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How proud are we to launch the new newsletter format? Thanks for your patience as we worked our way through new communications technology. We owe much to Jesse Wilmoth, Assoc. AIA, who has transformed our web site, created this newsletter format and serves as our consultant on all things 21st century. Next up - an on-line firm directory at no cost to you. Our 2010 plan includes more... we will launch a regular podcast by April 15. We have the beginnings of a Facebook page and are exploring other social networking. Remember the old "high tech, high touch"? Warren Goodwin, FAIA, and I are visiting with as many firms as possible during our trips to each chapter. We'll be in Memphis, March 17-18. Let us know if you'd like us to stop by your offices. You set the agenda.
Make your plans to attend Architects' Day on the Hill March 24, and note the dates of our convention - August 4-7, 2010. Send us your news for publication, along with feedback on what you'd like communicated to you. Come on, spring!!
Connie Wallace, Hon. AIA
Executive Vice President
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Barry Alan Yoakum, FAIA, Elected to College of Fellows
 The American Institute of Architects elevated 134 architects to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made contributions of national significance. Barry Alan Yoakum, FAIA, archimania, Memphis; is one of four Gulf States architects recognized.
A masterful design leader, Barry facilitates a collaborative design approach to deliver modern solutions that integrate sustainable strategies to encourage architectural dialogue. He has advanced the design profession as speaker, critic, collaborator and author on a nationwide basis.
Yoakum will be invested at the 2010 AIA national convention in Miami on June 11.
Stuth Wins National Award
 Tricia Stuth, AIA, received one of nine AIA Young Architects Awards for exceptional leadership and significant contributions early in her career. She is an assistant professor at the UT College of Architecture and Design, co-founder and partner in the firm Curb, and co-founder and principal in the architectural collaborative Applied Research, which combines the research interests of four UT faculty members.
Stuth holds both BS and M.Arch degrees from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She spent three and a half years as an intern architect at the Miller Hull Partnership in Seattle. In 2008, Stuth was one of only two educators nationwide to be awarded the ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award to recognize “the importance of good education in housing design to produce architects ready for practice in a wide range of areas and able to be capable leaders and contributors to their communities.”
Architects' Day on the Hill
 Spend the day in Nashville on Wednesday, March 24. Visit your legislator, sit in on a one-hour workshop on getting state work, spend three hours at The Tennessee Residence to tour the home restoration and design/construction of the new underground Conservation Hall. Wrap up your day with a Legislative Reception and silent auction at The Parthenon.
2010 AIA Tennessee Convention Planning Under Way
Mark your calendar for August 4-7, 2010, for our annual convention and products exhibition. We are back in middle Tennessee at Embassy Suites, Murfreesboro, site of a brand new convention center... with some great shopping at the adjacent The Avenue. We'll have lots of program information very soon.
You can already make hotel reservations by calling 615-890-4464 or 1-800-EMBASSY. Please request a room in the American Institute of Architects block, with a room rate of $129, single or double, full breakfast, and happy hour included.
How Are your Health Care Projects Working Out for You?
Brian Clarke, AIA, of Derthick Henley and Wilkerson, Chattanooga, is chair of a board appointed task force charged with finding solutions to outdated codes, delayed plans reviews and other difficulties in working with the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment. Please send to Brian your information on problematic projects, including project name, location, review times being experienced, and any other problems you are experiencing. You may contact Brian at bclarke@dwh-architects.com.
Gulf States Region Honor Awards 2010 Call for Entries
Pull together your best projects for the 2010 Gulf States Region Honor Awards. The Call for Entries went out today, and celebrates the quality of Architecture in our region and pays tribute to our deserving Architects for their design excellence. Thad R. Kelly III, AIA – Arkansas will act as the Program Chair of the 2010 Honor Awards.
There are three steps to the entry process: First, submit entry form, fee and classification by March 12, 2010. Second: You will receive a Code Number and complete PowerPoint template for each entry via email. Third: Submit the electronic entry on a CD by 5:00 p.m. on April 13, 2010. No submittals will be accepted via email.
State Fire Marshal's Office (SFMO) Rolls Out AEPLANS
The Codes Enforcement Section of the Department of Commerce and Insurance has rolled out AEPLANS. With this application, the SFMO can now accept electronic plans, documents and payments for new projects through the internet state portal. All new documents can be submitted electronically, and one paper set of the approved plans must be kept at the construction site.
