Bulletin
NEWSLETTER of
AIA CONNECTICUT
The Connecticut Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects
370 James Street, suite 402
JANUARY 2015
Calendar
All programs are at AIA
Connecticut’s office, unless
otherwise noted.
January 16
Lunchtime Learning
Designing with Pre-cast
Concrete
Presented by Bruce
Bliven, Dean Brior and
Ben Beachy of Superior
Walls
12:30 - 1:30 pm
January 20
EAC Bowling Event
Wallingford Bowl
Wallingford
5:30 pm
January 22
The 2012 International
Residential Code
Chapters 3 and 6
Presented by Greg
Grew, AIA
1:00 - 4:00 pm
January 22
ARE Lecture Series
Programming, Planning
and Practice
Presented by Kermit
Thompson, AIA
January 28
Professional Practice
Roundtable
Controlling Scope Creep
19th Annual Joint Dinner of the
Design and Construction Industry
Presented by Robinson & Cole
Wine with Dinner Courtesy of
Citrin Cooperman
February 26, 2015
The Aqua Turf Club
556 Mulberry Road
Plantsville
AIA Connecticut
wishes you a
healthy and
prosperous 2015!
The Joint Dinner of the Design and Construction Industry is an evening of
networking, collegiality and relationship building. This annual event is an
extraordinary business opportunity for members of the participating professional
associations. Governor Malloy has been invited to join us once again.
Register and read further details.
AIA Connecticut Bulletin
Page 2
Member News
NORTHEAST COLLABORATIVE Architects
od Middletown received a 2014
Preservation Honor Award from the
National Trust for Historic Preservation for
the restoration of the Micro Lofts at the
Arcade Providence (Rhode Island). Built in
1828, the Providence Arcade, designed
by Russell Warren and James Bucklin, was
America’s first indoor shopping mall. The
Greek Revival building boasts Ionic
columns, as well as granite, iron, and
marble features. The Arcade survived
fires, hurricanes, demolition threats, and
economic downturns over the years. It was
shuttered in 2008, prompting the
Providence Preservation Society to place it
on the organization’s 10 Most Endangered
Properties list. The renovation created 48
Micro Lofts and 17 Micro Retail spaces in
the Arcade and helped address
Providence’s affordable housing shortage.
The award was presented at the Richard
H. Driehaus National Preservation Awards
ceremony in Savannah, Georgia in
November.
~
Individual Affiliate member TOM
TAVELLA, FASLA Immediate Past
President of the American Society for
Landscape Architects, has joined Alta
Planning + Design.
~
ROBERT SWAIN, AIA and JENNA
MCCLURE, AIA of AMENTA EMMA
ARCHITECTS of Hartford and Stamford
have been selected to present at the April
2015 Society for College and University
Planning North Atlantic Conference in
Providence. Robert will speak on the
planning and transformative campus
change of the new Visual and Performing
Arts Center at Western Connecticut State
University and Jenna will speak on the
planning and impact to Bridgeport of the
firm’s major new addition and renovation
project at Housatonic Community College.
~
BL COMPANIES, has announced that
DANIEL L. CASINELLI, AIA will lead the
architectural project design, planning and
development team in Bridgeport. Dan
joined the company's Meriden architectural
division back in April 2014. BL Companies
recently moved from an office at 215
State Street, Bridgeport, into a larger
space at 855 Main Street as part of its
growth strategy in the Fairfield County
market.
~
The long-awaited “extreme makeover” of
Hartford’s Weaver High School will soon
be a reality. The team of THE S/L/A/M
COLLABORATIVE of Glastonbury and
AMENTA EMMA ARCHITECTS of
Hartford was selected to provide
Hartford’s North End community with a
transformed campus for the 40-year-old,
370,000 SF high school located on
Granby Street. Both firms have designed
primary, secondary, magnet and themedriven, urban and suburban schools
throughout Connecticut.
~
Two AIA Connecticut member firms
received multiple 2014 HOBI Awards.
Sponsored by the Home Builder and
Remodelers Association of Fairfield
County, the HOBI Awards recognize
builders, remodelers and other members
of the housing industry for “excellence in
home design and construction, home
technologies and community service:”
DOUGLAS VANDERHORN
ARCHITECTS of Greenwich received eight
HOBI Awards for a shingle style residence
in Greenwich won five HOBIs for Best
Custom Home 10,000- 12,000 sf, Best
Pantry, Best Library, Best Home Technology,
and Outstanding Special Purpose Room.
