VSAIA

© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

The American Institute of Architects recently unveiled an ambitious 2012 legislative agenda that has creating jobs in the hard-hit design and construction industry as its top priority.

“Architects are by and large small businesspeople: ninety-five percent of architecture firms in the United States employ 50 or fewer people,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA, himself a small business owner. “Meeting the challenges our communities face — lost jobs, outdated and unsafe infrastructure, abandoned buildings and neighborhoods, rising energy costs, and distressed main streets — demands a strong design and construction industry that is ready and able to get back to work.

“If enacted, this agenda would go a long way towards putting our sector back on its feet to do just that,” Potter said.

The AIA’s “Plan for Economic Growth” concentrates its efforts on solving the four key economic challenges facing the profession:

Removing Barriers to Private Sector Lending   Thousands of needed construction projects that would employ millions of Americans are on hold because credit is still frozen. Banks, especially smaller community banks, want to lend but new federal regulations make it difficult. The AIA is doing its part to help make financing available with its Stalled Projects website, launched in 2011, to match building projects to investors. But Congress needs to do its part by passing legislation such as the Capital Access for Main Street Act, which would help prevent large numbers of commercial foreclosures and free up credit to help small business get back to work.

Saving Energy, Creating Jobs   Across the country, building owners, state and local governments and school districts want to lower energy bills by retrofitting their buildings. AIA member firms are answering the call by signing up for the AIA 2030 Commitment to develop plans to ensure their projects and practices meet far-reaching green goals. Congress can spur tens of thousands of more jobs by increasing the value of the Federal Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction by increasing it from the current $1.80sf to $3.00sf and by making changes that make the deduction easier to use by more people

Helping Small Firms Grow   Small architecture firms and sole practitioners work in every community in the country to help homeowners and businesses design better buildings. But high taxes and burdensome paperwork hold them back. As Congress looks to reform the tax code and reduce the budget deficit, it needs to ensure that tax rates on small entrepreneurs are cut while preventing efforts to penalize smaller design firms.

Revitalizing America’s Neighborhoods   Crumbling infrastructure, high unemployment and rising traffic congestion have hurt our nation’s communities, reducing safety and increasing pollution. Outdated federal transportation laws and tax policies have slowed projects down, deprived the public of a voice in the planning process, and forced Americans to spend more time in their cars. Congress needs to pass transportation reform legislation this year that gives people the ability to create and sustain prosperous communities with real choices in transportation options. The AIA also urges the administration to ensure that lending standards account for the kinds of mixed-use developments that communities need in order to bring back economic vitality and jobs.

For more information, or to get involved, visit AIA Issues & Advocacy.

The governor will be selecting in 2012 several Virginians to serve as leaders of several agencies.  The VSAIA offers the governor a slate of nominees that the VSAIA Board believes is capable of leading the Commonwealth in becoming more responsive and more efficient in providing services to the public.

While some positions specifically call for an architect, others may be filled by anyone.  For those positions set aside for architects, the VSAIA strives to provide a slate of three names for the governor’s selection.  For positions open to the public at large, the VSAIA promotes one or more, depending upon member interest.

The agencies usually of interest to architects and the number of open positions are as follows:

• Board of Housing and Community Development – five positions open.  Candidates are chosen based upon residence in each of the 13 congressional districts.  Those open in 2012 are from the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 7^th and 9^th districts.
• Virginia Housing Development Authority – three positions open.  The only restriction listed is that no more than three people in any one profession may be chosen.
• Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation – two positions open.
• Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers, and Landscape Architects – three positions open: one for an architect, one for a professional engineer and one for an interior designer.
• Board of Historic Resources – two positions open.

Most appointments are for four-year terms with a maximum of two full consecutive terms.  For more information, contact Duncan Abernathy AIA at daber@aiava.org.

Over the past few months, the AIA has spearheaded an effort to bring the design and construction industry together to press lawmakers to address the challenges that are holding our industry back.  On Dec. 7, 2011, our coalition sent a letter to President Obama and all members of Congress outlining actions they need to take to create stability in the economy and promote growth in the private sector.  (You can read the letter here.) This week, AIA President Clark Manus, FAIA, delivered this message to top White House officials, and AIA National Board members took to Capitol Hill to call on Congress to act.

How can you help? By asking your representatives to support common-sense, bipartisan legislation that will address one of the biggest factors impeding recovery: the lack of financing for worthy design projects.

