AIA Honors Models of Excellence in Architecture Education
Friday, June 9, 1:30–3 p.m.

Celebrate in Los Angeles with the 2006 AIA Education Honor Awards recipients. The award-winning educators from Catholic University, Illinois Insitute of Technology, and the University of Arkansas will present their work in digital design/fabrication, beginning design, and community-based design in seminar E38, 2006 AIA Education Honor Awards, at the Convention. "Each of the award winners represents a standard for their respective subject, "says Jury Chair David W. Hinson, AIA, who will moderate the session. An exhibition of the work will also be featured in the convention hall. See the AIA National Convention Web site for details and to register. Photo Credit: A recipient of the 2006 AIA Education Honor Award, this exercise in building pure form is part of a course offered at the College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology.©

To learn more about the recipients and their work, click here.

EPN and Alumni Receptions at the Convention

The EPN invites you to a reception to honor the 2006 AIA Education Honor Awards recipients and EPN leadership since 1995, when the committee began to focus on integrating education and practice. The reception will be Friday, June 9, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the outdoor patio at the restaurant CiuDAD at 445 S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles—across the street from the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

Several architecture schools are hosting events in conjunction with the AIA National Convention. A list of alumni receptions will be posted soon.

Walter Wagner Forum 2006—Architecture Education and Global Issues

How are education and practice becoming more global? Who will benefit and what can we do to prepare for an increasingly global context? This year’s Walter Wagner forum on architecture education will focus on global issues. In addition to a progress report on the development of international agreements, we will discuss the changes in curriculum and pedagogy that may be called for to prepare emerging professionals for global practice. Special guest speakers include Marilys R. Nepomechie, FAIA, Florida International University, Miami; Christopher L. Noble, Noble & Wickersham LLP, Boston; James A. Scheeler, FAIA, The American Institute of Architects, Washington, D.C.; and Bea Sennewald, AIA, AIA London/UK. Provided by the EPN and the AIA International Committee, session E15 takes place Thursday, June 8, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Ann Chaintreuil, FAIA, 2006 EPN chair and principal of Chaintreuil Jensen & Stark Architects in Rochester, N.Y., will moderate the session.

Preconvention Program: Architecture Schools Advancement/Development Forum
Wednesday, June 7, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Development professionals, deans, and administrators of architecture schools are invited to attend this one-day workshop at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Selected topics include broadening constituencies, collaboration with firms and AIA components, benchmarking, and broader institutional objectives. A networking reception immediately follows, from 4 to 5 p.m. Limited to 50 people. Transportation will be provided. $75.

Case Studies Selected for Publication

In its fifth year, the Case Studies Initiative is attracting broader interest from practitioners and educators alike. The AIA is pleased to announce four cases are selected for publication this year and as many as 15 other cases on a variety of project types will be available online soon. Congratulations to the student teams, leading faculty, and firms who contributed to this important work:

• Durham Research Center, Omaha, Nebr., by HDR and University of Nebraska
• Melvin J. and Clare Levine Hall, Philadelphia, by Kieran Timberlake Associates and the University of Virginia
• Carl Icahn Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, N.J., by Rafael Vinoly Architects and the University of Virginia
• Hereford College, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., by Tod Williams Billie Tsien & Associates, VMDO Architects, and the University of Virginia.

These cases were selected following a blind peer review and will be published this summer, pending completion of supporting documents.

A collaborative effort between firms and schools of architecture, the research, documentation, and analysis of practice are educational for students, interns, architects, principals, and clients and contribute to a body of knowledge for the profession.


AIA Case Studies Initiative—2006 Call for Submissions and Peer Reviewers
Submissions and letters of interest due June 30, 2006

The EPN invites you to submit a case study for peer review and publication on the AIA Web site as a resource for practitioners, educators, researchers, and others. Please see the Case Study Development Guidelines for details.

The EPN also invites expressions of interest to serve as a peer reviewer for this year’s submissions. Reviewing will take place August through September 2006, and reviewers are asked to review two to three case studies and complete evaluation forms. The selection team identifies cases for publication in October. Peer reviewers may be educators and/or practitioners with a special interest in case studies in the study and practice of architecture. Please contact Catherine M. Roussel, AIA, director of education, croussel@aia.org, by June 30.

