Architecture Billings Index Reverts To Negative Territory

Decline is possibly a brief pause from unusually strong winter activity

After five months of positive readings, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has fallen into negative terrain. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the April ABI score was 48.4, following a mark of 50.4 in March. This score reflects a decrease in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 54.4, down from mark of 56.6 the previous month.

“Considering the continued volatility in the overall economy, this decline in demand for design services isn’t terribly surprising,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA.  “Also, favorable conditions during the winter months may have accelerated design billings, producing a pause in projects that have moved ahead faster than expected.”

Key April ABI highlights:

• Regional averages: Northeast (51.0), Midwest (50.1), South (49.0), West (48.0)

• Sector index breakdown: commercial / industrial (53.8), multi-family residential (50.5), institutional (46.6), mixed practice (45.0)

• Project inquiries index: 54.4

The regional and sector categories are calculated as a 3-month moving average, whereas the index and inquiries are monthly numbers.

 

American Institute Of Architects Appreciates Senate Move To Block Tax Hike On Small Business

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today expressed its appreciation for the Senate’s decision to table a proposal to hike taxes on small businesses who file as so-called Subchapter S Corporations, many of whom are architects.

The S Corp. tax hike proposal has recently surfaced as part of an effort to find replacement revenue for money lost to the federal government if Congress keeps the current 3.4% student loan interest rate, which is set to increase to 6.4% on July 1. The AIA has expressed support for efforts to reduce student debt burdens.

The following statement should be attributed to AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA:
“We appreciate the Senate’s move to table this proposal, which never made much sense to us as it would have raised taxes on job creators and in turn made it more difficult to hire college graduates in the first place.

“We urge Congress now to come together and find a more equitable solution to keeping student loan rates low.”

 

What Do You View As The Architect’s Role In Energy Analysis?

To mark our return to the AIA National Convention, Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) will be offering architects around the world the chance to win free software for a year, plus associated training.

Answer the above question in no more than 100 words for a chance to win a free one-year license for VE-Gaia, one of the most comprehensive architectural analysis tools available. In addition, the winner will get free access to the VE-Navigator for LEED, as well as associated training.

http://www.iesve.com/competition/aia2012

 

HDR Named ENR Texas And Louisiana’s Design Firm Of The Year

Based on its strong steady growth in both its architecture and engineering practices, ENR Texas & Louisiana named HDR its 2012 Design Firm of the Year. Despite a soft economy, the firm has more than doubled its regional revenue in the past five years, propelling it to the upper ranks of our annual Top Design Firms Survey. HDR has seen solid returns in a wide variety of sectors, including general building, health care, transportation, power, correctional, landscape and water/wastewater.

Its health care practice is tops in the region, thanks in large part to its work on the $1.3-billion Parkland Hospital replacement project, one of the largest hospital projects under construction in the world. HDR also designed the $500-million Ambulatory Care Center at Lackland Air Force Base, which was selected to receive an Honor Award for Concept Design in the 2011 Air Force Design Awards. When completed, the 680,000-sq-ft $481-million center will become the largest Ambulatory Care Surgical Center in the Department of Defense.

Meanwhile, it continues its strong record in civil engineering. In transportation, the firm is part of the team delivering the 11.5-mile President George Bush Turnpike Western Extension (SH 161) in Dallas and it is working on the IH 45/IH 610 Interchange in Houston. Its water/wastewater practice saw recovery in 2011 with HDR picking up three key projects in the DFW Metroplex. These included design of a 23-mile, 84-in pipeline segment of the joint Dallas Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District IPL Project delivering raw water from Lake Palestine to the Metroplex; design of the City of Dallas Able Storm Water Pump Station, one of the first large applications of concrete volute pumps in the U.S.; and design of the largest headcell grit removal installation in the U.S. at the Dallas Water Utilities Central Wastewater Treatment Plant.

For more insight about HDR’s continued success in the region, be sure to check out the June 11 edition of ENR Texas & Louisiana.

