Saturday, March 22, 2008

Small Firm Forum: Accessibility

On Thursday, April 3 at noon Kim Blackseth will discuss his 16 years of experience in disabled access. He has worked for Bechtel & Gensler, Served on the State CBSC 2006-2007 and is a member of an accessibility focus group for the State Fire Marshalls ICBO and ICC certified for disabled access.

Kim will share tales about advising a variety of clients: sporting event centers, public transportation facilities, legal disputes, etc.

Time: Noon-1:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street , Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600 or Cathy Roha, AIA
Cost: Free to AIA members; $3 non-members. Drinks are provided
This Forum open to all.
1.5 CES/LU


For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

Sustainable Stewardship: Historic Preservation’s Essential Role in Fighting Climate Change

Richard Moe Lecture Sustainable Stewardship: Historic Preservation’s Essential Role in Fighting Climate Change

Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 7:30 pm
First Church of Christ Scientist 2619 Dwight Way, Berkeley
Opening remarks by Jon Carroll, SF ChronicleMinimum
donation: $20

Historic preservation can - and should - be an important component of any effort to promote sustainable development.

The conservation and improvement of our existing built resources, including re-use of historic and older buildings, greening the existing building stock, and reinvestment in older and historic communities, is crucial to combating climate change.

Time: 7:30pm
Location: First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley, 2619 Dwight Way (at Bowditch) Berkeley - Maybeck's 1910 masterpiece
Contact:
http://berkeleyheritage.com/calendar.html
Cost: Minimum donation: $20
1.5 HSW CES/LU


For more information: http://berkeleyheritage.com/calendar.html.

Young Architects Forum: Managing Your Business

On Tuesday March 25, at 6:00 pm the Young Architects Forum will present Managing Your Business!

Rich Pipkin will discuss his treasure trove of "war stories", that will influence your thinking about your career. Whether you are an employee that hopes to grow within and your current firm, or thinking about starting your own firm, or currently an owner, you will leave this presentation with new insights and action items.


The Three Stages of a Successful Practice and Key Do's and Dont's along the way
- What stage of a successful business life cycle is your firm in? Start-up? Mature?
Transitioning?- What proactive steps are necessary to move from one stage to another?
- Why do Firms "get stuck" and remain on a business plateau
- The "Green Practice" - Profitable and Sustainable - both are requirements for
transitioning the Firm to the next generation of leaders.
- Is there a fourth stage? Yes, extinction!

Rich will draw on his 25+ years of experience as a business consultant exclusively to A/E Firms, and a treasure trove of "war stories", that will influence your thinking about your career. Whether you are an employee that hopes to grow within and your current firm, or thinking about starting your own firm, or currently an owner, you will leave this presentation with new insights and action items.


Rich's experience includes helping design professionals form a new business: deal with growing pains: expanding ownership: asking owners to leave: planning and implementing leadership succession and retirements: the sale and purchase of Firms, and the unpleasant reality of liquidating practices that were not positioned for transition. There will be ample time for questions.

Time: 6:00-7:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street , Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600 or Gerard Lee, AIA
Cost: None; this program open to all. Cocktails provided.
Please RSVP.
1.5 HSW CES/LU

For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

2007 CBC Codes--A Panel Discussion

Join the AIA East Bay Codes committee on March 26 at 5:30 pm as it presents the 2007 CBC Codes Panel Discussion.

We are now three months into the new code--how is it going?

Our panel includes Isam Hasenin, City of San Francisco Building Department; Massoud Abolhoda, City of Fremont; Kevin Reinerston, California State Fire Marshal's Office; Robert Ludlow, AIA of Field Paoli Architects and will be moderated by Code Expert Steve Winkel, FAIA.

Time: 5:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact: Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600
Cost: $15 for chapter members and their guests; $25 for non-members, cost includes cocktails and dinner.
Click Here to Register
1.5 HSW CES/LU

For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

Friday, March 21, 2008

Green Building Symposium

Green Building Symposium featuring presentations by Ericka Jennings from Green Key Real Estate, Tenaya Asan from Build it Green, Michael Hazinski from EBMUD, Michael McCutcheon of McCutcheon Construction, Richard Parker AIA of 450 Architects, Inc, and Douglas Hansen the author of the CodeCheck series.

Sustainable building and remodeling practices are no longer just trendy, they're increasingly more vital to clients, and therefore the survival of your business.

