Vote in the 2024 USA Elections

As you know, 2024 is an election year in the USA.  Living in the UK does not affect your right to vote but may take a bit of planning.  If you are already registered to vote in your home state, you need to contact your local election board and ask for an absentee ballot or go to www.fvap.gov to obtain the standard form.  This must be done for each year that you plan to vote.  If you aren’t registered to vote, or you’re not sure, go to www.votefromabroad.org to register and request your ballot for 2024.  As we saw from the last presidential election, every vote counts.  It is important to exercise your right to vote!

Movie Night - The Destruction of Memory

History keeps repeating itself. We first screened this documentary in 2017, at the height of the War in Syria. It was a sold-out screenings, and likewise seven years later, in an equally sold-out cinema, we still found ourselves plagued with evermore destruction of the built environment and cultural heritage all across the World. This documentary is a powerful reminder that there is so much more that still needs to be done to protect our cultural heritage for future generations. 

Over the past century, cultural destruction has wrought catastrophic results across the globe. This war against culture is not over - it's been steadily increasing. The push to protect, salvage and rebuild has moved in step with the destruction. Legislation and policy have played a role, but heroic individuals have fought back, risking and losing their lives to protect not just other human beings, but our cultural identity - to save the record of who we are. Based on the book of the same name by Robert Bevan, The Destruction of Memory tells the whole story - looking not just at the ongoing actions in Syria and other contemporary situations, but revealing the decisions of the past that allowed the issue to remain hidden in the shadows for so many years. Interviewees in the film include the Director-General of UNESCO, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as diverse and distinguished international experts, whose voices combine to address this urgent issue.

Many in the audience found this documentary both emotional and frustrating. We were fortunate to have two gentlemen —Patrick Hughes and Matt Amis, from Six Heritage in the audience. 

They kicked off the post movie debate by telling us about their organisation, as well as giving us first hand experience of their upcoming work in Ukraine. Similar to some of the Organisations featured in the documentary, they shall be heading to a war zone where they will document cultural heritage assets that are at risk of destruction. We are most grateful for the risks and sacrifices teams such as theirs take to safeguard our cultural identity. 

We shall return to the BFI Stephen street in March for our next screening, which will be in honour International Women’s Day, and we will be showcasing the work of a phenomenal woman Architect. 

Stay tuned and we look forward to seeing you at screenings again in the fall.

Written by Chris Musangi, AIA

Sustainability Series Roundup Feb/March

WHY DO ARCHITECTS STRUGGLE TO DESIGN LOW ENERGY BUILDINGS OR REFUGEE SHELTERS?

On Wednesday 6th March 2024,  we continued our ongoing series of sustainability events with an online talk given by David Coley (Professor of Zero Carbon Design, University of Bath) exploring why architects struggle to design low energy buildings. Starting from the premise that climate change is fundamentally about people and their suffering - and so anthropogenic climate change is weaponising the environment against ourselves - he argued that buildings can be ugly by the harm they can do, but you need to know what to look for.  He showed how this harm can be significantly reduced by ensuring the design is informed by very simple calculations, which should be the norm for all projects from architecture school onwards.  

The recording of the talk, along with the online quiz so you can receive 1 HSW LU credit for watching it, can be found on the AIA-UK website HERE.

ENGAGING THE WORLD AT COP 28, CLIMATE ACTION, OPPORTUNITIES AND THE ROLE OF THE ARCHITECT

On Wednesday 21st February 2024,  we continued our ongoing series of sustainability events with an online talk given by Illya Azaroff FAIA (Lead AIA Delegate, CoP28; Professor, New York City of Technology (CUNY); Founding Principal, +LAB  Architecture).  He discussed the key elements and outcomes of the AIA's work at the most recent UN Climate Change Conferences CoP 27 and CoP 28. Topics covered included: the foundations of global finance's shift to adaptation through the Marrakesh agreement; the global stock take of climate action called for; and a summary of the key elements and outcomes that are relevant for the AEC industry. Opportunities and actions for architects were discussed throughout the talk.

The recording of the talk, along with the online quiz so you can receive 1 HSW LU credit for watching it, can be found on the AIA-UK website, HERE.

INTEGRATING DEEP SUSTAINABILITY ANALYSIS INTO YOUR DESIGN PROCESS

On Thursday 8th February 2024, Caomhe Loftus (Associate, Arcadis) continued our ongoing series of sustainability events with an online talk exploring the importance of integrating deep sustainability analysis into your design process. She highlighted the urgency of the climate emergency, the key role architects play in that, and so the need to use rigorous sustainability analysis in the design process to minimise and optimise the energy use of the final proposed building.  Through a hands-on demonstration she showed participants how to use key software to make effective early massing iterations for any specific site context to optimise for solar gain and energy usage.

The recording of the talk, along with the online quiz so you can receive 1 HSW LU credit for watching it, can be found on the AIA-UK website, HERE.

Written by Mark Breeze, AIA

Beale & Co News: Courts Enforce an Overriding Duty of Care Clause

An overriding duty of care clause (limiting duties to reasonable skill and care) has in recent years become more common and more desirable to negotiate into contracts involving design. In a key recent decision in which Beale & Company Solicitors LLP acted for AECOM, the successful party, the court upheld the effect and importance of an overriding duty of care clause. 

