Citizen architects struggle to find jobs

BAME PIET Staff Writer

"The recession has decimated the architecture profession, with firms closing or laying off large numbers of employees, architects are left jobless for months or years, and many end up leaving the profession entirely.Others are now leaving the country to seek opportunities elsewhere," said Moapare.

He cautioned that this brain drain threatens to reverse the gains the country has made. "Graduates are also finding it difficult to be absorbed into the market. This is a cause for concern to us and we will continue to engage our stakeholders to mitigate this problem.

We thus urge all corporate entities whether local or Botswana-based multi-nationals and property developers to employ the services of local architects to retain work in Botswana," he said. Moapare's revelations come at a time when government is also complaining about shortage of skilled manpower in the construction industry from engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, land surveyors and others, resulting in serious delays in completion of government projects.

"Our most serious challenge currently is to continue our collaboration with government for the Architects Regulation Council (ARC) to carry out its mandate of regulating the profession," he said. He lamented that the ARC faces financial challenges making it impossible to appoint a Registrar or to develop the rules and regulations necessary for regulating the architectural profession.

"The status quo means that we continue to operate in an unregulated environment. This is bad for business as anyone can operate as an architect without being subjected to rigorous scrutiny to ensure that they hold requisite qualifications and experience to serve the public," he said.

However, it is not all doom and gloom and there have been achievements made in the adoption of the Architects Registration Act of 2008, which provides the statutory framework for the registration of those wishing to practice architecture in Botswana.

AAB, he revealed, is also working with the University of Botswana Architecture Department, other design schools, and the Botswana Bureau of Standards to improve the construction industry in Botswana.Meanwhile, since its inception in 2003, the UB Department of Architecture and Planning has produced 41 graduates 2008 (4) 2009 (8), 2010 (9), 2011 (14), 2012 (6). It takes five years to train an architect.

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Citizen architects struggle to find jobs

Sunday, October 21, 2012

THE Philippine Institute of Architects (PIA) - Cebu Section is hoping for the full implementation of RA 9266 or the Architecture Law to protect their profession.

According to architect Dioscoro Alesna Jr. of PIA-Cebu Section, the law should be strictly implemented in the country to draw a clear line between architecture professionals and other aligned professions like civil engineering.

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The problem with civil engineers is the biggest challenge the sector is facing now, Alesna said. He said there are civil engineers who now design projects, which is supposed to be the task of architects.

Although both professionals may seem to have overlapping functions, architect Germain Ang of PIA-Cebu said each has completely different tasks and specializations.

People may think we are only limited to drawings but the practice of architecture entails more than that, said Ang, stressing that they coordinate with their clients from the conceptualization to completion of the project.

Architects, she said, ensure that the project is constructed based on how the clients envision it.

On the other hand, civil engineers function is to compute the structural stability of the project. They will see to it the project and the design will stand, Ang said.

The PIA-Cebu section announced they will be hosting the 80th PIA National Convention in Feb. 21 to 23, 2013.

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Architects seek full implementation of law

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Architects Corporation (IACH) announced today that the corporation continues to develop significant Heath Care Resources in a multi-layered consolidation effort with Logica Healthcare Group (www.LogicaHealthcare.com). This new addition to the IACH family represents another solid revenue stream in one of the fastest growing segments of the Healthcare Industry. The acquisition includes, but is not limited to, a 500 seat Healthcare and Data Management Center, TeleMedicine Systems for remote patient monitoring, an Interactive Healthcare TV channel, a Healthcare TV media management company, along with a system for Medical Device Reprocessing for over 12 FDA-approved single use devices (SUDs). IACH is continuing to put a solid Healthcare foundation in place to build from.

Tom Jaspers, CFO of Information Architects, states that "The integration of Logica into IACH, with its various positions in the health care field, allows us to continue adding to our medical services portfolio and enhances our future earnings potential. We are very excited to have Logica's management and operations teams join us as we continue to build the Company for 2013 and the future."

