rostrum june 2012
DESCRIPTION
AIA Newark & Suburban Architects newsletter Issue 6.12TRANSCRIPT
I also attended a dinner for AIA section members and
AIA New Jersey members. This was sponsored, in part,
by Andersen Windows and
AIA New Jersey. It was an opportunity to network with
my colleagues.
There was a reception by
Ag i l l a n t G roup , t a x consultants, that I attended.
I was able to connect with a few AIA Newark Suburban
members and learn about
possible tax credits for small to medium size businesses.
Attending the AIA 2012 National Convention was an
unexpected opportunity that I am glad that I didn’t pass
up.
Louise C. Addonizio, AIA, PP,
LEED AP, LEED BD+C, ICS
Building Inspector, NCIDQ Qualified
President‐Elect AIA Newark Suburban
AIA CONVENTION REPORT
Rostrum 2012
AIA Newark and Suburban Architects A Section of AIA New Jersey
AIA New Jersey is a Chapter and Region of the American Institute of Architects
JUNE 2012
Issue 6
The Rostrum
Official newsletter of the
Newark & Suburban
Section of AIA-NJ
Published monthly
Submit events, case
studies, photos, comments,
or other content for
consideration to:
Convention Report 1
Can the IgCC make Buildings Greener?
2
Regional Director’s Message
3
Harmon to Retire 5
Our Sponsors 7
Inside this issue: Susan Chin, FAIA as Vice‐President 2013
Donald Brown, AIA as Vice‐President 2013
Rick DeYoung, AIA as
Secretary 2013
The AIA trade show was part
of the convention and more t h a n 8 0 0 v e n d o r s
participated. Any material vendor that you can think of
was there. There were vendors for Lighting, Metals,
Software and Technology,
Audio visual and Stone and Tile.
There was a large selection of seminars and courses to
t a ke f o r c on t i nu i ng education and learning unit
credit and I took courses in the following areas of
inte res t: Construct ion
Out l ook , Con t rac to r ’ s General Conditions AIA 201,
Sustainable Smithsonian, Integrated Project Delivery
and new collaborative strategies for architect,
engineer and contractor.
Due to a change in plans from our President Kevin
McCormick, I received the opportunity to attend the
2 0 1 2 A I A N a t i o n a l
Convention in Washington DC. I was happy and excited
to attend in Kevin’s place.
I was impressed by the
sheer number of architects attending the convention.
There were over 10,000!
As part of the election
process for AIA National
Executive Committee, the cand idates fo r V i ce ‐Pres ident, F i rs t V ice President and Secretary
spoke.
All AIA New Jersey section
Presidents attended these speeches and discussed
favored candidates with
Larry Parisi AIA New Jersey President, who carries all the
votes. After casting New Jersey votes the following
were elected:
Helene Combs Dreiling,
FAIA, as First Vice‐President 2013
Rostrum 2012 Issue 6
Page 2
AIA Newark & Suburban
Board Members
Officers
KEVIN McCORMICK, AIA
President
LOUISE ADDONIZIO, AIA
President-Elect
JOHN A. CWIKLA, AIA
First Vice President
LISA SAN FILIPPO, AIA
Secretary
STEPHEN ROONEY, AIA
Treasurer
YOGESH MISTRY, AIA
Past President
Trustees
Trustee 2012
JUDY DONNELLY, AIA
Trustees 2013
CHRISTY DIBARTOLO, AIA
ALEX GOTTHELF,AIA
ELLEN HARMON,
ALLIED MEMBER
NATASHA SUZANSKY, AIA
Trustees 2014
PAUL TIAJOLOFF, AIA
RONALD WESTON, AIA
JASON PEIST, ASSOC. AIA
Honorary Affiliate
DAN BISCHOFF
Section Administrator
JULIE PAGNOTTA
AIA NS 2012 Committees
Continued on page 6
Professional Practice Notes: Can the IgCC make Buildings Greener?