Join us for the Green Building Symposium to learn:
What green remodeling means and what it really costs.
How to assess and communicate the value of green building projects with your clients.
How local government and utilities support, influence and impact green building initiatives.
How New Code changes may affect the way our homes are built and what we should look out for.


Date: Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Time: 8:30 to 4:30
Location: Oakland City Hall, One Frank Ogawa Plaza, Hearing Room 3
Contact: John Fryer at 510/682-4908
Cost: $195 for AIA members and their guests
Click here to Register

For more information: John Fryer at 510/682-4908 or Click here

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

2008 Survey for California Architectural Firms

Management Design, Bay Area-based business consultants specializing in architecture and design firms, extends an open invitation to participate in the 2008 Survey for California Architectural Firms. The AIACC endorses this research and encourages participation. The annual survey is the most comprehensive study of regional compensation and operational statistics available to California architectural firms, providing up-to-date operations, compensation, benefit and billing rate information. Nearly 1,000 California design firms will receive questionnaires during the first week in May.

The impact of this survey depends on timely information. Results are provided free of charge to participants who respond to the survey by the deadline date of June 2008. Non-responding AIA members may purchase the survey at a discounted rate of $130. Results are available to non-AIA members for $150.

If your firm would like to participate, and you have not previously received a questionnaire or have moved within the last year, go to www.managementdesign.com and fill out a participation form or contact Marcella Canori
marcella@managementdesign.com . Thank you for your time and participation as we successfully produce the 31st annual Survey for California Architectural Firms.

For more information: marcella@managementdesign.com

Less Expensive Ways to Make Better Housing

From Berkeley Design Advocates:

Less Expensive Ways to Make Better Housing
SPUR’s Affordable by Design Proposals


Please join us for breakfast on Wednesday April 2 at 730 AM at The Vault to hear a presentation on the revolutionary idea that we can build middle income housing without public subsidy. The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association has recently issued its Affordable by Design proposal that advocates changes in both planning criteria and building codes that together can drastically reduce the cost to produce new multifamily housing. Perhaps Berkeley can consider these thoughtful recommendations; they certainly differ from the proposals advocated by the Density Bonus Joint Subcommittee.

Our presenters will be SPUR Task Force members George Williams, BDA member and Anne Torney, AIA of WRT Solomon ETC.

The SPUR report makes six key recommendation:
1. Regulate building density by height, bulk and setback requirements, not by limits on the number of units allowed.

2. Stop requiring new parking in new buildings.

3. Stop regulating bedroom counts.

4. Allow flexibility in the code to facilitate an additional story of housing in wood-frame buildings – suggesting five stories of wood frame above a concrete podium level with a 65-foot height limit – 15 feet on the ground floor, and five 10-foot high stories. SPUR notes that San Diego and Seattle have both adopted code standards to make such construction possible, and in Oakland the Forest City Uptown Development is building five stories of wood frame.

5. Allow developers to fulfill their on-site inclusionary housing requirements by providing more units at middle-income price points, rather than fewer units at moderate-income price points.

6. Modify requirements for courtyard widths and rear-yard setbacks to allow for greater design flexibility in locating common open space.

The full report is available on the SPUR website at:

http://www.spur.org/documents/2008.01Interiors_FINAL.pdf

This is sure to be an exciting topic for BDA members, and has great applicability to Berkeley’s current debates on downtown development (where the fringes of downtown are proposed for 65 foot heights), as well as the on-going density bonus discussions.

George Williams is the former deputy Director of the San Francisco Department of City Planning and a longtime SPUR and BDA member. Anne Torney AIA is Principal and Director of Housing at WRT/Solomon E.T.C., an architecture, urban design, planning and landscape architecture firm, and designers of both the Fine Arts building and the David Brower Center/Oxford Plaza, now under construction. Her 20 years' experience as an architect have focused on urban and mixed-use projects, and, in particular, affordable housing for non-profit clients and City agencies.

All breakfast presentations at The Vault, 3250 Adeline St, near Alcatraz.


For more information: berkeleydesignadvocates@yahoo.com

Monday, March 17, 2008

Managing Your Business

On Tuesday, March 25 at 6:00pm the Young Architects Forum presents Managing Your Business.
Rich Pipkin will discuss starting and growing your firm. What are the tools Young Architects need to manage their firms well and prepare for the future. i.e growth, partnerships, etc.

