Association of Architecture Organizations blogs

Alaska Design Forum Celebrates 20 Years

Michael Wood — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:57:10 +0000

Congratulations to the Alaska Design Forum on their 20th Anniversary! We chatted with Klaus Mayer, trustee of the Forum and member of the AAO Board of Directors, about the Forum's past, present, and future.

AAO: How did the Forum start?
Klaus Mayer (KM): Peter Lipson, a recent graduate of SCI-Arc, started the Forum based on the L.A. Forum model. Many of our first guest came through this link.

AAO: What has kept it going? Tell us the secrets of your success!
KM: The Alaska Design Forum is the only kind of architecture and design program in the state. With our broad understanding of design, we are inclusive of many design disciplines and have a very diverse audience.

What's been your biggest challenge?
KM: I would say it is to convey the benefits of great design to the audience, which includes many professionals.

How is the Forum different now than it was when it started?
KM: Over the years we have expanded our lecture series from originally only Anchorage (population 280k) to include Fairbanks (100k) and Juneau (32k). We have special projects that take us into rural areas as well.

Re-Locate project, summer 2012 in Kivalina, AK. Photo: Klaus Mayer.

What are one or two highlights from the past 20 years of programming?
KM: For me the highlight is when we can get some of the best talents in the world to agree to come and be part of our program.

What have you personally enjoyed most about being a part of the Forum?
KM: The friendships that have developed over the years with our guests and board volunteers. We had the fortune to show some of the most amazing designers our home state. For example, we took Australian Architect Glenn Murcutt on a short excursion to Point Hope above the Arctic Circle.

Glenn Murcutt in Point Hope, September 1998. Photo: Klaus Mayer.

What's the most interesting feedback you've received about the Forum?
KM: Here is a quote I got as a response: "The Design Forum has lifted up design and art for the last 20 years and many times has inspired me and given me hope."

What's next for the Forum?
KM: After being an all volunteer organization for 20 years, we are now in the process of hiring our first full time executive director. We hope that will allow us to do more outreach and pursue programs directly related to architecture and design, and maybe start a summer school program.

Editor's Note: Klaus and the Alaska Design Forum hosted the AAO Members Weekend in 2011. Read a wrap-up from the event and view photos here.

Open Office Collaboration: The Architecture Foundation and We Made That

Michael Wood — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 01:28:13 +0000

Local communities often aren’t empowered with the skills, tools, and time designers have to untangle problems and act on them. The Architecture Foundation has found one way to take the skills that designers wield and open-source it to the community at large...

Teaser:

Los Angeles Conservancy Mobile App: LA 1960s Architecture

Michael Wood — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:16:11 +0000

Apps are on every organization’s radar these days. But, as Cindy Olnick of the LA Conservancy points out, "it's a balancing act to try new things without randomly jumping on bandwagons." AAO spoke with Olnick about the LA 1960s Architecture app: the motivation behind it, how much investment was required, and what benefits they've seen so far.

AAO: Apps and other mobile friendly content solutions are on every organization’s radar screens these days. Tell us about the “LA 1960s Architecture” app. What service does it provide?

Cindy Olnick: A few years ago, the Conservancy mounted an educational program called The Sixties Turn 50, showcasing Greater L.A.’s rich legacy of architecture from the 1960s. We conducted a people’s choice poll, The Top 60 of the ‘60s, in which the public voted on their favorite local 1960s buildings in various categories (residential, commercial, etc.). The app is a mobile version of the Top 60 of the ‘60s that helps users visit these buildings and experience them firsthand—which is exactly what we want.

What have been the primary advantages the app presents to the Conservancy?

It helps us counter the misperception that historic preservation organizations are stodgy or stuck in the past. Even though we focus on buildings from the past, our goal is to keep them viable and useful today and for future generations. To stay relevant to people and engage new audiences, we need to go where they are—which, increasingly, is on their phones. Tools like this are a great complement to other tours. They certainly don’t replace our docent-led walking tours, but offer a completely different type of experience (we could never do a docent-led walking tour of 60 places throughout L.A. County!). And we reach some folks who might never even think of taking a docent-led tour.

The idea for this app originated from a source outside the LA Conservancy. Can you tell us about your project partner?

We knew we needed to explore mobile apps, since the concept is perfect for experiencing great architecture. But we didn’t have the time, expertise, or resources to pursue building an app. Luckily, we were contacted by a developer looking for content for a new app called Know What, which offers a series of curated guides to cool places in Los Angeles. We gave them content we already had from the Top 60 poll, and they took care of the rest. They coordinated the initial launch and keep improving the app with new features, which keeps it fresh.

Escape Apps was great to work with and I’d encourage anyone looking to get their feet wet with apps to get in touch with them.