Site development and
land use [erosion control,
transportation, heat island mi t igat ion , g raywate r
systems, habitat protection, and site restoration];
Mate r i a l r e s ou r ce
conservation and efficiency [50% of construction waste
to be diverted from landfills, and at least 55% of building
materials to be salvaged,
recycled-content, recyclable, or indigenous];
Energy conservation and
earth atmospheric quality
[judged by performance, buildings are to use not
more than 51% of the
energy allowed under the 2000 International Energy
Code; minimum mechanical sys tem requ i rements ,
submetering, renewable energy sys tems and
lighting];
Water conservation and
efficiency [maximum flow
rates for fixtures, limits for app l iances , ra inwate r
storage and graywater systems];
Indoor environmental
quality and comfort [no smoking in buildings, radon,
VOCs sound transmission, daylighting];
C o m m i s s i o n i n g ,
operation, and maintenance [pre and post occupancy
commissioning, and training for operations].
Like the LEED certification
process, the IgCC takes the lofty goal of improving the
environmental performance of bu i ld ings through “sustainable” design and construction concepts and
makes them pro jec t
Thomas Friedman, noted author, Pulitzer prize winner
and NY Times columnist has said that when the
government sets a deadline,
like a level of renewable energy produced by 2025,
the U.S. rises to the challenge with innovation;
however, until required, as a nation we resist having to
c h a n g e . P e r h a p s recognizing that sociological
phenomenon is one of the
motivators leading to the creation of the International
Green Construction Code (“IgCC”). The IgCC which
was issued in March 2012, was developed over the past
several years by the International Code Council in
a consensus driven process
with a consortium of leading organizations throughout the
design and construction industries, including the AIA,
A S T M I n t e r n a t i o n a l , ASHRAE, the Illuminating
Engineering Society and of course, the U.S. Green
Building Council.
As part of AIA’s 2030 Commitment to facilitating
carbon neutrality, the AIA had significant participation
in the process. The new
code was profiled in the March 2012 edition of AIA
Architect and at this year’s national convention on May
17, 2012 AIA issued its new “Guide to the IgCC
“ [downloadable for all AIA m e m b e r s h t t p : / /
www.a ia .o rg /advocacy/
AIAB085336 ].
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e
International Code Council website, the new code’s regu la to ry f ramework
applies to both new and e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s ,
es tab l i sh ing min imum
“green” requirements while offering a customizable
baseline that can be modified by enacting
jurisdictions to adapt to local
environmental conditions, construction practices and
other community- based interests. Many have
described the IgCC as “an overlay to the existing set of
In te rna t iona l Codes , ” because i t i n c l ude s
p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e
I n t e rna t i o n a l Ene rg y Conservation Code and ICC-700, the National Green Building Standard, and
i n co rpo ra te s ASHRAE Standard 189.1 which is
offered as an alternate path to achieving IgCC code
compliance. In its new
guide, the AIA describes the IgCC, noting:
“The new code is intended to provide “minimum requirements to safeguard the environment, ‘public health, safety and general welfare’ and reduce the negative impacts and increase positive impacts of the built environment on the natural environment and building occupants. As such, it covers natural resources, material water and energy conservation, operations and maintenance for new and existing buildings, building sites, building materials, and bu i l d i n g compone n t s (including equipment and systems).”
Once adopted, the IgCC
applies to new construction, existing building restoration
and renovation, commercial and residential buildings over 3 stories. Topics
addressed in the IgCC include:
Rostrum 2012 Issue 6
Page 3 A HUGE VICTORY ! … BUT
Continued on page 6
and would urge every one of you to do this. Once
received, it their obligation to investigate the merits of
the complaint. In short:
they take it from there.
Those of you who take the
time to read the AIANJ E-newsletter, know and
may remember that I
mentioned that the State Board of Architects Acting
Executive Director took what I believed was an inordinate
amount of time in addressing this complaint for
reasons still unknown as I write this. However, I
pressed on. I even went
above his head to the Director of Consumer Affairs
at the time, but to no avail.
About six (6) months in, the
State Board of Architects
finally mounted an investigation that took on
the form of some elaborate sting operation. My guess
read on my colleagues and please let me know what
you think!