2006 ACSA/AIA Teachers Seminar at Cranbrook Academy of Art
Time Matters: Exploring Preservation Values in Architectural Education

June 15–18, 2006
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI

This seminar will examine how architectural design is shaped by historic preservation values and ideas. Participants will test concepts using the significant architecture of Cranbrook Academy as a way to explore integrating preservation values into the existing curriculum, particularly the studio curriculum, rather than as additional coursework. Seminar activities include speakers on preservation history and on the relationship between preservation and design as well as a panel discussion on design and preservation values. Further, charrettes to develop preservation-oriented studio problems and syllabi will be undertaken. The results will be presented, discussed, and further developed for use in architecture programs at various levels.

Educators and students with little or no experience in historic preservation are strongly urged to attend to contribute to a dialogue that will strengthen and expand their teaching and practice. Also welcome are educators and practitioners with experience in historic preservation in all its forms who want to contribute and hear fresh perspectives on issues of history, heritage, context, and more.

EPN and ACSA Begin Dialogue on Accreditation Issues
ACSA Annual Meeting, April 1, 2006

The EPN began a dialogue on accreditation issues with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) at its annual meeting in Salt Lake City. The dialogue centered on the upcoming National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) 2008 Accreditation Review Conference. Deans and educators at the administrators’ luncheon contributed to the discussion, bringing to light issues that are worth consideration in advance of the conference, in which the criteria for accreditation are reviewed for architecture programs across the country.

The EPN would like to hear from you. As we reexamine the conditions and procedures for accreditation, what do you think is important to consider? Please send your thoughts to Catherine Roussel, AIA, croussel@aia.org. The EPN will update you on the discussion in future issues of EPN News. Read on to learn more.

AIA150 Blueprint for America—A Great Opportunity for Service Learning
by Anthony J. (Tony) Costello, FAIA

AIA150 Blueprint for America is a comprehensive community service program to celebrate the AIA’s 150 years of service to the profession and the nation in 2007. It is fortuitous that the 2006 calendar year is programmed to be a year during which local AIA components plan and begin to implement their Blueprint for America initiatives and projects. Faculty who want to be involved in their local AIA component-led projects can use the upcoming summer break and fall semester to plan and coordinate their participation. Your expertise in the process and products of community-based design and planning is greatly needed. Read on to learn more   about opportunities for service learning and the broader goals of the AIA150 Blueprint for America.

AIA Offers a Summer Job Resource

The AIA Career Center again is allowing firms to post limited-term summer job offers for free on its popular job board. Students can go to the site, http://careercenter.aia.org/search; select “Summer Job” as job level; and then select “Search.” All openings will be displayed. The offer is just being publicized so listings are few but it will grow rapidly in the next few weeks.

Call for Submissions: 2006 AIA Research RFP Program
Proposals due May 15, 2006

The AIA seeks proposals for research projects that advance professional knowledge and practice. Projects must be completed within one year, beginning June 1, 2006. The AIA will award grants of $7,000 each to 10 selected projects. This grant qualifies recipients to present preliminary findings and outcomes at the 2007 AIA Grassroots Leadership Conference and the 2007 AIA National Convention, in addition to other venues and publishing opportunities. For more information about the RFP program, view the Call for Submissions here.

Call for Presentations: 2007 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition
San Antonio, May 3–5
Proposals due July 1, 2006

Growing Beyond Green, the theme of the 2007 AIA National Convention, provides a framework for presentation submittals on all aspects of creating high-performance buildings using sustainable design principles. Topics may include highlighting tangible methods, materials, and case studies of high-performance, sustainable design. Community planning, the design process, construction methods, materials selection, renovation and reuse, building systems, resource/energy use, and lifecycle costs, among others, present an opportunity for exploration of sustainable design. Proposals will be evaluated using the criteria of integration of the convention theme, practical applications of materials or ideas, relevance to the profession, timeliness of topic, inclusion of case studies from the AIA's Blueprint for America, quality, and experience of speakers.

Special thanks to contributors to this issue of EPN News: Anthony J. Costello, FAIA, director, Ohio Valley, the American Institute of Architects; Ann Chaintreuil, FAIA, 2006 EPN chair; Tamara Redburn, Assoc. AIA; and to Joyce M. Noe, FAIA and Jim Batchelor, FAIA for their work on the AIA Case Studies Initiative; and to members of the AIA 2006 Education Honor Awards jury.

The Educator/Practitioner Network serves as a forum for the exchange of knowledge about the professional preparation of architects, specifically through the promotion of initiatives that focus on integrating architecture education and practice, and enhancing the relationships between educators and practitioners. To learn more about the EPN and related initiatives, see http://www.aia.org/ed_eppartnering.