The architect's mid-year forecast: Optimistic future

Nationally, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) issues construction forecasts twice a year, while annual outlooks are also published by New York Construction News, the New York Building Congress, and others. However, as president of the AIA N.Y. chapter, I'd like to give you another kind of mid-year forecast. I'm just back from the Miami Beach, where I joined 16,000 colleagues from across the country and around the globe for the AIA's national convention. The theme of the convention, "Design for a New Decade," inspired conversations on the future of architecture. Clearly, new work will be determined by cost and program, but also by sustainability. Keeping the client's needs and budget in mind has always been central to an architect's assignment, but now we have a third requirement: socially and environmentally responsible building. With projects like the affordable housing development Via Verde breaking ground in the South Bronx, I am proud the architects in N.Y. are leading by example. But architects do not work alone, and it is only with committed clients from the public and private sectors can we make design for the new decade a reality sooner, rather than later. On a local level, the AIA N.Y. chapter issued another kind of mid-year report this week. Our 143rd Annual Meeting, on June 16, brought together chapter members and friends from the community. Like the real estate and construction industries, local architects have suffered in the Global Financial Crisis, but N.Y,'s architecture community has stood strong, and together. As a chapter, our membership is at a record high, and we continue to develop new professional development resources for the architectural and design professions, even while we, as an organization, have undergone necessary belt tightening. I'd be remiss not to mention the other reason we gathered at our Annual Meeting: to salute exemplary community members. Coming just a few months after Design Awards, the Annual Meeting citations and awards are a tradition, recognizing individuals not just for recent projects, but for the larger sum of their contributions to our community. David Childs, FAIA, received our Medal of Honor for his work with SOM and the civic realm, from presidential appointments to jurying our urbanSHED competition. Laurie Tisch's Illumination Fund, which received our Award of Merit, is a new name in the city's philanthropic community, but has already established itself as a resource for making New Yorkers healthier and happier. We were also thrilled to grant honorary membership to MoMA architecture and design curator Barry Bergdoll and New York Building Congress president Richard Anderson. While we paused at our Annual Meeting to reflect back on these individuals,' and our other honorees,' accomplishments, I also look forward to seeing how they continue to contribute to our community in the coming years. There are other forecasts coming out of our chapter. The New Domino, a project by AIANY member Rafael Vinoly, FAIA, which was featured this spring in our Helfand Spotlight Series, was approved by N.Y.C.'s City Planning Commission, with a 13-0 vote in favor. It's exciting to see major development moving forward in our city, not only for our related industries that need a large scale project such as this one, but because it is sited for a community that needs more affordable housing, and The New Domino pledges to deliver 660 affordable units. We're also predicting the long-term future of the cities and our industry with our summer exhibitions. "Our Cities Ourselves" looks at sustainable transportation solutions, asking ten architect-led teams in ten global cities to imagine what our cities will look like in 2030. In another vein, "New Practices N.Y. 2010" looks at the future of the profession by featuring seven up-and-coming new practices in the city. The commonality with all of these "forecasts" is that we're optimistic about the future. Yes, it has been a difficult few years in the industry, but N.Y.'s architects are a talented and committed community that, working together, will realize the best possible design for the new decade. Anthony Schirripa, FAIA, IIDA, is the 2010 president of the N.Y. chapter of the AIA, New York, N.Y.