The AIA is a leading supporter of HR 1356 the Capital Access for Main Street Act of 2011, a bipartisan bill that would help small community banks write off debt over a longer period of time, which would free up capital for lending.  This is an approach that worked following an agricultural crisis in the 1980s to help business recover, and it does not cost the taxpayers a dime in funding.  This bill passed the House in 2010 with strong support, but did not make it through the Senate before the election.

We have a real chance to get this legislation through Congress, but for that to happen it needs more representatives to learn about it and support it. Therefore, we would like you to ask your House representative to cosponsor HR 1356.  The AIA Advocacy Center has a letter for you to send.

Even as we demand Congress and the White House take action to improve the economy, we are not waiting on Washington to act. Last month, the AIA launched its stalled projects campaign.  This site is designed to help connect investors with design and construction projects. Already investors with $7 billion in funding have signed up.  So please take a look and add your projects to the list.

There is no silver bullet to fixing the problems in the economy. But by marshaling the forces of our entire industry, asking our elected leaders to act on common-sense policies, and connecting investors to projects, together we can help to make a difference and get our profession back to work.

Sincerely,

Paul T. Mendelsohn

Vice-President, AIA Government and Community Relations

On Dec. 7, 2011, a broad coalition of design and construction industry organizations asked the White House and Congressional leaders to put aside partisan differences and enact legislation that will return this sector to its role as one of the biggest job-producing engines of the American economy.

In an open letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, 45 industry representatives asked the President and Congress to work together to achieve three goals to spur immediate job creation:

• Pass surface transportation, aviation, water resources, and clean water and drinking water infrastructure authorization bills. Enactment of these authorizations, the letter states, will immediately provide programmatic and fiscal certainty that will help job creators in every state put people back to work.
• Pass and sign appropriations bills for the remainder of fiscal year 2012 as soon as possible. The signatories to the letter state that failure to pass authorization bills undermines business confidence and damages the economy by providing little or no certainty to public agencies or those who perform work for them.
• Jump-start new privately-funded construction with pro-growth tax policies that will boost economic expansion.

The signatories to the letter commended the President and Congress for repealing both the three-percent withholding mandate on government contractors and expanded the Form 1099 information reporting requirements. However, much more needs to be done to return the sector to its former prominence as an engine of the economy.

“Rather than blame each other for a sluggish economy, the two political parties can enact legislation that will jumpstart the economy just as the presidential election cycle begins in earnest,” said AIA President Clark Manus, FAIA. “The last thing either party wants as it campaigns for re-election is an economy that sputters along with an unemployment rate that in my sector is greater than 13 percent.”

Indeed, the design and construction industry accounts for 5.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, employing more than seven million Americans who design, construct and maintain the infrastructure on which our economy depends. When unemployment in this sector is high, the letter states, “the impact is felt in every community across the nation.”

“The recovery of the construction industry is vital not just to the millions of people working in the industry, but to the end-users of construction: the American people,” said 2011-12 ASA President Kerrick Whisenant, preconstruction director, Cornerstone Detention Products Inc., Tanner, Ala. “Virtually every American lives, works, or travels in the built environment. This is a rare opportunity where leaders on both sides of the aisle can agree on a path forward that meets the needs of millions of Americans and provide a jumpstart to the economy with better tax policies.”

“The pent-up potential for employment can quickly turn into action that will not only benefit the economy, but have a direct impact on the health and welfare of communities and the public,” said Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, Hon. AIA, and executive vice president and CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects. “Urban infrastructure, public health, energy, transportation — America must lead on these and other issues, and Congress holds the keys to freeing the creativity and innovation that is central to our national identity and has been stalled by uncertainty.”

“Passing long-delayed infrastructure bills and enacting measures to encourage greater private sector investments in construction will help put many unemployment construction workers back on the job,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America.  “Our economy will not fully recover until the millions of construction workers that have lost their jobs during the past four year can once again find work.”

About The American Institute of Architects
For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. Members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct to ensure the highest standards in professional practice. Embracing their responsibility to serve society, AIA members engage civic and government leaders and the public in helping find needed solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit http://www.aia.org/.
Visit http://www.aia.org/. Twitter: http://twitter.com/AIA_Media
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/AIANational

About the American Subcontractors Association, Inc.
Founded in 1966, ASA amplifies the voice of, and leads, trade contractors to improve the business environment for the construction industry and to serve as a steward for the community. ASA’s vision is to be the united voice dedicated to improving the business environment in the construction industry. The ideals and beliefs of ASA are ethical and equitable business practices, quality construction, a safe and healthy work environment, and integrity and membership diversity.