So how much did it cost you, and have you seen much financial return?

It didn’t cost us anything but the time needed to work out the agreement and refresh the content. We haven’t made a ton of money, but I’m learning that we shouldn’t really expect to through new media. We’re seeing the same with Facebook and other social media, which is more of a way to raise awareness and engage people than directly make money.

Besides the obvious cost benefits and the tech know-how, were there other advantages to working with an outside vendor?

If we had created the app ourselves, we likely would have focused on an overall “greatest hits” of historic L.A. architecture—and we’d probably still be writing content for it! An outside vendor brought a fresh perspective on what would be fun for users, as well as some accountability to get it launched in a reasonable amount of time. So we used existing content and ended up with (I think) a really cool app that goes beyond the usual suspects in terms of L.A. architecture.

Program development is hard work no matter the project size. How much time did it take to get this operational?

Even though we worked with existing content, as you know, most projects—especially new ventures—take about three times longer than you first expect. This took about nine months from our first meeting until the launch of the first version of the app, but the delays were all ours. It took about six months to iron out the contract because it was such new territory for us. After the initial launch, we changed the app and pricing structure, so there’s some ongoing administration that doesn’t take terribly long. What takes the most time is marketing and promotion. Since so many apps are released every day, any one app only has a brief window of time to shine as a new release before all the others come along to replace it. So to really make it successful takes heavy and ongoing promotion.

I think the biggest single challenge was making this project a priority among everything else we have going on. It was an opportunity that came up to try something new, which we wanted and needed to do, but we still had all of our other work responsibilities and deadlines.

Also, what some might consider a challenge, but I really like, was the need for extreme brevity in the content for the app. I’m a big fan of brevity anyway, so it was great to have such tight word limits. And we had to think differently about which words to use for the medium and the audience—it was a great exercise in narrative and context.

Do you have any parting words of advice for our readers who might be considering launching an app for their own architectural organizations?

Don’t fear the app! But do understand that it does take a commitment of time, thought, and energy to do it right. Technology changes so fast that at this point, you can make your own app using another app.

We all need to do what we can to explore new ways to advance our missions. It’s a balancing act to try new things without randomly jumping on bandwagons. Maybe a smart, dedicated volunteer could spend some time looking into this for you if you give them some direction about your goals, priorities, and limits. And it’s really hard for me to say this, but don’t be afraid to fail. Not everything will work out of the gate. But it doesn’t have to be perfect to be a worthwhile experience that you can learn from.

The Conservancy has been investing (time, mainly) in social media for several years now, and we’re hardly on the cutting edge, but we do our best to at least keep pace in a way that makes sense for us. We just try to stay focused on why we’re doing all these things: to engage more people in the important work of saving L.A.’s great historic places.

AIA Collaborative Achievement Goes to AAO Member Again!

Michael Wood — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:23:13 +0000

AAO members have always made a strong showing in the AIA's Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement, from national outfits like the American Architectural Foundation to devoted individual members like design educator Anna Sanko and the Architecture Resource Center.

This year, the AIA honored DiscoverDesign.org, an education project of the Chicago Architecture Foundation for the 2013 Collaborative Achievement Award. This marks the fifth consecutive year that an AAO Member has recieved the award! Here's a look back at past Collaborative Achievement Award recipients that are AAO members, starting at the founding of AAO in 2009:

2013 - DiscoverDesign.org (Chicago Architecture Foundation)

2012 - Rice Design Alliance

2011 - Active Design Guidelines (AIA NY)

2011 - Dallas Architecture Forum

2010 - Alaska Design Forum

2009 - The Architecture Handbook: A Student Guide to Understanding Buildings (Chicago Architecture Foundation)

The purpose of the award is "to recognize and encourage distinguished achievements of allied professionals, clients, organizations, architect teams, knowledge communities, and others who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession." Watch for details this summer on how to nominate your peers for the 2014 award.

AAO Member Job Openings

Michael Wood — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:48:48 +0000

Recent Opening:

Philadelphia Center for Architecture, Director
The Philadelphia Center for Architecture is seeking candidates for the position of Director to manage and build the programs and funding for the Center. This is an opportunity to build on the growing role the Center plays in education, programming and leadership about architecture and the planning and development of the Greater Philadelphia community. The Center owns and operates a gallery and meeting facility, it is also home to a retail store, AIA Philadelphia and the Community Design Collaborative. The Director works with the Center’s Board of Directors to expand the impact and build the brand of the Center.

