Happy Saturday...10/6

Happy Saturday, time to sleep in, catch up on chores, or just read a good book. Of course you could be...

at Morris Brown's Historic Downtown Tour

or at our ARE Study Groups!

or getting lost in a great blog...

or reading a good book...

-cameron

Archtober 2012: University Medical Center Tour, Oct. 5th

Archtober 2012 is moving into full swing and in addition to Ken Gorski's earlier downtown tour, there will be another tour of the new University Medical Center project on October 5th. This project is one of the largest of recent in El Paso. Although, the addition of the east wing is just another step in the long history of the El Paso University Medical Center. A history that stretches all the way back to a 1915 two-story adobe building. The 10 story building includes a brand new postpartum unit and women's center.

Those interested should meet at the University Medical Center, 4815 Alameda Ave, El Paso, TX, at 2:00 pm for a 2 hour tour.

Also, don't miss the rest of the Archtober events!

-Cameron

Archtober 2012: Opening Reception

The AIA El Paso is extending an open invitation to the reception of Jan Wiebrun Dreher's "Imagine" exhibit & the AIA El Paso's Archtober exhibit. The reception is this Thursday, October 4, 2012 from 3:30 - 5:30 pm at the El Paso City Hall Community Exhibit Space, downtown.

Both exhibits will hang from October 1st - 31st.

You can check out other Archtober events here.

-Cameron

Mayor John Cook proclaims October to be Architecture month in El Paso

Today at 2pm Mayor John Cook will be proclaiming October to be Architecture month in the City of El Paso. Archtober is of course the AIA El Paso's big month, featuring tours public awareness and a host of great events to participate in. Be sure to check out the full schedule on our Archtober page. 

We thank the mayor and the city council for taking their time to recognize our profession. 

Below is the text from last years proclamation. 

PROCLAMATION, City of El Paso, Texas 

WHEREAS: The American Institute of Architects El Paso Chapter (AIA) adds value to the city, county and surrounding areas by creating places that enhance the quality of life through the built environment for all the residents of El Paso; and 

WHEREAS: The local AIA chapter is responsible for the design of many iconic buildings in El Paso; safeguards the culture of the region through historic preservation and aides in the review of local codes and ordinances in order to maintain the health, safety and welfare of citizens in structures; and 

WHEREAS: The local AIA chapter is one of the leading organizations in our community focusing on energy efficiency, sustainable design, urban planning and the importance of building technology merged with design innovations helping to improve our city; and 

WHEREAS: The local AIA chapter encourages citizen architects to take pride in and learn about the built environment, how it shapes our city’s progress, the ability to strengthen our regional cultural identity and quality of life through buildings, historic structures and neighborhoods: 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED,  by the Mayor and Council of the City of El Paso that October 2011 shall be known as: 

"ARCHTOBER MONTH"

Be sure to spread the news and get to some of the great events this month. 

-Cameron

UTSA Fall Lecture Series

I know we are a little far to travel for these, but if you are interested the University of Texas San Antonio has posted their list of fall lecture series events, here. The lecutures will of course be in San Antonio in the Buena Vista Bldg. Assembly Room (BVB 1.338) on the UTSA Downtown Campus. They are free. Below is the information on dates and times.


UTSA College of Architecture Fall Lecture Series

Oct. 3 - Elizabeth Heider: “Mapping the Future & Using Data to Accelerate Market Transformation”

Oct. 17 — Kate Orff: “Petrochemical America”

Nov. 7  — Eran Ben-Joseph’s lecture, “ReThinking a Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking,” is co-sponsored by the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute at UTSA.

-Cameron

Don't Miss: Archtober - Downtown with Ken Gorski, AIA

This tuesday, October 2nd (tomorrow), there will be a tour of downtown El Paso by Ken Gorski, AIA. Ken is the discipline coordinator of the architecture program at EPCC. The tour is the first event of the AIA's Archtober month, so it shouldn't be missed.

Those interested should meet in San Jacinto Plaza at 10:30 am on tuesday. The tour should be about an hour and a half, ending around 12 pm. Be prepared to walk! and it is free.

For the complete Archtober schedule, head over to the Archtober page on our website, or just pay attention to the blog.

-Cameron

Update to El Paso Through Your Eyes 2012 Page

We have updated the El Paso Through Your Eyes page. The event this last weekend was fantastic. Yours truly had a blast competing with my wife all over downtown El Paso, trying to capture just one piece of our beautiful city. We will be posting updates on just how successful the event was later on this week. And we will also be giving you more info on the revealing ceremony as we get closer to it.

