AIA Central PA Awards Scholarships to FIVE Students

AIA Central PA has been selected for the fourth straight year as a recipient of a Scholarship Program Grant Award from AIA National, this year in the amount of $1,500!  Since 2005, AIA National has been awarding the scholarship grant to local and state components with established scholarship programs.  A huge thank you to the founding members of the Central PA Architects Foundation Scholarship program which has made the receipt of this grant possible and also to AIA National for supporting this grant program.  Also—a big thank you to those members and friends of AIA Central PA who continue to invest in the future of the architectural profession.

Recipients, selected by The Central PA Architects Foundation, were announced at the Design Awards Ceremony on November 5, 2020. 

View the Broadcast and Find Out More About This Year’s Recipients

 

Beverly Harper Brockway | York County
Penn State University | Bachelor of Architecture, Minor in Landscape Architecture

 

Samuel Mauray | Lancaster County
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | Associates Degree in Architectural Technology

 

Juli Petrillo | Lancaster County
University of Pennsylvania | Master of Architecture

 

Colin White | Dauphin County
Thomas Jefferson University |  Bachelor of Architecture

 

Jasmine Yachasz | Lancaster County
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | Associates Degree in Architectural Technology

Congratulations to the 2020 scholarship recipients!

Want to support future architectural students?

Donate to the Central Pennsylvania Architects Foundation Fund

 


Central PA Firms Honored in PA  Architectural Excellence Awards

Nine awards and recognitions were presented to Central Pennsylvania-based firms and individuals for excellence in design, contributions to the profession of architecture, and commitment to the quality of the built environment for the clients and communities they serve.

 

Chris Dawson, AIA of Chris Dawson Architect (Harrisburg) was honored with the prestigious Impact Designer Award for upholding the beliefs that purpose comes before profit and architecture is for everyone.

 

Murray Associates Architects’ (Harrisburg) High-Performance Urban Office Addition and Historical Retrofit received the top honor in the Architectural Excellence COTE (Committee on the Environment) Awards program recognizing design solutions that foster health and wellness for the communities and environments they serve.

 

Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates (Harrisburg), Murphy & Dittenhafer (York), and RLPS Architects (Lancaster) were honored with the  2020 EPiC Firm Recognition for their support and development of emerging architecture professionals.

Richard Castner, AIA (Accessibility Advisory Board); Frank Dittenhafer, FAIA (Capital Preservation Committee); Matthew Luttrell, AIA (DGS Selections Committee); and Esten Rusten, AIA (PA Sewage Advisory Committee), received the Government Award for their representation of the architecture profession and service to the commonwealth as an appointee of the Governor to various state boards, committees, and councils.


ACE Mentor Program of Central PA Goes Virtual

The ACE Mentor Program of Central PA is happy to announce that it will kick off the program year in January 2021 and extend through March 2021.  The virtual program will offer local high school students the same exposure to the AEC industry as in the past.  Local affiliate leaders from Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties are merging resources and currently in the process of creating the virtual program.  ACE Sessions will be held on Tuesday evenings from 4:30pm-6pm.  If you are interested in learning more about the program, becoming a mentor, presenter or sponsoring a scholarship please email Kelsey Leed at kleed@cra-architects.com.

Find Out More About ACE Here

The Central Pennsylvania ACE program began in York County in 2004 with the support of firms like yours.  In 2020, Central Pennsylvania remains one of the largest Affiliates in the nation since the program’s inception, with over 100 students participating from many high schools across the Central PA region.  The ACE Mentor program’s mission is to “enlighten and motivate high school students to career opportunities in Architecture, Construction and Engineering and related areas of the design/construct industry through mentoring”.  


Emerging Professionals Corner

ARE Study Group via Zoom! 

If you have been putting off taking the AREs, now is the time to start studying! AIA Central PA is hosting a group study session via Zoom for candidates to meet and discuss the ARE study material with their peers. Join the group and meet local candidates studying for the same exam or use these sessions as a monthly reminder to study and discuss the current changes to the exams.

AIA Central PA volunteers will be at the session and will try to provide direction on exam material, the new ARE 5.0 test format, and the current study guides available, but these are intended to be self-directed study sessions.

Materials from the AIA Central PA library are available for use.

Study Sessions are every other Sunday from 1-3pm starting January 3, 2021. Please RSVP to elysia.mikkelsen@gmail.com for an invite link or register here 

PALM 2021 Goes State Wide!

 

The Emerging Professionals Committee will be piloting a state-wide virtual PALM program beginning in January 2021. This is a unique opportunity for architects, emerging professionals, and architectural students from all over Pennsylvania to connect with mentors in chapters other than their own.

Sign up using the link below. All registered members will be invited to a kick-off Zoom meeting in January to meet the other mentors and mentees from across Pennsylvania. Next, smaller groups will be formed which will include an experienced architect, newly licensed architect, designer on licensure path, and an architectural student. Each group is responsible for meeting at least three times averaging every 3-4 weeks, for at least one hour each time. These meetings will be scheduled independently among the group.
If you have additional questions about PALM please contact EPiC Staff Liaison Michelle McKenna at mmckenna@aiapa.org. The deadline to register is January 8th, 2021.

LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP

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The Lighting Library (TLL TM)

 

By: Jimmy Bates, P.E., LC, LEED™AP
December 21, 2020.

 

Last month’s final salutation seems appropriate as the initial here: Oh, what a time to be a lighting designer. This month, I will briefly describe a recent observation when updating our Illumination Engineering Society (IES) resource with The Lighting Library (TLL™). As the backbone for my profession, the IES sets testing standards, documentation processes and outlines model criteria, which is the basis for most instruction, federal client, and other referring codes. 

I am ever indebted to the IES, which “seeks to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into actions that benefit the public,” with a historical legacy back to “founders born as the American Civil War was ending, or not long after.” 

The criteria are updated regularly, peer-reviewed by professional lighting design and manufacturing industry members. Lighting areas include things such as photometry testing requirements for lighting fixture performance standards and recommended practices criteria for lighting level and ratio.  Find out more at https://www.ies.org/lighting-library/purchasing-the-lighting-library/

In 2021, I hope you check back as I write about the AIA Accredited CEU courses we offer, including Lighting Design Deep Dive, Exterior Lighting Design Excellence, and Lighting Controls Wired or Otherwise

About the Author: Jimmy Bates has provided lighting design services since 2000, working at both small consulting and large integrated A/E firms before joining AEI as A Lighting Studio Director. Jimmy has extensive experience in lighting, daylighting, and sustainable system design, including involvement in technically complex projects aligned with AEI’s expertise in Higher Education, K-12, Mixed Use, High Rise, Hospitality, Retail, Senior Living, Corporate and Healthcare, as well as Civic, Museum, University, and Science and Technology. Jimmy is Lighting Certified and a registered Professional Engineer in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. A Lighting Studio at AEI is also an official AIA Continuing Education Service Provider. For more information, or to arrange for a virtual presentation, please contact Jimmy Bates at 215.910.1979 or jbates@aldersonengineering.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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.


Job Opportunities

Looking to post or find a new job opportunity in Central Pennsylvania? Check out the NEWEST opportunities here and post your job openings here.