Additional AAO Member Openings:

Chicago Architecture Foundation
Chief Financial Officer
Vice President of Learning Initiatives
Exhibitions and Interpretive Manager

The Municipal Art Society of New York, Corporate Development Manager

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Senior Manager of Museum Collections
President & CEO of National Trust Main Street Subsidiary

The Royal Institute of British Architects
Public Affairs Officer
Director of Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW)

#AAO2012 Twitter Conversation

Michael Wood — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:10:47 +0000

November 8-10, 2012 the Association of Architecture Organizations brought together the largest gathering of leaders and educators from architectural organizations dedicated to enhancing public dialogue about architecture and design. Here are pieces of the conversation it sparked:

Teaser:

How to Apply for Google Grants -- Free Advertising on Google.com for Nonprofits

Michael Wood — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:38:16 +0000

By Patrick Miner, Media & Outreach Coordinator, Chicago Architecture Foundation

Google’s innovative search algorithms direct hundreds of millions of people to the websites they need everyday. The internet giant has become one of the most valuable and influential companies in the world by developing an advertising platform that is integrated into those search results we all know so well.

Google AdWords™ is the service or tool by which ads are displayed to the public on Google.com and partner websites. Organizations of every type use Google’s paid search to drive traffic to their websites. As nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (and some similar designations outside of the United States), AAO member organizations are eligible to apply to a special, free program: Google Grants.

“Google Grants is the nonprofit edition of AdWords™, Google's online advertising tool. Google Grants empowers nonprofit organizations, through $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords™ advertising, to promote their missions and initiatives on Google.com.” -- Google, Inc.

Google Grants is essentially free AdWords for nonprofits. Qualifying organizations can reach hundreds or thousands of new people each month through carefully-designed advertising campaigns. The only cost is staff time.

Many organizations -- especially large for-profit entities -- hire new staff or work with firms to manage their Google AdWords campaigns. But small nonprofits typically do not have the resources to go that far. Instead, nonprofits like the members of AAO should try to manage Google AdWords / Grants on their own. Only people who are very familiar with an organization will be able to generate effective keywords, ads and campaigns. Beginners are encouraged to apply -- there is little risk involved in learning the ropes of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising on Google Grants since the program is free. Mistakes are simply reflected as less new traffic -- but any increase in web traffic is an improvement over no new traffic.

Here’s how to begin:

1 Determine who will manage the AdWords account once it is live. Although multiple people can work on the campaigns simultaneously, it is best for one person in the organization to be the project leader so that the complicated learning process for AdWords management can be comprehensively absorbed and processed by that individual.

2 Read through the requirements for application to Google Nonprofits at google.com/nonprofits/join (if this link changes in the future for some reason, just type “join Google Nonprofits” into Google and let the search engine do its magic). Organizations based outside of the United States can also find information on eligibility at the above link. If you are eligible, gather the necessary proof of your 501(c)(3) status and proceed. Note that governmental entities, health care organizations, childcare centers, and academic institutions are not eligible for Google Nonprofits (however philanthropic arms of educational organizations are eligible).

3 The application process for Google Nonprofits will allow you to enroll in Google Grants if approved. You will also be able to enroll in other programs such as YouTube for Nonprofits. The application can be completed at the aforementioned link: google.com/nonprofits/join. Use a new Google account to apply so that there is no confusion about the nonprofit designation of your account. If you are an existing Google AdWords customer, you will not be able to apply using your AdWords account. Paid and free AdWords must be kept separate at all times.

4 After following the steps online for the Google Nonprofits application, you will be accepted or denied by the Nonprofits team at Google. If your organization meets the eligibility requirements, it should be very unlikely that your application would be denied. However, the review process can take up to 4 months to be completed.

5 Once accepted into Google Nonprofits, follow the instructions you receive via email to enroll in Google Grants. You will be asked to create your first AdWords campaign while adhering to the limitations of the Grants program. Google must place certain restrictions on its free offering so as not to greatly disadvantage its many paying clients. The most important restrictions include a daily budget of approximately 330 USD and a maximum bid of 1.00 USD. This means that if a keyword you would like to use for your ads is a very popular search term, you may not be able to afford it. Other companies may be paying over 1.00 USD to have their ads display for users who type in the desired keyword. For example, the term “building” is very general and is used by numerous advertisers. Therefore, if you try to use it as one of the keywords in your Google Grants campaigns, it probably won’t spur many (or any) clicks to your website because other advertisers are paying above 1.00 USD for each user that “building” sends to their respective websites.

6 Before you submit the setup of your first AdWords campaign using Google Grants, be sure to check all of the settings to confirm that they adhere to Google’s requirements. You can access these requirements at http://support.google.com/nonprofits/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1689506 (if this link stops working, search Google for “Google Grants account creation guide” and click on a result from support.google.com). It is extremely important that you do not enter billing information, that you choose USD as your currency, that your maximum bid is 1.00 USD and that your ads are only set to appear on Google search (not the display network or other locations).

