With the start of a new year comes new leadership for AIANY. Our 2015 president Tomas Rossant, AIA, led with strength, conviction, and good humor. He was a strong advocate for social reform and equity, as well as advances in the practice of architecture. He welcomed the opportunity to meet with industry professionals and government officials and encouraged AIANY to serve as a platform for public discourse. In 2015, we celebrated the fifth Archtober, New York City’s annual Architecture and Design Month. Archtober also marked the opening of The Howard Hughes Corporation Seaport Culture District, where we exhibited Sea Level: Five Boroughs at Water’s Edge, a water’s-eye view of New York – the city documented from its tidal edge. Over the past year, the Center for Architecture also reached over 2,000 students and teachers through the award-winning Learning By Design:NY school-based residencies – 50% of which occurred in the city’s most underserved schools. Over the summer, the Center for Architecture was renovated. It is now an even more exciting destination for AIA members, allied professionals, students, and visitors. We are also pleased to announce our new executive director Benjamin Prosky. Ben will be joining AIANY and Center for Architecture as executive director in early 2016. As the 2016 president of AIA New York, I will focus on the theme Authenticity and Innovation. Authenticity – the historical, cultural, and social essence of the built environment – is what gives people a sense of continuity and a connection to the past. Innovation speaks to the future and to creativity, not only in terms of the buildings themselves, but of the activities fostered in and around them. I want to use NYC to reflect on these issues, and to think about how authenticity and innovation together create the foundation for great architecture and great cities. Through a series of programs and advocacy efforts, we will explore specific topics related to this theme. We will explore craft in architecture and the challenge of reconciling the use of new materials in new conditions with the resurgent focus on using natural materials. We will also consider the timely and important topic of libraries, how they are maintaining their significant status in society while they adapt to evolving needs. The year will culminate in a major exhibition at the Center for Architecture, which will take an in-depth look at new technology-based industries and businesses that are drawn to NYC’s historic building stock, and how this trend reveals the enduring nature of our city’s unique landscape. Ultimately, I want to improve communication between architects and the general public. Architecture matters, and I want to help make it engaging, exciting, and accessible for everyone. Carol Loewenson, FAIA, LEED AP is the 2016 president of AIA New York and is a partner at Mitchell | Giurgola, New York, N.Y. Tags: