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When the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management scheduled a hearing September 30 concerning the management of the buildings comprising the Congressional workplace, it was only natural that they would call Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers, AIA, to provide insight. To be thorough, however, the subcommittee sought out another architect to comment on life safety and accessibility concerns that face a complex of historic government facilities.

Robert Loversidge, FAIA, of Schooley Caldwell Associates in Columbus, Ohio, has renovated many historic facilities, including the capitol buildings in Kansas, Minnesota, Utah, and Ohio. His testimony stressed that architectural accessibility, full functionality, and historic preservation are not mutually exclusive. He also commented that facilities built before the Second World War are sometimes easier to bring up to code than buildings from the middle of the 20^th century. This is due to the fact that architects and builders of the era were given greater freedom to use designs and materials that were made to last.

This brought Loversidge to his final point: great public architecture requires great political will. Renovating historic facilities is difficult work. Completing it in phases so occupants can continue working is a further complication. But these problems can become insurmountable when the clients turn a project into a political issue. Time will tell whether Washington can heed the warning.

To read Loversidge’s full statement, click here.

For more information, contact Andrew Goldberg, senior director, Federal Relations, or Cooper Martin, manager, Federal Policy and Research Development.

The U.S. General Services Administration has issued a template and guidance that will make it easier for federal agencies to allocate the 179D energy efficient commercial building tax deduction to design professionals.

The deduction, first enacted with the AIA’s backing in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, provides up to a $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for buildings that reach a fifty percent energy savings. This deduction is typically reserved for building owners, but in the case of public buildings may be allocated to the designer, if authorized by the project manager. By issuing these documents, the GSA seeks to establish a policy and clarify the processes to apply the allocation. Other federal agencies may also use these documents for their projects.

AIA state and local components are working to provide the GSA template and guidance to state and local agencies so they can adopt similar processes for allocating the deduction for their projects.

For more information on the energy efficient commercial building tax deduction, please visit the AIA’s resource page.

For additional information, contact Billie Kaumaya, manager, Federal Regulatory Relations.

AIA leadership and staff joined with the American Planning Association in Washington September 27 to emphasize the importance of design in community development. Speaking before guests of the APA’s Federal Policy and Program Conference, the AIA was joined by government and industry professionals to comment specifically on “cities in transition.”

Interim CEO Paul Welch, Hon. AIA, continued a three year tradition by joining APA executive Paul Farmer and Nancy Somerville, the CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects, for a CEOs panel on the importance of collaboration between the professions. Many cities throughout America share a common problem in that the growth of their infrastructure has exceeded the maintenance capacity of their tax base. Welch stressed that architects need the cooperation of other professionals to alter our patterns of development and make better use of the roads, sewers, and electrical infrastructure that is already in place.

Chief lobbyist Andrew Goldberg and federal relations manager Cooper Martin also took advantage of the opportunity to promote AIA values and programs. Martin joined Xavier Briggs, an official with the White House Office of Management and Budget, to discuss the importance of policies that stress location efficiency. The message from the AIA – more needs to be done to rebuild and renew the country – was echoed by many other speakers.

For more information, contact Andrew Goldberg, senior director, Federal Relations, or Cooper Martin, manager, Federal Policy and Research Development.

The AIA and the U.S. Green Building Council are collaborating on a report that explores how green schools are transforming local communities across America. The report – another in AIA’s “Local Leaders in Sustainability” research series on local green building policy – provides a comprehensive research review of the economic and social benefits of green schools; the policy solutions being adopted at the local, state and federal level; and case studies of successful, cost -effective, well-designed green schools. Schools can be designed to prepare students for a more successful future.

In this latest “Local Leaders in Sustainability” report, green school case studies and best practices will be explored in every region of the country – from Cincinnati to Bryant, Alaska, to San Jose and Charleston, South Carolina. Large cities like Chicago and Washington, D.C., are explored as are smaller communities like Hudson, Wisconsin and Warren County, Kentucky. Schools in these communities exemplify the power of designing green schools and the importance of integrating the lessons of these schools into the student curriculum.

For more information on the “Local Leaders” series, please contact Brooks Rainwater, director, Local Relations.

Click here to read an article in the National League of Cities’ Cities Weekly on “Local Leaders.”

With the recent completion of the 2010 International Green Construction Code (IGCC) Public Comment Hearings, the ICC is now moving into the next step in the development of the IGCC – a full cycle of ICC Code Development in 2011. They have posted a Call for Committee for the 2011 IGCC Code Committee on their website with an application deadline of October 8, 2010 (recently pushed back a week from October 1). The second version of the draft IGCC reflecting the decisions of the recent hearings will be available in November.

As a founding partner in the development of the IGCC, AIA will continue to be an integral part of the process, and encourage our members to apply for seats on the IGCC code development committee. The AIA is committed to representing the best interests of our members and will in particular be carefully examining and addressing the professional practice issues and concerns that arise out of the code as it becomes finalized and published for the first time in 2012. In particular, we encourage practicing architects who have a deep understanding of building science and its integration with all aspects of professional practice issues to apply.

The successful development of the IGCC will rely heavily on both a well-informed code development committee, and continued participation by AIA members in the public comment periods and hearings. AIA National will be submitting detailed public comments building on our work during the first public comment period, focusing in particular on prescriptive and performance energy requirements and professional practice issues linked with the administrative and commissioning chapters, as well as other areas of the code focused on comprehensive design solutions.

For more information on the IGCC development process, please contact Jessyca Henderson, AIA, director, Sustainability Advocacy.

For more information and guidance on advocating for adoption and implementation of the IGCC, click here.

