Call for Presenters: 2013 OAA Conference

The Ontario Association of Architects invites proposals for continuing education sessions at the 2013 OAA Annual Conference, taking place May 8 – 10, 2013 in Toronto. Organizers are looking for speakers who excel in their field of expertise, and who can captivate and educate their audience. The OAA conference is a chance for architects to step back from daily demands and acquire new knowledge that contributes to general expertise and understanding. This learning is future-oriented and goes beyond immediate application; it builds the capacities of the professional to plan and undertake new challenges. The 2013 conference theme, “Re-Imagining the Business of Architecture”, will examine new approaches to the business of architecture. The three-day gathering will present a variety of ideas including: new business models for running a practice; specialization both as practices and as architects; and the power of education combinations (architecture/MBA). It will also address how one can use training as an architect, apply some innovative approaches and make an impact through government, development, project management or heritage. For additional information including the Call for Proposals package and application form, go to http://www.oaa.on.ca/news+&+events/news/detail/12-09-2012-ConEd_Call_for_Proposals_Now_Open. The deadline for completed submissions is October 26, 2012.

NCARB Fee Relief

From October 1 through November 30, 2012, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards is once again offering reduced fees for reactivating lapsed architect or intern architect records. “Welcome Back to NCARB” features include:

• waiving of all past renewal fees for architects who reactivate a lapsed record or certificate. This applies to those who let their records go inactive while an architect or intern architect.
• waiving of all past renewal fees for intern architects who reactivate a lapsed record.

For architects, the cost to reactivate is only $475. For IAs, $75. More than 1,000 architects took advantage of a similar offer earlier this year. For full details about the fee relief offer, please visit http://www.ncarb.org/Getting-an-Initial-License/welcome-back.aspx.

Let’s Talk About Women in Architecture

By Alexandra Lange, Design Observer
September 27, 2012

At the close of Nora Ephron’s 2010 book, I Remember Nothing, she included a list titled “What I Won’t Miss.” Down at the bottom, between “Small print” and “Taking off makeup every night” was this zinger, “Panels on Women in Film.” I like the way she capitalized the letters, capturing the organizers’ formal sincerity while maintaining her distance from the whole enterprise. Next week, on October 3, I find myself playing both roles. I am the moderator for a panel titled Women in Design as part of New York and Dwell magazines’ weeklong City Modern series. The series includes discussions, lectures, panels and on the weekend of October 6 and 7, house tours. My panel, which should more properly be called Women in Architecture, features Galia Solomonoff, Marion Weiss and Claire Weisz. And the first question I am going to ask them is about Architect Barbie. More … http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?utm_source=Design%20Observer_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_10_01_2012&entry=36338.