Governor General’s Medals in Architecture — Call for Submissions

RAIC | Architecture Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) are pleased to invite architects to participate in the competition for the 2016 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. The RAIC, with the RAIC College of Fellows, is proud to organize and administer the competition. The Canada Council for the Arts is responsible for selecting and administering the peer assessment committee.

The deadline for submission is December 3, 2015 by 4 p.m.

For complete details including eligibility, procedures for entry and fees, visit the RAIC website.

2015 AIBC Annual Conference: Network, Meet Colleagues and Celebrate the 2015 AIBC Architectural Award Winners at the Opening Reception

Opening Reception
October 28, 2015 – 5 -9 p.m.

Join us at this fun-filled opening night reception featuring the Exhibitors’ Networking Session and the presentation of the 2015 AIBC Architectural Awards. The evening is a great opportunity to meet potential clients and partners while enjoying delicious hors d’oeuvres and special give-aways.

Register now for the Opening Reception.

Visit the 2015 AIBC Annual Conference website for full details and to view conference pricing information.

2015 AIBC Annual Conference: Practice Builder Bootcamp Offers Insights into Starting Your Own Firm

Practice Builder Bootcamp
October 28, 2015, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Thinking about starting your own practice or buying into an existing one?

In this full day seminar style session, seasoned practitioners share their knowledge and experience to help inspire and guide participants who are considering ownership. Discuss the stumbling blocks and opportunities to successful ownership; whether establishing a new practice or leveraging your accomplishments to buy into an existing firm. Understand how to strategically position your new firm for success and growth. Gain an appreciation for the capital required to maintain a small firm through the emergent years to prepare for a thriving, sustainable practice.

The Practice Builder Bootcamp is intended as a precursor to the new AIBC practice builder series anticipated to launch in the fall of this year. This workshop is eligible for six Core LUs.

Register now for the Practice Builder Bootcamp Workshop.

Early bird rates will be in effect through September 15, 2015.

Visit the 2015 AIBC Annual Conference website for full details and to view conference pricing information.

11 Lost Icons of Postmodern Architecture

by Charles Holland
Dezeen, August 5, 2015

Postmodernism began with an act of demolition. In 1972, the Pruitt-Igoe housing blocks in St Louis, Missouri were demolished following years of problems and neglect. Architecture critic Charles Jencks hailed this event as the death of Modernism and the birth of Postmodernism, an architectural style that would embrace popular taste and historic symbolism.

Since then, Postmodernism itself has grown old and if anything even more unpopular. It has suffered more than its fair share of lost or demolished buildings. But these losses are often more to do with the cycles of fashion than any innate deficiencies in the fabric of the buildings themselves.

Postmodernism is still at the bottom of the architectural depreciation curve, despite recent attempts at revivification. As a style that hit its peak in the 1980s, many of its landmarks were commercial and somewhat disposable building types including office blocks, shops and hotels.

(Image: Moore House by Charles Moore. Courtesy of Dezeen)

What follows is a tribute to some of Postmodernism’s more important lost icons, the buildings that future generations will come to mourn even if we don’t quite realise it yet. Their demolition is all the more acute for the combination of monumentality and lightness of the buildings themselves and the way that they combined an interest in architectural history with popular taste. Read more…

AIBC Council Meeting Summary – 11 August 2015

At the 11 August 2015 council meeting, the AIBC Council dealt with the following items:

President’s Report
• Sara Kasaei was welcomed as this year’s Intern Architect Liaison to council.
• Two outstanding candidates were the recipient of the Michael A. Ernest AIBC Intern Architect Bursary. Each bursary is valued at $1,000.

Finance
• The May Statement of Financial Position continues to indicate that the AIBC is in good financial health.

Diverse Membership Working Group
• A summary of the 27 May Intern-Friendly event was provided.

Registration and Licensing Board
• The first Australian architect registered via the new cross boarder agreement between Canada (CALA), Australia (AACA) and New Zealand (NZARB) under the APEC framework.
• The well-attended 2015 Induction and Retirement Ceremony provided an opportunity to celebrate incoming and retiring architects and other AIBC registrants. This year’s event included the bestowal of “Honorary Member of the AIBC” to Mr. Bogue Babicki.
• More than 70 people participated (in-person and online) in the AIBC-hosted ExAC Info Session and Social event. Of note, ExAC will be held in Vancouver on 2-3 November and for the first time in Victoria on the same dates.

CEO(ED) Report
• A meeting was held with Andrew Wilkinson, Minister of Advanced Education to discuss the Architects Act. AIBC councilors Darryl Condon and Gordon Richards, and AIBC senior staff Thomas Lutes and Mark Vernon were in attendance.
• Numerous meetings were also held with various stakeholders including the Association of Consulting Engineers, RAIC, CALA/IRC, BC Construction Association and Regional Permits and Licensing Group.
• The three bylaws, put to the AIBC’s first electronic vote, are now in force after successfully passing the government’s disallowance period. The amendments were approved by more than 95% of the voting membership.
• The associate status disclosure initiative concluded with council rules in place as of 17 April 2015.
• The Certified Professional (CP) Program, a joint AIBC-APEGBC initiative, will be held at the AIBC offices starting in September. Though registration for the in-person session is sold out, there are still spots available for online participants.
• Since Oral Reviews continue to solicit high interest, the demand for Oral Reviewers is also high. Those interested in becoming an Oral Review Panelist are asked to contact Shawna Chilton, AIBC’s new Manager of Human Resources and Administration whose portfolio includes volunteer coordination. Shawna can be reached at SChilton@aibc.ca.
• Of note, while the number of Intern Architects AIBC taking ExAC is increasing, the number taking the NCARB AREs is decreasing.
• The Polish Consulate hosted, at the AIBC Gallery, a gala opening of exhibit “How Poles Built Up Vancouver” ; the event included a special visit from the Undersecretary of State from the Polish Government.
• The AIBC is proud to have presented awards to five BCIT students at their graduation ceremony.
• After a year hiatus, the AIBC Architectural Awards Program solicited a record number of submissions. Winners will be announced at the 2015 AIBC Annual Conference Opening Reception on 28 October.
• Registration for the 2015 AIBC Annual Conference, October 28-30, is now open.

Council Motions
• Council approved a motion to respond to the 2015 Annual Meeting’s Member Motion regarding mandatory liability insurance and directed the CEO (Executive Director) to establish an operational task force who will prepare a communique for the membership. Read council’s response to the member motion (scroll to the Annual Meeting Material 2015 Annual Meeting section).
• Council approved the motion to establish Monday, May 16, 2016 as the date for the 2016 AIBC Annual Meeting. Please mark your calendars. The 2016 annual meeting will occur on the first day of next year’s conference which will be held May 16-18, 2016. The conference schedule changes from being held in the fall to the spring. This adjustment aligns with the CES June reporting deadline and enables out-of-town conference delegates to also participate in the annual meeting.
• Council approved a motion to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the RAIC. The MOU advances the mutually beneficial relationship between the two organizations for the protection of the public through responsible architecture.
• Motions were passed for committee changes, examination results and register amendments as well as terms of reference.

• Read adopted 02 May 2015 council meeting minutes.
• The next official meeting of AIBC Council is scheduled for 08 September 2015. It will be held at the AIBC offices between 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.