mission of raising awareness about the ecological consequences of our built environment. stephen.jovicich@hva.cc

Rice Design Alliance Liaison Lonnie Hoogeboom , AIA, is a partner with Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, LLC. He previously served AIA Houston as Director for Interns/Associates and received AIA Houston’s Young Architect Award in 2005. He is active in the Young Architect’s Forum. Lonnie is a Board Member and Program Chairman of the Rice Design Alliance. lonnie@appelarchitects.com

University of Houston Liaison Joe Mashburn, AIA, is the Dean at Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, University of Houston. mashburn@uh.edu

Rice University Liaison John Casbarian, FAIA, Assoc. Dean, is Professor and Associate Dean, Rice School of Architecture, and Director of Rice School of Architecture Paris, RSAP. He is also a founding partner of Taft Architects. jjc@rice.edu

Prairie View A&M University Liaison Ikhlas Sabouni, PhD, Assoc. AIA, is Dean of the College of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University. She was named Prairie View A&M University's Distinguished Professor in 2001 and won AIA Houston's Education Award in 1998. i_sabouni@pvamu.edu

Public Director Gordon Quan is the first Public Director elected to the AIA Houston Board of Directors. A former City Councilman, Gordon has been actively involved with housing and urban design issues in Houston. He is a partner in the law firm of Quan, Burdett and Perez. gquan@quanlaw.com

Intern/Associates Representative Kristopher McGraw, Assoc. AIA, is an architect with Harrison Kronberg Architects, LLC. kmcgraw@harrisonkornberg.com

Executive Director Barrie Scardino, came to AIA Houston from a career as an architectural groupie. She is a writer and preservationist, who has co-authored three books. A Past President of GHPA and RDA; she currently serves on the RDA Board. barrie@aiahouston.org

From Wiss, Janney,Elstner Associates, Inc.

We are pleased to announce the addition of William L. Polhemus as a Senior Associate at our Houston , Texas office. Mr. Polhemus has over 20 years of experience in structural engineering design of buildings, highway bridges, and industrial structures. He also has performed forensic investigations and evaluations of structural distress, along withlitigation support.

From McGinty Architectural Consultants, L.L.P.

After 15 years with American Construction Investigations, the firm they founded in 1990, Jack McGinty, FAIA and Vicki Ashy have formed a new forensic consulting group, McGinty Architectural Consultants, L.L.P. This company will focus exclusively on the resolution of complex construction disputes involving substantive issues of professionalperformance. Check out our new website at www.mcgintyarch.com.

From Gensler Architects

Gensler is pleased to welcome Peter Merwin as a Design Director in our Houston Retail Design Studio.

From Brave / Architecture

BRAVE / ARCHITECTURE is pleased to announce that Hannah Ruppel and Greg Ryden have joined the firm as Intern Architects. The firm is currently working on a 240,000 SF Lifestyle Center in Sharpstown and a new 384,000 SF Power Center in southwest Houston, among other projects.

From Rey de la Reza Architects

Rey de la Reza Architects, Inc. (RdlR) and PDG Architects were recently awarded the design commission to renovate the Mickey Leland Federal Building located in downtown Houston. RdlR was also selected to design the new classroom/administrative building for AAMA (the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans).

From EDI Architecture

In conjunction with
The American Institute of Architects

Saturday, January 28, 2006

9:00AM - 12:00 PM
Symposium
University of Houston
Gerald D. Hines college of Architecture
4200 Elgin, Entrance 18

12:15 - 4:30PM
Lunch & Design/Build Tour
Various sites (paid reservation required)

4:30 - 5:30PM
Reception & Exhibition
Row House CDC
3409 Dowling St.

For payment information and reservations, please call 713.348.4876 or go to www.rda.rice.edu


Practicum: Both the Rice University School of Architecture and the University of Houston College of Architecture present upper level design/build classes. The general intention of both programs is to offer design students broader exposure to the construction process and industry. By focusing on smaller scale projects or prototype assemblages, students and their faculty advisors are given the opportunity to work from schematic design through construction documents to costestimating, and ultimately to fabrication and construction of the built structure.

Praxis: Throughout Houston, many architect-owned design firms have emerged during the past decade in response to a demand for the professional delivery method referred to as "Design/Build." In particular, there have been several architect firms that have used this delivery method to develop residential projects in Houston. Whereas the typical design/build delivery involves a venture between an architect and a builder, these architect-developers act as builders. In the same way the Rice and U of H design/ build students have constructed their projects, the architects presented in this symposium have built theirs.