Job Creation Focus of Ambitious Agenda February 4th was Capitol Hill Day for AIA executives, board members, and component leaders. This year the objective of the annual lobbying effort was to demand that Congress take up an agenda that would, among other things, free up credit, expand tax incentives that encourage energy-efficient construction, and provide relief for small businesses. The excursion was part of Grassroots 2010, the AIA’s yearly leadership conference. Setting the stage for the visits were rousing speeches by Representatives Kathy Castor (D. Florida) and Ed Perlmutter (D. Colorado), along with Adolpho Carrion Jr., director of President Obama’s
Photo courtesy Environmental Works Jan Gleason While many architects take on the occasional public service project, sometimes pro bono, Jan Gleason made an entire career based on creating innovative sustainable buildings for nonprofit community organizations. The Seattle architect called herself a “social worker in three dimensions,” and she specialized in child-care centers, affordable-housing projects, medical clinics, and community centers. Gleason died January 6 of lung cancer. She was 61. Born in New York City, Gleason grew up in Port Chester, New York. She received her bachelor’s degree in social science from Cornell University and her master’s degree in architecture from
Developer Dai Zhi Kang, chairman and CEO of the Shanghai Zendai Group is a small, gentle man with a super-sized vision—to create a world-class multi-cultural center for art and commerce in his hometown’s Pudong district. Image courtesy Shanghai Zendai Group Click on the slide show icon to see additional photos. “In China, art is mixed with daily life,” explains Zhi Kang. “I want to interpret this tradition into a new aesthetic for Chinese architecture.” So rather than erect a stand-alone museum, a concept he deems foreign in China (therefore not likely to be embraced by locals or investors), he worked
The January 12 earthquake that struck Haiti has galvanized the architecture community to lend its support, but the disaster has particularly resonated among African-American practitioners, some of whom are of Haitian descent.