Jerome Rifino, President, Logica Healthcare Group, states that "Logica Healthcare addresses the delivery of wellness services to patients from the viewpoint of the healthcare administrator. Logica is aligning the application of breakthrough healthcare technologies with the needs of patient care professionals to meet rising costs of service without needing to sacrifice FTE healthcare practitioner effectiveness in their organizations. This results in improved patient satisfaction and more effective care delivery. Patient education is as critical to healthcare as nurse education and physician engagement. Logica Healthcare Media BowseCareTV bridges the gap between mere treatment and full participation of the healing process. Logica Healthcare solutions will eventually touch every aspect of the patient-doctor experience, from telemedicine data management to interactive ongoing doctor-client relationships on a global basis."

CORPORATE PROFILE

Information Architects Corp. (IACH) is a worldwide Medical and Life Settlement company.

"Forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. Information Architects Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the information technology and financial information industry), actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies, and the purchasing activity or lack thereof by registered web mall members.

*For more information contact Tim Connors @ 858-568-7059

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Information Architects Corporation continues to set a solid foundation for the Healthcare Industry with the addition ...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau is starting the search for architects to help improve the Robinson Center.

The Arkansas Symphony uses the music hall more than any other organization, which makes improving the acoustics the center's main priority.

"You want to feel the rumble in the base of your seat," says Symphony Music Director Philip Mann.

As CEO of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Gretchen Hall says they want to completely redesign and expand the Robinson Center.

"The capacity is 2600 and we are looking at losing a few hundred seats in this, but it will enhance the seats and will bring seats further in the back closer to the stage," says Hall.

The renovations will provide a more intimate feeling. Hall says the 75-year-old facility needs better lighting, more storage, updated restrooms, and a bigger lobby.

"It's a beautiful lobby. It's very small. We're looking at expanding that," says Hall.

While searching for the right architects to provide newdesigns, the iconic facade should remain relatively the same.

The hope is that beautifying the interior and enhancing the acoustics will help the symphony, but also other performances like the ballet, comedy and opera.

"(It will) give a new experience for all listeners of orchestral music in Central Arkansas," says Mann.

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Little Rock seeking architects for Robinson Center redesign

In an audio-visual presentation, Lewis urged Caribbean architects to look more closely at strategic planning and positioning their firms in order to compete effectively in an aggressive market. Since architecture represents enormous financial and human resources, Lewis recommended that Caribbean Architects look more closely at how they present architecture to the public, and suggested the need for good quality architectural photography as an effective means to achieve that objective.

Laventille, Trinidad (PRWEB) October 15, 2012

However, built examples of contemporary architecture are few and far between so the general public is not yet comfortable to know what is well-designed contemporary architecture or poorly designed modern buildings. I outlined some initiatives that I think are critical to achieving Joy of Architecture and some thoughts on how we can go about developing a Caribbean identity and Evolving Contemporary Architecture. said Lewis.

Presenting contemporary Caribbean architecture is a delicate art that needs to not only seduce its audience but also to portray architecture in a form that appropriately reflects the enormous level of financial and human resources needed to produce better buildings.

Lewis described the nature and scope of a comprehensive marketing plan necessary in todays competitive marketplace and went on to demonstrate how architectural photography is essential to the strategy and how good quality photography can go a long way in terms of showcasing contemporary architecture.

Today the public can now view architecture in many forms of media; including social media, internet marketing and even more traditional media such as newspapers, brochures, architectural and trade publications and even published books. Its not enough to produce good design, although this is important for us architects. It is necessary to present architecture in an appealing way so as to explain good design and its benefits. The public needs to understand what we do and why we do it - well photographed architecture forms the basis for this dialogue. commented Lewis.

