SAVE THE DATES

February 12.         Sponsor Seminar
                            “Effective Ways to Get an Architect’s Attention”
                             9:00 – 10:30
                             Alabama Power, 1200 6th Ave. N, 3 story brick building, 3rd floor
                             Free to all sponsors who have paid their sponsorship fee by February 8th, 2008
                             There will be a panel of 4 architects, Mediator will be Pat Conrad

February 20-23.    GrassRoots Conference, National AIA

February 26.        Chapter Meeting – 1 HSW
                            Announce the Design Competition Winner’s
                            Speaker, Scott Lee. Norwood Clinic
                            Norwood Clinic 1528 Carraway Blvd.
                            11:30 – 1:00 $15 members, $5 interns, $25 non-members

March 11.             Sponsorship Appreciation Luncheon
                            FREE, Venue TBA

March 25.            Chapter Meeting, Speaker Doug Rye www.dougrye.com
                           Alabama Power Auditorium (downtown)
                            600 N. 18TH St.
                           11:30 – 1:00
                           $15 members, $5 interns, $25 non-members

     Sponsors of the Doug Rye Seminar:
     Alabama GeoThermal, Inc., www.algeothermal.com  (seminar registration online)
     Alabama Power Company, www.southernco.com
     NuWool Insulation, www.nuwool.com
     Waterfurnace Company, www.waterfurnace.com

The Smorgasbord by Danya Humaideh

This month is trivia month at The Smorgasbord! We scoped out some of the most unique examples around the world of building and designing green. You tell us, “Where in the world is The Smorgasbord???”!

This particular urban living space is comprised of 100 homes, community facilities, and office spaces. It is considered its region’s largest “eco-village.”

E-mail your answer to danya@aiabham.org.
Tell us its location and what you think of it and if you think a building like this would fit into Birmingham’s building style. Hint: It’s not in Birmingham but it is in the same country.

Guess correctly and you’ll win Free admittance into the February 26 chapter meeting and a bag full of goodies!

What a Great Attendance!
We have to say a big thank you to all our members and sponsors who attended the January Chapter Meeting. 80 people attended.  We were not able to get the power point presentation to put in our newsletter. Click here for photos.

AIA/Aletheia House Design Competition
We have 11 great design entries for the AIA/Aletheia House design competition.  The jury was held yesterday, but winners will not be announced until February 26th at our chapter meeting. Scott Lee, who is the Earthcraft Multifamily Program Manager for Southface will talk incorporating green design into single family and multi-family housing (1HSW). The Southface Energy Institute, a nonprofit organization located in Atlanta, is home to some of the nation's leading experts in sustainable development. Southface has worked with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association to develop the EarthCraft House certification standards, a residential green building program that has been used to certify over 4,000 single family homes and 1,500 multi-family dwelling units. There are also six Earthcraft communities that have been built using these standards.

Please save the date for the opening reception February 19th, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Norwood Clinic.  The design boards will be on display in the Norwood Clinic lobby from February 19th until February 26th.  RSVP by February 18th.

Architecture + Nature = dreamArchitecture Teacher Workshop

click for gallery of photos
AIA Birmingham held a “Green” teacher workshop at the Green Resource Center for Alabama Saturday January 26th. The teacher workshop was held to help teachers prepare for the AIA Birmingham Chapter dreamArchitecture art contest.  dreamArchitecture is a k-5th grade art competition open to all area schools to stimulate students to think about their built environment. This year’s theme is “Draw Your Dream Nature House”.  
Despite the nasty weather, 9 area teachers and two students from Oak Grove High School attended the workshop. Sarah Dunn and Cindy Croyle of ArchitectureWorks presented a power point presentation on Architecture and Nature Preservation. The presentation highlighted; light pollution, energy conservation, construction site waste –what it means to our landfills and preservation of our natural resources.
The environmental impacts of buildings in the US are astounding, buildings in the US use 65.2% electricity annually, 40% raw materials, 12% potable water and 136 tons of construction and demolition waste in the US only. It is our goal to reduce these numbers with sustainable designs and regenerative designs to improve quality of life. 
Local artist Alley Bulka gave a hands’ on demonstration with the teachers and students and showed them how to make a paper mosaic recycling old magazines and construction paper.
Schools that participated in the workshop are; Hilltop Montessori, Robinson Elementary, Bessemer Academy, Hudson, Glen Iris, Advent Episcopal, Sun Valley, Avondale Elementary and St. Rose. Teachers received continuing education credits for attending. If you are interested in your child participating, please visit our website for more information: www.aiabham.org/dreamarchitecture.html

