As we look ahead to Summer it is always a good time to reflect on how fortunate we are in America. The overall national economy may still be in the doldrums and we have major environmental issues in the Gulf Coast that will continue to influence the area which has not recovered from the Katrina hurricane.
There are many positive things that are going on with SARA and the very active councils around the nation. The California Council held its annual Celebration of Design on April 17th in the offices of Fong & Chan Architects (www.fca-arch.com) in downtown San Francisco. It was a very nice event and David Fong, FARA, FAIA & Chiu Lin Tse-Chan, FAIA and their talented team of architects provided wonderful food, great hospitality and their office is architecturally stimulating and a great venue. An article on the event and the projects that received awards can be seen in this issue.
The New York Council is holding their Design Awards program on June 22 in Battery Park and the Pennsylvania Council will be holding their program on August 12th. The call for entries is out for our national Celebration which will be held on October 8th in Philadelphia. I look forward to attending each regional awards program and seeing the projects submitted by our members.
Other interesting news, the national board met in Dallas, Texas on May 15 and had a fun time just getting into DFW airport, because of weather. We accomplished a lot of good things and had excellent communication and worked on some possible revisions and options for the by laws of our Society. Vice President Ron Knabb provided a concise and thorough evaluation for the board’s consideration. Our next board meeting will be held during our national conference in Philadelphia, October 7th and we would love for everyone to attend the conference and annual general assembly. This is your Society and your voice and participation is welcome and encouraged.
SARA Philosophy:
Make the public aware of architect’s responsibilities for public safety and welfare.
This statement has become one of the most miss understood responsibilities that an architect has. With all the building codes, governmental regulations and influences on the design and final solution of construction it is possible that with all the review and inspectors that we just don’t think that much about this responsibility.
When we were all studying to take our license exams, no matter what state we may practice, there was always a section on Public Safety and Welfare. So has the overlays of rules and regulations diluted one of the Architect’s main charges to the point that we as Architects do not feel the responsibility? Going back to the March – April SARAscope President’s Message concerning “Evaluate and perpetuate professionalism in today’s construction practices” maybe the relinquishing of some responsibility to the general contractor or the third party, construction manager has mesmerized the architect to feel
“Someone will be responsible for that, someone other than me the Architect.” I hope not.
It is true there are plenty of people and layers of rules and regulations influencing our projects, and one of our main goals is to always protect the occupants of our buildings, whatever the use or building type.
So how do we bring about “public awareness of this responsibility for public safety and welfare”? One way would be to educate the Clients, building owners and all those involved in the building process. Another would be to make this part of our marketing tools of service and list this responsibility as part of our firm’s philosophies. We as architects should write and publish articles in our professional journals and local news papers bringing awareness to public safety issues in our own communities.
We are fortunate to live in a country where we feel safe and secure in our structures. Building standards and regulations are ever changing. As architects we must stay on the forefront of change to all codes, building systems and materials and incorporate those changes that promote the safety and welfare of those in the structures we build.
When we step forward as stewards of public safety and welfare, the public will associate the architect with that responsibility.
We welcome your comments and points of view on all subjects relative to our profession, please contact me at jmaple@maplearchitects.com . I would like to hear from you.
John M. Maple, FARA President
Message in May/Jun SARAScope
Read earlier President's Messages in SARAScopes archives.
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