Architext (Spring 2014 Edition)

Table of Contents

1. President’s Message
2. Government Affairs
3. Architects Day Registration
4. Spring Lecture Series
5. Grassroots Review
6. Yeoman Architect
7. Making Rain
8. Call for Entries

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President’s Message

By: Tammie Fitzpatrick, AIA

Thank you for voting me in as your 2014 AIA Central Pennsylvania President. I am excited to be in the position and look forward to serving you this year. We have some great events and opportunities for members this year, so please check all of our e-mail blasts that get delivered to your inbox. I know it can be overwhelming at times, but each email carries important information about an event or an advocacy alert.

I also want to address the age old question we hear from architects time and time again, “What does the AIA do for me?” I admit that I once uttered the question as well, but when I got involved with the AIA, the answer became quite clear. There are many benefits to being an AIA member, but the benefits grow exponentially once you get involved. I have included a link to the “Member Benefits and Resource Guide” and it is also posted on our website under “Membership”.

Aside from the benefits outlined by National in the guide, our local chapter offers learning and networking opportunities at all of our events. You will find information in our newsletters and on our website about the upcoming lectures, design awards, Conference & Expo, and Emerging Professional events. We are also working with local media publications to elevate public awareness of you, the local architects, and the outstanding work you are doing every day. AIA National has been working with PBS to develop a new series called “Cool Spaces!” which should be airing this spring. “The AIA sponsored show, which is hosted by Boston-based architect Stephen Chung, departs from usual architecture-related television shows, which tend to focus on makeovers of private homes. Not only will this show look at public buildings, but it will also examine the people whose lives it has affected, the places that have shaped it, and the mind of the architect who brought all of these things together to design it.”(excerpt taken from archdaily.com). As we learn more about the air dates at our local stations, we will notify all or our members.

In addition, members of the Central Pennsylvania chapter and State chapter work to bring legislative issues affecting the profession of Architects to the forefront of Congress. This is an ongoing battle and we need your help to contact your local representative about these issues. To view the current legislative agenda, click here. Please join us while we and other members of Pennsylvania local chapters lobby at the Capitol in Harrisburg on April 8th!

Thank you for being an AIA member and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

Sincerely,
Tammie Fitzpatrick, AIA
2014 AIA Central Pennsylvania President

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Government Affairs

By: Chris Dawson, AIA

Bruce Johnson, AIA & I sit on the AIA Pennsylvania Government Affairs Committee of 10 statewide AIA members and we work closely with AIA Pennsylvania’s Executive Director, Stephen Swarney, and lobbying consultants, the Winter Group, to pursue the interests of our membership as impacted by legislation at the state and even national level.

Architect’s Day is Tuesday, April 8th and we encourage you to take advantage of this coordinated effort to lobby members of the PA House and Senate as we advocate on behalf of all architects and the profession of architecture. More information at:http://www.aiapa.org/events-and-programs/architects-day.html

AIA Pennsylvania is seeing positive signs that legislation we have been pushing will be passed this year requiring architects in PA to complete continuing education requirements. Legislation is being crafted in consultation with AIA Pennsylvania that would update the Commonwealth’s Uniform Construction Code (the 2009 IBC family of Codes is currently in force due to the 2012 Codes not being adopted because of expanded sprinkler system requirements), reactivate the Plan Con process for public school projects, and on the use of electronic seals.

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Architects Day Registration

By: Rebekah Waddell

Please join your colleagues in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 8, 2014
for Pennsylvania’s Annual Architects Day.

There are other groups and professions speaking about architects. Please come and help us set the record straight. All members are invited to participate! Come and advocate on behalf of architects and the profession of architecture. If not you, who?

April 8, 2014

• 7:15 – 8 Breakfast / Registration (Location: AIA Pennsylvania)
• 8 – 9 Introductory Speaker & Lobbying Coordination (Location: AIA Pennsylvania)
• 9 – 1 Lobbying Appointments (Location: Capitol Complex)
• 1 – 2 Lunch & Debrief (Location: AIA Pennsylvania)

To register for the event, email rwaddell@aiapa.org
*Registration is free for all AIA members*

Your voice can make a difference!

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Spring Lecture Series

By: Chris Dawson, AIA

Our 2014 AIA Central Pennsylvania Lecture Series will kick off on Thursday May 29th in York. Steve Dumez, FAIA will make a presentation about the work of his New Orleans based firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple titled “Building Community” at 7pm at the Agricultural & Industrial Museum. Steve is a Partner and the Director of Design at EDR.

Steve Dumez’s leadership has translated to EDR receiving numerous prestigious awards for design excellence, including more the 25 national design awards and an additional 100+ awards at the local, state, and regional levels. Eskew+Dumez+Ripple will receive the 2014 AIA Architecture Firm Award at the Chicago National Convention this June. AIA National noted that EDR is a firm that uses rigorously crafted Modernism to repair, restore, and enhance the unique cultural and historic context of their city.

