AIA Convention 2015 - Atlanta

Once again I had the honor of representing the AIA Grand Strand at this year's AIA National Convention in Atlanta. For me the overriding messages that stood out this year were resiliency and equity. Both have the potential reshape how we practice architecture in the coming years.
Three of the sessions I attended dealt with the issue of resiliency in some shape or form.  The first focused on defining a resilient agenda for your community. With resources such as resilientdesign.org, FEMA, Federal Alliance of Safe Homes, and the IBHS Built Strong Program, the ability of architects to speak with expertise to their clients is easier than ever. I would encourage us as architects along a coastal environment to be aware and read up on these recommendations. The next session focused on architects taking a leadership role in not only disaster recovery but preparedness as well.  The case studies presented looked at architects or emerging professionals in the Long Island area who stepped up after Sandy and with limited resources have been able to create positive guidelines to help people rebuild. One guide for example highlighted the 5 key components to raising houses in a neighborhood: New Foundations, Vertical Access, Raised Entry, Usable Underside, and Elevated sidewalks/circulation. Creating a simple graphic brochure was beneficial in helping neighbors agreeing to not only raise their homes but do it in a way that maintained the fabric of the community. The third class studied resiliency on a more regional level. The presenters looked at the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities program, the Thames Flood Barrier, and the Venice Storm Surge Barrier as examples of regional resiliency.
In addition to those seminars I also attended classes on bioclimatic design, expansion joints, career advancement, and properties of natural stone.  Johanna and I also spent half the day Friday walking through the Expo Hall with several hundred exhibitors. Every year I am blown away by the sheer magnitude of the event and the effort the exhibitors go to with their booths.
The headline keynote was President Bill Clinton. He delivered a much more technical speech than I was expecting, but it was nonetheless very inspiring. He outlined several major projects the Clinton Global Initiative was working on and stressed that architects hold the unique training to be leaders in the solving some of the most pressing challenges around the world. My personal favorite keynote was Moshe Safdie's Gold Medal acceptance speech (found here). If you blow pass the rest of what I wrote I would strongly encourage you to at least watch that clip. Finally Peter Eisenman's acceptance speech for the Topaz Medal, in typical Eisenman fashion, proclaimed we need more hero architects and less starchitects.
While the seminars were certainly informative and educational, the real joy in convention for me is the fellowship with other architects. The NC State Alumni Reception, the Clemson/AIASC Reception, and SAR Fellows Reception provided excellent opportunities to reconnect with old classmates and professionals I know across the Carolinas. The Clemson/AIASC Reception was held at the offices of Stanley, Beaman and Sears. The front half of their office is actually a public art gallery where they have rotating exhibitions from local artist and monthly open houses. What an amazing way to engage the public and create a dialogue about architecture in new way.
The emerging professionals event was the main event for Thursday night. Held on a rooftop meeting space overlooking Centennial Park, this event was definitely not limited to just emerging professionals. We were able to talk with Thomas Vonier, who was running for and won the 2017 AIA Presidency. He was the right choice for the job and will bring his experience as AIA Europe's President to the Institute as a whole. Also Jane Fredrick from South Carolina was elected to one of three national director positions, and we are incredibly proud of her accomplishment and the esteem it brings our chapter.
The highlight event of the Convention was The Party. Held in the recently completed NCAA Football Hall of Fame, this event drew thousands of architects out for an evening of live music, food, and open exploration of the museum. Johanna and I met up with Michael Walker and his family and had a wonderful time. We even got to meet the architects behind the architect rap song. (found here)

In addition to Convention we also took some time to see Atlanta. We drove around Buckhead, checked out Isamu Noguchi's Playscapes in Piedmont Park, marveled at the Georgia Aquarium, visited the High Museum, and if you know me well we also went to a pen store in Buckhead. Another huge highlight was getting together for drinks with one of my best friends from college. We meet at the Sun Dial revolving restaurant atop the Westin after not seeing each other in over ten years. As we effortlessly picked up where we left off, it occurred to me Safdie was right architecture cannot be independent of place but it also cannot be independent of humans. We create spaces that become host to human interaction and for me that's true power of architecture. 

Again it such an honor to continue to serve and represent our section. Please let me know if you'd like any additional details or resources from the Convention or AIA in general. 

Figs

This year's fig crop has been quite abundant.  It continues to amaze us the size of this tree and the amount of figs it can produce.  We went with larger jars this year and reused two of our recipes from last year - the peppered balsamic vinaigrette and the strawberry-fig preserve. We also tried a few new recipes including a bourbon fig preserve, lemon honey and a whole fig preserve. Ben is planning to trim the tree back more significantly this winter for easier access, but there should still be plenty of figs every year. If you really enjoyed one of the preserves we gave out at the wedding, please let us know and we'd be happy to send you more!