On a final note, I want to thank all of the volunteers who made the event saturday amazing. They worked very hard to put together something that had people talking, walking, and enjoying the city of El Paso. Without y'all it would not have been the same. Thank you.

You can see a picture of all of them on our El Paso Through Your Eyes Page. If you'd like to thank them, drop a comment there.

-Cameron

El Paso Through Your Eyes - Contest Schedule

We just wanted to post the El Paso Through Your Eyes - 2012 - Photography contest schedule for saturday. We can't wait to see you there!

-Contest will take place at San Jacinto Plaza (111 E. Mills Ave.)
-Starts at 8:00 am when participants can pick up their camera and event bag.
-Associates will be on hand to review rules and give assistance.
-You CAN register as long as cameras are available. But we recommend you register online to secure yourself a place. (As of this writing we have less than 40 spaces left! They are going quickly! register!)
-Contestants must return their camera by 12:00 pm! (4 hours) when the contest closes. (Late returns will be disqualified)


If you finish early, free architectural tours will be conducted at 9am by Providencia Velázquez, Historic Preservation Officer for the City of El Paso and 11am by Emmanuel Moreno, Assistant Professor - EPCC Architecture program.

Fifteen final photos will be selected for contest and revealed at party on October 26th at the San Carlos Building (501 Texas).

Top three places will receive a prize:
1st place - $500 Camera
2nd place - Kindle Fire and accessories
3rd place - $125 gift card to Best Buy.

For more information and to register online visit: http://elpasoaaia.blogspot.com/p/el-paso-through-your-eyes.html

Tommy Fan's TAS Presentation

For those who missed it, or attended and would like a copy of Tommy Fan's TAS presentation, we have posted a PDF of it below. Tommy did a great job giving a talk on "Architectural Barriers 101" and all of us in the AIA thank him for his time and energy.

Tommy Fan; RAS, PMP, RMP, LEED AP
Email: tfanaec@yahoo.com
Phone: (915) 494-6668

PDF: Tommy Fan's September AIA Presentation

-Cameron

Last chance to sign up for the El Paso Through Your Eyes Photo Contest!

Don't miss your chance to participate in the El Paso Through Your Eyes 2012 Photo Contest. Currently we have 50+ people signed up to participate this Saturday! It will be fun and potentially worth your while. Your photos will be judged for the following prizes: 1st place - $500 Camera, 2nd place - Kindle Fire and accessories, 3rd place - $125 gift card to Best Buy.

Not only that but every contestant will also receive: Photo Through Your Eyes Bag, Disposable Camera (for your pictures), Bottled Water, Granola Bar, Downtown map with contest walking boundaries, Downtown history pamphlet and "Pit-Stop" coupons for great restaurants in the area.

We'll be posting details and more information tomorrow, but be sure to come on down. It will be a blast and remember all of the proceeds are going to support the Associate program so that we can do even more socials, events, and programs over the next year.

So head on over to the signup page: http://elpasoaaia.blogspot.com/p/el-paso-through-your-eyes.html

See you Saturday!

-Cameron

Don't Miss: Eco El Paso

Be sure to sign up for Eco El Paso: A symposium on design in the hot-arid climate (That's us!) 

It will be this September 27th 1 pm - 6 pm at the UTEP Hilton Garden and is $60 per person. This includes a 1 hour networking session following a 4 hour session of speakers. The speakers include:

DOUG FARR - KEYNOTE SPEAKER - Farr is on the board for the Congress for the New Urbanism, a member of the LEED Steering Committee and was the inaugural chair of the LEED for Neighborhood Development committee. He is the founder of the 2030 Communities Campaign that seeks to reduce vehicle miles traveled. He authored his first book in 2007: Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature.

MARTY HOWELL - City of El Paso Sustainability Manager- Nudge, nurture and nag the entire City enterprise to move towards sustainability.

GLENN HILL - Glenn Hill is an Associate Professor at the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University, Lubbock. He has a Master of Architecture in Energy + Design Specialization and is the Director of Design Visualization for the College of Architecture.

Some of the sessions will comply with The AIA+2030 SESSION X. 4 AIA CEU Available

There are sponsorship opportunities available. Check out the website: http://www.eco-elpaso.org

I won't actually be at this one... so be sure to go in my place.

-Cameron