This year AIA Orlando held the 2007 Design Party at the Orange County Regional History Center in downtown Orlando on April 25th. The event had a Mardi Gras flavor celebrating a “Big Easy Style”.

More than 230 attendees from various central Florida design and construction organizations enjoyed New Orleans style jazz music, a buffet catered by Puff ‘N Stuff, libations, and raffles which included various gift certificates, gift baskets, and other prizes.

The AIA Design Party is typically held as a break-even event. However, each year any left-over funds are donated to a local charity. This year the event had a surplus of more than $450. The recipient for the 2007 AIA Design Party will be A Gift For Teaching.

A Gift For Teaching, with donations from local businesses, provides a free store where teachers may shop and thereby transfer, at no cost, surplus supplies to students in high-need schools throughout Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties.

On May 19, the Construction Industry Council met to discuss permitting and DRC issues in Orange County. The first order of business was a status report from the Building and Fire Loss Management departments. The Building Department is hiring some more reviewers, although not as many as originally planned because residential permitting is down about 30%. Commercial permitting is very busy, with timeshares being a big factor. The Orange County Fire Review staff is based on tax receipts, so it is more limited in getting new reviewers hired. The Property Tax Reform bill may cause some review staff to be re-assigned to more critical fire-fighting duties, which could cause longer permit review times.

For school construction, the Jessica Lunsford reform was passed by legislature but is waiting for the governor to sign it. It allows workers in totally fenced off areas to work without background checks, and also sets certain criminal offenses to apply, rather than all offenses.

Larry Roberts introduced the main speaker, David Heath, who is the Deputy County Administrator in charge of Orange County’s Utilities, Growth Management, and Public Works, and is the Chairman of the DRC (Development Review Committee). The DRC is made up of senior members of county departments with a lot of practical experience. They put all the comments together from staff to make sense of projects. There are 5 voting members. They review:

1. Preliminary Subdivision Plans (PSP). Plans need to follow the List of Submittal Requirements and go through a Sufficiency Process. After they are deemed sufficient, the plans are submitted and distributed. Right now it takes about 1 ½ to 2 month until the DRC meeting is scheduled. Staff distributes comments back a few days before DRC meeting. DRC usually approves a project subject to a revised plan that deals with the comments.
2. Developments of Regional Impact (DRI). These plans go through staff review and then the Orange County BCC.
3. Planned Developments (PD). These are flexible zoning districts, and first go through the Preliminary Subdivision Plan process. Then a Development Plan (about 30% plans) is submitted and approved by DRC. No public hearing is needed unless there is an appeal.
4. DRC also reviews Special Exemptions, land fills, Subdivision Determinations or lot splits, and septic tank variances.

The Orange County DRC meets every two weeks. Their meetings usually consist of about 10 New Projects, 15-20 Previously Reviewed Projects, and some Pre-reviews. The amount of input you get from the DRC is equal to amount of information that you provide.

Some Development Issues in Orange County are:

• Parking vs. Public safety (Fire truck access in tight developments); in higher density areas (i.e., town homes) there is more parking on the street
• Waivers – You are supposed to put these on your plans (make them obvious for the staff reviewers)
• Gated communities – BCC has mostly stopped these for now
• Neighborhood meetings – Staff wants these for DRC projects

School Impact Fees will be going up again – Single family residences – from $7,000 to $10,000 – 11,000

School Concurrency will probably take effect beginning April, 2008

The Florida Legislature is looking at a bill to require public referendums for Comprehensive Plan Amendments.

Road Concurrency – the County was going to improve several major roads with property tax receipts. This could be reduced with property tax reform.

The Mayor’s Legacy Program by Mayor Crotty has plans to invest about $500M total in the County’s infrastructure. This would include about $250M for roads, $125M for environmentally sensitive land, and $125M for quality of life projects like commuter rail, pedestrian overpasses, additional funding for Lynx, and community gymnasiums.

Right now Orange County is waiting for the outcome of the Property Tax Reform. Things should be resolved by late July, but this will only give the county a few weeks to set their budgets. The County has set a freeze on hiring new staff, and 10-15% reductions in department budgets until they have more information.

On Affordable Housing, Commissioner Siegal is chairing a workforce on housing. They are looking at possible exemptions for concurrency for Affordable Housing.

The Construction Industry Council meetings are very informative, and provide a forum for better communication between architecture, construction, and permitting. It is to all of our benefit to be involved in these worthwhile meetings.

Healthcare Gala (Click to enlarge)

By William Hercules, AIA, ACHA, ACHE, LEED

What an event! On Thursday, May 31, AIA Orlando’s Academy of Architecture for Health hosted its third annual gala. The purpose of these events is to strengthen the relationships of those firms and organizations involved in the design of harbors of healing, facilities that house the arts and sciences of medicine. These events are anchored by an inspiring presentation of thought leaders that are creating notable architecture, or in the case of this year’s gala, enabling it. The gala was attended by more than 100 architects and allied professionals, engineers, construction managers, and owners who all have a significant stake in the future of healthcare facilities.

