Hi everyone! Apologies for the delay in getting this review of Friday, Nov. 4th at the AAJ Conference. The first seminar of the day was entitled LEED-J: Developing a Sustainability Rating System for Justice. The panel of presenters consisted of Frank Green, FAIA and Ken Ricci, FAIA of RicciGreen Associates, Julia Hughes, AIA and Beverly Prior, FAIA of HMC + Beverly Prior Architects, Susan Oldroyd, FAIA of AECOM, Melissa Farling, AIA of Jones Studio, and Raphael Sperry, AIA of Simon & Associates Inc. The presentation analyzed how separate criteria for courts, corrections, and law-enforcement could more accurately measure and encourage sustainable design in these highly specialized facilities. Needs assesments, along with client eduacation are critical first steps in each of the design tracks, as the ability to address current programatic and design inefficiencies must be addressed and corrected.
Following this session I walked over to tour the new LAPD Headquarters at 100 West First Street. This 480,000 sq. ft. facility designed by AECOM and Roth Sheppard Architects is quite impressive (I will upload images to the AIA Knowledge Net soon). The project site takes up an entire city block and is composed of the Headquarters Tower, underground parking, and a separate cafe and auditorium building. The site provides a large amount of plaza and green space and is extremely inviting. A memorial to fallen officers is located just off the main plaza and provides a space above the street level to sit and reflect on all the names of those who gave their lives in the line of duty. With it's proximity to the well known architectural landmarks such as City Hall and the Morphosis designed Cal Trans District 7 headquarters building I feel that this building really fits in well. It provides plenty of exterior public plaza space while still engaging the streetscape and maintaining the urban feel. Check it out and feel free to share your thoughts:
http://www.rothsheppard.com/pages/lapd-headquarters
After the tour I headed back to the conference site at the Millenium Biltmore hotel to attend the final seminar of the day. Paul Lindsteadt of Bullard Construction, Rick Milletello of Skanska, Rob Uvalle of the California Adminisitrative Office of the Courts, Eric Fadness, AIA, Andrew McPherson, AIA and Lorenzo Lopez, AIA of Nacht & Lewis Architects, and Joel Griffith of the California Department of General Services (via video clips) presented "Best Value - Alternative Delivery Methods". The panel discussed design-build and design assist project delivery methods from all sides (owner, architect, and contractor). While both methods were whole heartedly supported by all parties there were acknowledgments of the downsides. The risk of pursuing design-build projects without satisfactory compensation for time spent on a losing effort was cause for concern for the design team, while the owner sometimes feels frustrated with the lack of communication directly with the architect. For design assist the contractor feels as if they are taking on more risk by joining at a time when the project is still in development and there can still be significant uncertainties ahead.
The final event of the day was the Closing Plenary entitled, "Do You Hear What I See? Helping the Prosaic Become Poets." This was a highly informative and entertaining presentation by David J Insingna, AIA from the Office of Design and Construction at the General Services Administration DC, Ray D. Greco, FAIA of AECOM and Hon. Celeste F. Bremer, a US Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. The focus of the presentation was the importance of the architect and the owners/users establishing a succesful dialogue in terms of design and program. "Don't tell me, show me" seemed to be an appropriate description of the design dialogue necessary to facilitate succesful design decisions. Overall it was a great presentation and a perfect way to close the conference.
Now, while the Closing Plenary officially concluded the program, there is still one more event I will be writing about. On Saturday November 5th a Sustainability Workshop was held at AECOM with a group of 35 attendees or so. My experiences and thoughts on that to follow....stay tuned!