President's message: Eyes on the horizon

As I have written in past issues, our 2008 theme Architecture: Designs for Living supports design excellence in the broad range of building types and urban design that shape our neighborhoods and city. Since its opening 5 years ago, our Center for Architecture has become a leading local and international forum for the discussion of architecture and urban design issues. Throughout this period AIA New York has supported Mayor Bloomberg's planning and housing initiatives, which with a rising economy, have transformed much of the city through rezoning for residential and mixed-use development. Through the participation of our members, the International Building Code was adopted. On Earth Day 2007 the Mayor announced PlaNYC, an ambitious plan to create a 21st century "green" city that anticipates the need to accommodate a million new residents with housing and supporting urban infrastructure by 2030. AIA New York has supported the goals of PlaNYC with exhibitions and programs such as the UN Forum on Sustainable Urbanization that invited mayors and planners from 10 world cities to share their versions of PlaNYC with the Mayor's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability. The stage was set for the next century of unparalleled sustainable growth. In an already built up city, where and how could so much new development be accommodated? The 2008 AIA New York theme exhibition + Housing currently on view at the Center for Architecture shows how housing is combined with uses such as schools, cultural and commercial spaces to maximize the use or reuse of limited sties. However, when institutions such as St. Vincent's Hospital and Columbia University need to modernize through expansion, or new developments such as Hudson Yards and Atlantic Yards transform existing typologies, they often confront resistance from established neighborhoods and civic organizations. New growth is imperative if a city is to remain competitive in the global marketplace; yet those needs must be synthesized with existing contexts and expectations for sustainable communities. The Wall Street collapse and crisis in global financial markets has unexpectedly brought expectations for unlimited growth to a halt. The New York Building Congress has projected the worst is yet to come in 2010 after projects in the pipeline dry up. However, as Governor Paterson reminded us recently, some of the most significant infrastructure and landmarks in the city, such as Rockefeller Center, was built over periods of economic ups and downs - we must keep our eyes on the horizon. The silver lining in this cloud will be the opportunity for architects to work together with government, the development community, and civic organizations to plan more thoughtfully for the next cycle of growth, and to rethink projects hastily conceived in the rush of the recent real estate boom. As our workload slows down, we will all have more time to think about the future. Finding the right balance presents an enormous challenge and demands a creative collaboration often missing in recent new developments where government overrides local concerns. We must be careful not to replicate the errors of our modernist past. Above all we must look back on this period as having created something good that will be remembered by future generations. James McCullar, FAIA is the 2008 president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, New York, N.Y.