7 Your AdWords / Grants account, if set-up according to the guidelines, should be approved by Google within a few weeks. Once you are notified of approval, try logging in to your account and beginning the tracking and evaluating process for campaigns, ad groups, ads, keywords and more.

The next task is trying to drive additional traffic to your organization’s website through creative account management. For more information about this process (which is all-too-lengthy for a blog post), please contact Patrick Miner at the Chicago Architecture Foundation:

Patrick Miner
pminer[at]architecture[dot]org

Interview: Collaborative on Design Education Partnerships

Michael Wood — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 18:31:27 +0000

Three Boston organizations - LBD, Urban Neighborhood Design Alliance, and YouthBuild Boston’s Designery - have begun an informal partnership. All three organizations serve K-12 students but with slightly different focus. Each organization compliments one another, and before collaboration were competing for resources - such as donations, volunteers, and media space.

The Collaborative has been meeting for the past few months and has begun to partner on programs. Recently, they worked together to bring 20 teens and 20 professionals together to engage in an afternoon design challenge. AAO catches up with the Collaborative to discuss the merits of this type of partnership and how this can be duplicated in other communities.

AAO: It sounds like each of the organizations in the Collaborative is interested in keeping its own identity, audience, and program. So what’s an example of a type of activity or opportunity where you see the collaboration as particularly useful?

Collaborative (C): Programmatically we compliment one another. UNDA works with high-school kids during school time, the Designery offers programs to high school kids after school and during the summer, and LBD focuses on K-8 students and professional development for teachers. But we had realized that in terms of fundraising and outreach, we target the same demographic – professionals in the architecture and construction field. We initially came together with the thought of creating a fund that that would establish support for K-12 design ed in Boston. As we met over the past six months we realized that our shared goals could be realized only with an expansion of what the collaborative could be.

Our collaborative goal is for every Boston student to have one quality design education experience in their K-12 school life. Through sharing resources we hope will help us achieve our collective goal of reaching more students.

Our collaborative offers a comprehensive program that is easy for our supporters to become involved with while offering a myriad of opportunity to youth, some of which may take more than one program from three different organizations during their educational experience. Types of activities or opportunities may include design charrettes, neighborhood tours, visits to firms, or even someday internships.

AAO: Certainly you were aware of one another’s education programs prior to creating the Collaborative, but how frequently did you chat with one another? Was one of the draws of this partnership the chance to maintain more regular communications with one another?

Collaborative: We have had informal relationships in the past, recommending students and volunteers, even teaching together, so we knew each other well. Meeting regularly has had the outcome of pulling from various areas of expertise within our groups to host collaborative events where we are able to more effectively reach students, teachers, and professionals with a larger impact using less resources.

AAO: Is there an idea or lesson you’ve already taken from colleagues as a result of this partnership?

Learning by Design (LBD): For us these conversations have expanded how we talk about ourselves and think about our programs. We have thought more about how we can play a role in the ‘work force development’ conversation which our partners focus on already.

Urban Neighborhood Design Alliance (UNDA): We have realized the potential of a network rather than seeing the Designery and LBD:MA as competitors. UNDA has a hands-on learning approach that puts design professionals besides the students in a classroom and takes the students out to building job sites. We are now able to refer students that have become interested in design and construction to the Designery programs so that they can develop their newly discovered interests. LBD:MA introduces these ideas to children and plants the seed of design thinking early, which can be tremendously beneficial for youth that may participate in UNDA programming. We all have a real synergy that is beneficial to each organization.

Youth Build Boston has been able to more efficiently reach our goal of developing closer relationships with representatives within the Boston Public School system by sharing contacts. Through this effort YBB is able to recruit the best possible students for our program.

AAO: The needs of each local community might differ, but are there any suggestion you have for our readers who might be interested in testing this idea of a design ed collective in their own hometowns?

Collaborative:

Hold an open meeting amongst like minded organizations and start talking about the programs being offered. Chances are that organizations will find opportunities for collaboration rather than competition.
Talk about what the foundations and funders are looking for from organizations. How can you develop better programs with greater reach? Will funding agencies support a grant application from a group of NPO's that are collaborating?
Start out with a small collaborative event or presentation. Planning these types of events will usually put all of the issues on the table. All organizations should share equal responsibility, and the best case scenario finds organizations stepping in where their specific strengths are.
Talk to the design community to find out if they can distinguish between the different organizations providing similar programs. Chances are they can't and that they would love one "go-to" organization that can make a big impact.

AAO: What are planning to do together at the ABX event next month?

Collaborative: This is our next collaborative event (of many!). ABX is the annual Building and construction industries trade show. Hundreds of workshops are offered for architects on a variety of topics. Our three organizations will be hosting a panel discussion around young people and the future of design profession. Participants will learn how our organizations continue to shape youth design education in our communities and how the design and construction industries can successfully Participants will learn how our organizations continue to shape youth design education in our communities and how the design and construction industries can successfully make an impact.

