Transformational Stimulus

At the most recent AIA Oregon council meeting, board members discussed the effect of the recession upon Oregon architectural firms, particularly in Portland. The American Institute of Architects is taking steps politically to help its membership mitigate the consequences of the economic meltdown. Nevertheless, I left the meeting concerned about whether our profession has the political chops it takes to compete aggressively for what will be in the best interests of architects, our communities, and the environment.

A case in point is President-elect Obama’s forthcoming $800 billion economic stimulus package. In anticipation of its passage by Congress, AIA National has developed the Rebuild and Renew Plan, which details our profession’s recommendations for the allocation of the stimulus package money. The plan calls upon the new administration and Congress to spend significant portions of the proposed economic shot in the arm on the design and construction of energy-efficient, sustainable buildings and communities. Rebuild and Renew includes an analysis of the potential impact of the economic recovery proposal on the creation and retention of jobs in the architecture profession. The problem is that the political success of the stimulus package is predicated upon immediate results. Consequently, there is an emphasis upon spending the money quickly on “shovel-ready” projects to give the economy the jolt it needs to prevent the country from falling further into recession. This emphasis will not necessarily benefit architects in the longer term if funding is not also reserved for planning the future projects the country will need to reshape itself along sustainable lines. We don’t want the stimulus money spent poorly on projects that are hastily planned and executed. We do want a sustainable recovery.

The architectural profession may lack the political wherewithal to compete effectively with other interest groups pursuing their cut of the stimulus package. There is undoubtedly an urgency shared by everyone with a hand in the pot that as much as possible must be grabbed as quickly as possible before it’s too late. As large a sum as $800 billion is, it can be split in only so many ways. Ideally, the money will be spent in a manner that is consistent with longer-term goals and strategies in mind. The problem is that our political process doesn’t necessarily favor the needs of the entire nation or world above the narrow interests of individual members of Congress and their constituents. Short-term thinking and influence peddling are the order of the day on Capitol Hill.

Obama does predict that the stimulus package will spark the creation of a clean energy economy, doubling the production of alternative energy in the next three years. He also envisions modernizing more than 75% of federal buildings, improving the energy efficiency of two million American homes, and developing new energy technologies. It’s an understatement to say that Obama’s interest in promoting clean energy and sustainable communities is welcomed by architects and environmentalists. Ironically, it is the depth and severity of this recession that has been the catalyst for a stimulus package that may do more to transform the future of the built environment than was ever imaginable when the good times were rolling.

So while I fear that the architectural profession may fail to fully secure its agenda and fair share of the stimulus package, at least the opportunity has presented itself. I’ve never been a political animal, but when I head to the 2009 AIA Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, in early February, I will enthusiastically advocate on behalf of our profession and our planet’s best interests. Despite my uncertainly about our power to shape the political landscape at the highest levels, the last AIA Oregon council meeting galvanized my resolve to try and make a difference.

For more information on the AIA's Rebuild and Renew plan, or to download the full report, visit http://www.aia.org/rebuildandrenew.

An Architect’s Journey – Will Bruder

“Truly memorable buildings exploit the tension between the sensual and the intellectual, strive for the balance of the poetic and pragmatic, and search for elusive qualities, both timely and timeless.” Will Bruder

I’ve long admired the work of Arizona architect Will Bruder. Well known for his influential and idiosyncratic desert modernism, Bruder has in recent years traveled further afield, working in such diverse locales as Portland, Maine and Madison, Wisconsin. He presently is the 2009 Pietro Belluschi Distinguished Visiting Professor in Architectural Design at the University of Oregon.(1) He will be delivering his lecture titled "Built/Unbuilt: An Architect's Journey" in both Portland and Eugene next week.

The two lectures will be held in Portland on January 22 and in Eugene on January 23. The Portland lecture is at 6 p.m. at the UO in Portland, White Stag Block event room, 70 NW Couch Street. The Eugene lecture is at 6 p.m. in 150 Columbia Hall on the University of Oregon campus. The lectures are free and open to the public. For more information about the lectures, contact the Department of Architecture at 541-346-3656.