Sesh Thakkar and Jim Zboril discuss the entire development of Lake Nona (Click to enlarge)

Since last year’s announcement of several wins in the development of the bio-medical community at Lake Nona including the Burnham Institute, UCF’s Medical School, the relocation of the VA Hospital, and allocation for additional hospitals for Nemours and others, we recognized the internationally unique phenomenon emerging in our own backyard. AIA AAH invited Rashesh “Sesh” Thakkar, CEO of Tavistock Group and James Zboril, President & COO of Lake Nona Holdings, LLC, to share their vision of the growth of the healthcare, biomedical and potential for pharmacological research facilities in the new healthcare core that is growing at Lake Nona. They focused their remarks on the economic impact of this growth industry to the region and the implications for the development of new facilities to accommodate the growth and changing dynamics of the business community.

Bill Hercules, AIA, ACHA, ACHE, LEED, AAH Chairman presents a donation to the avistock Foundation (Click to enlarge)

This emerging community has a scope well beyond the life-spans of any attending the event, and even beyond the focus of bio-medical research, and application. The economic engine is being designed and built to create a self-sustaining community beyond its core bio-interest, and driving the development of many residential communities, partnerships with Orange County Public Schools in creation of flagship facilities, and integrated recreation, retail and office communities. The presenters demonstrated that communities are created within a broad context, with many factors, but fueled by sustainable economic development. Since a project of this scope hasn’t been done before, early financial analysis became more of an art than a science, since the initial attraction of over 700 scientists to this community has many intangible factors. Nonetheless, several key stakeholders have committed significant resources to this development, which create enormous opportunities for our profession.

The group of over 100 mingled long after the conclusion of the presentation (Click to enlarge)

The goals of the Academy of Architecture for Health are aligned in name and spirit with the AIA national knowledge community. These include: advocacy for design excellence, forward-looking educational programming, renewing and developing young professionals, and engaging inter-firm community, all of which require the mutual commitment of member firms leadership of individuals, and support by professional allies. We are proud to announce that this year’s events, including the recent gala have been generously underwritten by a remarkable collection of engineers, construction managers, and medical equipment suppliers. We will host two additional events later this year: in conjunction with the Young Architect’s Forum, a charrette for students of colleges of architecture focusing on an emerging health facility prototype, and an intelligence exchange with the American College of Healthcare Executives. Watch your e-mail for more details about these events.

We are dedicating our effort and resources to build a community of hospital administrators, architects, planners, engineers, constructors, and suppliers.

Plaza at City Centre Tour (Click to enlarge)

On May 12, AIA Orlando members toured The Plaza at City Centre, the newest high-rise development in Downtown Orlando on Orange Avenue. The tour was sponsored by Baker Barrios Architects, Inc. and TLC Engineering. AIA Orlando president-elect Carl Shea, AIA and Richard Krent, AIA with the City of Orlando, introduced Baker Barrios architects Doug Leonard, AIA and Leslie Fedde, who explained the project.

Plaza at City Centre Tour (Click to enlarge)

The Plaza is the largest mixed-use development in Orlando at 1.5 million square feet. It includes two high-rise office towers, a 12-plex movie center, 43,000 sf of retail and restaurant space, and a 30-story luxury condominium tower called Solaire. There are 305 condominium units, or 16 per floor. A 10-story parking garage with 1600 spaces serves the center. The complex covers most of two blocks, and also has Neo-Classical and Art Deco artwork and sculptures.

The buildings have a post-tensioned concrete structural system with a 2-way slab. The exterior uses glass and punched pre-cast. The owner wanted a lot of open green space at the entrance to the buildings, so the designers used curved shapes to form this. The 10th floor spans both towers and includes a pool deck.

Plaza at City Centre Tour (Click to enlarge)

One of the major challenges was designing for the historic district along the Orange Avenue and Pine Street facades. They used a stepping pattern to relate to the surrounding historic buildings. On another elevation, they used awnings, color changes, and different patterns to break up a large expanse of wall. Court Street runs through the project, and this greatly affected the design. An east/west pedestrian walkway connects courtyards along Orange Avenue with the lobby of the residential tower. Another challenge for coordination was that there were two developers and two architects, Kuhn Companies used Baker Barrios for The Plaza, and Wood Partners used The Preston Partnership for Solaire, the residential tower.

Bob Burke (Click to enlarge)

Bob Burke, AIA of Burke, Hogue & Mills Architects in Lake Mary received the Distinguished Service Award presented by the University of Florida School of Architecture faculty for outstanding contributions to the architectural program. A 1971 graduate from UF, Bob participated in the National Architectural Accreditation Board’s site visits and accreditation reports in 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2007. In addition to serving on the school’s Professional Liaison Committee, Bob is a guest lecturer and serves on design juries for students’ final design projects.