During the course of his research and cataloging buildings within the region Lewis has this to say about emerging trends observed I am seeing definite signs of a new trend in design which suggests to me that we are at the beginning of a new wave of architecture in the Caribbean, broadly described as a contemporary design movement

He then went on to explain that he had decided that a well-designed book showing 40-50 fine examples of contemporary architecture would go a long way towards providing the public with a single reference point to see what has been done here in the Caribbean. Lewis then presented a mock-up of a new book he is working on called Contemporary Caribbean Architecture that will showcase up to 50 selected projects in the Caribbean and is due to be published in 2015. But the future of contemporary architecture also requires changes by architects themselves, particularly in the processes they use.

Contemporary architecture has become far more complex in the last 20 years and architects also need to keep up to date with rapid developments so as to continue to be relevant and serve their clients with state of the art design. Two critical tools that can help architects produce better buildings are 3D CAD modeling or BIM and sustainable design.

Describing some of the benefits of using an integrated approach with 3D modeling he summarized the following example on a small 5,000 square foot building our firm designed using BIM we detected some 1,800 conflicts in the design coordination with other consultants. A significant reduction in design coordination conflicts can yield substantial time and cost saving during construction.

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Brian Lewis of ACLA:WORKS Shares New Directions for Contemporary Caribbean Architects at FCAA Conference in Barbados

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Oct 16, 2012) - Mortgage Architects is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Sylvain Poirier as Lead Planner in Montreal, Quebec.Sylvain cited the reputation and visionary mind set of the management team at Mortgage Architects as key reasons for joining.

For over 2 decades Sylvain has been working in the financial field, operating one of the largest independent brokerages in Quebec."CUSTOMERS FIRST" is the key rule of conduct that guided Sylvain from the very beginning of his career. Today, it is the satisfaction of thousands of customers, supported by him throughout their personal and professional projects that reflect his noble motto.

Deeply involved in the emergence and development of new skills in his professional field, Sylvain Poirier has worked as an editor and has taught Mortgage Brokering at theCollege de l''immobilier du Qubec. He has served as Vice President for a major Canadian alternative lender and has also acted as a consultant forCAAMPandOACIQ.

We are honoured and thrilled to welcome Sylvain and Pentagone Services Hypothcairesour Mortgage Architects Professional Broker Network said Luisa Simonetti, VP- Quebec Region.A seasoned broker, he is well respected with the lender & the mortgage broker industry.He will be a great addition to our Quebec Brokers team.

Mortgage Architects is a national mortgage brokerage with a national network of brokers across Canada and offices in Toronto, Mississauga, Vancouver, Calgary, Laval and Halifax.

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Sylvain Poirier of Pentagone Services Hypothecaires Joins the Mortgage Architects Broker Network

Sustainable design is practically status quo now, but many clients are still unfamiliar with the lexicon surrounding building performance. Enter the architect. With this increased emphasis on energy efficiency, the onus of communicating and even assessing a buildings performance is starting to fall on the architect.

In the past, architects may have deferred to the engineer or dedicated energy modeler for the information, says Jim Hanford, AIA, the energy-efficiency leader in Miller Hull Partnerships Seattle office. But integrated design and increased client awareness are blurring the distinction in roles. As architects, were being asked to give more information about the performance we expect out of our projects, Hanford says. Energy modeling is how we can do it.

Assessing the performance and operations of a building is new territory for most architects. To help introduce architects to the relatively technicaland potentially intimidatingtopic, the AIA recently released An Architects Guide to Integrating Energy Modeling in the Design Process, a document that covers the building energy fundamentals and provides step-by-step instructions to predictingand hopefully reducingthe energy consumption of buildings.

Available as an online download for free, the 86-page guide was written, compiled, and reviewed by a committee of architects, sustainability experts, and building-science officials, as well as staff members at the AIA. The guide covers a range of topics on energy modeling, says Sean Quinn, Associate AIA, a sustainable design specialist based in the Washington, D.C., office of HOK. It gives a nice breakdown of the reasons why we care [about building energy performance] and definitions of key metrics such as energy use intensity and benchmarks, which are some of the things that confuse people the most, Quinn says.