Over the years, I have asked many of you to file
complaints when you believe that there is a violation of
the practice of OUR profession. Unfortunately,
few of you have. May be
you just can’t be bothered, or think it takes to much
effort? Maybe you believe that there might be some
retribution? Maybe you are just not sure there even is a
violation? Well, all you have to do is find the complaint
form online, spend ten (10)
minutes filling it out and send it to the NJ State Board
of Architects. I would strongly recommend that
this and any correspondence with the Board be completed
via certified mail, return receipt requested. I do not
think that is too stressful,
Recently, Joseph Simonetta, CAE, our Executive Director,
credited me with securing, in his words: “A HUGE VICTORY”! Joe was
speaking of the complaint that I had filed against a
company and its principal some twenty-one (21)
months ago, for practicing OUR profession without the
benefit of licensure. The State Board of Architects
had found both guilty of just
that.
Unfortunately there are
many others out there who think that they can practice
OUR profession without the
education, internship and rigorous examination that
we have completed and that enables us to call ourselves
ARCHITECTS! May be the Board’s action will finally
stop illegal practice of OUR profession. However, there
is a reason for the ‘BUT’ in
the title of this article, so
Continued on page 4
was that they wanted to be
absolutely sure that they had the evidence they
needed to find, at the time, the ‘potential violator’ guilty
of what I believed was his illegal practice of OUR
profession. Well, the sting apparently worked and they
had him, but again for some
unknown reason, not the architect who had helped
him in his sham by signing and sealing his drawings!
A consent decree was
offered to the culprit, but he wanted his day in front of
the Board. He was given the opportunity and I was
contacted to testify as the complainant by Meaghan
Goulding, Esq. (DAG) prosecuting the case. More
months passed and finally I
was subpoenaed (as if they had to guarantee my
attendance) to testify on April 12, 2012. I blocked
out the entire day on my calendar. At the eleventh
hour, DAG Goulding called me and told me that the
unlicensed individual had
requested more time to prepare his case. To say the
least, I was not happy about the delay, but I had no right
to protest, past voicing my concerns to Ms. Goulding,
which you can be sure I did.
In agreement with me, a new date of May 10th was
set for my testimony and again I was subpoenaed! Late on May 9th she called me again to tell me that my
testimony would not be
required as they were working on a settlement. “A
settlement, I asked?” How often does one get another
swing after a strikeout? The answer is, never,
apparently and unless you are called in front of the
Continued on page 4
Rostrum 2012 Issue 6
Page 4
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VICTORY … BUT Continued from page 3
State Board of Architects!
When I asked what this settlement was, I was told
that I had to wait until it was made public! Not satisfied
with that answer, I called
the Board’s DAG Michele Albertson, Esq., whom I
have always found to be open to discuss the illegal
practice of OUR profession. Michele called me back at
the end of the next day to tell me what had transpired.
By the time you read this
article, it will be part of the public record.
The fine for practicing without a license is
$10,000. The investigation
for this particular case was $7,000. The State Board of
Architects reduced the fine to $5,000; further forgiving
$4,000, so that the ultimate fine was $1,000! To add
insult to injury, the violator will be allowed to pay the
fine off in several monthly
payments. The DAG stated
that he cannot use the word
DESIGN in the advertisement of his
business and will be on probation for the next four
(4) years meaning that any violation during this period
would be considered a 2nd violation. I have no doubt
that this will occur, but I
have doubts that he will ever be caught.
As to the title of this article “A HUGE VICTORY…BUT”, I have been told that
my hard work in bringing this complaint forward to the
State Board of Architects and in turn, despite the long
time period it took, finding this individual guilty as
explained is a HUGE VICTORY!
Somehow I do not feel too
victorious and either should any of you! The true victor
here is the violator and by all accounts it is a HUGE
VICTORY for him! He gets
away with a minimum fine and probation period that is
unenforceable. The NJ
consumer and taxpayer are left unprotected from the
illegal practice of architecture and at the same
time are out some $16,000. On top of all of this and in
my opinion, worse yet, we still do not have the
architect who helped him
defraud the clients they worked for, not to mention
those of us who practice OUR profession legally!
Jerome Leslie Eben, AIA
AIANJ
Regional Director, ’11-‘13
Rostrum 2012 Issue 6
Page 5
Pe l la ’ s Nor th Je rsey representative for the past
eight years. An active member and
advocate of the AlA, Ellen
has been an outstanding ambassador for Pella her
contributions to Pella’s success are deeply valued.
Everyone at Pella and at AIA Newark & Suburban, is most
fond of Ellen and we will truly miss her.
