By: Wendy H. Tippetts, AIA

The question is often posed by nonmember architectural interns and registered architects "what are the benefits of AIA membership, and what are the compelling reasons for membership?"  I have been an AIA member for about half of my professional career and I have had my own firm for just over twenty-five years in Central Pennsylvania.  The particular reasons our firm joined the AIA were three fold:  we felt that the continuing education program was important for the profession of architecture, and for that matter any profession, and we wanted to support that; we appreciated the high quality Central Pennsylvania  AIA lecture series and breadth of conversation with fellow architects surrounding these events;  and lastly, we wanted to participate in the design awards program and believed that a peer review awards program was far more challenging and meaningful than other awards that are often bestowed by organizations in communities.  All of these reasons have real validity and are certainly good reasons for joining the AIA, but they are not the only ones; and now I am keenly aware that there are many more, even more compelling.  Read more...

The 2013 AIA Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference was held March 20-23 this year in D.C.  This was my first year attending the Grassroots Conference, so it was a new experience being

Tammie Fitzpatrick at the White House while attending Grassroots.

introduced to the leadership initiatives of the AIA.   I also developed an understanding of why it is important for representatives of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter to attend. 

The most important part of the Grassroots Conference is the day we spent lobbying on Capitol Hill for our industry's issues.  Our job is to visit all congressmen in the Central Pennsylvania region.  There are  roughly six congressional districts in the region and that can really change depending upon where you draw the line.  Of those six congressmen, only three would give our group appointments.  We mainly met with the congressman's aids or assistants; however the only aids that I felt were actually listening where of those districts that we had a constituent present in our group.  In other words, they made it pretty clear they only cared if we were a constituent of theirs.  It didn't matter that we were there representing Architects in their district.  They wanted to know where each of us lived.  Read more...

By: Bruce Johnson, AIA

Pennsylvania Architects will visit the center of Commonwealth government at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg on April 9th as part of AIA Pennsylvania's 2013 Pennsylvania Architects Day.  They will meet with their Senators and House Representatives to lobby in support of initiatives and issues of import to Architects practicing in the Commonwealth.  The two key issues this year are:

Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) legislation:

Way back in 1994, AIA spearheaded the development of the AIA/CES continuing education system to certify, organize and track professional development educational programs as a requirement for AIA membership. By establishing and managing the certification criteria for learning opportunities in every area of knowledge relevant to today's architect, the AIA/CES program enables members to keep current on pertinent issues, master new knowledge and skills, plan for the future, and responsibly meet the role society entrusts to a professional architect

PDE PlanCon funding restoration: 

Public school construction funding has been heavily dependent on a process whereby the state reimbursed individual school districts on the basis of need through a process called PlanCon, The Planning and Construction Workbook. In October 2012, the Commonwealth made a decision to stop making promised future payments to approximately five hundred school districts in Pennsylvania, and temporarily placed a moratorium on the PlanCon reimbursement process. This has placed school districts and the Commonwealth's citizens in an awkward position. For those school districts that were already committed to projects, the moratorium forced them to resort to draconian budget cuts and other funding streams to meet financial commitments that had been dependent on the expected state reimbursements. School districts that desperately need to make improvements are unable or unwilling to proceed in an environment of uncertain PlanCon funding.  Read more...

By: Lindsey Stitt, Staff

The AIA Central Pennsylvania Chapter has awarded a scholarship to an architecture student for the past two years.  This program is not possible without the support of our members.

In an effort to increase the opportunities of local architecture students, the Board of Directors is hosting a Scholarship Fundraiser for 2013.  We will work to raise $2,000 in donations throughout the year.  An update of our progress will be included in each quarterly newsletter. 

Donations will be accepted at all chapter events or you can donate online by clicking the advertisement below.

By: Chris Dawson, AIA

Our 2013 AIA Central Pennsylvania Lecture Series kicks off on Thursday May 16th at the Agricultural & Industrial Museum in York at 7pm. Michel Rojkind presents the work of his firm rojkind arquitectos, in a lecture titled "Overstimulation."

 By: Tammie Fitzpatrick, AIA

Save the date for Thursday, October 3, 2013! 

 This year we are holding the Annual Conference & Expo and Design Awards at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Harrisburg, Pa.  The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on December 12, 2001, making it the first independent science and technology-

Black Diamond Jet Team, TONO Architects, LLC 2012 Citation Award Winner

focused, non-profit, university to be established in Pennsylvania in more than 100 years. Harrisburg University was created to address the Capital Region's need for increased educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers, and it represents a major step to attract, educate, and retain Pennsylvania's diverse 21st century knowledge-based workforce. It is the only STEM-focused comprehensive university located between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA.  Read more...

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INNOVATION IN ARCHITECTURE

Who are the most innovative

architectural firms in the world

today?  According to this post

by Fast Company magazine,

Snohetta is at the top of the list. 

Craig E. Dykers, AIA from

Snohetta spoke at the AIA

Central Pennsylvania Spring

Lecture in 2010.