Velo-city Global 2012

Velo-city Global 2012 takes place June 26-29, 2012 in Vancouver. It will mark the first time Velo-city Global has been held outside Europe. Over four days, the world’s premier international cycling planning conference will focus on best practices for creating and sustaining cycling-friendly cities where bicycles are valued as part of daily transport and recreation. It will engage cycling minds from around the world; politicians, engineers, planners, architects, academics, researchers, environmentalists, advocates, educators and industry representatives. To register, go to https://www.velo-city2012.com/registration/register-online. For more information, visit the conference web site at http://www.velo-city2012.com/.

Teaching Moment

By Sam Lubell, The Architect’s Newspaper

March 29, 2012

You know something is a worthwhile topic when every time you bring it up people grab on and start talking as if they’d been waiting forever for you to ask them. Of all the subjects I’ve brought up lately, the one that elicits this response most often is the divide between architectural education and architectural practice. The more I have these conversations and the more I attend architecture reviews and lectures, read interviews with architects, and peruse educational journals the more I understand that architectural education has moved further and further away from the realities of actually working in architecture. More …

Consensual Resolution Amendments to Architects Act

On March 29, the provincial government entered into law Bill 18 – the Advanced Education Statutes Amendment Act 2011.  This bill amends the Architects Act to allow for a consensual resolution process for disciplinary matters related to members, associates, architectural firms and licensees. Prior to a 2009 court of appeal decision involving the B.C. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists and one of its members, the AIBC had resolved most disciplinary allegations against architects, associates and firmsthrough a consensual resolution process established by AIBC council in 2001. That court case, however, determined that such a process needed to be authorized by statute. The AIBC then sought amendments to the Architects Act to specifically provide for alternative resolution of disciplinary matters.

The amendments now require that bylaws to establish the actual practices and procedures for the consensual resolution process be passed by AIBC members. Further information about the Act change, and consensual resolution bylaws that will be developed, will be provided in the coming weeks. Should you have any questions, please contact Director of Professional Conduct and Illegal Practice Thomas Lutes by e-mail (tlutes@aibc.ca) or phone (604-683-8588, ext. 321).  To view Bill 18 and its consensual resolution amendments to the Architects Act, click here.

NCARB Survey

You are invited to take part in the 2012 NCARB Practice Analysis of Architecture Survey, which will be open during the month of April. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards is surveying architects, intern architects and educators to identify the tasks and knowledge/skills necessary for independent practice while identifying current and future trends. The results will influence the Architect Registration Examination (ARE), inform its Intern Development Program, and help shape NCARB’s continuing education policies.

This comprehensive electronic survey, developed over two years, is intended to provide valuable insights into the profession, and lay the strongest foundation for education, experience, examination, and continuing education. Access the survey via www.ncarb.org. The deadline for completing the survey is April 30, 2012. For more details, visit www.ncarb.org/2012PA.

History Carved Out of The Hills

By Edward Rothstein, New York Times

March 23, 2012

All museums are temples of sorts, monuments to collectors or cultures, declarations of identity, gathering places for tribute. But museums of natural history have an even more distinctive stature. Their focus is not human history, measured in centuries, but natural history, measured in eons. And their subject is not a particular culture and its accomplishments, but a world that seems to stand beyond culture altogether. Natural history museums seek their ground in the earth itself. More …