The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is becoming more proactive in its efforts to help school districts address violence.
The Institute is launching a bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to help state and local school officials access information and funding to design safer and securer schools.
It outlined its commitment to that process in a statement titled “Where We Stand: School Design & Student Safety.” In that statement, AIA says it will lead efforts at the local, state, and federal levels of government to update school design guidelines. It is also supporting collaborative and continuing education to achieve safe school design, and is striving to make such design eligible for federal grants.
AIA is taking a vanguard role in pushing for the establishment of a federal clearinghouse on school design that would become a repository of architectural and design resources that are accessible by educational officials, architects, and other design professionals.
AIA has gotten the ball rolling via its own website for school design safety resources that includes academic research and recent articles on this topic.
“Much of the public debate about school safety has focused on access to firearms and mental health services. Neither approach to solving school violence has progressed much over many years despite all-too-frequent tragedies. Architects can improve school safety through the power of design now,” AIA says in its statement.
“To design and build the new schools we need and to retrofit existing schools requires significant support and resources that go beyond just the architecture, engineering and construction communities. The AIA urgently calls on all policymakers and stakeholders to work with school communities to safeguard students and teachers while keeping schools positive places of learning and growth.”
On October 19, the Institute’s Committee on Architecture for Education is scheduled to host a national multidisciplinary symposium on “The Design of Safe, Secure & Welcoming Learning Environments,” at AIA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event will bring together myriad perspectives from law enforcement, education, mental health experts, security consultants, and architect and design professionals.
The Institute and its members already have started to advise state officials on school design. RTA Architects’ Principal Stuart Coppedge, FAIA, presented to the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Commissions on School Safety during its Aug. 7 listening session in Cheyenne, Wyo.
On August 1, AIA participated in the two-day Department of Homeland Security 2018 National School Security Roundtable, at which Karina Ruiz, AIA, Principal of BRIC Architecture, and Brian Minnich, AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager with GWWO Architects, explained how an open and positive learning environment can also be designed for safety and security.
Last May, the Institute appointed former AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA, to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s roundtable that identifies enhanced safety and security solutions for schools and communities in the state. Earlier this year, AIA Florida began working with that state’s Governor Rick Scott, state legislators, and the Florida Department of Education to develop design standards and best practices for the state’s schools.
Related Stories
| Jun 21, 2013
AIA report: Greater collaboration, stiffer competition among top trends in architecture
A new 34-page report from AIA highlights key trends in the architecture marketplace and their impact on business and growth.
| Jun 20, 2013
Virtual meetings enhance design of University at Buffalo Medical School
HOK designers in New York, St. Louis and Atlanta are using virtual meetings with their University at Buffalo (UB) client team to improve the design process for UB’s new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
| Jun 19, 2013
Architects upbeat about the construction market
Following the first reversal into negative territory in ten months in April, AIA's Architecture Billings Index bounced back in May, reaching 52.9.
| Jun 19, 2013
NSF Sustainability begins verifying EPDs that can be used for LEED V4
NSF Sustainability has verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for nylon carpet styles and colors manufactured by Mannington Commercial and for J+J Flooring Group’s Kinetex® flooring product and Invision brand modular styles that use eKo® backing.
| Jun 19, 2013
Florida is latest battleground over LEED standards centered on certified wood
A nationwide battle over forest certification standards continues to be played out nationally and in Florida with legislation passed this month.
| Jun 19, 2013
Construction site safety improved in 2011
On-the-job construction fatalities dropped from 802 in 2010 to 781 in 2011, and recordable injuries fell from 4.7 per 100 workers in 2008 to 3.9 per 100 in 2011, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| Jun 19, 2013
New York City considers new construction standards for hospitals, multifamily buildings
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration has proposed new building codes for hospitals and multifamily dwellings in New York City to help them be more resilient in the event of severe weather resulting from climate change.
| Jun 18, 2013
Report: HVAC occupancy sensors could slash building energy demand by 18%
Researchers at the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conclude that significant energy savings can be achieved by varying ventilation levels based on the number of people in a given space.
| Jun 18, 2013
Turner report: Activity in urban markets driving construction cost increases
Turner Construction Company announced that the Second Quarter 2013 Turner Building Cost Index – which measures costs in the non-residential building construction market in the United States – has increased to a value of 859. This reflects a 1.18% increase from the First Quarter 2013 and 4.00% yearly increase from the Second Quarter 2012.
| Jun 17, 2013
First look: Austin to get first high-rise since 2003
Developer Cousins Properties broke ground on the 29-story Colorado Tower in downtown Austin, Texas, the city's first high-rise building since Cousins' completed the Frost Bank Tower a decade ago.