Latest News

2012 FAIA Fellows Announced

The American Institute of Architects announced the newest members elected to the College of Fellows.  AIA Ohio would like to congratulate Monica Green, FAIA of AIA Cleveland on this significant recognition.  Two other members from the Ohio Valley region were also elected to the College.  They include David Mohney, FAIA of AIA Kentucky and Drew White, FAIA of AIA Indianapolis.  Congratulations again to these very deserving members.  More information on those elected to the College of Fellows can be found at http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2012/fellows/index.htm

The AIA Ohio Valley Regional Council is soliciting nominations for the position of Regional Director, to replace Chas Schreckenberger, AIA.  Any AIA Ohio component may nominate a candidate.  Individual declarations of candidacy may be made as well.  The individual elected will begin a three-year term on Jan. 1, 2013, and serve through Dec. 31, 2015.  Nominations and declarations of candidacy should be made by sending a letter of intent from the candidate, supporting letters (not required…no more than three) and a list of qualifications to the AIA Ohio Valley Region, by February 10, 2012. 

Biographical information on each nominated or declared candidate shall be submitted to:

                AIA Ohio Valley Region, 17 S. High St., Ste. 200, Columbus, OH  43215-3458

If you choose, you may submit via email to: Kate@assnoffices.com

Nominations or declarations will be forwarded to the Council’s Nominating Committee and recommendations will be made to the Regional Council for an election scheduled for April 19, 2012.  Candidates should plan to be available to attend this Regional Council meeting, which will be held in Cincinnati, OH, in order to be interviewed by the Council. 

Please note, Chas Schreckenberger, AIA, holds the position of the First Director (see excerpt from the OVR bylaws, below). 

Section 5. Election of Regional Director
The Regional Council shall call for the nomination of and shall elect the Regional Director(s) by vote of a simple majority of the Delegates of the Council present. The first Director from the Ohio Valley Region, shall be elected to serve a three-year term, and shall be perpetually succeeded by a director elected from the eligible membership of a Component in Ohio. The second Director shall serve an initial two-year term and shall be perpetually succeeded by a director elected from the eligible membership of Ohio, Indiana or Kentucky. Should Ohio not be able to provide a candidate willing to serve as Regional Director, a director shall be elected from Indiana or Kentucky to fill the position.

Bruce W. Sekanick AIA  01.11.2012

Continuing Education changes have been made by both the AIA Board of Directors and the Ohio Architects Board, and while they are not major, they can be a little confusing.  To begin this discussion, let’s start with the State of Ohio changes and what they mean to you.  Effective January 1, 2012, the Ohio Architects Board changed the continuing education requirements to match the newly recommended (model requirements) of the NCARB.  These requirements change the CE’s to 12 per year, all of which need to be Health Safety and Welfare.  Generally, since SD, Sustainable Design, hours are also Health Safety and Welfare hours, they still can apply, although Ohio has no specific requirements for Sustainable Design credits.  Simply said, if you get 12 HSW per year you are going to comply with the Ohio rules.  Additionally, the new Ohio requirements, which used to require 24 hours every two years, now requires 12 hours every year. This might not seem like a big change, but it does make a difference to those who wait until the waning days of the licensure period to complete their CE’s. Twelve hours of HSW per year.  The Ohio Board of Architects has made it fairly simple.  More information is available on the Ohio Architects Board website at http://arc.ohio.gov/ContinuingEducation.aspx.

It is also important to remember, and to remind your colleagues, that compliance with state requirements are made much easier through the continuing education system maintained by the AIA.  Those members who are audited need only to submit your AIA transcript as proof of compliance and, as long as you have completed the proper number programs and hours, you are done.  Another benefit of AIA membership.

Now, let’s get to the more complex AIA format for continuing education.  At their December 9^th, 2011 meeting in Washington, D.C., the Institute Board decided to amend the CE requirements to more closely reflect the NCARB requirements, but to still require more hours than what the NCARB recommends.  The Board decided that members should be required to complete a total of 18 CEs per year (the same as before), but instead of the 8 hours of HSW, the new requirement is 12 hours of HSW per year.  This is intended to align the AIA’s requirements for HSW with those of the NCARB model program at 12 HSW per year.  The AIA Board however, believes that it is important for the requirements of the AIA to “convey higher standards of professional knowledge” and that the added hours beyond the twelve recommended by the NCARB “ were crucial to our identity”.  These additional six (6) hours can be HSW or non-HSW hours, but must still meet the criteria for CE under the AIA CES program requirements, just as they always have.  The biggest difference in this change is that we are now talking about a change in the “type” of hours and opposed to the “number” of hours.

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ARE Study Sessions 2012 Cleveland, Ohio January – July 

Give yourself the gift of making 2012 the year you become a Registered Architect! 

