|
October 1996
President's Letter
| Executive Director's Letter
  President's
Letter: State of the Chapter
THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD YEAR for Houston architects
by most accounts. The persistence of a strong economy has translated into
financially healthy times in our offices. The only drawback I've found
to this great news is that it's become somewhat harder to get people together
for AIA meetings and events unrelated to the need to produce all this work.
Still, we've managed to accomplish a lot so far this year. Some of the
noteworthy points:
We continued delivering the message of inner city revitalization developed
in "Designing for Change" through visits to public officials.
We were acknowledged for our efforts through a proclamation passed by the
Downtown District board of directors and honored by the City of Houston
at the recent city birthday party.
We enjoyed the best Celebrate Architecture gala yet, with a record
amount of money raised for the Houston Architecture Foundation, and a most
entertaining honoree, Linda Ellerbee.
We continued the Design Construction Forums, gathering various industry
groups together to discuss issues from Electronic Documents to Green Architecture.
We were delighted by this year's Sandcastle Competition in Galveston.
The event was the most financially successful in its ten year history.
We nominated members for service on public boards and committees where
architects' voices are greatly needed. We thanked officials when we were
selected to serve, and admonished them when we weren't.
We resumed "Inside the Firms", the open house tours of each
other's offices, offering an informal venue for getting together with colleagues.
We collaborated with allied industry groups to create the first Technology
Expo in Houston (coming in January '97 at the George R. Brown Convention
Center).
We planned an Educator/Practitioner Forum to take the Boyer Report
from reflection toward implementation of ideas to reconnect schools and
offices in a meaningful way.
Under the leadership of the Housing Committee, we launched the Community
Design Assistance Center, to match community based organizations who need
architectural services with architects who can provide them, and to fund
recoverable grants for architectural fees.
We started a column in Perspective to highlight the public service
contributions of architects.
We've done other great work in our committees:
The Young Architect's Forum has designed and built a sorely needed
and enthusiastically received SPARK park for Piney Point Elementary, representing
an admirable level of public outreach we would all do well to emulate.
The Practice Committee has reinvented itself with a useful series of
meetings designed to assist firms through the learning curve on issues
such as marketing, contracts, accounting, and human resources.
The Residential Committee has continued its well-attended "free
lunch program", had a very successful home tour, booth at the annual
Home Show, and client seminar on home remodeling.
The Health Committee has expanded their monthly schedule of seminars
and tours, and continued their annual gala.
The Urban Design Committee has planned a series of events to capitalize
on the broadcast of "Back From the Brink", a public television
program on city revitalization produced by the American Architectural Foundation.
The Architecture for Kids Committee has continued to sponsor the annual
Michael Meyers design competition for high school students and to deliver
their creative message through Architecture is Fun to school children who
may not be aware of what we do.
Which brings me back to the issue of assessing how we're doing in our
lives spent rushing from meeting to meeting and deadline to deadline. In
our effort to be good architects and service providers to our clients,
are we also remembering to make time for the gestures which can't be measured
on an office's balance sheet?
It's been those times I've taken a step outside the routine, when attempting
to explain what design is to a class of ten year olds, for instance, that
I've been reminded of why I became an architect in the first place. Those
are enriching moments; not just for the kids, but actually mostly for us.
Please volunteer some time in a classroom; for a few hours spent you can
revitalize your spirit and recapture your enthusiasm for our profession.
Maybe we should pay them to let us do that!
Susan Labarthe, AIA
  Executive
Director's Letter
This fall is ripe with opportunities for architects to influence public
policy. The Development Ordinance (Chapter 42 of the Code of Ordinances)
is under revision. For the first time, a separation between urban and suburban
standards is being actively pursued. Joe Webb, AIA, President Elect
of the Chapter, represents you on the revision committee. He holds monthly
briefings on the progress of the re-write and invites all interested Chapter
members to bring experiences with the current ordinance and ideas for improvement
to these meetings—the first Tuesday of each month in the Chapter office
at 6 pm.
Drayton McLane wants a downtown baseball stadium to keep the Astros
in Houston. He has said that a downtown stadium has worked "magic"
in those cities that have one—redevelopment, economic growth, increased
attendance at the games. The effect of Camden Yards on Baltimore isn't
magic. It is the result of a carefully developed long range plan for Baltimore
which began 20 years ago and included the Inner Harbor development, the
aquarium, and targeted assistance for the revitalization of mixed income
inner city housing. Baltimore's rail system stops at the gate of Camden
Yards. The parking needs of baseball fans are integrated with the parking
needs of the downtown businesses. That kind of thing can happen in Houston,
too, but it won't be magic. It will be the result of a collaborative effort
among people who understand both physical and economic planning. Are you
one of those people? Do you want to shape AIA Houston's point of view on
the downtown stadium? Call Jim Hill or Rives Taylor, chairs of the Urban
Design Committee. Or come to the next meeting of the committee to volunteer
to participate on a task force. The Committee meets the third Wednesday
of each month at noon in the Chapter office.
HISD has a space problem. The bond-election-voting-public turned them
down because they neither appreciated the magnitude of the problem nor
the relationship of appropriate space to learning. Who is better equipped
to clarify the solutions to these problems than architects? But those who
actually design schools and fit appropriate spaces to learning needs of
children will not have a chance at that level of problem solving until
the public perception changes. Can you help with that? Are you willing
to give some time to a Task Force to determine how AIA Houston can positively
affect public education in Houston? Call Suzanne or the Chapter office
to volunteer.
Architects are highly respected by the public. Your knowledge and insight
can influence public opinion. You have power—if you choose to use it. One
of the reasons AIA Houston exists is to do things together that you either
can't or won't do alone. The problem seeking/problem solving methods that
you use in practice work just as effectively on public policy issues.
The oft quoted Boyer Report says: "Perhaps never in history have
the talents, skills, the broad vision and the ideals of the architecture
profession been more urgently needed. The profession could be powerfully
beneficial at a time when the lives of families and entire communities
have grown increasingly fragmented, when cities are in an era of decline
and decay rather than limitless growth, and when the value of beauty in
daily life is often belittled." Here's your chance. Are you ready?
Martha Murphree, Hon. AIA
| |