Integrated Practice + Architectural Education Symposium
What: Integrated Practice + Architectural Education Symposium (IP+AE.08) - This is a continuation of the symposium that was held last year here in Birmingham that focused on the developing need for collaboration, both in the academic and professional arenas, between the many disciplines involved in the successful delivery of the built environment.  We will once again have leaders in the fields of architectural education, architectural practice, and construction discussing their thoughts and first-hand experience related to new processes and technologies which are being used to respond to the growing demands of schedule, budget, and more complex building systems.
When:  February 20th, 1 to 5 pm.
Where:  Dudley Hall - School of Architecture, Auburn University
The Speakers at this year’s symposium include:
Renee Cheng, Head of the School of Architecture – University of Minnesota
Tom Hysell, Mortensen Construction – Denver Art Museum, Walker Art Center and Disney Concert Hall
Marty Doscher – Director of Technology, Morphosis
The symposium will provide HSW CEUs.  At this point, there is no pre-registration or fee required.

The Alabama Concrete Industries Association and the Masonry Institute of America
Present the Structural Masonry Special Inspection Workshops
Click here to register

Call for Entries. Prizes total $2 million.

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction presents the Holcim Awards to celebrate and promote sustainable construction around the world. If you are working to advance the values of sustainable construction, show us and enter now.

Past winners have included architects, urban planners, civil engineers, professors, industrial engineers, students—even a marine biologist. For complete details and to enter, go to holcimawards.org. Deadline is February 29, 2008.

Auburn Internship Fair
The Auburn Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) will be hosting its annual Internship Fair at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center in Auburn, Alabama, on the 11th and 12th of February 2008.  The Auburn University AIAS Chapter would love to see your firm there!  
Auburn students majoring in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, community planning, industrial design and interior design will be available for interviews.  Registration packets were mailed out a few days ago. If your firm has yet to receive a registration packet, you may email internshipfair@auburn.edu and the AIAS Chapter will send one to you.  Early registration (postmark by January 1st) receives the discounted rate of $300 for registration [After 1 January, the fee is $350].  Registration ends 25 January 2008.  Space is limited, so please register early.  There is a block of rooms reserved at Auburn University Hotel at a discounted rate of $99/night (space, again, is limited).  Firms are responsible for making their own arrangements through the Hotel.

Even if you cannot attend, you may still order a resume book for $20, in which every resume submission for all year-levels and majors is included. Please email Jennifer Smith at internshipfair@auburn.edu with any questions.

“Making Alabama Green”
A Full-Line Display of Environmentally-Conscious Products
WHO:             UAB Department of Supplier Diversity and L & S Enterprises
WHAT:           Mini-Trade Fair focusing on environmentally conscious water conservation products and services.
                                                                       
Displaying the following products:

• Zero Flush--Waterless Urinals
• Eyegiene--Self-cleaning Toilet Seats
• Clean Up America--Environmentally Friendly Pressure Washing Solution with Water Reclamation System
• EnviroGard--Low Pollution Lawn Mower System
• Technical Concepts--Touch Free Faucets, Touch Free Soap Dispensers, Auto Flush, Automatic Door Openers, etc.
• Filmop--Microfiber Mopping Systems
• Kaivac--No-Touch Cleaning Systems
• Enviro Solutions--Green Cleaning Solutions (cleaning chemicals, floor waxes, strippers and more)
• Recycled Can Liners
• Bobrick--Recycled Toilet Partitions Lockers, Hand Dryers and other Washroom Accessories

WHERE:
Marshall Conference Center
802 11th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35294
Free Parking
WHEN:
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served
WHY:
“Making Alabama Green”: L & S Enterprises, in conjunction with UAB Department of Supplier Diversity will display a line of environmentally conscious, water conservative products and services.
CONTACT:   
Ms. Scottie Y. McClaney, smc@uab.edu or 205-934-8762