It is with great sadness that we announce the untimely unexpected death of our dear friend : Ar Ahamad Djuhara : President of the Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia 🇮🇩 ( IAI ) on the 27 day of March 2020 , to the dreaded COVID - 19 .
President's Message
Firstly, congratulations and welcome to the new IR Board for 2020! There is a tremendous mix of talent and energy from around the globe, and we want to channel that energy to improving your experience with the AIA! Secondly, a huge thank you to outgoing IR president Thierry Paret! We all build on the work of the work of our predecessors and I’m particular fortunate to be following in Thierry’s footsteps.
There are a number of key issues that I would like the IR to address. These include, but aren’t limited to:
2019 AIA IR Design Awards
2019 AIA IR Design Awards
The AIA International Region (AIA IR) 2019 Design Awards recognize global excellence in design. The 2019 AIA IR Design Awards were announced to a packed house reception preceding the gala dinner of the annual AIA IR conference held in Shanghai from November 14-17. All award winners, except one (who was getting married!), were in attendance, and they briefly presented their projects to an appreciative audience.
AIA Hong Kong
In the final quarter of 2019, AIA Hong Kong held numerous events catering for our Young Architects Group (YAG). The YAG programs kicked-off with a Smart City Design Competition co-organized with the two other architectural institutes in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) and the Royal Institute of
British Architects, Hong Kong Chapter (RIBA HK).
AIA Middle East Update
Despite the ongoing situation and the challenges Lebanon is passing through, AIA ME succeeded in organizing its 7th Middle Eastern big conference event in Lebanon at AUB between November 23 and November 24.
It is the first time AIA ME organizes such big event (Year End Conference) in Lebanon: during previous years, this event was conducted in Bahrain, Sharjah, Cairo, Dubai, etc.
AIA International Region 2020 Conference Shanghai
AIA International Region and AIA Shanghai jointly held the AIA IR Annual Conference in Shanghai from November 14 through 17. The conference topic was “China: New Realities” – an exposition on the culmination of 20+ years of extraordinary growth which has brought China’s architecture to the forefront of architectural practice. With over 200 attendees and 20 speakers, we had a fantastic conference that shared some of the outstanding work developed in Shanghai.
The opening reception welcomed delegates in style at Shanghai’s classic art-deco landmark, the Fairmont Peace Hotel on the Bund. In the elegant top-floor hall, we celebrated with cocktails and enjoyed a relaxed evening meeting new friends and making connections.
AIA IR Board of Directors
We would like to use this letter to recognize outgoing board members and those coming in. Past IR President James Wright FAIA for all his significant contributions to our region. James is one of the founders of the International Region and was instrumental in creating the framework that has led to its success over the years.
We thank outgoing Treasurer Loay Quota AIA for his contributions over the past 4 years. Other outgoing board members we wish to recognize the IR’s second President Christine Bruckner FAIA.
The outgoing board members are listed below:
James Wright, FAIA – Immediate Past President (2018-2019)
Loay Quota, AIA – Treasurer (2016-2019)
Alex Miller, AIA – AIA United Kingdom Chapter Representative & Director (2019)
Carsten Hanssen, AIA Int. Assoc. – AIA Continental Europe Chapter Representative & Director (2019)
Christine Bruckner, FAIA – AIA Hong Kong Chapter Representative & Director (2019
Barak Mizrachi, AIA Int. Assoc. – Unassigned Member Director (2018-2019)
Jason Briscoe, AIA – AIA Shanghai Chapter Representative & Director (2019)
Som Bose, AIA – AIA Canada Chapter Representative & Director (2019)
AIA Canada Society Update
AIA Canada Society held their inaugural Annual General Meeting of members on Nov 22nd. The board officers filed reports of the chapter progress as required by BC Societies Act. under which AIA Canada Society is registered.