Interview: Jaime Endreny on Guess-A-Sketch, Inaugural Benefit for the Center for Architecture Foundation

Michael Wood — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:37:01 +0000

The Center for Architecture Foundation recently held a unique fundraiser, Guess-A-Sketch. It caught our eye as something many AAO members might emulate in their own communities, especially design education programs. We sat down with Jaime Endreny, the Foundation’s Executive Director, to discuss the success of the inaugural Guess-A-Sketch event.

AAO: What inspired the Foundation to produce Guess-A-Sketch? Is this something you’ve been meaning to try for some time? Was it a staff idea or did it come from your volunteers?

Jaime Endreny (JE): In 2011, we were fortunate to receive a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies for capacity building. With this funding, we were able to engage in more long-term planning and complete a three-year development plan. The plan included strategies to make our fundraising more robust on many levels, and one of the main ideas was to host our own fundraising event. In years past, we had done smaller events or special events in partnership with AIA New York, but never fully on our own. The Guess-A-Sketch idea actually stemmed from a casual conversation among a few board and staff members after a board meeting. Everyone loved it! The fun, game-like quality spoke to our mission and our desire for a fundraising event that was different from a typical cocktail party or dinner. After we looked into some of the logistics and they worked out…we ran with the idea!

AAO: Was there a typical participant? Younger architects? Volunteers with your programs?

JE: Part of our reason for hosting this kind of event was to draw a younger architecture and design crowd as well as a non-professionals, such as teachers who participate in our in-school residency programs, parents, and the general public. While certainly a lot of young architects participated, the crowd was a great mix, and many colleagues came to cheer their team on.

AAO: Can you briefly describe how the activities were organized? Were multiple sketches happening at the same time? In different rooms? Was it organized like a tournament?

JE: We spent a lot of timing thinking about how the game would be organized. In fact, we held a practice night with our board and volunteers about two months in advance to iron out any kinks, test our paper and drawing materials, and figure out the guidelines. We were happy with what we decided. We had a total of nine teams (5 players on each team) and four honoree sketchers. We paired the honorees in teams of two and had them draw the same image – this was decided partially so that all the teams could see the sketches and also because we found during our practice night that multiple sketches of the same image added a fun dynamic. The event took place in one room on one main stage where all the action was. With nine teams, we created a tournament bracket. Each group played four rounds and the winner advanced to the final round. After four final rounds, the winner was crowned.

AAO: I’m picturing this as a casual atmosphere and a good match for promoting the Foundation’s educational values. Can you report how much you were able to raise from the activity?

JE: Yes, the event was more of a casual game night rather than a typical gala dinner or cocktail party. We netted over $60,000 from the event, which was beyond our expectations for year one. Next year, we will certainly have a silent auction with the sketches that were created that night – they were really beautiful!

AAO: Are you thinking this could be annualized? And, as a related follow-up: in your opinion, what did you find most rewarding and useful about this fundraiser?

JE: Definitely! We were all very pleased with the event and plan to make it our annual fundraiser for years to come. Because we had never done our own event before, one of the most rewarding aspects of the night was to realize that we could plan a successful benefit that met our goals. Looking out from the stage at 200 smiling faces was unbelievable! The organization had never done anything like that before, so it was great to be at the helm for this milestone. Equally rewarding was that we had a huge amount of board involvement. Part of our goal for having this event was to provide another vehicle for board members to achieve their give or get, and Guess-A-Sketch yielded 100% board participation! Not only did the board members fundraise, but they also were very active on the event planning committee and reaching out to help secure our honoree sketchers and teams. Having a venue for more involvement generated lots of enthusiasm this year and in the future, too!

AAO E-News: June 2012 Job Board

Michael Wood — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 04:26:45 +0000

Recent round-up of job opportunities at nonprofit architectural organizations across the United States.

Teaser:

Recent round-up of job opportunities at nonprofit architectural organizations across the United States.

AAO Conference: November 8-10, 2012 - Dallas, TX

Michael Wood — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:19:27 +0000

Save the Date! DESIGN IN ACTION 2012: Connecting People to Place will take place November 8-10 in Dallas, TX. Program announcements coming soon. Registration opens summer 2012.

Teaser:

Save the Date! DESIGN IN ACTION 2012: Connecting People to Place will take place November 8-10 in Dallas, TX. Program announcements coming soon. Registration opens summer 2012.