About LonMark International
LonMark International is a non-profit corporation supporting the testing and certification of products, people and companies supporting the ISO/IEC 14908 body of standards.  Its nearly 400 members manufacture, distribute, develop, install or use systems based on these standards.  For more information about LonMark International, please visit http://www.lonmark.org/.

About ASLA
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing some 16,000 members in 48 professional chapters and 68 student chapters. The Society’s mission is to lead, to educate and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning and artful design of our cultural and natural environments. Members of the Society use their “ASLA” suffix after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Learn more about landscape architecture online at http://www.asla.org/.

About AGC
Located in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area, The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is the leading association for the construction industry. Operating in partnership with its nationwide network of Chapters, AGC provides a full range of services satisfying the needs and concerns of its members, thereby improving the quality of construction and protecting the public interest.

A Letter from AIA President Clark Manus, FAIA

If scientific evidence cannot convince holdouts that climate change demands a response, then the cost of architecture’s business as usual—challenged by increasingly cash-strapped governments—might. Eager, if not desperate, to get a handle on the cost of operating their facilities, local municipalities are implementing amendments to existing codes to reduce energy consumption. Soon they will have a new, more powerful tool. As the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) is adopted by states beginning in 2012, it will formalize performance by creating mandatory frameworks for both minimum and advanced green building. This will be a real game-changer.

The IGCC will mandate specific responsibilities and liabilities, something that LEED certification does not. Unlike LEED, the green code is enforceable. If a design doesn’t meet the specifications of the state where the IGCC has been adopted, the architect could be liable for failure to comply. One consequence is increased responsibility and the associated risk-management issues for architects, as they will be required to add energy efficiency to health, safety, and welfare on their list of concerns.

Those in favor of codifying green design believe that it will place architects at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to conserve energy, enabling them to help facilitate a new era of sustainability. While not disagreeing with the desired outcome, critics contend that architects should not be the ones exposed and bearing the responsibility for whether a building saves energy.

Whatever position one takes on this issue, green-building codes are changing our profession’s required standard of care. We better be prepared. We need to understand these issues as components of design, while leading our clients and project teams through the new complexities and conflicts inherent in the shift to the art and science of building green.

I see this as a unique opportunity to regain lost relevance. To grasp that opportunity, we must delve deeply into sustainable-building sciences as a fundamental value. Our clients are going to expect their architects to guide them through the much more complicated world of design. The new green-building code requirements establish a historic moment to make a difference that truly matters in our profession, in our communities, and on our planet.

Clark D. Manus, FAIA, 2011 President

The American Institute of Architects and Associated Builders and Contractors recently announced a marketing partnership agreement, designed to foster a greater understanding and exchange of ideas between architects and contractors in the construction community.

“We see this as the beginning of a larger, long-term partnership between the AIA and ABC,” said AIA President, Clark Manus, FAIA. “For more than 100 years, the AIA has been committed to promoting greater industry collaboration among architects, owners and contractors, and this partnership is a natural extension of this work. ABC’s decision to partner with the AIA speaks volumes about the fair and balanced nature of AIA documents and their universal acceptance in the industry.”

“We believe this partnership will provide value to ABC members by giving them access to more resources to help them win work and deliver that work safely and productively,” added ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman. “This partnership will allow for a healthy exchange of best practices and enhance relationships between architects and contractors, as well as bring more value to the industry.”

AIA offers more than 100 documents including contractor/subcontractor agreements and forms; owner/contractor agreements; application and certificate for payment; and change order forms. AIA Contract Documents are revised as necessary in order to remain current with trends and changes in the industry and law, and to balance the interests of all parties. AIA solicits counsel from more than a dozen industry groups when creating or updating documents, including Associated Builders and Contractors, which, under the partnership, will have increased involvement with the AIA Contract Documents program.

As part of the partnership, AIA will provide a number of benefits to ABC members, including a discount on the purchase of any retail-priced AIA Contract Document software license and access to AIA Contract Documents education programs.