Working relationship with RAIC
President Som Bose AIA and Treasurer Stuart Howard AIA of the AIA Canada Society Chapter held consultations with Giovanni Boniface from RAIC to explore hosting events jointly. The early discussions were encouraging and the Board is supportive of hosting events with RAIC provided it meets the members’ requirements to achieve continuing education and chapter visibility. The incoming board has agreed to build upon this relationship and perhaps host a conference jointly with RAIC.
AIA Japan Update
2019 was a tremendous year for AIA Japan. We have increased our membership from 85 to 93: we have achieved member count increase of 35% in the past 5-years. This year, we have made a decision to make this chapter be more event & networking oriented. While fulfilling the accreditation requirements, we have focused on one major agenda which is “member benefit = providing places for networking.” In 2019, we had 23 events in total, and provided total of 22 CE credits (14 HSW + 8 LU).
AIA Continental Europe Conference: Porto, Portugal Porto - The City of Futures April 24 - April 26, 2020
Welcome to the city of merchants, fruit of the love of its inhabitants, embracing experiment and innovation.
In an era when it was thought that historic cities would be doomed to simple tourist destinations, and that the economic and technological proponents would be of the new Asian cities built from scratch, Porto is an example that the urban centers of the old world are competitive.
This transformation was based on the work of urban planners and architects, who retrofit the historical city, turning it into poles of knowledge, technology, culture and value-added tourism. During this visit we can conclude that coherent and aggressive urban policies can make these cities resilient to economic crises and attractive for international investment. We will examine the success of the projects we visit on site and have a glimpse at the next wave of projects for the next 15 years.
AIA United Kingdom Update
The AIA UK continues to host a range of events over the course of the year; following the two Signature events of the Spring and Summer (the Design Awards Gala and Super Saturday), the year's third and final Signature event was the well-attended Newcastle City Excursion. This Autumn's line up also featured a collection of technical lectures including: Well Building Standard, Parametric Design in Practice, and Automated Architecture. The 2019/2020 Winter Film Series kicked off in October, with the films 'Unfinished Spaces' and 'The Films of Charles and Ray Eames' screened in quick succession.
UIA 2020 Rio Website is Up and Running
The GABI is Up and Running
The AIA’s new, UIA endorsed Global Architecture Billings Index (GABI) has issued its first two quarterly reports. The GABI is similar in nature to the longstanding ABI, and is also led by AIA’s Chief Economist, Kermit Baker and the AIA economic research team. The GABI is currently seeking global “panelists”—firms which will submit responses to brief, quarterly surveys on design and construction related economic activity; the data will be analyzed allowing trends to be identified. These surveys take less than ten minutes to complete, so please join and support the database!
The IR Fellowship Committee Assists and Advises 2020 Candidates
President's Farewell
It has been a privilege to serve as your President over the last two years and Vice President during the two preceding years (2016-2017). As I look at the past 4 years, I can highlight the following major accomplishments as Vice President & President of the IR and as Director-At-Large of the Institute (2016-2017):
AIA International Region 2019 Design Awards
The AIA International Region (AIA IR) 2019 Design Awards were announced to a packed house before the gala dinner of the annual AIA IR conference held in Shanghai from November 14-17. All award winners, except one (who was getting married!), were in attendance, and they briefly presented their projects to an appreciative audience. This year also saw the introduction of a Firm award.
AIA IR Thought Leadership Event on Sustainability
The AIA International region, in partnership with Dow, hosted a thought leadership event titled “Design Excellence for a Sustainable Future”. It was held at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 6th. The event was attended by nearly 100 people, including many of Dow’s corporate clients and partners, and a strong AIA IR contingent mostly from the Continental Europe chapter.
President's Letter
Dear Members,
I hope that you are all doing well. I wanted to take this opportunity to write you a brief note on the upcoming Shanghai conference and the work of the International Strategic Task Force.