The guide not only serves as a primer for energy modeling newcomers, but is also informative for people with experience in the process. For tech-y guys like myself, Quinn says, the review of energy modeling software toward the end of the guide is great because we have many designers who want to learn more about this stuff. The guide, he says, provides advice such as if you're trying to accomplish x, then look at this tool.

Other topics covered include a background on the role of energy modeling in the design process, baseline best practices, and suggestions on how architects can take a leading role in the energy discussion, from a projects conceptual design to post-occupancy. The guide also explains how architects can offer energy modeling as both a value-added service as well as an ongoing service.

The guide wont turn its readers into energy modeling experts. But it should empower architects to become integrally evolved in the [energy modeling] process, Hanford says. Too often we let the engineering side run with it, and in some cases they dont fully understand the intent of the design, or its hard for them to model. We need to be involved to ensure they're representing the architecture and design intent as best as it can be done.

Beyond the technical, financial, and business aspects, learning about building energy performance and modeling will also benefit design, Hanford says. In the past, energy modeling has been used by most firmsand ours as wellas a means to confirm the decisions that we've made and to quantify how much better we're performing than a typical building. As were working on more low-energy buildings and higher performing buildings, this offers an opportunity to drive design decisions.

As with any technology, the tools used for energy modeling are evolving every day. The AIA anticipates developing the second phase of its energy modeling guide next year, pending budget approval from its board this December.

Quinn, for one, looks forward to increased compatibility among building design and energy modeling software programs, which he says would streamline the workflow significantly. Hanford, the energy-efficiency veteran from Seattle, is optimistic about several upcoming programs that he is currently beta testing. Software programs that offer qualitative, simple, but still informative output, he says, could help encourage more designers to participate in energy modeling.

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AIA Releases Energy Modeling Guide for Architects

The Olympic Stadium failed to gain its final gold medal of a momentous year, after it was pipped to the UK's most coveted architecture prize.

The Olympic Stadium was shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling Prize

The 80,000-capacity stadium, by Populous, was one of six new buildings to be shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects' (Riba) Stirling Prize.

But the 20,000 prize went to 82 million Sainsbury Laboratory, a new plant science research centre in Cambridge designed by first-time winners Stanton Williams, at the ceremony in Manchester.

The judges described the laboratory as a timeless piece of architecture, a university building "taken to an extraordinary degree of sophistication and beauty".

Riba president Angela Brady said: "The Sainsbury Laboratory is an exceptional building that achieves at many levels - in blending a world-class science facility with a public social space in a highly energy efficient building. It is testament to the skill, experience and imagination of Stanton Williams architects that they have found a creative solution to this complex project."

The Stirling Prize is in its 17th year and celebrates the best of new British architecture.

The judging panel was led by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect and former president of the Royal Academy; Sir Mark Jones - master of St Cross College Oxford and former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum; architects Joanna van Heyningen and Hilde Daem; and the designer, writer and broadcaster Naomi Cleaver.

In their judgment, they said: "The Sainsbury Laboratory is a timeless piece of architecture, sitting within a highly sensitive site, one overlooking the woods where Darwin walked with his tutor and mentor (John Stevens) Henslow, discussing the origin of species. The project is both highly particular and specialised, and at the same time a universal building type, taken to an extraordinary degree of sophistication and beauty."

Funded by Lord Sainsbury's Gatsby Foundation charity, the centre that bears his name is part of the University of Cambridge. It was praised for its energy efficiency and green approach. Rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in two huge tanks which irrigate the garden's glasshouse and plant chambers. Lord Sainsbury said that he was "very proud" to be associated with the inspiring building.

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Laboratory wins architecture prize

A new plant science institute built to advance the research of plant growth and development, it features cutting-edge laboratories, meeting rooms and public spaces set within Cambridges botanical gardens.

Alan Stanton and Paul Williams, the directors of the London-based practice, were presented with the 20,000 prize at an award ceremony in Manchester on Saturday. It was the first time that Stanton Williams had been shortlisted for the prize.