Richards Interview

Michael Wood — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:39:52 +0000

Since 2002, ArchNewsNow has provided thousands of readers with a daily email update on what's happening in the world of architecture and design. We talked with the founder and editor, Kristen Richards, Hon. AIA, Hon. ASLA, about how she selects content, the role that she's played to connect the architecture community around the globe, and where she sees ANN going in the next ten years. Congratulations to Kristen on the success of ANN and its 10th Anniversary.

AAO: How did you get started with ArchNewsNow (ANN)?

Kristen Richards (KR): I edited a similar webzine/newsletter for two years and developed an international readership hungry for news of the A/E/C industry from around the world. When the tech bubble burst and it went offline, I realized I had a fantastic opportunity to fill a void. A big plus was that the proprietary search engine I used was developed by my husband, George Yates -- a brilliant software designer/developer, so I already had a system in place. We launched February 18, 2002 -- about two weeks after I left the first online publication.

AAO: These days, lots of us take ANN for granted as one of the best go-to sources for architecture news. Thinking about the early years, what was the turning point when you knew it would be successful?

KR: The first time I felt we really had a shot was when the incredibly talented environmental graphic design firm Calori & Vanden-Eynden/Design Consultants (known for its graphics, signage, and wayfinding programs for notable projects such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the DC Heritage Trail, and Acela) contacted me very shortly after launching and offered to create a logo and style for ANN (which was much needed). The home page with our new look and first two features posted less than a month after starting the newsletter (and I am forever grateful).

I knew we were on the right track when Planetizen and Crain's Detroit named ANN one of their Best Websites of the Year in 2002 -- before we'd even been up and running for a year.

AAO: What's your best guess on the total article count since you started ten years ago?

KR: Feature article count is easy -- they're numbered, and we're nearing the 400 mark. I've posted well over 2,300 daily newsletters that average around 18-20 news links a day -- a guesstimate would at least 46,000 articles (give or take a few).

AAO: What is the process that you go through each day? How do you select content?

KR: My day starts around 6:30 a.m. with a strong cuppa coffee, a hug to my cats (George is still asleep), and making sure the bird feeder is filled. Then it's off to the Internet. I scan about 200 news stories every morning to come up with what I consider the Top 20. I love it when a thread emerges, tying a theme or trend or project type together. Keeping the readership (and my own focus) in mind, news stories, opinions, and reviews covering everything from urban and environmental issues to just really cool (or absurd) stuff will make the cut.

AAO: Because the newsletter format is digital, it can reach a large and diverse audience. How have you seen the community grow? Any advice for our AAO audience about how to increase readership of digital communications?

KR: I keep tabs on new subscribers (and the "unsubscribes"). ANN has about 16,000 subscribers to the daily newsletter; another 5,000-8,000 access it directly from the newsletter's web page. In addition to the list being an amazing gathering of international architectural talent (that just thrills me!), a great satisfaction is the number of architects and planners in government agencies, educational and cultural institutions, and real estate developers from around the world (and many send me tips about great stories!). Perhaps what excites me most is when I see educators and students subscribe, particularly when they hail from a country such as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka, and other countries in conflict or under severe rule. It gives me hope -- these students are our future.

My best advice to the AAO audience: if you have a website and you either use or someone suggests using Flash, don't! Your website will never be picked up by any search engine (Google or ANN). They are also most welcome to contact me directly with story ideas, links to interesting items they've posted, or questions: kristen@ArchNewsNow.com

AAO: You've been honored by a number of different organizations for your work. What specifically have they recognized about the value of ANN? What's the most interesting feedback that you've received?

I can't express how honored I am to have received Honorary membership in both the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects. I don't see how one can really separate the two professions in the built environment, and I make every effort to call out the synergy between the two.

The most interesting feedback: the scores of e-mails that come in asking if everything is o.k. when I miss a day without an editor's note alerting readers the day before. Those e-mails keep me setting that alarm every morning.

AAO: This June will mark one year since you started curating "Watercooler," the monthly A+DEN eNews for our members interested in K-12 design education. What have you taken from this experience?

KR: For me, it's a marriage made in heaven. During my 10-year tenure at Interiors magazine, I was called the "education editor." And since 2003, I've had the privilege of serving as editor of the AIANY Chapter's quarterly journal, Oculus and, for its first three years, the electronic newsletter, e-Oculus. I've learned so much (and have so much fun) working with the Center for Architecture Foundation's indefatigable team.

In doing ANN, I come across so many wonderful stories about architectural education for the K-12 generation that inspire me, but don't really fit ANN. Watercooler is an incredibly rewarding way to help "get the word out." I look forward to developing the dialogue with -- and among -- AAO/A+DEN members (and hope they spread the word, too!).

You can subscribe to Kristen's daily posts by visiting http://www.archnewsnow.com.