Will Bruder is one of those increasingly rare architects who received no formal university training in architecture,(2) instead having obtained professional licensure through apprenticeship with Paolo Soleri and Gunnar Birkerts. He opened his practice in 1974 and since then has been involved with over 600 projects, including the Phoenix Burton Barr Central Library, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. He is currently working on large-scale community master plan projects in Glendale, Arizona and Denver, Colorado.

Nevada Museum of Art, Reno. Photo by Grant Mumford

Be sure to attend Bruder’s lecture in either Portland or Eugene to learn more about the personal journey taken by one architect toward the creation of regionally sensitive, environmentally responsive, and undeniably beautiful works of architecture.

(1) Bruder will teach design studio and a seminar class for architecture and interior architecture students during his ten-week appointment as the Belluschi professor.

(2) Bruder studied art and engineering, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1968.

President’s Message - January 2009

Serving as the Credible Voice
For many of us, the turn of the calendar from one year to the next traditionally is accompanied not only by celebration, but also with a sense that we can start afresh. We reflect upon what has passed and earnestly make resolutions to improve ourselves in the year ahead. The AIA-SWO board is no different in this regard. We’ve resolved to move forward in 2009 on a number of initiatives that will emphasize providing tangible benefits to our membership. Our plan is to turn our chapter’s structure and resources toward furnishing these benefits effectively and efficiently.

One aspect of this plan is to promote the AIA-SWO as the credible voice for quality design and the built environment. The goal is to heighten awareness and understanding of the value of architects and our contribution to society. Ultimately, it’s our hope that these efforts will lead to the public mindset that, when it comes to seeking out expertise about the future of our built environment, AIA-SWO architects come to mind first.

Thinking strategically, AIA-SWO president-elect Michael Fifield recently presented a possible blueprint for enhancing this perception to the AIA-SWO board. With the objective of improving the built environment within the community and region, Michael believes that the AIA-SWO might:

• Stress “smart growth” strategies as a method of achieving environmental sustainability (and ultimately, economic sustainability).
• Work directly with the City of Eugene and other municipalities on policy issues as well as specific projects (e.g., nodes, corridors, downtown).
• Assist our local municipalities in developing demonstration projects that advance meaningful and creative solutions to various issues (for example, housing affordability, or the development of a vibrant downtown).
• Conduct “forums” (quarterly perhaps) on specific issues with presentations of case studies from other areas (with a discussion of how those projects may be appropriate for Eugene and other municipalities).
• Provide a column in The Register-Guard each month on some issue of importance.
• Conduct brainstorming sessions in a public community meeting on a regular basis to discuss critical issues.
• Develop a yearly “white paper” addressing critical issues and recommendations for improvement/change and distribute this (perhaps as an insert in the R-G; it could be associated with the annual “People’s Choice” Awards insert).
  

Another vehicle for serving as the credible voice is to continue producing design workshops or “charrettes” on behalf of public agencies, tackling timely urban design issues. For 2009, we are planning two such charrettes. The first (actually two workshops on consecutive Saturdays) will provide AIA-SWO architects with the opportunity to weigh in on ODOT's controversial Willamette Crossing project. Our second charrette will assist the Eugene Water & Electric Board and its consultant team with exploring the future of its downtown riverfront property, potentially the most important piece of real estate in Eugene.

I believe that architecture and urban design are increasingly in the forefront of public discussions regarding the future of our communities. Part of this may be attributable to a greater civic awareness of the importance of sustainability and the prospect of significant federal investment in public infrastructure. However, I’m also sensing more interest in architecture on the part of the local media. It’s noteworthy that The Register-Guard recently picked up an AP newswire story about Frank Gehry. This is very good news. Although the article had no local content, it does help readers build their vocabulary so they can better talk and think about what constitutes good design. Indeed, I foresee our chapter further engaging The Register-Guard and other media outlets as our allies in expanding the dialogue about design and architecture as Michael Fifield has suggested.

