AIA National Advocacy Day Summary

Wednesday February 28th AIA Chapter representatives from all over the Nation converged in Washington DC for the annual AIA Leadership Summit. The event culminated in Hill Day where we all had an opportunity to meet with members of Congress and advocate for our profession. 

This year, three members of our AIA Central PA board joined AIA PA and other state Chapter colleagues to represent Pennsylvania. Our group met with staffers of Pennsylvania Representatives Chris Deluzio and Lloyd Smucker as well as staffers of Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman.

 We were encouraging them:

  1. To pass the Democracy in Design Act (HR 964 / S 366) which would prohibit a single Federal style from being enforced for all buildings regardless of location / context.  This bill would give the design professionals the ability to design buildings which better fit in context with their surroundings and take advantage of contemporary building envelop science.
  2. Adjust the arbitrary 6% cap on Federal architecture and engineering design fees. We encourages them to increase this to 10% to align with the recently adjusted Department of Defense fee.
  3. We thanked the Representatives for passing the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (HR 7024) and encouraged the Senators to take up the bill. This bill affects our profession by allowing research and development tax credits to be taken in the year the expense occurred. Right now, this credit will be sunset and future R&D credits will need to be amortized over the course of 5 years.

We also extended an open hand to all members of Congress, encouraging them to reach out to our profession for perspective when considering legislation as we are a large constituency of our Nation with a diverse, well rooted profession which is intimately involved in our local Communities, States, and Nation.

Attached are a few pictures.

AIA National Post about 2024 Hill Day

AIA PA Post about 2024 Hill Day

Brett W. Hallacher, AIA

Capitol Advocacy

Call to Advocacy | As AIA members we are all ambassadors and are uniquely positioned to actively advocate for legislation and policies that help advance our profession and Nation; We are all Citizen Architects. If you would like to participate, but not sure where or how to start, please follow this link below to see how to get started.  https://aiapa.org/becoming-a-citizen-architect-advocacy-politics-and-the-architects-role/

District Days – August 1st – August 31st | Join fellow Citizen Architects from across the State to advocate for our profession with your local members of Congress. Pennsylvania’s District Days will once again occur during the month of August so please mark your calendars and consider joining us.  https://aiapa.org/events/district-days/

Call for support of PAC  | AIA Pennsylvania is and has been engaged with our State Politicians though the Political Action Committee (PAC) to advocate for our profession. Their involvement has directly affected legislation throughout the years and will continue to be a voice for Architecture. Please visit the PAC website https://www.paarchitectspac.org/ for more information on how to become involved and to donate. 

ACE Mentorship Breakfast

Thursday April 25, 2024 |7:30 am – 9:30am

On behalf of the ACE Mentor Program of Central Pennsylvania, we would like to invite you to join us for the annual ACE Fundraiser Breakfast on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at Central Penn College.  The mission of the ACE Mentor Program is to educate high school students
on the varied and exciting career opportunities in the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering industry and related fields. ACE accomplishes this mission through mentoring, experiential learning, and a structured academic program.  ACE has been active in Central Pennsylvania for over two decades, and the local afiliate has ranked among the nation’s largest programs for the past fourteen years. During the 2023-2024 academic year, Over 120 students representing 30 schools participated in an in-person instruction program with our Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and York students.  Business leaders like you that provide ACE with financial support, play an important role in continuing ACE’s legacy of awarding scholarships to deserving students as they further their education. ACE students commonly go on to pursue apprenticeship training in the skilled trades or college degrees in architecture, construction management, engineering or related fields. To date, we have been able to award over $117,000 in scholarships to local students.  Please review the enclosed information inviting you to attend the breakfast
event on April 25, and to support ACE with a contribution.  On behalf of the Board of Directors of ACE Mentor Program’s Central PA affiliate, we thank you for your investment in the future leaders of our industry here in Central Pennsylvania.

Spring & May Events | Register today to attend

May 1, 6pm – 9pm

Tour and Live Laser Scan of the Montgomery House | Located inside the Lancaster Marriott | 25 Penn Square, Lancaster PA

Join us for a live demonstration of 3D laser scanning at the Montgomery House. Learn how professionals can help architects identify and alleviate safety risks through the latest technology and equipment. Using a 220-year-old building in Lancaster as a case study, subject matter experts from Existing Conditions will illustrate how 3D laser scanning, point clouds, and BIM can be used to mitigate risk around site conditions and add value to projects in the building industry. The presenters will also provide participants with the information they need to get the most out of their existing conditions surveys, address common questions and misconceptions related to the use of 3D laser scanning and BIM, and take you on a deep dive into the value of these resources.

May 23 7pm – 9pm

Spring Lecture | Strawberry Square Atrium| 230 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA  17101

Borrowing from the French “Analytique” drawing, the composite drawing identifies the instrumentality of projection as the means through which meaningful connections can be made between –for instance, the plan and section. The Analytique had the capacity to communicate the entirety of an architectural idea through fragments, projected at varied scales, framed onto one hybrid drawing. Behind this method is the all-important presence of instrumentality, and how certain ideas of born out of a particular mode of representation –indeed how certain drawings already engender certain types of ideas. With the emergence of the digital practices, the drawing has sometimes ceased to maintain the same primacy it once had, if only because the database that a 3d model contains is even far richer in information, even if never exposed through a drawing. The Animate Analytique attempts to unlock this data base, while introducing the element of time, to create animate drawings that navigate changes of state: between plan and section, or between elevation and axonometric, or between parallel and conical projections, all revealing discrete ideas on their own terms in an organic and synthetic way. Within this lecture, I will demonstrate the connection between representation and construction, between drawings and buildings, and in effect, between our academic thinking and our practical engagement with the discipline.

SAVE THE DATE | Tri State Conference coming to central PA!

The AIA Tri-State Conference, hosted by AIA New Jersey, AIA New York State, and AIA Pennsylvania, is coming to the “sweetest place on earth” this November.   Join your peers and industry partners for local architecture tours, engaging keynotes, relevant continuing education, vendor solutions, and an accompanying Tri-State Awards celebration. Plus, plan to take advantage of all Hershey has to offer!

Check back here for more information and registration.

Call for Member Articles

AIA Central PA would like to feature scholarly articles / blogs related to our profession in each quarterly newsletter. This is an excellent opportunity to have your article published and available to your fellow architects / engineers in Central PA. If you are interested in submitting an article or blog please send your inquiries to Brett Hallacher at bhallacher@rlps.com.  This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your expertise and contribute to the professional development of your peers.

Membership Notes

  • Thank you to all of our AIA Central PA members who renewed your membership!  We value you as a member and appreciate your feedback.  Please let us know what we can do to continue to support you.  Please reach out to Susan Frear at any time.  Remember to log in and update your profile information at aia.org.  Please let Susan Frear at AIA PA know if you have any questions about dues or membership.  sfrear@aiapa.org

Upcoming Events

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