Please join us! Register now atwww.regonline.com/springlecture
Registration for AIA Members & Students is just $10!

We continue to pursue sponsors for the lecture series which is only possible with everyone’s generous support.

2014 Lecture Series Sponsors:

Centria	Diversified Lighting Associates
Modernfold of Reading	Engineering Society of York
RLPS Architects	Whitney, Bailey, Cox & Magnani
LSC Design	Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects
Keith Bush Associates	PA Concrete Masonry Assoc.
Conestoga Tile	Tippetts/Weaver Architects
Paragon Engineering Services

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Grassroots Review

By: Seth Wentz, AIA

The 2014 AIA Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference was held

on March 19-21 this year in D.C. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of attending Grassroots I’ll give you a brief summary of what Grassroots is. This is a unique leadership conference that provides attendees with insight on the progress that AIA National is making and has planned, provides seminars that help component leaders to provide more meaningful member services to their state and local chapters, and also asks attendees to meet with their political leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This was by no means my first time attending the Grassroots Conference, but it seems that every time I attend I learn more than I had expected and meet inspiring members from other regions of the country and the world.

The National Board took the opportunity at grassroots to highlight the hard work they have been putting in and how it will positively affect our components. These efforts include the following:

– Marketing: National is working on what was described as a, “bold and visionary marketing plan that heightens the brand and instills value.” They have hired the likes of Pentagram, a firm that many of you may know from the Society of Design lecture held recently at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg. Additionally the AIA is looking to appeal to the general public through media. Cool Spaces is a TV series that will air on PBS in April and will highlight some of the best modern architecture/architects, and help in educating the public on what architects do and why they are a valuable part of the built environment. More information can be found at www.coolspaces.tv

– Repositioning of the National Board: Currently there is a proposal to change the AIA National Board of Directors, which will be voted on at Convention in Chicago this June. The repositioning was focused on elevating public awareness, advocating for the profession, and sharing knowledge. This change includes shrinking the board from 50+ members to 15, allowing the board to attend to business functions. Member services and focus groups needs would be served through committees. The goal is to allow the Board to attend to business needs while the Committees can serve focused needs for members and member groups, allowing more to be accomplished in a proficient manner. More information can be found at www.aia.org/repositioning

-Annual Report: AIA National recognizes that providing member value has to be at the forefront of their focus. One way of conveying this is through the Annual Report. The Progress Report is an early launch that can be accessed at progress.aia.org

Another valuable part of Grassroots is advocacy. In particular, it is meeting with our representatives and their staff. This year we were able to meet with the offices of Jim W. Gerlach, Charlie Dent, and Bob Casey. In these meetings we advocated for the following:

– Extend Energy-Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deductions: As many of you know the tax credits associated with Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings expired at the end of 2013. There is movement in the House of Representatives to renew these tax credits and the AIA supports that effort.

– Improve the Procurement Process of Federal Design Build Services: Recently there has been a trend to short list as many as 12 – 15 firms for federal projects. The requirements of the short list often include schematic design and design development services in an effort to provide a firm project estimate. The AIA lobbied that the short list should remain at a maximum of 5 firms as outlined in federal guidelines, since it incurs extensive time and resources to prepare such proposals and design work with no compensation.

– National Design Services Act: a House bill is in place that would provide debt relief to architecture graduates in exchange for work in underserved communities. Similar programs exist for our friends in the legal and medical professions.

Once again I feel honored to have been provided the opportunity to represent our region at the national level. It is truly encouraging to know that our voices are heard and that our efforts matter. I look forward to another productive Grassroots in 2015.

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Yeoman Architect

By: James Mehaffey, AIA

99 Problems – How a Basketball Team Evicted Hundreds of Property Owners Through Eminent Domain

Justified taking of privately owned land for the public good or just a land grab? One perspective on the story of the Nets moving to Brooklyn.

To read the full article, click here.

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Making Rain with Technical Staff

By: Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM

This article originally appeared in the April 2014 edition of A/E Marketing Journal.

A storm has been brewing for many years in the design and construction industry. The clouds began gathering with the onset of the Great Recession, when many firms jettisoned their dedicated business developers and transferred those responsibilities to technical staff. The clouds thickened as technical professionals were downsized from AEC firms and found themselves sitting on the other side of the table – working for the companies, institutions, and governmental agencies that hire AEC firms.

The resulting tempest created by these trends has in some ways reversed the tide, moving the industry back toward technical rainmakers in lieu of fulltime salespeople. Clients have become more sophisticated, and are demanding meaningful sales conversations from the very first contact. They have no interest in being birddogged. They have a need and they want to vet potential problem solvers – from the very first conversation that your firm has with them.

As a result, AEC firms have increasingly elevated the role of seller-doers within their firms – engaging more technical staff members, and requiring existing seller-doers to dedicate additional time generating new business. “Design and construction firms embracing the seller-doer model really reflects the industry’s status as a professional service, much like accountants and lawyers,” according to my friend and colleague, William R. Long, PE, LEED AP, FSMPS, vice president of Canuso Jorden, a Philadelphia-based construction manager.