Pritzker Prize Winner Wang Shu

Michael Wood — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:53:23 +0000

Just days ago, when the Hyatt Foundation announced its 2012 Pritzker Prize winner, Wang Shu, we leafed through our AAO members’ programming records. Sure enough, Wang Shu made appearances at two AAO member organizations, Rice Design Alliance (RDA) and Dallas Architecture Forum (Forum) – part of a collaborative, multi-part investigation on Chinese architecture in fall 2011. While there are many ways to demonstrate the merits of the architecture organizations in the AAO network, consistently identifying design talent on the rise – before the big appearance fees – is certainly one indicator, and, in this regard, RDA and the Forum represent some of the best.

We caught up with RDA and Forum leaders, Linda Sylvan and Nate Eudaly, to learn more about their fall 2011 programming partnership.

AAO: How did Rice Design Alliance (RDA) come to consider this multiple-part series on China and its recent building practices?
Linda Sylvan (LS): A subcommittee of the RDA Programs Committee, consisting of faculty from the architecture schools at Rice and the University of Houston as well as design professionals, began meeting in spring 2010. The Committee was drawn to exploring China’s building boom post 1978, when the government finally ended decades of central planning and allowed its cities to grow in competition with each other and the global economy. The Chinese experience with explosive growth is not far removed from what Texas has been experiencing, too: our state’s population is expected to grow exponentially over the next few decades. We thought we could learn much from the Chinese experience. There’s been much criticism of Chinese urban planning and architecture during this period of growth because of the destruction of so many traditional structures, but there’s a small group of Chinese architects that are creating innovative projects largely influenced by their country’s vernacular architecture. It was expected that audiences, including those from emerging Chinese and Asian communities, could learn from China how to accommodate new buildings within the existing fabric of a city undergoing globalization. RDA then invited the Dallas Architecture Forum and the University of Texas-Austin School of Architecture to partner with us on the series.

AAO: So how did the actual partnership take shape?
Nate Eudaly (NE): The Dallas Architecture Forum (Forum) and the Rice Design Alliance (RDA) have a long history of collaborating together on programming, especially for our respective Lecture Series, and being members of AAO has certainly strengthened that relationship. With UT-Austin’s School of Architecture added as a third presenter, each speaker we invited was given the chance to lecture in Houston on a Wednesday, Dallas on Thursday, and then Austin the following Monday. The Forum, RDA, and UT-Austin all researched and pooled recommendations on speakers for the series, which was one of the reasons the program turned out so well. RDA extended the invitations to the final speakers we selected, and it took the lead in organizing and coordinating the series’ overall logistics, developing the master schedule and the international flight arrangements, with our two partner organizations handling all of the details, logistics, and expenses for the speakers’ time in our respective cities. RDA also produced collateral material for the overall series with input from us, which we used to bolster the publicity we prepared specific to our own organizations.
LS: By working together with partners and sharing transportation and other program costs RDA could much more easily afford to bring three visiting architects from China to Texas to participate in the series. The chance to pool the brain power from our respective organizations led to a much better series – and something worth much more than the savings from cost-sharing. Plus, in our experience, international travelers are more willing to extend their trips to see more of the United States. This latest group welcomed the opportunity to visit three of Texas’s largest cities, each very different from one another. Our location on the Gulf Coast can feel isolated at times, and our audience loves to hear from innovative people from around the world. The RDA lecture series always seeks to bring voices and ideas from outside Houston. Partnering on the delivery further complements this larger objective.
NE: I’d second that comment. Attempting to present a series like this, with international flight expenses for multiple speakers, would have been very expensive for the Forum itself. Having RDA and UT-Austin involved and splitting many of the larger costs three ways made the series much more doable. The frequent communication among the three organizations as the series was planned and presented was very important.

AAO: Did the complexity or investment in this speaker series give you good reason to do anything differently or explore additional opportunities?
LS: In contrast to the RDA’s lecture series, another of our core programs, our Cite publication, distinguishes itself through its steady focus on the Houston area and has a committed readership for that reason. The idea for this China lecture series seemed like a great way to push Cite into new territory. We sought to remain true to our audience and RDA's mission while looking well beyond our region. Funds from an NEA grant allowed Cite to send one of Houston's brightest design leaders, Christof Spieler, to China. He had no prior expertise on China, but he is an astute observer and knows what would be of greatest interest to our Houston audience. Rather than focus on star architecture, he looked at traditional streets, massive new developments, and efforts at place-making from the point of view of an ordinary pedestrian wandering through the cities. Much of the new China has been designed by foreign architects, including a great deal of work by the Houston office of SWA Group. Spieler’s contribution will appear in our upcoming issue of Cite, but here’s a quick snippet: “I spent two weeks in China last summer to see what these cities are like on the ground. I came away simultaneously impressed, depressed, startled, and awed. I was also left with an odd feeling of familiarity. We can see China as a way of looking at ourselves, a mirror reflecting our own cities back to us. In looking at Beijing or Shanghai, we see how another culture sees us. Often it’s an unsettling view." [Note: Learn more about Cite here.] Also for our members, we pursued a relationship with Cai Lian, the Consul for Cultural Affairs from the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston. The Consulate publicized the lecture series through their sources, so we had a large Chinese presence at the lectures. We also hosted a RDA Membership Party with the Consul General in their building following one of the lectures, giving our members an opportunity to see their reception spaces.