Another project, the firm’s classic English
Tudor style residence received two HOBIs
for Best Custom Home 9,000- 10,000 sf
and Outstanding Special Purpose Room.
VanderHorn’s new pool house on a
Georgian estate earned the Best Outdoor
Room accolade.
CHARLES HILTON ARCHITECTS of
Greenwich was honored with six separate
2014 HOBI (Home Building Industry)
Awards. The six honors were awarded for
a New England shingle-style residence in
Riverside and included the categories of
“Best Custom Home 12,000-14,000 s.f.”;
“Best Entry Foyer”; Best Kitchen over
$200,000”; “Best Exterior Home Feature”;
“Best Home Office” and “Best Bath over
$100,000”.
~
After more than six years of planning and
development, the city of Norfolk, Virginia
will open the new Slover Library, designed
by NEWMAN ARCHITECTS of New
Haven January 2015. Offering the most
advanced technology, the 138,000 square
foot complex redefines how a public
library is used, providing a civic space for
creativity, collaboration, and research. The
new Slover Library is a restoration of the
115-year-old Seaboard Building (formerly
a customs house before becoming home to
Norfolk’s main library in 2009), a new
seven-story glass walled addition, and a
renovation of an adjacent commercial
building.
~
DEBORAH J. COSTANTINI, AIA of
Hoffmann Architects in Hamden has been
promoted to Senior Architect from Project
Architect.
~
AMENTA EMMA ARCHITECTS is currently
in the design phase of a new 54 unit
mixed income housing and retail project
for the West Hartford Housing Authority at
616 New Park Avenue in West Hartford. It
is the first Transit Oriented Development
related to CTFastrack and will be located
directly adjacent to the Elmwood Station.
~
GEORGE FELLNER, AIA of FELLNER
ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS, in East
Haddam, is featured in the book Artists’
Homes and Studios by E. Ashley Rooney
(Schiffer Books). The book will be released
in January 2015. The author reviewed and
selected the artworks and homes/studios
of 86 international artists who were
included in this book.
~
SANDRA VLOCK, AIA of ARBONIES
KING VLOCK in Stoney Creek, was
featured in a December article, Backyard
Built for Winter Use, in the Wall Street
Journal.
The WSJ reported, “Sandra
renovated her backyard by turning an
unused garage into
additional living
space, replacing an earthen floor with
stained concrete and installing replicas of
its original carriage-house doors. In front
of the carriage house, she placed what she
calls a “Fireball,” a hollow, steel, antique
mooring ball, 5 feet in diameter that she
bought on eBay. She hired a local iron
worker to cut out her own marine-motif
design and an opening for firewood.
When a fire is lighted inside, the sea
creatures appear to dance in the flames..”
January 2015
Page 3
President’s Column by Philip Cerrone, AIA
I am looking forward to great
things for AIA Connecticut this
year. As a board member I've
had opportunities to interact with
our talented staff. Working with
them now on a daily basis, I'm
even more grateful for this hardworking team. Our membership
joins me in supporting and
thanking our very special staff.
They get the job done and keep
AIA Connecticut running smoothly
for all.
In the coming year I see our
economy continuing its slow
"regional recovery" which affects
different segments of Connecticut
dif f e re nt ly . Ho us i ng and
commercial starts are up
generally, and the lending
climate continues to improve.
These changes mean more
opportunities for AIA members:
we want to be at the forefront of
making projects accessible to our
organization.
AIA Connecticut continues its
excellent work on the legislative
front, combining resources with
other groups to overturn or
amend onerous "nullum tempus"
legislation that exposes so many
(including professionals unaware
of the risks) to long-term
liabilities.
We believe these "nullum
tempus" statutes have a chilling
effect on creative and practical
contributions that architects,
deve lopers, builders and
contractors can make to our
state's already challenged
infrastructure. Who will take a
c h a n c e o n l e a d i n g - e dg e
environmental or technical
solutions that bring along
decades of risk of legal
exposure? These laws have
unintended consequences and
are inherently unfair and
unrealistic. With help from AIA's
attorneys and lobbyists and from
our strategic partners, we are
making the unworkability of
these statutes clear to
Connecticut's legislators and
insisting that they be overturned
or amended.