Bill and I serve together on the board of trustees for the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Foundation, which last year released a book about changing trends in business development as shared by sellers and buyers of AEC services. The Foundation’s research revealed that clients increasingly want to be “sold” by the people who will be working on their projects, including project managers and lead designers.

To put a finer point on this finding, Bill and I conducted our own research about how AEC firms are using seller-doers. We found that 94% of surveyed firms are in fact using the seller-doer model for business development, with 88% of firms reporting that staff with the titles of vice president, principal, or partner have sales responsibilities. Slightly more than 74% of firms also revealed that their project managers, project executives, or superintendents are tasked with business development. Thirty-one percent of firms assign sales responsibilities to department managers while more than a quarter require lead designers to engage in some level of business development.

What is really interesting is that more than half of the surveyed firms reported an increase in the number of seller-doers within their companies compared to ten years ago, with roughly half of those firms also noting that the amount of time spent in business development by sellers-doers has increased over the past decade. Only 6% of firms in the survey reported that they have decreased the number of seller-doers in their firm during this time.

However, more than sixty percent of firms gave their seller-doers a barely passing or failing grade when asked about their effectiveness at generating new work!

To turn technical people into rainmakers, you cannot simply flip a switch. You must first give them something that they really need: training. Just as architecture and engineering are professions, so is business development. You wouldn’t expect a non-technical business developer to design a chilled water plant, so how could you possibly expect an engineer to continually bring in new clients? You must provide regular, customized training in all aspects of selling – conducting research, making cold calls warm, networking, public speaking, writing for publication, client association involvement, etc. It can’t be one-time training, either, so there is consistent reinforcement of sales concepts.

If you have seller-doers that are doing well, share the knowledge they have gained. Consider assigning them to mentor your newer or less successful seller-doers.

You also need to understand that some people simply don’t have the aptitude or attitude for selling. A sales aptitude test will determine which technical staff in your firm are best-suited for the task.

Motivate your technical staff to sell – make seller-doer a career path. And for a position like project manager, incorporate sales accountabilities into their job description. Your clients want to be sold by project managers, so you are really just responding to marketplace demands.

Create a system of rewards, too. Most firms that Bill and I surveyed utilize year-end bonuses, but even simple things like recognizing seller-doers for their successes, in front of their peers, is often a much-appreciated reward.

Ford Harding’s landmark book, Rain Making, was first published in 1994, creating a roadmap for technical staff to become rainmakers. He greatly revised it in 2008, and this book should be required reading for any technical staff member transitioning into a role with sales responsibilities. PSMJ offers business development training applicable both to technical staff and dedicated salespeople. The Society for Marketing Professional Services has chapters throughout the United States, offering training opportunities for technical staff – and the chance to network with seasoned professionals.

Many design and construction firms have received the message from clients loudly and clearly, and are actively looking for technical professionals with sales skills. For a designer or project manager, this is a great way to elevate their career. But for companies, it is also a cautionary tale: as you create new rainmakers, be sure that while you support and nurture them, you also reward them and keep them motivated. They will become some of your company’s greatest assets – but if they get recruited by another firm, their loss could be crippling.

So as the storm clouds continue to gather above your company, you need to decide how to turn the spigot on. Who are you going to rely on to make it rain?

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Call for Entries

Tammie Fitzpatrick, AIA

Save the date for Thursday, October 2, 2014!

This year we are holding the Conference and Expo at the Yorktown Hotel in York, Pa. The Yorktowne Hotel is a prominent landmark that reflects the history of another nostalgic era, the roaring twenties. Built in 1925, The Yorktown Hotel stands 11 stories tall in the heart of downtown York’s historic neighborhood. Twenty foot high ceilings, ornate chandeliers, and wood paneling welcome you as you enter the lobby.

The day will begin with an architectural history tour of a few historic buildings in downtown York, and the day will continue with several exciting CEU seminars and Vendor Expo. Happy hour will begin at 4pm with heavy hors d’ oeuvres and cocktails followed at 6pm with the Keynote Speaker and the Design Awards.

So, it’s time to start thinking about entering your best projects to be recognized for your outstanding work in advancing Architecture in Central Pennsylvania.

Submissions are due July 17, 2014.

Winners will be announced and all work celebrated at the Design Awards Celebration at 6:00pm on Thursday, October 2, 2014 at The Yorktowne Hotel, 48 East Market Street, York, PA 17401.

For more information, to download forms, or to register for the Conference and Expo or the Design Awards Event, visit our website or email us.
The cost per entry is $75.
Tickets to the whole day Event may be purchased separately at $30 a ticket.

Thank you to the exhibitors who have already confirmed:
Modernfold	Architectural Resources
Print-O-Stat	Scranton Products

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