 

American Society Of Civil Engineers Webinar – Principal Changes to FAA Airport Design

This event requires registration:

https://secure.asce.org/ASCEWebsite/Webinar/ListWebinarDetail.aspx?ProdId=155825007

ASCE will host a webinar to highlight principal changes to the first comprehensive update of Airport Design, AC 150/5300-13A since 1989.

Instructor:

Mr. Khalil Kodsi, Office of Airport Safety and Standards at Headquarters in Washington DC.

Mr. Kodsi is the Team Leader for the update of Airport Design AC 150/5300-13A.

Registration fees start at $299 for ASCE members. Smaller engineering firms have $100 discount. The brochure of the even can be found here:

https://secure.asce.org/files/estore/155825007/PrincipalChangestoFAA_AirportDesign.pdf

To register to the webinar, please follow this link:

https://secure.asce.org/ASCEWebsite/Webinar/ListWebinarDetail.aspx?ProdId=155825007

The principal changes to be covered in this webinar are:

- A new Taxiway Design Group Concept to Improve Fillet Design

- Improved Taxiway Design to Mitigate Runway Incursions

- New Language on Runway Protection Zones

- Intersecting and Non-intersecting Runway Geometry

- Runway Design Codes

- Wind Rose and Aircraft Characteristics Database

This webinar will present rationale and insight to the revision process for the changes contained in the revised AC.

Labels: Airport Design, aviation, Civil Engineering, FAA

Event Organizer: Antonio Massidda (Faculty Research Associate at University of Texas at Arlington)

 

AIA Convention Session Offers New Strategies for the Architectural, Engineering, And Construction Industry

Session Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the root causes of inefficiency in your own practice

2. Use technology as a communications tool, connecting team members more productively

3. Use process innovation to enhance quality, reduce risk, and increase profitability

4. Integrate the various perspectives (O, AE, CM) that drive project teams

Register to attend the 2012 convention

Understanding Inefficiency and Creating Meaningful Change

During the session, Bernstein, Simpson, and Tocci will explore the root causes of inefficiency in the AEC industry and how meaningful change can occur.

Bernstein emphasizes that the increased use of BIM in today’s practice necessitates collaboration with engineers and contractors. “Now you have a working prototype of a building…a prediction of what’s going to happen and we want to be able to work together to test our assumptions and understand the implications of decisions.”

BIM allows the owners an easier understanding of visuals of the building than two-dimensional drawings bringing them into the process much earlier than in the past. Similarly, the prevalence of IPD is bringing in contractors, suppliers, and construction management firms to all stages of the process to track costs and schedules simultaneously.

Simpson stresses that in a trillion dollar industry that is about 30% inefficient, “the ratio of waste to value should be reconfigured to free up billions of dollars of asset values for owners and practitioners.”

In Simpson’s own practice, BIM, IPD, and LEED certification have all become the standard form. Architects are on the cusp of fully embracing these revolutionary practices, yet still clinging to outdated methods of practice that are weighing on an industry already hard hit by the recession.

“Twenty years ago when you went to an airport, everyone carried their bag even though wheels had been around for thousands of years. You put the two ideas together and you’ve reconfigured the entire luggage industry, simple but powerful ideas, much more effective, efficient and exciting for everyone.”

About the Session

Changing the Playbook: New Collaborative Strategies for the AEC Industry

Presenters: Philip Bernstein, FAIA, RIBA, LEED AP; Scott Simpson, FAIA, LEED AP; and John Tocci

Date: May 18, 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Learning Units: 1.5 LU

 

Architects Oppose Effort To Repeal Energy Reduction Law For Federal Buildings

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced its opposition to a House proposal to eliminate Section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.

The following statement should be attributed to AIA EVP and Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA:

“The AIA is opposed to efforts to weaken or eliminate Sec. 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. According to the DOE’s Energy Information Administration, buildings account for almost 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, more than both the transportation and industry sectors.