Last week, AIA President George H. Miller, FAIA, announced the launch of DesignVote10, a program originally launched by the AIA during the 2008 elections. DesignVote is designed to provide information for AIA members on federal elections, including resources to get people out to vote, information on the AIA’s federal agenda, and tools for AIA members and chapters to engage candidates and media. This year, the AIA has added to the original get-out-the-vote program by creating a dedicated website that includes legislator profiles, election toolkits for members and components, and resource links to election day information.

For the first time, in an effort to educate AIA members about where candidates for office stand on key AIA issues, the AIA has launched a voter guide, which tracks key votes and cosponsorships in the 111^th Congress. This includes bills that the AIA has asked members to contact their federal legislators on – via the AIA Advocacy Center – and the “key asks” during the 2010 Grassroots Conference. In addition, each congressional district has a “legislator profile” page, which provides information on the incumbent, including official and campaign Web sites; the name and Web site for the district’s major party challengers; and how the incumbent voted or acted in regards to the key AIA issues.

The AIA will continue with the get-out-the-vote campaign through next month’s elections, including emails with absentee ballot request deadlines and Election Day information.

For questions on these resources, or for more information, contact Adam Melis, director, Advocacy Outreach.

The AIA issues public policies and position statements as statements of belief to policy-makers, the public, and the construction industry on issues of public policy affecting the membership, the profession of architecture, or the Institute.

To that end, Position Statement 26 (“Project Delivery”) is being submitted to leadership, members, and key stakeholder groups for consideration and comment. Upon conclusion of the public comment period (November 12), staff will develop a discussion draft of all submitted comments. The Board Advocacy Committee will review the comments prior to submission to the full Board for consideration and final adoption during the December 2010 Board meeting.

To review, vote, and/or comment on Position Statement 26 (“Project Delivery”), click here. The deadline for voting and comments is November 12.

With only 26 days to go until the November 2 elections, politics is on most everyone’s mind. It is only fitting that the ArchiPAC Regional Challenge also is going strong right now. The Challenge is a peer-to-peer initiative to try to get more architects engaged in the AIA’s advocacy efforts through ArchiPAC, the AIA’s federal political action committee.

The Congress that is elected in November will face a lot of tough, but vital, issues -- important to the profession and the nation’s future. These include freeing up the credit markets; building a 21^st century national infrastructure system; helping create livable communities; and reducing the tax and regulatory burdens harming small businesses. A strong ArchiPAC will ensure that architects have the relationships on Capitol Hill to be part of the conversation surrounding this legislation.

The goal for the Challenge, from all regions, is to raise $50,000 by the end of the year, but there is a more immediate and urgent goal of raising $25,000 by Election Day so that ArchiPAC can support the candidates in this election that care about the issues important to architects (for a full list of the candidates ArchiPAC has supported so far this year, click here). As an incentive, the winning regions will be able to select a charity from a list of organizations or foundations in that region that benefit emerging architecture professionals and architecture students.

To learn more about the Challenge, visit www.archipac.org.

To find out which candidates ArchiPAC has supported in the 2010 election, click here.

For more information on the Challenge, to participate in upcoming conference calls, or for general questions about ArchiPAC, contact Hannah Wesolowski, manager, Political Programs.

The StepUp2Green (SU2G) program, created by Michael Waxer, AIA, in partnership with the Monterey County Business Council, was recently named a “Bright Idea” by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. Bright Ideas recognizes creative and promising government programs and partnerships with public sector, nonprofit, and academic communities.

Waxer differentiated the program from others by focusing the guidelines to help individuals achieve significant greening of their homes while saving money and reducing energy and water consumption. Additional benefits include a healthier indoor environment, as well as contributing to reduced emissions, consistent with the California AB 32 mandate.

The program includes a one-page checklist that is listed from lower to higher cost, so that the homeowner has the opportunity to decide what changes they want to make that best fits with their home, lifestyle, and budget. As a result, the tool can benefit every homeowner due to the diverse range of choices, and the simplicity of this one page checklist.

Furthermore, SU2G has partnered with jurisdictions so they will issue streamlined permitting and inspection through on-going collaboration with county and municipal building departments.

Beyond the low-cost, easy-to-understand checklist, StepUp2Green also promotes economic development by partnering with local businesses, which can energize the marketplace, and can increase employment of related trades. In these tough economic times, this type of program can create positive change, and increase activity for local businesses.

By virtue of achieving its core value of straightforward simplicity, StepUp2Green enables everyone to be able to consider making improvements to their home, which can save them money by reducing their use of energy and water, while ending up with a healthier indoor environment.

For additional information, contact Renée Wadsworth, manager, Local Relations.

Building commissioning views building quality holistically and uses scientific principles to improve building efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The upcoming symposium, “Whole Building Commissioning: Verification by Design,” will convene architects, providers, and other professionals involved with building performance to address the theme of commissioning as a quality assurance process integrated into design, construction, and occupancy. This one-day event will feature engaging sessions provided by expert multidisciplinary presenters actively involved in better functioning built environments. It will explore the reasons why commissioning should be so deeply integrated into the design and construction process that it links the vision of the design to the first days of occupancy and thereafter to building performance for the life of the building. The goal is to view building quality in a holistic sense and to apply scientific principles aiming at a steady improvement in building efficiency and effectiveness.

Attendees will be eligible to earn 7 AIA CES credits and are invited to attend a networking reception following the symposium.

Visit the symposium website for more information or to register. Please send questions regarding this event to Kelly Pickard, manager, Strategic Initiatives.

For more information about commissioning or if you have questions regarding building performance pre- or post-occupancy, please contact Jessyca Henderson, AIA, director, Sustainability Advocacy.