Angela Brady, the RIBA president, said: The Sainsbury Laboratory is an exceptional building that achieves at many levels - in blending a world-class science facility with a public social space in a highly energy efficient building.

It is testament to the skill, experience and imagination of Stanton Williams architects that they have found a creative solution to this complex project. The low-rise building with its grand, colonnaded faade cleverly integrates itself with the surrounding botanical gardens and it is no surprise that the new public caf has proved to be extremely popular.

The building features energy efficient design, with rainwater collected from the roof and stored in two tanks which irrigate the gardens glasshouse and plant chambers.

Lord Sainsbury said: I am delighted that Stanton Williams has won the RIBA Stirling Prize for the Sainsbury Laboratory, in competition with some outstanding buildings. I am also very proud to be associated with their inspiring building which sets a new standard for laboratory design and blends in beautifully with the historic Botanic Gardens.

The RIBA Stirling Prize is awarded to the architects of the best European building that is built or designed in Britain.

Others shortlisted for this years Stirling Prize included David Chipperfield Architects for the Hepworth Wakefield gallery in West Yorkshire, ODonnell + Tuomey for the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, OMA for Maggies Centre in Gartnavel, Glasgow, OMA with Allies and Morrison for the New Court building in the City, and the London Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, designed by Populous.

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Sainsbury Laboratory wins 2012 Stirling Prize for architecture

R. Wayne Estopinal, AIA, ACHA, LEEDAP, President, TEG Architects, The Estopinal Group, a solution provider at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012, on planning and designing healthcare facilities to be more efficient and productive.

New York, NY, Oct 12, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - For many years now, healthcare organizations have tried to find efficiencies in their supply chain and staff, but most have not considered the facility as part of the solution, according to R. Wayne Estopinal, AIA, ACHA, LEEDAP, President, TEG Architects, The Estopinal Group. The good news is that it is not necessary to build a new facility to achieve the efficiency and productivity gains that TEG Architects considers possible.

A solution provider at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Fall 2012, in Dallas, Texas, October 21-23, Estopinal discusses how better designed healthcare facilities can be the answer the industry has been looking for.

- How can healthcare facilities become more profitable?

Maintaining profitability, in spite of declining margins, is the biggest issue in the industry today. In our opinion, the only way that healthcare facilities can achieve the patient outcome, staff productivity, efficiency, to satisfy reimbursement metrics, is by utilizing innovative planning and design strategies, and letting facilities become part of the solution. This is a new weapon for successful and dynamic healthcare providers, titled Efficient Design+Productive Care, at TEG planning and design strategy.

- What innovative strategies could you share?

We have conducted many years of evidence-based design, research looking at how facilities can add efficiency, and planning and design with innovative clinical solutions coupled with facility metrics to reduce your staffing costs for decades to come. Understanding how a hospital's clinical utilization fluctuates throughout the day and year, we identify opportunities for more efficient departmental designs and adjacencies of departments which are supportive and in many cases diametrically different in functions. Designing departments for their peak capacity is unnecessary, if the same space can be used for different purposes at different parts of the day.

Healthcare construction in the US costs USD 300-600 per square foot. That is capital that does not need to be poured into bricks and mortar or inefficient designs that cause you to spend more on staffing that would be required utilizing TEG's Efficient Design+Productive Care Strategies.

Another way is looking at how departments function and flow, and identifying how staff can be cross-utilized, how adjacencies can improve patient care and outcomes and how clinical capacities can be increased while staffing remains the same or is reduced. Our time and motion studies of multiple hospitals has found that staff spend only 30 per cent of their time on patient care, the rest going on moving between locations and getting the materials they need to provide care. Hospitals must improve on this, but most do not consider the facility as being integral to achieving efficiency and productivity.

- If building a new department or building is not an option, can this be achieved easily by reorganizing and renovating an existing facility?

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Making the Facility Part of the Solution in the Healthcare Industry