Time: 6:00-7:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street , Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600 or Gerard Lee, AIA
Cost: None; this program open to all. Cocktails provided.
Please RSVP.
1.5 HSW CES/LU

For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

Revit User Group: Can Revit be Customized?

Tuesday, March 18 at 11:30am

If you're seeking an answer to this question or have a few good customization tips to share with colleagues, be sure to catch the next Revit User Group. Our meeting will begin with an open discussion about ways to customize and back-up your Revit work environment. We will be sure to touch on shortcuts, scripts, and the revit.ini file. Bring your best tips!

The second half of this meeting will be presented by Ben Bishoff, Software Developer with Ideate, Inc., who will discuss the Revit Application Program Interface (API) and demonstrate Ideate's free Revit Explorer tool. The Revit Explorer can be used to create detailed selection sets, find hidden DWGs, and audit family standards.

Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact:
Freddy Vasquez at 415.814.5539
Cost: None; Lunch will be provided by Ideate, Inc.
Click Here for Registration
1.5 CES/LU

For more information: Freddy Vasquez at 415.814.5539

Red Marking and Revising Developing Designs in the Digital Age; Pencils Down!

On Thursday, March 20, at noon the Professional Practice Forum tackles the electronic age. The focus will be the new challenges to the Quality Assurance of Documents that are issued by an architect.

New tools are available to assist the architect in communicating corrections to Construction Documents. The Professional Practice Forum will showcase and explore tools being used by current architects to work with their staff and to coordinate with consultants in an electronic medium.

Time: Noon-1:00 pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street , Oakland.
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600 or Tim Craig, AIA
Cost: None; this program open to all.
1 CES/LU


For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

Monday, March 10, 2008

Public Meetings about Central Business District Rezoning in Oakland

The City of Oakland is going through a rezoning of the Central Business District as part of the Citywide zoning update. The proposed zoning includes a Height/Intensity Map that restricts heights of buildings as well as requires the buildings to get more narrow above a certain height. There are various regulations that effect how a building is designed. Information on proposals can be found here.

The next two meetings are:

Community Workshop: To discuss allowed uses and development regulations for proposed new zoning districts for Central Business District (CBD) area
Monday, March 17, 2008
6:30 - 9:00pm
Lake Merritt Sailboat House (Inside Lakeside Park at Lake Merritt), 568 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland CA

Zoning Update Committee: Introduction of the process and approach for rezoning the City's downtown area or "Central Business District" (CBD).
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
4:00pm
Hearing Room 1, City Hall

For more information: Laura B. Kaminski , AICP, City of Oakland, (510)238-6809

Opening: Berkeley Design Review Board

From David Snippen, Assoc. AIA:

The Berkeley Design Review Committee has an open position for a California licensed Architect to serve a term of up to eight years in service to the community. Candidates must be a resident of Berkeley, although he or she may work outside of the city. Applications and resumes must be received by the City Clerk no later than Friday, 28 March 2008.

Check the City's website for specific information regarding the DRC and for the general application form at,
www.ci.berkeley.ca.us. Go to Quick Links/ Boards and Commissions/ Commission Index & Information to find the General Application form. Applications should be mailed to the City Clerk, with a copy of the applicant's resume and appropriate attachments, to 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704, attention Rose Johnson.

Interviews of selected candidates will be held during April, and the appointment of the finalist candidate will be confirmed by the Zoning Adjustments Board.

For more information: Ann Burns, Secretary to the Design Review Committee, at 981-7415.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Steven Holl, Urbanism: Working with Doubt

From UC Berkeley CED:

ARCH Lecture Series
Steven Holl,AIA Urbanism: Working with Doubt

March 14
7-8:30 p.m.
112 Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley

Steven Holl, AIA, founding principal of Steven Holl Architects in New York City and associate professor of architecture at Columbia University, will give a presentation on urbanism. This event is expected to be popular, so arrive early! There will be live video feeds of Holl's talk in 102 Wurster Hall and in the Wurster Hall lobby.

For more information: contact
Keith Plymale.

Blending Many Knowledges for Robust Planning

From UC Berkeley CED:

DCRP Colloquium- Judith Innes , Blending Many Knowledges for Robust Planning
March 5

5-6:30 p.m.
106 Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley

Join Judith Innes, a UC Berkeley city and regional planning professor, for this event, which is part of the spring 2008 DCRP Ph.D. Colloquium. It is free and open to the public.