The website's URL is: https://www.tennesseanytime.org/aeplans/. Information is also available on the web site to assist in choices of preferred file formats, etc.
For additional information, contact the Codes Enforcement Section at 615-741-7190 or codes.admin@tn.gov.
AIATN'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT... A member recently told the outlandish story of his latest plans review submittal for a Tennessee Technology Center project to the SFMO. Guess how long his review took? Would you believe FOUR days? Guess how many revisions/notes he received? NONE. Give the SFMO a prize as well as notations in both Ripley's Believe it or Not and the Guiness Book of World Records!! This really is a new day.
News from the A/E Licensing Board
A/E Licensing Board Revises Reference Manual for Building Officials and Design Professionals
John Cothron, Executive Director of the Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners, announced the publication of an updated manual. Copies were mailed to every registrant, and the 2009 edition is available on the website, www.tn.gov/commerce/boards/ae. The more significant changes include:
- Signage exemptions based on recent law change.
- Clarification about Qualifications Based Selection.
- Deleting references to one-hour and two-hour fire-rated separation between tenant spaces.
- Deleting references to Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) since the SFMO no longer requires MIC testing.
$200,000 Awarded to Seven State Universities from A/E Board Reserves
Because this Board is so well funded and managed, it routinely makes a profit each year. Until we passed legislation allocating a portion of the reserves to state universities, your excess licensing fees went back to the state's general fund. Now you help to fund equipment needs of the state's accredited design programs. The UT College of Architecture and Design received $40,000. Once the University of Memphis program is accredited, it will also receive funding.
A/E Rule Making Hearing- April 22, 2010
These proposed changes are more substantial than the usual housekeeping measures. Please let Connie know any concerns you have about these proposals OR contact the A/E Licensing Board directly.
- Rule 0120-02-08. Changes definition of responsible charge and permits remote electronic or communications means.
- Rule 0120-02-08 Seals. Requires registrant to add a note below the seal noting the expiration date of the registrant's certificate of registration. The justification is noting expiration date will remind registrant to renew in timely manner. This one is creating some controversy.
- Rule 0120-02-09. Permits civil penalties of $50-1,000 for failure to notify Board of address change or failure to file corporate disclosure.
- Rule 0120-05-06. Allows K-12 or higher education outreach activities to count for continuing education credit—maximum of 4 hours per biennium. Also creates reciprocity for continuing education. Perhaps other states will do the same.
Your CES Credits – a Cautionary Tale
Since the inception of mandatory education, your credits have been recorded and maintained through the University of Oklahoma. They've done a terrific job and have been great partners. We are told that AIA National will take this process in-house, effective April 1, 2010. No AIA data transfer has been pain-free, and I have serious concerns about maintaining the integrity of the program. Please print out a copy of your records for safe-keeping.
Time to Nominate AIA Gulf States Director
If you are interested in serving a three year term as a member of AIA National Board of Directors, now is your opportunity for consideration. Recent Gulf States directors from Tennessee have included Marion Fowlkes, FAIA; David Wooley, FAIA; and L. Duane Grieve, FAIA. Contact Connie or Sheila for a qualifying form. The election will occur during this August's 2010 AIA Tennessee annual membership meeting at our convention.
Member News
McRae Outlines Plans to Step Down
UT College of Architecture and Design John McRae, FAIA, has announced his plans to step aside as dean in the summer of 2011. "I believe it is the time and would be the right transition for the college," McRae commented. "I will be rejoining the faculty for fall, 2011, after six years as dean and three decades in college administration. A search committee will be set later this spring, and the professional community will be involved in the process," McRae added.
McRae also stated that everything will proceed with momentum in the college. "As of this year, we now have a new School director, a new LA chair; and we are about to have a new ID chair."
New Firm: LM-Architecture
Two University of Memphis graduates with a variety of experiences in and around the Memphis, have decided that a down economy is a perfect time to start their own full service architecture firm. With projects already on the boards, Tim McCullough, AIA, and Douglas Leininger, Associate AIA, have joined talents and are optimistic about the future. Contact Tim McCullough or Douglas Leininger, 5250 Keatswood Cove, Memphis, TN 38120. www.LM-architecture.com Help for Unemployed Architects
AIA dues assistance programs: contact your local AIA chapter for specifics.
AIATN convention scholarships: contact Sheila, Molly or Connie at 615-255-3860.
Additional free CES programming: contact local chapter or AIA Tennessee.
Knoxville firm has a few BIM stations available for training: contact Connie at AIATN.