Ridgewood location before moving into Outside Sales,
based first in Ridgewood and later Paramus, where she
developed and built many
strong relationships with customers in Bergen County
and beyond. A well-respected adjunct
faculty member at Bergen Community College, Ellen
has capably served the architectural community as
HONOR ELLEN HARMON AT RECEPTION
Come on Monday June 11, 2012, between 4 - 7 p.m. at
the Pel la Parsippany WindowScaping Center, 108
Route 46 West (just west of
New Road) for drinks and hors d'oeuvres to honor
Ellen Harmon, who is retiring after her outstanding 23
year career with Pella. Ellen started with Pella in
1989 as an Inside Sales Representative at our former
THANK YOU, ELLEN HARMON, FOR YOUR
SERVICE TO THE AIANS BOARD OF TRUSTEES
BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY RETIREMENT!
AIA NEWARK & SUBURBAN ARCHITECTS
Rostrum 2012 Issue 6
Page 6
requirements. The LEED
process essentially offers an aspirational performance
measurement tool for owners, designers and
constructors to identify and i m p l e m e n t m o r e
“sustainable” processes, materials and technologies
during design, construction,
operations and maintenance. Because of the commercial
success linked with LEED, as well as its philosophical and
environmentally acceptable attr ibutes, LEED has
enhanced the level of industry awareness, product
d e v e l o p m e n t a n d
participation in more sustainable construction—
but on a voluntary basis.
On the other hand, code
enforcement presents a
different approach to improving the environmental
performance of buildings because once adopted,
code requirements are mandatory, and compliance
is essential to obtain use and occupancy rights. The IgCC
provides another set of
requirements for architects and engineers to understand
and adhere to, in addition to the requirements of the
applicable Building Code. And like other enacted
building codes, failure to a d h e r e t o t h o s e
requirements will subject the
design industry to the same risk and potential liability as
other instances of code non-c o m p l i a n c e , n a m e l y
negligence and in many jurisdictions, “negligence per
se” .
Many o f th e IgCC requirements will not be new
to active practitioners since the LEED certification
processes have already made these concepts
famil iar ground. Risk
Practice Notes - IgCC Continued from page 2
managers and professional
liability insurers will start stepping up the education
and training offerings as the IgCC becomes law in more
locations because of concern that even in jurisdictions
where the IgCC is not o f f i c i a l l y a d o p t e d ,
professional practices will
adap t the i r de l i ve ry processes to comply with the
IgCC, which may spread into the general practice of
architecture or engineering on some level and affect
what becomes the applicable standard of care.
“This will be the first time
code officials, owners and designers will have an
in teg ra ted regu l a to ry framework to put into
practice that meets the goal
of greening the construction and design of new and
e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s , ” according to Code Council
CEO Richard P. Weiland. “Only a code that is useable,
enforceable and adoptable will have the capability of
impac t i ng ou r bu i l t
environment in dramatic ways.”
The process of adopting the IgCC has had a slow start,
and few States have enacted
the IgCC on a mandatory basis. While Maryland,
Rhode Island and Oregon each have enacted some
level of adherence to the IgCC to achieve compliance
or “equivalence” with their laws on “green public”
facilities, only Maryland has
required the IgCC to apply to all commercial buildings
and residential buildings with more than 3 stories.
[The IgCC website provides those places with the IgCC
in force].
Many notable design
practice commentators are
just beginning to read the IgCC and ponder how it will
interact or potentially supplant LEED processes.
While LEED enhanced the environmental awareness in
an industry that is one of the largest contributors of
various types of pollution, by
applying to all mainstream construction, adoption of the
IgCC will raise that floor. How high that floor rises will
depend on the willingness, in the current political
climate, to adopt new codes, but the IgCC is here and
should be on the radar
screen for those active in the design and construction
industries.
Guest Author: Karen Blose, past in-house counsel and commercial director at several national design practices, is now providing consulting and in-house counsel on-call services through AEdvise LLC. She can be reached at: [email protected].
A f u tu re con t i nu ing
education program for the AIA Newark & Suburban
chapter is currently under development by AEdvise to
provide more substance in terms of the technical areas
and risk management issues
that occur by adoption of the IgCC on a mandatory
basis. Watch upcoming issues of this newsletter for
further information.
AIA NS Professional Practice Committee Chair: Ronald C. Weston, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Email: [email protected]