Miami the Magic City Hosts the 2010 AIA National Convention on Miami Beach

Wow. What an exciting two days so far at the American Institute of Architects national convention on Miami Beach Florida! And there’s still one more day. Not only did I meet some incredibly engaging architects but I learned about urban retail merchandizing strategies, the important role of building enclosure consultants, Cal Green, amazing future possibilities in airport design and the role of the AIA in international markets. I was honored as well to be a woman principal mentor for the Women in Architecture’s speed mentoring event organized by the NYC chapter. Kudos also to all the impressive tradeshow exhibitors – my favorites so far (and I only completed visiting half of the booths today) is the suction capsule-like glass elevator which rises up to 4 stories! It’s made by ‘Pneumatic Vacuum Elevators LLC’ and comes in 3 sizes including one that is ADA compliant. See the photo. Truly impressive and attractive! (Ignore the spider legs in the photo because those are just supports for the exhibit installation). I also loved a colorful and beautiful recycled glass product from Glass2 (http://www.glass2.com/) for use in counter-tops, interior/exterior wall cladding etc…(see photo) and lastly I loved the metal wall building envelope products from Firestone – also approved for use in our own Florida hurricane region.

So this is the first AIA national convention that I’ve attended since becoming an AIA member in 2006. I really had no excuse this year since it’s in my backyard and since I helped produce the good-looking and informative ‘Welcome Magazine’ that everyone received in their goodie bag;) The AIA is a fabulous support network and educational body for architects in the US and abroad. Membership is particularly valuable to me because of the networking and education components and this is what helps me lead CCS Architecture and Interior Design to stay current with products, technologies and business processes. Being an AIA member is not only rewarding but also a lot of fun. It’s fun to surround yourself with like-minded people and to share ideas.

 

Highlights from the continuing education courses that I attended include:

1. Learning that retail and merchandizing consultants are critical to urban planners. These consultants help define municipal business plans and help determine redevelopment district criteria.

2. Learning the importance of building enclosure consultants. Having them on the team tremendously enhances coordination efforts between architectural, structural and mep designs which can reduce liability dramatically.

3. Learning that Cal Green is the direction California has chosen for green building in lieu of relying only on the voluntary LEED certification of buildings. Is California paving the way for a national green building code in the USA? We shall see…

4. Being awed by the conceptual designs for Newark Airport in New Jersey presented by Grimshaw and Atelier Ten. Loved the concept of the ‘Garden Airport’ for the ‘Garden State’! Especially since I spent 2 ½ years studying at the beautiful Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ, whose campus was designed in part by Frederick Law Olmstead. How beautiful. Can’t forget my Jersey connection Overall the presentation was extremely clear given its time slot on Friday evening 6-7pm and attendance was great. Well done!

5. My final memorable highlight was learning how GLOBAL the AIA is and learning about our chapters in Europe, the Middle East, Japan and Hong Kong. The most important point discussed however was that global firms are traditionally healthiest at home first but in today’s economy, particularly in the USA, we’re seeing that American firms are healthier abroad than at home. Interesting trend…

I’ve really enjoyed the past two days at my first AIA national convention and am looking forward to completing my rounds tomorrow at the tradeshow’s other half. Many thanks to all those people who have exchanged business cards with me yesterday and today and absolutely let’s keep in touch and meet again next year in New Orleans Louisiana if not sooner;)


Best wishes,


CCS Architect


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