Architects Conference and Expo & Excellence in Design Awards
AIA Central Pennsylvania’s annual event held in conjunction with the chapter’s Design Awards presentation will be held at The Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg, PA. Built in 1928-29, the Zembo Shrine was designed in the Moorish Revival style, with flourishes of Art Deco, by noted local architect Charles Howard Lloyd. The Shriners selected Lloyd’s design following a heated competition involving some of Harrisburg’s best-known architects. A cavernous stone-and-masonry building, its unique design features include rooms full of dazzling, imported tiles, a large auditorium, and a 120-foot minaret. The day’s agenda features two (2) continuing education learning sessions, A tour of the Zembo Shrine, and a vendor exhibit; wrapping up with our Design Awards Presentation in the evening. Please keep a lookout for event updates and more information to follow in the coming months!
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS PILLAR SPONSORS
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Additional thanks to our confirmed CONFERENCE & EXPO EXHIBITORS
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Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the Conference, Expo and Design Awards? Learn more and sign up here
Summer Lecture Recap
The First Lecture of the 2018 AIA Central P ennsylvania Lecture Series was held on August 16 th at Armstrong World Industries’ Campus in Lancaster, PA. Kyle Thomas Murphy of KaTO Architecture, a firm whose work concentrates on underprivileged regions, was the guest speaker for this lecture.
The night began with a CEU session provided by Meredith Baxter from Armstrong World Industries. A happy hour followed, also provided by Armstrong World Industries, in the cafeteria. Armstrong had a booth set up during the happy hour to display selected
products to attendees. Throughout the lecture, Mr. Murphy showed examples of KaTO Architecture’s projects, which spanned a wide range of scales and typologies, from single classroom schools to large urban projects. Their work is in the Continental United States as well as Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. The projects shown were community centers, schools, and health clinics designed to help in the underprivileged regions served.
Mr. Murphy discussed the various challenges the firm has experienced, including fundraising, working with contractors unfamiliar with construction methods used in the U.S., different countries’ interpretations of building and accessibility codes, and cultural and economic differences in other countries. It was a very informative and inspirational lecture.
Thank you to all of this year’s AIA Central Pennsylvania Lecture Series Sponsors for making this event
possible:
Armstrong World Industries
CFI-The Knoll Source
Murphy and Dittenhafer Architects
Rich and Trina Gribble
RMF Engineering
Please join us for the next lecture of 2018 in November or early December – specific date and information will be released at a later date. For any suggestions regarding potential locations or speakers for upcoming lectures, or if you’d like to be part of the committee, please contact me at rjs@murphdittarch.com.
ACE Call for Mentors
There is no substitute for experience — the ACE Mentor Program is driven by the committed and enthusiastic participation of volunteer mentors who are practicing professionals in their respective fields. ACE offers high school students the best opportunities because ACE offers the best industry mentors.
Click here to learn how you can become an ACE Mentor!
PALM Update
CALL FOR MENTORS! AIA Central PA is pleased to announce another opportunity to participate in the PALM Program! PALM (Promoting Advocacy and Licensure through Mentorship) is a statewide initiative that focuses on the importance of mentorship and advocacy in the Architectural profession.
The purpose of the program is to create a dialogue between registered architects, aspiring architects and architecture students regarding advocacy, career experiences, goals, and thoughts on the past and future of the profession. This is a unique opportunity for architects and architectural students from all over Pennsylvania to share a similar experience that will be executed on a local level. The PALM Program integrates the knowledge of multiple generations within the design industry, aligns different peer groups and evokes informed conversation about the role of architects in the built environment and society as a whole.
The program is a minimum total of three hours over three months. Central PA will be holding these meetings between January and April of 2019 to coincide with the local architecture students spring semesters. Each group should meet at least three times averaging once every 3-4 weeks, for a minimum of an hour each time. The hope is that these will be face to face meetings where the individuals can shake hands and trade stories. The program is modeled after PEA: Philadelphia Emerging Architects local mentoring program which had over 100 participants in each round in the past. The goal of PALM is to bring a quality mentoring program to individuals in Pennsylvania that may not have had such an opportunity in the past.
If you would like to participate in the program or have any questions please contact AIA Central PA Emerging Professional’s Chair Elysia Mikkelsen at palm.centralpa@gmail.com. The deadline to register is November 17, 2019. *Teams will be selected based on their location to Central PA regions near Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster. A kick-off meeting will be held in early December for everyone to meet in person, hear testimonials, ask questions, and of course network while enjoying some delicious food and drinks.
*If you participated in the PALM Program previously and have questions or feedback about your experience, please reach out! AIA Central PA has revised the PALM program slightly from other models for 2019 and would be happy to describe the new plans for making this program as successful as possible in Central PA.
Click here for more information!