Chicago

We had the wonderful opportunity to go back to Chicago in June for the AIA National Convention.  This has always been one of Ben's dreams to attend and when we saw it was in Chicago this year we immediately booked our trip. After checking in at the hotel we headed over to McCormick Place to register. We knew this was going to be a big event, but nothing could have prepared us for the sheer scale of the convention hall.  The exhibit hall measured 900' x 900' and classrooms were spread over 4 levels. That evening we attended an advocacy reception.

  

Thursday was a packed day for Ben with the opening keynote and a full schedule of classes to attend. Johanna spent the day relaxing and touring the Art Institute of Chicago at a more leisurely pace than our last highlight hitting tour.  Thursday evening is the alumni receptions. We started at the NC State Design School reception and then headed over to the Clemson Reception. It was fantastic catching up with many people I haven't seen in years.
Friday started off with a tour of the Aqua Tower with Jeannie Gang. This was an amazing experience to be able to tour a new icon of the Chicago skyline with the award winning architect. The fog had let up that morning, providing fantastic views of the building and surrounding Chicago skyline.

 

 Afterwards we walked around the Expo Hall. It was impressive to see companies with their full scale booths, which often featured working display units. Friday evening was the South Atlantic Region Reception followed by the official "Party" at the Art Institute of Chicago. This was an incredible event with thousands of fellow architects from all over the world.

 

Saturday morning Ben went back for one more class on Disaster Response for Historic Properties. It was a highly engaging class and highlighted a desperate need in South Carolina.  If Charleston takes a direct hit from a hurricane, a system needs to be in place to secure and protect historic buildings.
After the session we meet up and went for a walk through Lincoln Park to the Chicago Zoo. It was great to see a free public zoo in such an urban area, but in some ways the zoo seemed dated and the enclosures way too small. For dinner that night we went to Sable a restaurant we had stumbles upon on our last visit to Chicago. They are famous for the their huge bourbon collection and serving small sample portions of everything meant to be shared with your companions. Afterwards we walked around Chicago, enjoying the first clear evening since we arrived. We hated leaving the next morning, wishing for just one more day to explore this amazing city.

 

 

Happy Independence Day

Wishing everyone a festive 4th of July. Please be safe and remember many many brave men and women died to make this possible.

Beach Days

We are currently sitting on the beach at Litchfield by the Sea with Johanna's friend Sarah who came into town for a visit on her birthday. The first full day of summer is beautiful, though the notorious southern heat has already reared her head.  The beaches are packed, families of all types gathered in a sense of communal worship of the ocean. Many writers have gone on much more eloquently than I to describe the allure that continually draws us back to the water. But I have always found the attraction of water to a land based species quite intriguing. The land that makes up the beaches of the Grand Stran was once considered worthless except for the timber. Now lots sell for a million dollars. Is our love of the ocean a success of tourism marketing? Or has something deeper been there since the beginning of mankind? 
A coworker's son died this week much too young. He was the type that always lived free. Whether pursuing his dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail or traveling the country finding work to support himself but always leaving the door open for the next adventure. I think it's his life that shows why we find ourselves time and time again at the water's edge. It is the horizon just beyond our visual expanse. It is the belief that something larger than us is at work, something that offers endless possibilities. 

Southern Snow and Ice

The last several weeks have been a roller coaster ride of weather. It can be 70 degrees and sunny on the weekends, and by Tuesday we have freezing temperatures with frozen precipitation. Round 1 and Round 2 were almost night and day storm systems, resulting in drastic differences.

Round 1: Snow and Ice, January 21-22

This was a nice little winter weather storm, even though the roads were a little icy. There was minimal damage in the area. No power outages at our home. No limbs down. 

 First Snow in our new home

 Little Icicles

 Beautiful bare fig tree

 Some long icicles

 The only snowman to be found

Frozen!

Round 2: Freezing Rain & Ice, February 11-12

This was just gross. It has been so cold, rainy, and wet. As the day progressed, the trees got coated in ice and the rain continued to fall. Limbs of trees began to fall. Power flickered at the house and at work. Trees and power lines were down on our street and in the country club. We were lucky to just have some limbs fall, but our poor storage shed fell victim to a brutal blast from a falling limb.

 Our driveway covered in fallen limbs

 One of our oaks snapped into our neighbor's yard 

 Little shed was not as lucky :(

 Frozen fig tree

 Pelican icicles

 More limbs down - smelling the fresh scent of pine 

Live oak touching the "Loop"

Thankfully, through all of this, we are safe and came out mostly unscathed. Our cars were not damaged. We didn't lose any trees completely. We have consistently had power and heat. We think ole Punxsutawney Phil was right in his prediction of six more weeks of winter! We have definitely been experiencing the "winter blast."

Wedding

We wanted to thank everybody for making our wedding truly special.  It took a year of hard work and planning to make it all happen, but seriously it seemed like the day passed in an instant. We had such a blast and hope to have many more to share with you in the future.
-Ben & Johanna