Obama Nominates ARCHITECT for Architect of the Capitol
 Nominating an architect for Architect of the Capitol sounds like a given, but that is not the case. Two of the three finalists under President Bush were managers, due in most part to Congress' frustration about the ill-advised Visitors' Center…which of course became a mess thanks to the interference of Congress. Congressman Zach Wamp was a national champion for the selection of an architect, but the closest we got to a win was simply waiting out the Bush administration.
Stephen T. Ayers, AIA, has been acting architect of the Capitol since 2007. Under his leadership, the AOC has reduced carbon emissions, improved energy efficiency and implemented sustainable design initiatives throughout the Capitol complex. He is committed to supporting small business and diversity. He has the endorsement of AIA, and he must still endure Senate confirmation.
In Memoriam
William (Bill) Eades, Jr., AIA
Architect and life long member William (Bill) Eades, Jr., AIA, passed away the morning of Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at Baptist Memorial Hospital. He was known for his work in the hotel industry and, after a brief retirement, had remained active as an architectural consultant until his passing.
Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis, photographer by profession and passion, died on June 4, 2009. Prior to moving to Nashville, he worked for 22 years in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park Botanical Gardens as a horticulturist and curator of international plants. A trust at Regions Bank replaces trees lost in recent years in Historical Glendale Park, his neighborhood for 15 years. Contributions can be made to Michael Lewis Trust for Trees and mailed to Regions Bank; attn David Harris, 329 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027.
D. K. Ruth
D. K. Ruth died on August 26 of complications related to heart disease. A co-founder of the Rural Studio at Auburn, D. K. also taught at UT in the 80's. Memories in the linked article include: "His legacy has to do with decency...individuals who are poor deserve to live in structures...that are examples of community," and "D.K. was a big-hearted gentleman - he was the person everybody liked." Lt. Gov. John S. Wilder
For many of us, Lt. Gov. John S. Wilder was the face of Tennessee politics. Who could sit through his Building Commission chairmanship without many stories to tell? My all-time favorite will be a Legislative Committee meeting when Bill Nolan and I were lobbying furiously against a bill that would permit prototypical design for state park projects. We'd been counting votes and felt we held a one-vote margin when the Lt. Governor walked in—as Lt. Governor, he was automatically a voting member of every committee. Since the bill sponsor was a good friend of his, Bill and I believed we'd just lost our fight.
As the meeting unfolded, the bill came up and failed for lack of a second to the motion. That occurred very rarely and was a great embarrassment to the bill sponsor, and Bill and I (and architects of Tennessee) got a huge win. I was standing outside the committee room when Lt. Gov. Wilder walked out. He walked over to me and said, “I remember,” and walked away.
His reference to "I remember," was very clear to both of us. About seven years earlier, Lt. Gov. Wilder had been challenged in his election for Lt. Governor. Our Board didn't debate very long before determining that we would dance with the one who "brung" us, since Gov. Wilder had been a fair and consistent loyalist to architects; and we vocally supported him during his challenge, which he won. Gov. Wilder was a very emotional man, and he was devastated by the challenge from his fellow Democrats; and he valued loyalty over all other virtues. Lt. Gov. Wilder might not always vote with us, but he never voted against us through the years. He remembered.
At age 88, John died early on New Year's Day after a stroke. The Tennessee Journal (TBJ) described him “as a man who sometimes talked like Dr. Seuss but was underestimated only by the ignorant or foolish.” He served for 44 years. TBJ said this longest tenure as speaker “was testimony to his fairness and character, but also his political acumen. He was gifted at counting votes and had a good sense of timing, a sense uncannily demonstrated one final time when he died 10 minutes into 2010, a year in which, by quirk of Congress, the federal estate tax was temporarily out of existence.
"Wilder cared deeply about his state and especially the Senate and its members. He passionately wanted to make a difference for the public good. His sense of identity demanded it. To list his notable accomplishments, in and out of the legislature, would take a book. No one could fairly say that he didn't make a difference."
I will miss John Wilder, and I will always remember him.
Connie Wallace
About Us
 The Mission of AIA Tennessee is to shape the professional environment in Tennessee so that architects, clients, the building industry and the public at large understand and appreciate the value we bring to the community.
You can visit us online: aiatn.org
or write us:
PO Box 60128
1105 Gartland Avenue
Nashville, TN 37206
Phone: 615-255-3860
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| March 2010 |
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HIGHLIGHT
Architects' Day on the Hill happens this month, join us! | More
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