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Several of the American Institute of Architects’ 2008 model contract documents for integrated project delivery are being challenged by a prominent lawyer who also is an architect and general counsel for a major A/E/C firm. The documents under fire are all related to the creation of a limited-liability company called a single-purpose entity (SPE). Their names are: C-195, or “Standard Form Single Purpose Entity Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery”; C-196-2008, or “Standard Form of Agreement Between Single Purpose Entity and Owner for Integrated Project Delivery”; and C-197-2008, or “Standard Form of Agreement Between Single Purpose Entity and Non-Owner Member for

Clark Manus, FAIA It could be paying heed to the current economic crisis. It could be following President Obama’s lead in tackling tough social problems. And it might feel emboldened by recent federal legislation that architects lobbied for: the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, which calls for grants to be made available to public school systems for facility upgrades, and the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which contains a range of promising construction projects. The “it” is the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and its recent election of new officers reflects a heightened commitment to

Big changes are in store for the nearly 18,000 people enrolled in the Intern Development Program, administered by the National Council for Architectural Registration Boards. Starting July 1, interns will have additional options for gaining needed training units and will have to meet much tighter deadlines. Six-Month Rule The most immediate impact will be the implementation of the new “Six-Month Rule,” which requires interns to submit training units in reporting periods of no longer than six months and within two months of completion of each reporting period. Any units beyond those periods will be lost; however, interns who start a

Philadelphia, with the nation’s largest concentration of health care resources within a 100-mile radius—including America’s first hospital, founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin—has long provided a vigorous market for architects working in the health-care sector.  Image courtesy AIA New York Via Verde, a multifamily project designed by Grimshaw Architects and Dattner Architects, is planned for the South Bronx. Related Links: Architects in the South Feel the Economic Pinch Midwest Architects Slog Through Recession Architects in the West Hit Hard by Recession Architectural Billings Index Shows Signs of Hope Special Section: Construction Stimulus But in the past year, Mark Hebden, executive

Architect Ellerbe Becket, of Kansas City, has been retained by New Jersey Nets owner and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, of Forest City Ratner Cos. (FCRC) to come up with a new design for the long-delayed and controversial Atlantic Yards basketball and entertainment arena in Brooklyn. Ellerbe Becket replaces Gehry Partners. New York City-based structural engineer Thornton-Tomasetti, and mechanical-electrical-plumbing engineer, WSP Flack + Kurtz, will remain on the project. FCRC says it hopes to unveil new images of the arena, named Barclays Center, in late June and intends to break ground later this year in anticipation of a completed arena

The New Acropolis Museum, Bernard Tschumi’s minimalist counterpoint to one of the world’s great archaeological sites, officially opens June 20, eight years after he won an international competition to design it, and three decades after the idea for a new Acropolis museum first surfaced. Image courtesy Bernard Tschumi The New Acropolis Museum officially opens on June 20. Related Links: A Temple to Transparency Rises in Athens “The design was chosen for its simple, clear, and beautiful solution that is in accord with the beauty and classical simplicity of the museum’s unique exhibits,” says professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, president of the private

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has revealed its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2009. On April 28, NTHP president Richard Moe and actor Diane Keaton, an NTHP trustee, delivered the announcement in Los Angeles while standing near the Century Plaza Hotel (1966), a 19-story building by Minoru Yamasaki that is one of the sites on this year’s list. The others include: Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, Massachusetts Cast-iron architecture of Galveston, Texas Dorchester Academy, Midway, Georgia Human Services Center, Yankton, South Dakota Lāna‘i City, Hawai‘i Enola Gay hangar, Wendover Airfield, Utah Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

A fritted-Glass wall conceals a scarred facade and makes an old gem glow.