FYI Members Newsletter

Happy Holidays!  Merry Christmas!   Happy Hannukah!  Happy New Year!

AIA Christmas Party
We want to thank Urban Earth for having our Christmas party again this year.  The egg nog gets better each year!  Thanks to all our members and sponsors who attended. Click here to view more photos.

NEW ARE Study Guides
The Birmingham Chapter has recently purchased (much needed) new Kaplan ARE Study guides.  Included in this package are study guides for each section of the test, flash cards, question and answer book and a test disk.
There are new rules for checking these materials in and out.
Deposit:  $50 cash deposit (returned as soon as all materials are checked in)
Check out period:  two weeks.
Late fees:  $1 per day for every day past 14 calendar days.
Material will be checked out as a group; study guide, flash cards and sample Q & A book.  Once you check this study material back in, you can check out the test disk for two weeks.  Please call the AIA office with any questions.

January Chapter Meeting
The January Chapter meeting will be January 17th (11:30 - 1:00) at Bear Creek Glass, 2717 2nd Ave. South.
For more information about Bear Creek Glass, please visit their website bearcreekglass.com. (1 CEU) Please RSVP to the AIA office by January 13, 2005.

Lunch with Governor Riley
Make plans to join us Friday, January 20th as Governor Riley will discuss the future of the building industry in our state, what is going on around us today and where we are headed tomorrow. Deadline for reservations: Tuesday, January 10. Click here for more info. and click here for the reservation form.

Architects’ Committee To Help the Homeless
AIA Birmingham has formed a new committee which will be charged with finding new ways that our organization can support and assist the many wonderful homeless programs in our city to help reduce chronic homelessness in our area. If you are interested in volunteering your time and efforts for a good cause, please contact Arch Trulock at 254-3212.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY DON MORRISON.
A visit to Renzo Piano's addition to Atlanta's High Museum of Art and especially the exhibition of, Celebrate Architecture ! Renzo Piano & Building Workshop, a display of Piano's architectural models and designs. Free admission to the museum's and the Andrew Wyeth show, Memory & Magic, for Members of Birmingham's Museum of Art.
The High Museum is closed on Mondays and holidays. www.arcspace.com.
This will be a new section of the monthly newsletter, “architects recommendation”.  If you see an exhibit or project you think other architects would appreciate and enjoy please email aiabirm@aiabham.org with details.

THE NCARB ROLLING CLOCK TAKES EFFECT ON 1/1/06!
Current and future A.R.E. takers are reminded that the rolling clock, which will be officially implemented on January 1, 2006, requires that candidates for the A.R.E. pass the nine-division exam within five years.  Three transitional rules, which are noted below, will guide this process.
•Applicants who have passed all divisions of the A.R.E. by January 1, 2006, regardless of the time taken, such applicants will have passed the A.R.E.
•Applicants who have passed one or more but not all divisions of the A.R.E. by January 1, 2006, such applicants will have five years to pass all remaining divisions. A passing grade for any remaining division shall be valid for five years, after which time the division must be retaken if the remaining divisions have not been passed. The five-year period shall commence after January 1, 2006, on the date when the first passed division is administered.
•Divisions passed before January 1, 2006 will not have to be retaken.*
For applicants who have passed no divisions of the A.R.E. by January 1, 2006, such applicants shall be governed by the above five year requirement. The five-year period shall commence on the date when the first passed division is administered.  For detailed information regarding the rolling clock or the A.R.E, visit the NCARB web site: http://www.ncarb.org/are/index.html  
*Satisfaction of the National Rolling Clock Standard is required for NCARB Certification and future registration in other states.

NOTICE
THE REVISED TECHNICAL CODES OF THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM WITH THE FOLLOWING REFERENCED BUILDING CODES ARE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2006:

INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE  2003 ED.
INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE 2003 ED.
INTERNATIONAL EXISTING BUILDING CODE  2003 ED.
INTERNATIONAL PLUMBING CODE  2003 ED.
INTERNATIONAL MECHANICAL CODE  2003 ED.
INTERNATIONAL FUEL GAS CODE  2003 ED.
INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE  2003 ED.
NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE 2005 ED.

NEW PROJECTS SUBMITTED AFTER JANUARY 1, 2006
WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE LATEST EDITION OF THE TECHNICAL CODES AND THE REFERENCED BUILDING CODES LISTED ABOVE

Alabama Remodeling Excellence Awards
Remodeling Excellence Awards Brochure (click for brochure in PDF format)

Mobile Seminar
click here for more info on this seminar
The Structural Engineers Association of Alabama (SEAoAL) will be holding a seminar on Designing Loadbearing Mid-rise Construction Using Cold-Formed Steel Framing in Mobile, Alabama on January 24, 2006 at the Mobile Marriott from 11:00 to 4:00. Architects will be able to earn learning units for the program.  For more information please contact:  Linda S. Delahay, SEAoAL Executive Director,   (205) 540-7197, lsdelahay@pobox.com.