For more information: contact Alex Schafran.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Designing Skylighted Buildings

From the Pacific Energy Center:

The 2005 California Title 24 Energy Standards for Nonresidential Buildings include a prescriptive requirement for skylights and electric lighting controls in spaces greater than 25,000 sq. ft. where the ceiling is above 15 ft. in height and lighting power density is 0.5 watts/sq.ft. or greater.

Draft changes to the 2008 California Title 24 Energy Standards for Nonresidential Buildings, scheduled to take effect in April of 2009, reduce the threshold to spaces greater than 8,000 sq. ft. This will broaden the requirement to many building types not previously covered such as gymnasia and moderate-sized retail stores. Are you ready? Space is still available in two Pacific Energy Center programs providing guidance and free software tools to assist in the design of skylighted buildings that reduce energy use while providing high-quality interior lighting environments.

These programs are free of charge, but pre-registration is required since space is limited. For registration and more detailed information about this program, go to
www.pge.com/pec/classes on the Internet and click on the "SHOW CLASSES" button. You may also register by phone at 415-973-2277.

These classes are funded by California utility customers and administered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.


DESIGNING SKYLIGHTED BUILDINGS WITH SKYCALC
Thursday, March 6, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location: San Francisco - Pacific Energy Center, 851 Howard St., San Francisco
This workshop will show you how to design skylighting systems (skylights, electric lights, controls, and building geometry) in commercial and industrial buildings.
The first hour of this program will provide a quick review of fundamental skylighting principles and example projects. The second half includes a hands-on tutorial in the use of SkyCalc. SkyCalc is a free, simple-to-use spreadsheet that quickly calculates the energy impacts of skylighting system choices and graphs the optimal skylight area. Each attendee will have access to a computer and and will be guided through sample projects using SkyCalc.

DESIGNING SKYLIGHTED BUILDINGS WITH eQUEST
Thursday, March 6, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Location: San Francisco - Pacific Energy Center, 851 Howard St., San Francisco
This workshop is intended for designers who want a more detailed model of skylighting than can be provided by SkyCalc. eQUEST is a detailed whole building simulation program with a user friendly interface. This program can model the interactions between various skylighting alternatives and other efficiency measures including HVAC and envelope modifications. Each attendee will have access to a computer and and will be guided through sample projects using eQUEST. Before registering for this program you should be familiar with eQUEST or should attend the eQUEST software training scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2008. You should also be familiar with Skycalc or should take the March 6 morning class, "Designing Skylit Buildings with SkyCalc 3.0"


Both SkyCalc and eQuest are available as free downloads at http://www.energydesignresources.com/.

For more information: www.pge.com/pec/classes or 415-973-2277

Saturday, March 01, 2008

VectorWorks Users Group

Join the Vectorworks User Group on Tuesday, March 11 at 7:00pm. Peter Thayer will share a treasure trove of internet web sites he's found that support VectorWorks. Bill Engelhardt will show us how to do a Quicktime movie shadow study.

As usual, there will be plenty of time for questions and answers. Mark you calendar and plan to attend. As always, you're guaranteed to walk away with a new idea, or two.

3/11/08
VectorWorks Users Group
Time: 7:00pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact: Larry Mortimer, AIA or 510/464-3600
Cost: None. This meeting open to all.
1.5 CES/LU


For more information: 510/464-3600 or Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator.

Lunch and Learn: Growth Through a Business Development Mindset

On Thursday, March 13 at noon allied member Joe Diliberto will deliver a presentation on what every successful architect firm understands the importance of having a growth mentality. Presidents, owners and principals of both small and large firms realize that they have to be able to increase business from both their current client base and to continually find new work. This workshop will address the following:
  • How to get in front of enough new prospective clients on a regular basis to keep your pipeline filled
  • How to avoid wasting time chasing unqualified prospects
  • How to avoid wasting time creating detailed proposals for people who have neither the intention nor the ability to do business with us, or who simply use our proposals to negotiate a better deal with our competition
  • Why we frequently hear “I’d like to think it over” or some form of “maybe” after we submit a proposal or give a presentation
  • How to shorten the time it takes to get a decision
  • How to avoid cutting prices to get or keep the business
  • How to turn more of your marketing efforts into new clients

About the Speaker:
Joe Diliberto is a nationally recognized speaker. His background includes executive level positions in Sales and Marketing with Fortune 500 and start-up companies. An expert in his field, Joe is the owner of the Sandler Sales Institute in Oakland. The Sandler System has be recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as the number one Sales Management Training Program for the past five consecutive years.