AIA-SWO Chapter Committees
If you’re interested in helping to position our chapter in the forefront of public discussions about shaping the future of our communities, consider volunteering your time for one of the many AIA-SWO committees that will be active this year. Let me know what interests you and I’ll make sure that you’re notified of the appropriate committee meeting times and activities. My recap of the December AIA-SWO holiday party included a complete list of the currently active AIA-SWO committees. Click the link below:

http://sworegonarchitect.blogspot.com/2008/12/december-aia-swo-chapter-meeting-recap.html

January Chapter Meeting
The first chapter meeting of 2009 will be our annual joint event with the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). The meeting’s program will be “Building Projects in the Pipeline 2009,” a panel discussion regarding planned projects that constitute our own local “economic stimulus package.” A subtext underlying the discussion will be the state of the economy and its ramifications for the design and construction industry in the coming year. Given the turmoil in the financial markets, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, and the deepening recession, there is no doubt that this is a program that will be well-attended. The discussion panel will include:

Philip Farrington – Peacehealth
Dave Hauser – Eugene Chamber of Commerce
Jon Lauch – Eugene School District, 4J
Chris Ramey – University of Oregon
Mike Sullivan – City of Eugene
David Suchart – Lane County
John Tamulonis – City of Springfield

Professional associations represented at the meeting will include not only us and the Willamette Valley Chapter/CSI, but the local chapters of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) and CFMA (Construction Financial Managers Association).

Note that we won’t be meeting on our regular date and location for this month’s meeting. The dinner and program will occur on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at the Eugene Hilton Hotel and Conference Center. The social hour and a product show begin at 5:30 PM; dinner will be served at 6:30, and the program begins at 7:00. CSI has really stepped up their game for this year’s program, and in addition to the evening’s program will be offering free educational workshops on a host of building issues from 2:00 – 4:30 PM. Topics include sustainability experts discussing green roofs and photovoltaics for roofs (AIA learning units will be available).

The cost of the January dinner and program is $25 and reservations are requested. To RSVP for this special joint meeting, contact Tana Baker at tbaker@chambersconstruction.com or 541-687-9445. See you there!

Randy Nishimura, AIA
2009 President, AIA-Southwestern Oregon

ECAP

Enrollment is now open for two linked courses offered by Alder Fuller’s Euglena Academy designed to help our community understand the true nature of climate change. One – Climate & Gaia – focuses on the systems sciences, especially Earth systems sciences (geophysiology) necessary to understand climate and climate change. The other – With Speed & Violence – focuses on what is currently happening to Earth's ecosystems, and the astonishing and very sobering story of how rapid and extreme climate change has occurred in the past. These two courses form the core of Euglena’s Climate Adaptation Program (ECAP). Architects may find one or both courses useful as a foundation for developing design strategies to increase the built environment’s adaptive capacity in the face of rapid climate change.

ECAP will:

• Address the severity of our climate crisis from a systems sciences perspective
• Simultaneously address development of a realistic, workable program that our communities can use to not only mitigate, but prepare for adaptation to climate change


• Make clear both the necessity and the value of a systems view of life & Earth, especially geophysiology; i.e., humans need to become familiar with the concept of Gaia – a self-regulating planetary system that operates similar to their own physiology.