Wang Shu with Patrick Peters

AAO: This is not the first time your organizations have gotten in front of architects before the broader world learns of their talents. Can you comment on this?
LS: You are correct – this was not the first time that RDA featured speakers before they become Pritzker Prize winners. We brought Richard Meier, Aldo Rossi, Robert Venturi, Rafael Moneo, Renzo Piano, and Glenn Murcutt to Houston – all before they won the grand prize for architecture. RDA has drawn great strength from the ideas and talents of its members, whom we ask to do extensive research to identify individuals on the cutting edge of the profession.
NE: Spotting talent on the rise is important to us; it’s a value our Forum members have come to expect. We’ve enjoyed the opportunity to bring to Dallas some of the same individuals Linda mentions. A few years ago, while exploring Japanese contributions, we were fortunate to welcome Kazuyo Sejima, who went on to receive the Pritzker, as well. We viewed this latest series as being a very vital one since China is certainly an epicenter of architectural activity in the 21st century. Bringing these architects to Texas was important for our members, and the geographical proximity and established relationships with RDA and UT-Austin made the series concept very appealing. I think it’s a capacity that should only grow with the advent of a resource like AAO and the now regular opportunities to meet up with program managers and curators working in other cities.

AAO: This series must have been an interesting opportunity for the guest speakers. What comments did they have to share?
LS: Pei Zhu is the leading designer of museums in China. The morning after his talk, he was given a personal tour of The Menil Collection by Karl Kilian, a longtime protégé of Dominique de Menil. He was interviewed after the tour under the great louvers of the Menil. He was deeply moved and talked at length about the building, and drew lines to his own work in China, in particular the Cai Guo-Qiang Courtyard House. Wang Shu, meanwhile, took great pleasure in speaking in the Mies-designed auditorium in The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston building, and the next morning he toured its campus snapping dozens of photographs for his records. He was especially intrigued by the Isamu Noguchi-designed sculpture garden.

Pei Zhu

AAO: Do you have any final comments for our readers and fellow AAO members?
LS: The secret to partnering – if you can call it a secret – is to start early, before any other program planning may be too far along to consider a collaboration. It is important that each sponsor organization has the opportunity to participate in the speaker selection process. I think the opportunities for collaboration are even greater today using the resources and networking possibilities with other AAO organizations, as getting to know peer organizations and their areas of focus is critical. Of course, it certainly helps when you can engage someone like Wang Shu, whose work is deeply moving and is so emblematic of what this series was trying to demonstrate. We’re all delighted that he continues to receive increasing recognition.

DiscoverDesign.org Announces 2012 National High School Design Competition

Michael Wood — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:53:20 +0000

Chicago Architecture Foundation has launched DiscoverDesign.org, a free online educational tool to connect teens, teachers, and architects to project-based learning opportunities. To celebrate, the CAF is inviting U.S high school students (at least 13 years old, grades 9-12) to enter the 2012 National High School Architecture Competition.

Teaser:

District Architecture Center Unveiled

Michael Wood — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:59:50 +0000

Official ribbon cutting on the District Architecture Center (DAC) took place November 4 in a grand celebration for AIA DC, the Washington Architectural Foundation, and its many friends and community partners that made the new center a reality. It’s terrific to finally see images from the opening party and compare the after shots to the promotional video footage exploring plans for converting raw space in the Penn Quarter into a new center for public engagement and learning. In catching up with Executive Director Mary Fitch, it was clear that the Center will greatly amplify existing programs, affording much needed space for meetings and educational functions as well as exhibitions to draw newcomers to the building. “The large meeting room on the first floor [of the Center] can hold about 225 people seated,” explains Fitch, “In our old digs, we had one room that could handle 47.”

The new space brings a few welcome changes to the everyday routine, too: “The Center is great because we can do several events simultaneously; the Center is also a challenge for the same reason. We’ve had to hire a security guard in the evenings – not because our location is particularly scary, but because our staff can no longer monitor a class and watch the door and answer questions. And, of course, once you get it built, you don’t just stop fundraising. We have so much more capacity now and consequently we have to find resources to support it.”

Congratulations to Mary and the army of volunteers and donors whose efforts have delivered a great new asset to DC. More info at http://aiadac.com/.