The AIA Board Advocacy Committee recently sent out the 2012 Call for Issues with the goal of gathering members’ views on the issues most important to them.  The AIA will examine the feedback and match proposed issues to legislative and regulatory opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels of government for action in 2012.

It is crucial that as many members as possible respond to the Call for Issues so that the AIA’s agenda matches the needs and wants its members. Visit http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22DCSFZ8KCU to review the survey.

The deadline for responses is Nov. 15, 2011.

© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

The American Institute of Architects has launched its Stalled Projects Database, where industry leaders can connect with investors and re-start projects nationwide that make solid economic sense but which lack the financing needed to be finished. Stalled Projects is an initiative of the AIA and is designed to help architects and their clients find a solution to the primary issue plaguing the design and construction industry – access to credit.

The site is intended be a tool to help bring the two sides together. The AIA announced its commitment to building this database earlier this year as a participating member at CGI America, the first conference of the Clinton Global Initiative solely dedicated to economic issues impacting the United States.

Industry leaders can fill out a form and post information about their project. More than one project can be submitted. Industry leaders can also read about investors and find and make contacts.

Investors can fill out a similar form that provides the basic details about their company and the kind of projects in which they are interested in investing. Investors are welcome to remain anonymous if they wish, though they must complete the form in order to peruse stalled projects listed in the database.

The AIA makes no assurance as to the accuracy or legitimacy of any of the information entered by either investors/lenders or project owners. That is up to both sides to evaluate. Neither does the AIA rank the projects listed as to viability or any other criteria. We are simply acting as a forum for investors and architects/project owners/developers to meet and exchange information.

The AIA commitment comes as the design and construction industry is plagued by a continuing dearth of credit for otherwise credit-worthy projects. Almost two-thirds of architects responding to a recent AIA survey reported at least one project that is stalled due to lack of financing, despite record low interest rates.

Register as an Investor
Tell project leaders about your firm and the types of projects you’re interested in.

Register Your Projects
Tell investors what your project is all about and why it’s a good investment.

View All Projects
Sign in and take a look at the registered projects and then make contacts.

See the List of Investors
Sign in and look over investor profiles. Decide which firms might be a fit for your project.

Purpose of the Database
Understand how the database is intended to work.

Exaggeration?  Maybe.  But In this economy, we are hearing more tales of unlicensed practice.

This is why we were extremely pleased to receive some hard information — albeit anonymously — about a potential problem.  In this particular case, there was not enough information to act, but allow us to use it as an example of what we need before filing a complaint.

In this case, it appears the information seems to be from a website for a Harrisonburg design-build firm.  The entire staff was listed with positions and e-mail addresses.  Also the firm’s claims of expertise were listed along with a testimonial from a client, a church pastor.  VSAIA investigations indicated that none of the staff was licensed in Virginia as an architect.

What was missing was the information that could be taken to the investigators serving the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects.  Everything submitted to us showed a firm practicing within the law.  It even stated that this firm partners with local and regional architectural firms to complement its in-house design team.

Nowhere did the firm claim to do architecture or that it had performed architecture.  The testimonial came close, in that it praised the firm’s design department.  Before we would submit this to the board and seek an investigation, we would want to see copies of the documents submitted for construction of this church.  If the project were more than 5,000 square feet and if it did not have an architect’s seal, then the VSAIA would submit it for investigation.

The law allows anyone to perform design services on projects below a certain square footage.  You may review the full list of exemptions to the licensure law here:  http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?000+cod+54.1-402.  The VSAIA and its legislative partners may seek to tighten these exemptions in the future, but unless VSAIA members remain vigilant and file complaints or alert the VSAIA to perceived violations of these laws, the law will not be taken seriously regardless of the restrictions.

To file a complaint — anyone may do so — download and complete the form here:  http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/complaintform.pdf.  When submitting the complaint, always request periodic updates on the investigation’s progress and the final result.  Unless this is to be an anonymous complaint, include contact information for yourself so that the investigator may seek additional information.  Department officials say they investigate anonymous complaints, but like many architecture firms, it is being asked to do more and more with fewer and fewer resources.

If anonymity is required, please ask the VSAIA to be the intermediary by sending information to Duncan Abernathy, AIA (daber@aiava.org).  We can always pass the department’s questions back to the person supplying the information.  It is more cumbersome, but the aim is to reduce the incidence of unlicensed practice to maintain the safety provided by licensed professionals.