The AIA and Architecture for Humanity are pleased to announce the grant recipients for the 2012 Disaster Response Plan Grant. Awards totaling $10,000 will help each group implement their locally driven preparedness project in the second half of the year.
The Disaster Grant Program is part of the Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Program, which coordinates the organizations’ advocacy, education and training to help architects make effective contributions to communities preparing for, responding to and rebuilding after disaster.
The grant recipients are:
- Architecture for Humanity D.C. Chapter Disaster Response Project
The project aims to engage D.C. architects in preparing the District’s shelters, helping with post-disaster damage assessment, and allowing architects to serve as leaders in all the communities of our nation’s capital. It also aims to engage D.C. architects in documenting and learning lessons from past disasters. - Washington State Disaster Preparedness and Response (DPR)
A new Intrastate Mutual Aid law in the state allows architects, engineers and code officials to receive training and integrate with emergency management, but many of the details are yet to be determined. The DPR will advocate, educate, and train these design professionals to help implement the new law and prepare communities for disaster. - NYC Safety Assessments Trainings
In partnership with AIANY and the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Architecture for Humanity NY (AFHny) will develop a disaster response network and offer periodic trainings in the post-disaster Safety Assessment Program (SAP). - Disaster Assistance Coordination Network in Maryland
AIA Baltimore, in partnership with the Architecture for Humanity Baltimore chapter, plans to establish an active Disaster Assistance Program for the state of Maryland. This group will liaise between the state emergency management agencies, AIA, and other emergency management professionals in the region to develop plans and programs to address disaster preparedness and recovery. - Illinois Architects’ Emergency Management/Disaster Response Workshop
The workshop will have key leaders of the AIA and Architecture for Humanity work collaboratively to develop an industry-specific comprehensive statewide disaster response plan in an exercise environment working alongside emergency management officials. In addition, develop a post-workshop toolkit for the education of our members in the architect’s role in emergency management in Illinois.
More information will be available soon on the Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Program website, ArchitectsRebuild.org. +
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
New Years resolutions for architects, urban planners, and real estate developers
Roger K. Lewis, an architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, writes in the Washington Post about New Years resolutions he proposes for anyone involved in influencing buildings and cities. Among his proposals: recycle and reuse aging or obsolete buildings instead of demolishing them; amend or eliminate out-of-date, obstructive, and overly complex zoning ordinances; and make all city and suburban streets safe for cyclists and pedestrians.
| Jan 4, 2011
An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
| Jan 4, 2011
Luxury hotel planned for Palace of Versailles
Want to spend the night at the Palace of Versailles? The Hotel du Grand Controle, a 1680s mansion built on palace grounds for the king's treasurer and vacant since the French Revolution, will soon be turned into a luxury hotel. Versailles is partnering with Belgian hotel company Ivy International to restore the dilapidated estate into a 23-room luxury hotel. Guests can live like a king or queen for a while—and keep their heads.
| Jan 4, 2011
Grubb & Ellis predicts commercial real estate recovery
Grubb & Ellis Company, a leading real estate services and investment firm, released its 2011 Real Estate Forecast, which foresees the start of a slow recovery in the leasing market for all property types in the coming year.
| Jan 4, 2011
Furniture Sustainability Standard - Approved by ANSI and Released for Distribution
BIFMA International recently announced formal American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and release of the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology to evaluate the "sustainable" attributes of furniture products and constitutes the technical criteria of the level product certification program.
| Jan 3, 2011
Chicago Architectural Foundation’s media expert takes all 85 tours in one year
Jennifer Lucente, the social media expert at the Chicago Architecture Foundation has completed her year of taking tours—taking all 85 tours in 2010. The challenge that began last January with a tour of the Board of Trade building has ended today with the architecture foundation’s newest tour: Razzle Dazzle – featuring the Loop theater district followed by a celebration at the Chicago Theatre.
| Dec 28, 2010
Project of the Week: Community college for next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Dec 20, 2010
Architect Adrian D. Smith on zero-energy cities, new technologies, and high density.
Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA, is co-founder (with Gordon Gill) of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago. Previously, he was a design partner in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1980-2003) and a consulting design partner from 2004 to 2006. His landmark structures include the Jin Mao Tower (Shanghai), Rowes Wharf (Boston), and Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E.), the world’s tallest structure. He recently collaborated with Gordon Gill to design the world’s first net-zero-energy skyscraper, Pearl River Tower, now nearing completion in Guangzhou, China. This account is based on his recent remarks at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
| Dec 17, 2010
BIM Tools Enhance Project Value
The Building Team for a renovation project at Georgia Tech uses BIM and 3D design tools to solve a complex millwork problem.