I was recently appointed to
the Construction Contracting and
Bidding Transparency (CCBT)
working group. The group was
charged with studying state
construction contracting and
subcontracting processes. It
included representatives from the
Office of Administrative Services,
Division of Construction Services,
the Connecticut Department of
Labor, the Building Trades
organizations, and officials from
the University of Connecticut. We
looked at state bidding and
hiring practices such as bid
shopping, the misclassification of
workers, falsified payrolls and
subcontractor transparency.
The final report was
presented to the governor's
office in early January. It
included recommendations to
ensure more fair procedures,
wages and insurance practices
for the industry. A compilation of
the
Working
Group
documentation can be seen on
the DAS website. This group's
findings should dovetail well with
AIA Connecticut’s ongoing efforts
to improve the quality of
practices in the awarding of
state projects.
I wish all of our members
and their families a successful
and healthy new year! Please
feel free to contact me with
concerns and suggestions. We all
want to make AIA Connecticut the
strongest possible voice for our
membership it can be.
2014 Awards Reception
Bob and Wendy Benson of Robert Benson Photography
were the major sponsor for AIA Connecticut’s annual
Awards Reception held in early December at The Jackson
Laboratory at the UConn Health Center in Farmington.
Guests gather in the
impressive lobby of the
Jackson Laboratory
designed
by
Centerbrook Architects
an d Pl ann er s of
Centerbrook, and Tsoi/
Kobus & Associates of
C a m b r i d g e ,
Massachusetts.
Tim Brewer, AIA, George Fellner, AIA, Marty Onorato,
Esq., Assos. AIA and Bruce Bockstael, FAIA enjoyed the
reception prior to the awards’ presentation.
January 2015
2014 Volunteer of the Year
Page 4
AIA Connecticut Officers
President
PHILIP H. CERRONE III, AIA
Vice President / President Elect
TIMOTHY BREWER, AIA
Secretary
ARTHUR L. SANDERS, AIA
Treasurer
GEORGE FELLNER, AIA
Board of Directors
Congratulations to JIM DESTAFANO, AIA for being
named the 2014 Volunteer of the Year by the AIA
Connecticut staff. Jim joins a long list of distinguished
members who have received this honor. We are most
grateful for his support!
The Emerging Architects Committee raised a boxful
of toys to be donated to Toys For Tots. Attendees at
the 2014 Holiday Reception brought toys as their
“price of admission”.
SAVE THE DATE: April 21, 2015
NET ZERO ENERGY
Presented by Marc Rosembaum, PE
DANIEL CASINELLI, AIA
STEPHANIE DEGEN-MONROE, AIA
GLENN R. GOLLENBERG, AIA
ALAN S. LAGOCKI, AIA
GEORGE MCGOLDRICK, AIA
MARTIN A. ONORATO, ESQ., ASSOCIATE AIA
MICHAEL PEREIRA, ASSOCIATE AIA
KERMIT D. THOMPSON, AIA
Committee Chairs
Building Performance and Regulations
ALAN S. LAGOCKI, AIA
GEORGE E. MCGOLDRICK, AIA
Committee on the Environment
LAURA BOYER, AIA
GEORGE FELLNER, AIA
Communications
STEPHANIE DEGEN-MONROE, AIA
Design
KEVIN HERRICK, AIA
Education
DANIEL CONLON, AIA
Emerging Architectural Community
MICHAEL PEREIRA, ASSOCIATE AIA
Government Affairs
BRUCE J. SPIEWAK, AIA
Professional Practice
MARTIN A. ONORATO, ESQ., ASSOCIATE AIA
LEONARDO RODRIGUEZ-COSS, AIA
Small Firms Roundtable
ROBERT COOLIDGE, AIA
GREG GREW, AIA
LEE LEVEY, AIA
GEORGE MASUMIAN, AIA
MARGARITE PETERSEN, AIA
BRUCE SPIEWAK, AIA
AIA Connecticut Staff
DIANE HARP JONES
CEO / Executive VP
JOANNE REES
Program Director
JANICE HARRIS
Communications Manager
LOUISE WEAVER
Chapter Events Manager /
Newsletter Editor
PAT O’BRIEN
Membership Manager
MARY MURPHY
Finance Manager