As you are aware the AIA International Region in partnership with the AIA Shanghai Chapter are finalizing the organization of a major three-day conference in Shanghai from November 14th-17th. This conference will focus on the developmental history of this world city as well as its future growth plans. Originally settled in 4,000 BC this city has gone multiple iterations including being a fishing village, a market town and today a leading global financial center. Today this city with a population of 24 million is known worldwide for its amazing skyline, and as a global financial, innovation and technology, and transportation hub.
We have assembled an amazing group of leading Chinese Architects that are forming the future of this world city. We look forward to learning from our colleagues in terms of design, sustainability, cutting edge technology along with the cultural nuances of designing in China. Our global architectural community that is working on virtually every continent should be keen to gaining this knowledge which is easily transportable to other geographies both at the macro and micro level. As someone who has never been to China, I am very excited to experience this amazing city, its neighborhoods and its architecture. As such I invite you all to take advantage of this unique opportunity to attend the AIA IR Shanghai Conference, I am certain that this will be a wonderful learning opportunity.
On a separate note, I am pleased to let you know that the AIA Global Strategic Task Force which I am chairing met on October 5th in Brussels to start the important work of developing our global strategy which will address a broad range on initiatives focusing on elevating the profession. The Task Force members comprising of every experienced group of architect, including Thomas Vonier, FAIA (Former AIA President and current UIA President), Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA (former AIA President and incoming International Practice Committee Chair), James Wright, FAIA (Immediate AIA IR Past President & current Director of UIA Professional Practice Committee), Sam Oboh, FAIA (Past President of Canada’s RAIC and IR Representative to the College of Fellows), Alison Laas, AIA (Immediate past Chair of the AIA International Practice Committee), Alton Chow, AIA (Immediate Past President of the AIA Shanghai Chapter) and John Padilla, AIA (Past Secretary of AIA National and current Vice President of Pan American Federation of Associations of Architects) met for a full day of work. I am pleased to say that our intense session bore many fruits, we now have key action items to develop over the next few months. Our task force is very excited at the prospect of developing an implantation method for many of these initiatives. I will keep you updated over the next few months. We also were delighted to have the opportunity of partially participating in AIA Continental Europe’s Conference in Brussels which reminded me of the great work being done by all of our international chapters. I truly encourage you to attend chapter conferences being organized by our chapters in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Canada.
Back Row from left to right: Sam Oboh FAIA, Thomas Vonier FAIA, Alton Chow AIA, John Padilla AIA, Alison Laas AIA, Dr. Tillman Prinz, Elizabeth Chu Richter FAIA, James Wright FAIA, Derek Walsham. Front Row: Paula Seidel, Thierry Paret, FAIA, Terri Stewart.
Again, I encourage to join us in Shanghai from November 14th – 17th, it will be an unforgettable event!
Sincerely,
Thierry Paret, FAIA
President
AIA International Region
Chair AIA International Strategic Task Force
AIA IR to Host Excellence: Designing a Sustainable Future Summit
The AIA International Region, in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and IR sponsors Dow, are organizing a one-day thought-leadership event at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday, September 6, 2019. The title of the event is ‘Design Excellence for a Sustainable Future’.
AIAJ/FIU INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM: RESILIENCE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
In the recent years, local communities are facing various threats on a global scale due to the increase of heavy rainfall, drought, landslide disasters, etc. caused by climate changes. In the United States, Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) have made serious damages, and the impact of rising sea levels has become a major issue in Florida. Even in Japan, Hiroshima landslides (2014) and floods in the western Japan (2018) caused serious damage. Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and associated nuclear power plant accidents (2011) left devastating damages to the eastern Japan coastal area. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to seek the built environment of the next generation by introducing a broad perspective connecting the city, infrastructure and landscape in order to make our cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This symposium "Resilience and the Building Environment" was made possible by Japan chapter of American Institute of Architects (AIA Japan) with the cooperation of Meiji University in conjunction with students and faculties of the international program of Florida International University. AIA members and other architects and experts from related fields make discussions that transverse area of studies with a broad perspective, and look for the future of architecture and cities.