Please pass on to friends and peers. All are welcome. www.aiacleveland.com/ARE_2012

2012 Architectural Registration Exam (A.R.E.) Study Session Series 

The American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.), Cleveland and Akron chapters are proud to announce the 2012 Architectural Registration Exam (A.R.E.) Study Session Series for all future architects. The series is 7 A.R.E. study sessions, each covering 1 of the 7 sections of the A.R.E. These sessions will cover the NCARB review guides in-depth with explanation of how to approach and solve multiple choice and the practice exam vignettes, applicable project experience, relevant concept definitions, and open question time will also be provided. 

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AIA Members: Leaders in the Design Profession

Membership in the AIA provides each member with a wide variety of opportunities as both a professional and member of your local community.  Through leadership, networking, education and advocacy, the efforts of the AIA enhances and supports architects in practice and in community involvement.  As “The Voice of the Profession”, the AIA provides opportuntites to both new and seasoned professional through programs and events offered by the Institute as well as state and local components.  The Folloiwng videos, produced by the California Council of the American Institute of Architects, provide a brief introduction to why AIA membership should be, and is, important to you.

|Valuing the AIA through Networking and Leadership| Click here to find out how the AIA can help support you as a leader and how membership in the AIA provides you with opportunties to connect, collaborate and interact with other architects on design and common issues.

|Valuing the AIA through Professional Activities| Click here to find out how the the programs, activities and events provided through the various levels of the AIA improves you as a design professional.

|Valuing the AIA through Credibility and Advocacy| Click here to find out how the efforts of the AIA supports you through advocacy and legislation to improve the profession and the built envirionment.  As a member of the AIA, you are recognized as a true design professional and y are part of more than 80,000 others who make up the Credible Voice.

Bruce W. Sekanick AIA  2011-12-10

The Dates for the 2012 AIA Ohio Convention in Cleveland have been set.  The Convention, planned for September 12th thru the 15th, will include a variety of events and programs to satisfy the needs of most AIA Ohio members.  This years conference will include traditional educational programs, speakers, tours and exhibits along with a planned golf outing and networking opportunities.  Please check back in early 2012 for more information on the convention.

Bylaw Changes in Final Stage

More than three years ago, AIA Ohio started a process to better organize our Bylaws and Rules of the Board.  This process, which included a comparison of the Bylaws, the AIA Model Component Bylaws and the AIA Ohio Rules of the Board, was organized into three phases.  The first phase included a comparison of the model Bylaws to the then current AIA Ohio Bylaws.  This resulted in the rearrangement and renumbering of the bylaws to correspond to both the numbering, and the numbering format, used by national.  This re-arrangement also resulted in the elimination of many of those areas of the bylaws that were in conflict with national standards.  The Rules of the Board were also reorganized to eliminate duplication of rules already covered by the bylaws along with the elimination of conflicts between the two documents.  The second phase of the process included the reorganization of the Rules of the Board to a format that addressed specific actions of the Board of Directions.  These sections include Rules that supplement information in the Bylaws, Policies, that include governance policies, Positions, that are define specific advocacy goals of the organization, and Procedures, that cover the requirements for programs and events.  The third phase of review included changes proposed to the membership at the 2011 Annual Meeting at the OVR Convention in Dayton.  These changes were proposed to address all of those inconsistencies and conflicts necessary to bring the bylaws into compliance with those of the Institute.

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AIA Ohio Prepares for Challenges and Opportunities

AIA Ohio continues to work on a variety of projects to finish out 2011 and to prepare for 2012.  As planning for the 2012 Convention in Cleveland gets underway, so to does the planning for the programs, events and activities for the 2012 board.  AIA Ohio will hold a planning retreat on November 7the and 8th in Cleveland to prepare for next year.  President Elect Jud Kline will lead the program in preparing and discussing challenges and opportunities that AIA Ohio will face going into 2012.

AIA Ohio has also been working hard over the past month on several projects, including supporting the work of the Ohio Architects Board and new changes recently approved for the states mandatory licensing continuing education, reviewing proposed rules and documents under construction reform, along with working with membership from various components on advocacy issues including most recently, efforts to save the historic Seneca County Courthouse.

AIA Ohio Valley Convention Discover.Design.Dayton

The AIA Ohio Valley Region held this years convention in Dayton, OH, on September 15-17, 2011.  The convention featured a variety of keynote speakers, educational programs, networking opportunities, association meetings and awards programs for membership of AIA Ohio, AIA Indiana and AIA Kentucky.  The convention brought together more that 360 architects, associates and others in the industry who were able to participate in many of the more than 30 events and programs developed to address the needs of both emerging professionals and seasoned architects. These programs included several keynote presentations, including a presentation by Brad Dunning on Alexander Girard, a presentation of “Barn Variants” by De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop, and a Friday afternoon presentation by el dorado inc. of Kansas City, titled “Work in Progress”.  The AIA Ohio Design Awards program was also held as part of Thursday’s Luncheon.  Design Awards will be posted on the AIA Ohio website.

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