To the average consumer, technology suggests luxury: home-theater systems, sophisticated heating and cooling zones, automated everything. But to home-building experts, building technology is...
Practice
Building Enclosure Council Air Barrier Challenge
With nearly a decade of experience in building enclosure code-compliance, the BSA’s Building Enclosure Council felt it was time to test the theory and practice of building enclosures at the...
Attracted by light
Lighting design is closely intertwined with the built environment. Magical illuminations of nighttime environments and inspired, lit interiors enchant—our memories are imprinted with...
Collaboration and reward in project delivery
Momentum is increasing within the design and construction industry to develop new delivery processes that foster collaboration among the primary participants and reward performance for...
Production thinking in architecture
Prefabrication is said to be the oldest new idea in construction. But it is no wonder that it continues to pervade as an ideal. The construction industry is fraught with litigation, inefficiency...
Preparation and communication—Keys to successful leadership transition
Whether prompted by the need to expand or contract the size of the partnership in response to firm growth or reduction, or by a change in direction of the practice such as entering a new market,...
Architectural firms showing signs of recovery, but much improvement is still needed
Overall revenue levels are flat, billing rates are down and the utilization rate for architecture and engineering (A&E) firms is just 61.5%—yet the industry is beginning to show signs of...
Urban Fabric: What happens when you let innovation lead
For many of us, graduating can often appear to be the end of romanticism and the beginning of practicality. After experiencing a period of enlightenment and conceptual thinking in school, we hang...
RDC 2011: Leading the way to prosperity
As Massachusetts and the country at-large work to find their place in a post-recession world, we can’t forget what precipitated the Great Recession—housing and the uneven residential...
Starting your own business? Things to consider before taking that step
Like most architects, you’ve probably entertained the idea of working independently at some point in your career. The thought is quite understandable, since schools of architecture tend to...
Small Practices Network: George Hu on Geothermal Heating
President of Air Water Energy Engineers, Inc., George Hu, PE, LEED AP, presents on geothermal heating to the Boston Society of Architects Small Practices Network.
For more information,...
High-performance urban forestry for green infrastructure
The urban forest is perhaps the most conspicuous example of contemporary urbanism’s heartthrob, green infrastructure; witness the preponderance of “Million Tree” campaigns such...
Embracing the communication revolution, or the democratization of marketing
An architectural firm, even a collaborative, democratic practice founded by idealistic boomers, tends to be run by a few highly experienced people who have earned their positions and stature...
CMA provides benefits for Bay State architects
Earlier this year, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) launched the Component Modeling Approach (CMA), a new procedure for rating and certifying the energy performance of windows, the...
On the path ahead
How does the architectural profession look from the point of view of a student?
Well, it’s complicated.
The world is in crisis ecologically, economically and politically. And...
The postgraduation career conundrum: Experience required
The future once seemed so bright for college graduates riding the high of accomplishment, but now, months after graduation, the hard work goes unnoticed, obscured under piles of competing resumes...
Re-educating starchitects
Like most of Frank Gehry’s buildings, the Stata Center at MIT split...
Video: Vectorworks Users Group: Exploring Vectorworks 2011
The Vectorworks Users Group got a jumpstart on celebrating the new year by exploring Vectorworks 2011. Brian Hores presents on how 3-D is as easy...
"The Business of BIM" reviews business challenges, benefits of BIM adoption
“The Business of BIM,” a panel discussion on the business advantages of integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, drew a sizable audience of architects, engineers,...
How did you find your job? Part 5 of 5: Al Weisz AIA, LEED AP
Al Weisz AIA, LEED AP was unemployed for 16 months after being laid off from a small residential firm in November 2008. In March, he started working for the state’s Division of Capital...
How did you find your job? Part 4 of 5: Robert Levash
A project manager at Wilson Butler Architects, Robert Levash was laid off as a three-year project—the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship—was concluding in June 2009. He found another job...
How did you find your job? Part 3 of 5: David Krawitz
A registered architect, David Krawitz worked for more than eight years as an architect at Perry Dean Rogers | Partners Architects and then shifted career paths about 17 years ago to work in...
How did you find your job? Part 2 of 5: Julie Jancewicz LEED AP
Shortly after graduating with an MArch from Northeastern University, Julie Jancewicz LEED AP was laid off from her full-time job as a designer/drafter at TRO Jung | Brannen in November 2008....
How did you find your job? Part 1 of 5: Valerie Fontana
Valerie Fontana was laid off in September 2008, shortly after moving from San Diego to Boston to take a job at Placetailor, a design/build firm. After two years of being unemployed, she was...
How to win public-building construction work
In 2009 alone, the Massachusetts Designer Selection Board (DSB) awarded 39 contracts totaling nearly $26 million for public-building construction throughout the Commonwealth. Although that year...
Interview with the architectural economist
Kermit Baker is the chief economist for the AIA, where he analyzes business and construction trends in the U.S. economy and examines their impact on AIA members and the architectural profession....