AIA National Scholarship Grant Award
AIA Central PA Received AIA National Scholarship Grant Award
AIA Central PA once again has received a Scholarship Program Grant Award from AIA National, this year in the amount of $1,000! 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 our amazing Central PA Architects Foundation Scholarship program which made the receipt of this grant possible and AIA National for supporting this grant program. Also—a big thank you to those members and friends of AIA Central PA who have continued to contribute to the fund over the years.
The Central PA Architects Foundation committee has selected a recipient whom will be revealed at the Design Awards Ceremony on October 4, 2018. Be sure to register for the event today! Click here to register.
To contribute to the Central PA Architects Foundation click here.
ARE Study Group
If you have been putting off taking the AREs, now is the time to start studying! AIA Central PA is hosting a group and individual study session where candidates can meet and discuss the ARE study material with their peers. Come with a group, meet new candidates studying for the same exam, or use these sessions as a monthly reminder to study on your own at Midtown Scholar.
AIA Central PA volunteers will be at the session and will try to help 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 will also be available for use (but are not able to be checked out at the time of the session – see https://aiacentralpa.org/emerging professionals/lending-library/ for more information).
Please RSVP to emikkelsen@cra-architects.com or check in on our Facebook page if you intend to join
us!
2015 ICC Codes Updates
UCC Review & Advisory Council– RAC 2015 ICC Code Re-Review Update
As established by Act 36 of 2017, the RAC Council has begun its re-review of the 2015 ICC code. Earlier this year, the RAC held a public comment period requesting changes or updates to be considered during the re-review process. This period has closed and the re-review is currently underway.
The Council’s next steps will be to adopt any changes and provide a report to Labor & Industry’s Secretary by May 1, 2018. Labor & Industry is then required to promulgate regulations based on this report which must be in effect by October 1, 2018.
This section was written by the Department of Labor & Industry. Click here to read more from the Department of Labor & Industry
KEY BUILDING CODE COMPLIANCE DATES
OCTOBER 1, 2018
- The 2015 International Codes, with amendments as determined by the UCC Review and Advisory Council become effective throughout Pennsylvania on October 1, 2018.
- The 2018 International Codes become effective in Philadelphia on October 1, 2018 for all construction except that which is regulated under the IRC. Philadelphia will be operating under 2015 IRC as amended by the RAC.
April 1, 2019
- Along with the new codes, Act 36 revised the process for applying the previous code to design and construction contracts for permit applications, and limited this period to six (6) months. Beginning Monday, April 1, 2019, all permit applications submitted for new buildings or renovations to existing buildings must be reviewed under the new codes.
Click here to read about Legislation that was signed into law
The Yeoman Architect on Designing for Others
By James Mehaffey, AIA
In a sense, architecture is always about designing for others, is it not? Even if I designed a home or structure for “myself”: as a married person with children, wouldn’t I ultimately take the needs of my family into consideration? Unless I was designing a domicile for which I intended to occupy in solitude so that I could devote my time to a great work of literature (clearly I am not talking about this blog), would I not consider visitors? Even Thoreau’s Walden: Life in the Woods devotes a chapter to the comings and goings of visitors (he always had three chairs ready for visitors). We are never truly alone. Read more about designing for others here.
2018 District Days
AIA PA District Days – A Success!!
This summer AIA PA kick-started a new advocacy effort coined “District Days” – as a follow-up campaign to the annual Architect’s Action Day event. Throughout the month of August, AIA PA set up meetings with legislators and their local AIA PA member constituents at their district offices. The primary goals of the new campaign were to establish or strengthen a personal relationship with your legislators, to give insight into your personal experience as an architect and community member, to discuss two remaining legislative priorities (mandatory continuing education and school construction), and last but not least, to ask for support, get a picture and setup a meeting at your office to show them how an architectural firm runs. Overall, the more personal, one on one meetings away from the hustle and bustle of the Capitol, were very well received by the legislators. AIA PA members reported the ability to have a focused conversation, one on one with the legislator and establish a personal connection as the highlight of the new campaign. We encourage your participation next year!
Member News
CORE Design Group relocates downtown York HQ
By Emily Thurlow
Architectural firm CORE Design Group is consolidating its two downtown York offices into a newly redesigned space.
The firm’s new location is at 155 W. Market St. in 2016. Purchased by parent company Core Holdings Co., the space was formerly housed a Sears Roebuck store, and most recently, a thrift store and CoWork155, York’s first coworking site.
After making some extensive renovations to the new space, CORE is moving its existing operations there from 37 N. Queen St. and 303 E. Market St.
Established in 2005, CORE has 25 employees. The new location keeps CORE in the city’s central business district, said Teen Vebares, principal at CORE.
“We have a commitment to our communities to implement sustainable building practices and designs,” he said. “Our firm believes minimizing our negative impact on the environment is of utmost importance.” Click here to read more
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