ECAP will employ components already offered at Euglena Academy – lectures, workshops, and courses (including the two reading seminars discussed here) – but can also be customized to meet specific needs for specific groups, such as:

• Architects & builders
• Climate activist organizations
• Food & agriculture organizations
• Health care professionals & organizations
• Alternative energy & energy conservation groups
• Educators, including high school, college & university
• Alternative transportation, esp bicycles & mass transit
• Land agencies: BLM, USFS, Corp of Engineers
• Policy makers: governors, representatives, mayors, city councils, county commissioners
  

The two courses beginning this month have been designed to explicitly explain why projections based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and models significantly underestimate the true nature of climate change with regard to scale, speed and severity. The fact is that we are very likely already past the "tipping point" for large-scale changes, and thus physically unable to stop large-scale climate change with any mitigation effort. We may slow it, and should try, but we probably won't stop it. Groups attempting to address climate change without understanding this are missing crucial information, and their efforts will be far less effective as a result. In addition to mitigation efforts to slow it, we must begin active preparations for adaptation.

With Speed & Violence is a reading seminar based on journalist Fred Pearce's book of that title. (Subtitle: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change). It includes information making it clear that the majority of climate researchers acknowledge that the IPCC is underestimating the crisis, and that they are frightened by what they are learning. This course will help individuals and groups working on climate change understand the nature of what we face with much greater clarity.

Climate & Gaia is a reading and lecture seminar based on the first four chapters of James Lovelock's book "The Revenge of Gaia". Lovelock firmly grounds his diagnosis of Earth's climate crisis in published systems sciences, especially geophysiology, the science that he founded 30 years ago with Lynn Margulis. Climate change can fundamentally not be fully understood from outside the perspective of geophysiology. Alder Fuller understands that many do not condone some of Lovelock's solutions, and neither does he. However, Dr. Fuller asserts that to ignore James Lovelock’s science & assessment of the climate crisis is a recipe for planetary catastrophe. That is why Euglena focuses predominantly on the first four chapters of Lovelock’s book dealing with the science instead of the last six chapters dealing with his proposed solutions.

The ECAP core courses can be done in either order, separately or together. Both are 8-week programs, each meeting once a week on Wednesday or Thursday evenings beginning this month. Enrollment ends January 22, 2009. For more information, contact Euglena by e-mail at a.euglena@gmail.com or phone at (541-762-1217).

Consider value, not just cost

I contributed the following letter to The Register-Guard, which was printed in the January 2, 2008 edition of the paper. I wrote it in response to an article by Susan Palmer of The Register-Guard on the subject of EWEB's selection process to select a consultant team for its riverfront master plan process. While not directly stating that fees would be the primary selection criterion, her article used the word “bid” repeatedly to describe the fee proposals of the teams under consideration (the “bids” of the five shortlisted teams were also printed). For architects, any notion about bidding fees is a bugaboo. The AIA-SWO board regarded the article as an opportunity to educate, to clarify that design professionals should be selected on the basis of the most meaningful factors – qualifications, competence, and previous performance – rather than as a result of a focus on fees. This should especially be the case when the scope of a project is not well established at the time of the consultant’s selection.

Consider value, not just cost
The Dec. 29 coverage in The Register-­Guard of Eugene Water & Electric Board’s effort to select a master planning consultant for its riverfront parcel prominently displayed each contender’s fee proposal. Readers may have the impression that cost is the only factor being considered by EWEB’s Community Advisory Team. Not so. Cost is one of many considerations. The local chapter of the American Institute of Architects applauds the work being done by these community volunteers.

EWEB wants the greatest value, not the lowest cost. The advisory team is deliberating carefully because it’s in the best interests of EWEB and its ratepayers to not base the selection on cost alone. Design professionals do not sell a commodity but rather their knowledge.

Professional architects and urban designers turn undefined concepts into realistic visions, plans and specifications. They take an idea and give it definition.

EWEB wants to ensure that the future of our downtown riverfront is in the hands of the most qualified and competent team possible, not simply the one that offers the lowest fee proposal — which isn’t a “bid.” The likelihood of a project’s success would be reduced if the selection was merely a bidding process.

Good design may cost a bit more, but it pays for itself many times over the life of the project. For the sake of our city and its downtown riverfront, EWEB can’t afford not to hire the best consultants available.

Randy Nishimura, 2009 President
American Institute of Architects – Southwestern Oregon Chapter
Eugene