The American Institute of Architects has announced the 2007 Committee on the Environment Awards for the top ten green projects. http://www.aia.org/press2_template.cfm?pagename=release_042307_COTE
For us west coasters, there are two in California and one in Oregon -- with a second Oregon one among the honorable mentions. Although Nevada had a winner last year, this year we did not place.
April 13 and 14 were very busy in the Architecture Studies Library and the School of Architecture. Members of the community and of the Las Veags American Institute of Architects gathered around noon in the ASL for this design charrette. The brainstroming was kicked off by speaker Sim van der Ryn, well known architect and author of books on ecological and sustainable design [for a list of what is in the ASL see http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/events/lectures/simvanderryn.html.
KNPR covered the charrette. In addition, participants and others could add comments to the charrette blog http://aialasvegas.blogspot.com/
Recommendations were highlighted at the session on Saturday. In the audience were Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Henderson Mayor James Gibson -- among many others. Both mayors indicated their appreciation of the work and ideas that were shared, and the hope that they can be used to move the valley forward.
Here are the briefest of highlights on the recommendations. The full recommendations of both the Reno group and the Las Vegas group will be printed and offered to the community (and the governor) as a Blueprint for Nevada.
Resources
What is the "value" of each resource -- quantifying may help bring home true costs, and help to change the culture of Las Vegas, which is one of our biggest issues.
Economic Development
Issues revolve around diversity, sprawl, and infrastructure. We need a strong regional planning ggroup. We need to address the five-year gap between McCarran at maximum capacity and Ivanpah Airport opening.
Planning and Development
Look at urban form zoning and a stronger Regional Planning Commission. All public facilities should serve multiple purposes. Leverage: spaces, climate, critical mass. Develop the political will to make a positive change.
Education
Schools should be the heart of the community. There should be neigborhood partnerships and access. Consider these three key concepts: rigor, relevance, and relationships.
Social Infrastructure and Wellness
Improve delivery, reduce cost, address root causes of illness.
Arts and Culture
Develop a unified voice for Las Vegas arts. Three strategies for the long-term: arts education for children; more spaces for arts and rehearsals and exhibits and studios -- clustered Art Spots;
arts groups should enhance communication both among themselves and with the community.
Housing
Issues include affordability, density, variety, efficiency, and transit. Human scale is critical.
Public Safety and Transportation
Reduce private vehicles, provide alternate modes of transport, connect nodes, educate the public. Address safety issues and crime prevention through design.
Obviously these are all complicated issues. Kudos to the AIA and all who participated for bringing the discussion to this public forum.
This is a busy week! It's Architecture Week, and the Las Vegas American Institute of Architects has many wonderful activities to partake of.
Those of us that attended the celebration Monday night in honor of the 2007 Architecture Las Vegas publication were also treated to tours of Las Vegas mid-century modern exemplar The Morelli House, restored by the Junior League and moved to its current location at Bridger and 9th from the old Desert Inn golf course. The lecture by noted architectural writer Alan Hess was excellent. The DVD of the lecture, courtesy of the AIA and Randy Hale, will be available in the Architecture Studies Library soon. (Unfortunately we do not have film of Mayor Oscar Goodman or Representative Shelley Berkley, who were also there, and made some spirited honorary presentations to the Las Vegas AIA and the Junior League.)
Another huge event kicks off on Friday with a 1:30 lecture in the Architecture Studies Library by well-known architect and sustainability advocate Sim van der Ryn, followed by a 24-hour Town Hall during which 10 teams will address the 10 Principles of Livability in the Las Vegas context. Presentations of their findings and suggestions are scheduled for noon Saturday, in the Architecture Studies Library. More information at http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/events/lectures/simvanderryn.html
The 2007 edition of Architecture Las Vegas magazine is now published and available in the Architecture Studies Library. Of special interest is the Las Vegas Livability Report. The report features "report cards" i.e. grades, for the 10 AIA Principles for Livable Communities: Design on a human scale, Provide choices, Encouraging mixed uses, Build vibrant public spaces, Protect environmental resources, Preserving urban centers, Create a neighborhood identity, Vary transportation options, Conserve landscapes, and Design matters. The grades were derived from a survey of the city's architects and planners.
I am very pleased to pass on the announcement that the Las Vegas Architects and Buildings Database on the ASL web site http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/archdb/arch.php has been recognized by ARLIS/NA, the Art Libraries Society of North America, with the Worldwide Books Award for Electronic Resources. This is a deeply appreciated honor!
I originally conceived of the project, having collected information on Las Vegas architects and buildings since 1991. Since then the project has grown and evolved under my direction over the years, and is the work of many:
*graduate assistants Liz Fuentes, Chad Reichert, and Ernie Podaca in organizing filing systems, in collaborating on the types of information and fields we would add, and in entering data;
*Hong Zhang and Kyle Felker in setting up the database, in talking through with Ernie (GA at the time), Jason, Paulette, and myself the fields and access we anticipated needing;
*Kathy Rankin in advising on metadata;
*Kee Choi and Cory Lampert in consulting on the best way to include images; and
*[last but not least!] ASL staff Jason Aubin and Paulette Nelson and ASL student staffers Joseph WeEbb and Kelci Kenney-Yonamine for putting their all into the push to get information transferred from the old Word file to the new database.
Thanks to all who have contributed to making this project both an initial and ongoing success. This recognition from ARLIS/NA is an acknowledgement from other art and architecture librarians of the value of the project and the success of its implementation!