“Requiring significant energy reduction targets in new and renovated federal buildings demonstrates to the private sector that the federal government is leading by example.

• It is helping spur the development of new materials, construction techniques, and technologies to make buildings more energy efficient. And it is showing that significant energy reductions are both practical and cost-effective.
• Architects and their allied professionals are already succeeding in making federal facilities meet Sec. 433, including NREL’s new Research Support Facilities (RSF) in Colorado, which opened in 2010.
• The result is better energy performance for federal agencies and lower overall costs for taxpayers. More importantly, private sector owners are increasingly adopting these technologies and strategies for their buildings.

Weakening or repealing Sec. 433 with no deliberation or discussion will dramatically harm the federal government’s ability to design and build facilities that us

 

Attending The AIA national Convention Next Month? Then Join Us At The Women In Architecture Dinner On May 17!

The Women in Architecture Dinner honors the roles women play within the architecture profession and provides a platform to network and engage architects, interns, and architecture students from across the nation. Be a part of the network! Expand your peer network and engage with women architects, interns, and architecture students from across the country at this popular event. Join us as AIAS Vice President Laura Meador, Assoc. AIA, has a candid discussion with two prominent architects at the pinnacle of their design career! Our featured panel, Dina Griffin, AIA, and Suman Sorg, FAIA, will share their professional work, experiences, and greater issues of power, perspective, and success in architecture. All are welcome, and men are encouraged to attend. Sponsored by the AIA Diversity Council.

Please register for this event by logging into the 2012 AIA National Convention web site.

Students and Associates should RSVP to diversityandinclusion@aia.org by May 8. Payment will be accepted on site.

Hope to see you there!

 

How Does A Landscape Architect Differ From A Land Planner, An Urban Planner, An Architect And A Golf Course Architect?

In our country there isn’t such a high degree of specialization, so an architect is trained to be an all-encompassing professional and it is typically a masters degree obtained overseas, or the career trajectory they follow that make them specialists.

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but it is my perception that in USA, the terms land planner and landscape architect are used interchangeably. However, as I understand it, these terms seem to apply in low density suburban, rural or resort environments, while urban planner refers to higher densities — cities or metropolitan areas.

In a different context, landscape architect refers to the professional who plans and designs outdoor spaces, hard and soft surfaces, gardens, streetscapes, public amenities and the like.

 

Five Ways To Take Part In National Architecture Week

National Architecture Week, April 8-14, is a time to showcase the positive role architects play in our communities and highlight the power of design. With the theme, Design Connects, we’re hosting a national conversation on how architecture contributes to health, our sense of security, productivity, identity, and how it’s a mirror of our values and a force for the sustainability of our planet.

Looking for ways you can take part in National Architecture Week?

• Follow us on Pinterest and we’ll show you some of the many beautiful ways in which architecture connects us all. Starting on April 8, each day we’ll pin a new board showcasing different building types—whether it’s via schools, offices, stores, churches, libraries, etc. Don’t have an account on Pinterest? No worries, you can still follow our links and see our pin boards or join now.
• Join an online conversation and share your views on how design connects us via Pinterest, Twitter, and Foursquare. The official hashtag for the week is #archweek12.
• Follow us on Foursquare and explore your city. You’ll earn Foursquare points while discovering architectural tips about some of the best award-winning design projects near you.
• Take part in our Check In to Win Foursquare Sweepstakes. Visit your favorite architectural sites and check in on Foursquare. Include our official hashtag #archweek12 when you check-in on Foursquare and share it with your friends on Twitter. You just might be among the top three winners of a $50 Amazon gift card. (See sweepstakes rules.)
• Find an event near you. Several AIA chapters large and small, as well as select national parks in the Washington, D.C., area, will host special events such as receptions, lectures, tours, film screenings, award programs, and open houses.

If you have questions about National Architecture Week, contact Sybil Walker Barnes, AIA National’s director of social media.

Future National Architecture Week Dates
2013 April 7–13
2014 April 6–12
2015 April 12–18