Time: Noon-1:30
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600
Cost: None, this is a brown bag lunch. Drinks are provided.
This program open to all.
Please RSVP.
1 CES/LU

For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

ArchiCAD User Group

ArchiCAD User Group will meet and collaborate on Wednesday, March 5 at 6:00pm. Join your peers at this ArchiCAD User Group. You'll learn lots of tips, tricks and features related to ArchiCAD and get a chance to get to know other users in your area. Sponsored by Archvista and AIA East Bay.

Key new features include:
-Full Radiosity in preview
-Real sky illumination
-Automatic light adjustment
-Shade creator
-Integrated image post-processing

Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact: To register & for more information, please visit:
http://p.hostingprod.com/@archvista.com/index-usergroup.html
Cost: None. This meeting open to all.
2 CES/LU


For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

Small Firm Forum: How to Keep the Office Running Smoothly

Doug Coe will be lead a group discussion on How to Keep the Office Running Smoothly on Thursday, March 6 at noon.

"Do you know where your old photos are? Do you have a system for keeping your phone and address list up to date? Do you do bookkeeping with a snazzy software program, or do you keep records with pen and blank paper?


Let's share tips and techniques for managing a small office. Bring print-out examples of invoices or contact lists. Bring your ideas on good ways to manage lots of photos, hundreds of emails, various mailing and phone lists. Also solutions that you've hit on for managing phone lines, answering devices, faxes, copiers, scanners, and other handy gadgets. Tell us about software you can't live without.


And bring nagging questions about how to make your office life smoother and more efficient. We will follow where your interests lead, and hopefully everyone will take away at least one new idea to put to use."


Time: Noon-1:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street , Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600 or Cathy Roha, AIA
Cost: Free to AIA members; $3 non-members. Drinks are provided
This Forum open to all.
1.5 CES/LU


For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600 or Cathy Roha, AIA

Reviewing Cost Estimates: From An Architect’s Perspective

On Tuesday, March 4 at noon, join AIA East Bay and O’Connor Construction Management, Inc. as they present Reviewing Cost Estimates: From An Architect’s Perspective.

This program will walk you through all aspects of a cost estimate. The handout and slides presented will enable the participant to analyze and breakdown various components of an estimate and clearly understand how to maximize the knowledge and value that a cost estimate can provide.

Learning Objectives: After completion of this course, participants will be able to understand:

􀂃 Typical estimate presentation of construction costs
􀂃 General conditions, design contingency and cost escalation "mark-ups"
􀂃 Estimate formats and their advantages and disadvantages
􀂃 Cost per square foot parameters
􀂃 How differing delivery methods affect cost
􀂃 Typical estimate exclusions


Method of Delivery: The presenter will walk the participants through the Powerpoint slides, while also referring to the handout given. It will be presented in a format that will initiate conversation, questions, and ideas throughout the session.

Time: Noon-1:30
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600
Cost: None, this is a brown bag lunch. Drinks are provided.
This Forum open to all.
Please RSVP.
1 CES/LU

For more information: Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600

Control By Design: Integrating Technology For Ease of Use While Minimizing Aesthetic Impact

Home automation systems can provide convenience, security, energy conservation, and peace of mind - all from a single control panel and a centralized location. This two-part presentation will explore many facets of home automation technology being requested by today's home owners and discuss innovative solutions to conceal and/or minimize the aesthetic impact of installations. Mirror TV's, mud over speakers, motorized lifts, and multifunction keypads will be covered.

Presented by Ty Carstarphen & Bryan Weinberg with High Definition Home and Rick Coven with Crestron West.

Attendees will learn the capabilities and trends of todays home automation systems.
They will gain knowledge of the benefits of home automation and the ease of working the technology for both end user and installer.

Wednesday 3/05/08
Time: Noon-1:30
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact:
Kellie Hewlett at 510/464-3600
Cost: None, Lunch and Drinks are provided.
This Forum open to all.
Please RSVP to ensure proper food count.
1 CES/LU

For more information:
Kellie Hewlett, Program Coordinator, 510/464-3600