Written by Andrew Croft, Felicity Hird and Rhia Gould

AIA CONTINENTAL EUROPE MARCH 2024 ‘MINI CONFERENCE’ / Bologna

Given the success of AIA Continental Europe’s two 2023 Conferences – Sicily in the Spring and Chinon in the Fall – it was disappointing to discover AIA CE had nothing planned for Spring 2024.  It looked like waiting for the Sofia Conference in October was going to be a wearisome experience…

But AIA CE is a chapter with multiple, regional sections, and the Italian Section - with a plethora of enticing cities just awaiting a chance to show off - came to the rescue with its own ‘Mini Conference’ this March.  It was only two days, promised only 10 HSW continuing education units and signed up only 25 architects, but due precisely to this smaller scale and relaxed atmosphere, it was a learning experience packed with a great deal of FUN. 

Bologna was once described as the ‘City of Towers’.  Alas – the towers have been falling by the wayside, and first impressions found instead that Bologna was a ‘City of Porticos’.  Or should that be ‘City of Extended Porticos’, or maybe ‘City of Colonnades’, or even ‘City of Arcades’?  Let us not quibble; the citizens of Bologna call them porticos without hesitation, and even UNESCO celebrates the term. They are everywhere.

Also, the citizens of Bologna being practical people without a local source of marble paved their porticos with cheap, durable terrazzo.  However, for some reason no one refers to Bologna as the ‘City of Terrazzo’.  Along with the porticos, terrazzo is everywhere, and the combination works exceedingly well.

To its enthusiastic visitors – including those not burdened with an architectural perspective - Bologna is unequivocally the ‘City of Food’, and the Mini Conference organisers capitalised on this; first, with a ‘Historical Walking & Food Tour’ ending in a ‘Wine & Food Tasting’ and, second, with a sponsored luncheon/lecture the next day in one of Bologna’s most popular seafood restaurants. 

As excellent as the food was, the Mini Conference was not without serious content.  The event organiser, Morgan Danner AIA, described her work in expeditionary construction based at the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAFAC) in Naples.    

To paraphrase her, expeditionary construction is, ‘construction that is for expeditious purposes in assisting military operations or emergency response teams in forward deployed environments; environments usually remote or austere in location, or have been disrupted by war, crises, manmade or natural disasters, or undergoing civil unrest’.

Whereas one might expect military operations to require cost effective design, superior logistics and expedited construction, Danner’s emphasis on applying the same criteria to disaster relief and emergency responses was a satisfying diversion that earned instant respect.  

Other speakers included Marc Di Domenico AIA speaking on behalf of one of the event sponsors, the Institute of Design International, established by Domenico in Florence.  AECOM, another event sponsor (and consultant to NAFAC), also spoke on how it approached sustainability issues in its projects. 

A highlight of the weekend was a tour entitled ‘The Red City with its Porticos and Stairs’, which reached parts of the city still undiscovered by the attendees.  Bologna, in addition to its towers, porticos, terrazzo and food, has been a historic ‘City of Learning’ and remains a university town complete with both modern and ancient libraries and laboratories as well as an impressive catalogue of scientific discoveries.  

While the façade of Bologna’s Basilica of San Petronio in the city’s main piazza remains strangely unfinished due to city and papal rivalries dating back centuries, architects have been proposing solutions for its completion since the Middle Ages. 

Their submittals are kept in a special room in the Basilica that was opened for the group’s architectural inspection.  Seeing a Palladio competition drawing was an extra special treat, although his plan was too faint to capture in the photograph.

If you are not aware of AIA CE’s conferences and regional events but are looking for a user-friendly way to earn continuing education units while indulging in a European city break, look them up on AIA CE’s website HERE.  These international conferences are a bargain, and AIA UK members are always welcomed.  

Written by L D King, AIA

All Photos by L D King, AIA (unless noted otherwise). Late change - the original ‘Leaning Tower of Bologna’ photo now replaced with one by Royce Lanier AIA. Other Bologna tower pictures offered as replacements are included in the slide show below.  Photos by Lorraine King AIA, Royce Lanier AIA, Sergio Danese AIA and Rada Doytcheva FAIA.

The 2nd and last wine / food tasting of the long weekend with lingering attendees.  Photo by the waiter!

New Chapter Sponsor! Axalta Powder Coatings

The AIA UK board of directors is excited to announce Axalta Powder Coating Systems UK Ltd is joining the chapter as a Partner Sponsor!!

Axalta is an American company and is one of the world’s leading suppliers of powder coating technologies to industry.  Their high-quality thermosetting options are formulated and manufactured to meet the diverse needs of the decorative and functional coatings industries.  Axalta’s Alesta® line of powder coatings have many applications within the design and construction industry due to their durability, versatility, and environmental advantages.  Some specific application areas include:

• Architectural Extrusion

• Facades, Cladding & Curtain walls

• Roofing

• Structural Steel

• Decorative Metalwork

• Fencing and gates

Axalta has their London Colour Experience Showroom at the Building Centre on Store Street.  Here you can find information on their materials and view their full range of RAL colours.  Axalta’s Specification Leader, Dami Babalola, is happy to meet you there, or in your office, to discuss their materials that are available for architects and other design professionals.  You can contact Dami at dami.babalola@axalta.com  And for further information, please visit www.axalta.co.uk/powder

We are looking forward to working with Axalta this year and to introducing you to Dami and her colleagues at Axalta Powder Coating Systems UK!