SAVE THE DATES

March 11.            FREE Sponsorship Appreciation Luncheon FREE
                           11:00 – 1:00
                           Alabama Power
                           1200 6th Ave. N, 3 story brick building (on right), 3rd floor
                           (Note: not the one on 18th)

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

April 15                FREE Chapter Meeting – 1 HSW
                            Alagasco Midtown Business Center
                            20 South 20th St
                            Fish Fry Sponsored by BLOCK USA
                            Speaker TBA

Sponsor Appreciation Luncheon/Mini-Tradeshow March 11
It is time for our Spring sponsorship appreciation luncheon. The luncheon will be held at the Alabama Power Building on 1200 6th Ave. N, 3 story brick building (on right), 3rd floor (Note: not the one on 18th). Parking is available across the street. Please notify aiabirm@aiabham.org if you will need a ½ of a display table. Outlets are available, but you will need to bring your own extension cord. Please let us know in advance if you will need an outlet. All 2008 sponsorships have to be turned in by March 7th to participate in the sponsorship appreciation luncheon. Thank you for your support of AIA Birmingham. Click here for 2008 sponsor brochure

The Smorgasbord by Danya Humaideh

Congratulations to David Blackmon for having the first correct response to the question posed in last month’s newsletter! The “eco-village” is called the Beddington Zero Energy Development and is located in Wallington, England. Good work all!

This month, Job Dissatisfaction…Where does it come from and what can be done to fix it?

A lack of job satisfaction seems to be a trend lately. Why? There has to be a reason, right? Is it a boss? Is it the pay? Is it the way business is conducted? It could be one or all of these things but there are ways to fix it.
Managers must give their employees motivation to keep up the efforts. This could include anything from a good pat on the back to an increase in pay. Either one is a good way to increase a person’s feeling of self-worth. Without that, we are just left with something to pay the bills. Our jobs practically consume our lives; if we are not happy then what is the point?

Managers: Ask your employees what they think…not a few but all because it is a group effort to keep the company going. Also, showing some appreciation for a job well done can go a long way.

Does Your Child Want to be an Architect?
We are inviting all member and sponsor children who are in kindergarten through fifth grade to participate in dreamArchitecture.   Artwork has to be turned in to the AIA office by April 11th.  Judging will be held April 16th.  The awards ceremony will be held at SawWorks Studio May 8th, 2008.
Please click here http://www.aiabham.org/dreamarchitecture.html for complete details and criteria to enter. Photo at left: Azland Trotter, daughter of Intern Director Danny Trotter.

The opening reception (click for photo gallery) February 19th was a huge success.  Around eighty people attended the reception.  Attendees included AIA members, Norwood Neighborhood Association, Auburn Urban Studio, Norwood doctors and administration, Aletheia House, the jury for the design competition and several other organizations. 
The winners were announced at the February 26th chapter meeting. (click for photo gallery) Congratulations to Roman Gary and Michael Hallisey of Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds  who won 1st place, 2nd Place Erdreich Architecture, Jeremy Erdreich, Ashley McClure, Andrew Olds and Douglas Shaddix, 3rd Place, Town Planning & Urban Design Collaborative, LLC ,Kenny Craft and Honorable Mention, Williams Blackstock, Susan Hentz, Rebecca Lazenby and Melissa Sullivan. We would like to thank everyone who participated in the competition.  We realize it took a lot of your time and energy to participate in this competition.  We are very proud of our chapter for leading this competition.  A family will now have a home with a great design. 
The 11 teams who participated in this design competition are: Lori Lessem, Ellen Hawley, Chris Reebals, Melissa Sullivan, Susan Hentz, Rebecca Lazenby, Charles Horn, Scott Pickens, Kyle Franklin, Jeremy Erdreich, Ashley McClure, Andrew Olds and Douglas Shaddix, Kenny Craft, William Michael Dudley, Erin Gregg, Josef Fischer, Ryan Barncastle, Brian DiRusso, Roman Gary, Michael Hallisey, Preston Hite, Mike Gibson, Sarah Tillotson and Alex Krumdieck.
Thank you all for taking the time to participate in this event to help those in need.

Intern Site Visit
AIA Intern Site visit to The New Stewart Perry Building
March 20th at 4:00pm
Directions:
Approximately 20 minutes from downtown.
Located on Overton Road between Liberty Park (I-459 exit 23) and Grant’s Mill Road (I-459 exit 27)
From I-459 take Exit 23 towards Liberty Park. Turn left at light (Dairy Queen on left) onto Overton Road.
Job site is on the right approximately 2 miles. The site entrance (from Overton) is about 100 yards past the job trailer.
There should be enough parking on site (possibly muddy). Meet in front of the job trailer. Hard hats and proper shoes.

Design Awards – Call for Entries
Do you remember all the reasons to enter the AIA Birmingham Design Awards?
Let us refresh your memory…

• The winning firms are on a slide show on the home page of the AIA Birmingham website.
• All entries are posted on the Design Awards and Honors page of the AIA Birmingham website.
• The AIA Birmingham website had over 7,000 hits last month.
• The AIA office receives calls on a regular basis requesting information on firms/architects to use for commercial and residential.  They are referred to the AIA Birmingham website.
  See the 2007 Design Awards on the website.  http://www.aiabham.org/designawards.htm

• Your firm has completed some very impressive work and recognition feels great!
• Show off your work!

Residential- Residential - Residential- Also, this year we are partnering with Portico Magazine to profile the RESIDENTIAL winners in the July or August issue.  We are still working on the details.  This is the year you should make time to enter the AIA Birmingham Design Awards.
Save these DATES!
February 5th – Call for Entries
March 19th – Entry forms are due     
April 30th – Disc and boards are DUE.
The judging will take place in Boston during the National AIA Convention.

Green Coast
GreenCoast is the premiere green build conference on the Northern Gulf Coast. Come enjoy springtime in Mobile. Mark your calendar for April 9-10, 2008. (www.greencoastonline.com) The coastal region is experiencing rapid growth and sustainable building practices – green building – are environmentally responsible and economically beneficial. As more and more builders, architects, developers, government officials, and citizens are talking about green building, GreenCoast is the perfect place to learn more about sustainability in the coastal region. GreenCoast will feature interactive education sessions on commercial and residential design and construction as well as public topics related to sustainability. You can check out the latest products and services at the Green Expo and have your questions answered from company professionals.  A pre-conference workshop will feature in-depth information on LEED® New Construction. Continuing Education Credits will be offered
GreenCoast 2008 is presented and produced by Smart Coast and the U.S. Green Building Council, Alabama Chapter.

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

How to Get an Architects Attention Seminar
The sponsor seminar was a huge success.  We would like to thank Pat Conrad, our mediator for a great job keeping everyone in line.  Our panel of architects, Trevor Matchett, Fred Yeager, Roman Gary and Richard Richard were able to answer every question.  We have had nothing but positive feedback from everyone.  This seminar gave the architects a better understanding of being on the sponsor side.  If you were unable to attend and would like a list of the questions and answers, please contact danya@aiabham.org and we will mail them to you.  Thank you again for your participation.