RLF – an architecture, engineering and interior design firm –announced that 27 employees have recently earned their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation.

“Professionals who achieve this accreditation have a sound understanding of green building design as well as the building certification process. Our ability to incorporate this knowledge in all aspects of design saves our clients money over the long term,” explained Steve Langston, RLF shareholder and director of design.

The United States Green Building Council’s LEED accreditation for professionals and LEED certification for buildings promotes a whole-building design approach to sustainability. It recognizes performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

RLF’s LEED accredited professionals include: architects Steve Langston, Rebecca Talbert, David Boldt, Pat White, Cindy McGinnis, Greg Stock, Bob Yohe and Rob Bendixen; electrical engineers Shannon Parish, Donald Sellers, Nick Zubrzycki, Ken Mason and Alvin James; mechanical engineers Victor Miller, Mark Troast, Scott Fote, Barry Fiedler, Ben Fauser, James Hackenberg, John Ball, Mark Yankech, Mindy Delose, Amy Weaver and Jacob Anderson; interior designers Miriam Ganesh and Debbie Sellers; and construction contract administrator John Markham.

Valencia (Click to enlarge)

This past Spring semester, a group of thirteen students enrolled in Valencia Community College’s second year Architecture program traveled to the University of Florida’s School of Architecture to pin-up their academic work for consideration of admittance into the school’s upper division program. This was the first time since Valencia Community College entered into an articulation agreement with the University of Florida’s School of Architecture that any Valencia students had applied for admittance into that particular program. The University of Florida’s pin-up process is an academic event that occurs each year over a span of three days. It is an exhibition of the applying students’ works throughout their freshman and sophomore years. Each student participating is allowed the use of an assigned 4’ x 8’ space in the faculty wing of the School of Architecture to “pin-up” their models, drawings, and other architectural productions from their first four design studios. Once the students have pinned up, their work is evaluated by staff members who participate in the pin-up process.

Valencia (Click to enlarge)

Admittance into the University of Florida’s School of Architecture’s upper division program is always very competitive as the number of positions available for incoming students is limited, and this past Spring was no exception. As well as the sophomore class already enrolled at the University of Florida, students from Broward Community College, Miami Dade Community College, and several other community colleges from around the state were also participating in the pin-up. The students from Valencia Community College recognized the challenge and rose to the occasion, working diligently throughout the night before the pin-up to ensure that the quality of their presentations were spatial, clearly articulated, and well crafted. Of the thirteen students who pinned up, eight were accepted for admission into the School of Architecture’s upper division program and will be beginning their course of study at the University in the Fall.As well as the University of Florida, students enrolled in Valencia Community College’s Architecture program will be matriculating to the University of Tennessee, Florida International University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The faculty and staff at Valencia Community College wishes all these students the best as they complete their degrees and we look forward to hearing about their good works in the near future. Valencia Community College is grateful for the support it has consistently received from the Central Florida architecture community and would like to publicly thank (in no particular order) the following firms for their generous contributions in kind: CT Hsu Architects, Hunton Brady, HHCP Architects, RLF Architects and Engineers, Burke Hogue and Mills, Baker Barrios, Charlan Brock, The Scott Partnership Architects, and the Orlando AIA. The professors, most of whom are adjuncts, that have given so much of their time, energy, and considerable skills in order to foster Valencia Community College’s Architecture program with such a great start are Kourtney Baldwin (SCA Design Group), Beau Bock (DLR Architects), Christina Daelo (RLF Architects and Engineers), Renwick Daelo (RLF Architects and Engineers), Wes Featherston (RLF Architects and Engineers), Andrew Ray (Valencia Community College), Rachael Scott (Six Degrees/ The Scott Partnership Architects), Yankless Segura (Strollo Architects), Jason Towers (RLF Archiects and Engineers) and Allen Watters (Valencia Community College).

Jim Cantwell

Jim Cantwell has focused his professional career on residential development in Florida. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Jim is now a partner with AB Design Group, Inc. Architects of Longwood, Florida. AB Design Group focuses on Builder-Series Housing (single-family, multi-family (town houses/condominiums), resort developments). as well as commercial projects, clubhouses, amenities and residential design for individuals. Clients include six of the top ten National home builders (in terms of housing units) as well as many smaller local and regional builders. AB Design Group has offices in Longwood and Tampa and has been operating since 1994.

Maria Isabel (Click to enlarge)

Maria Isabel received a degree in Architecture and Urbanism from Pontificia Bolivariana University-Colombia, South America. in 1992. She moved to Central Florida in 1999 and worked for private architectural firms in Orlando before she took a position at the City of Winter Park Planning and Community Development Department in 2002.

Working for the City of Winter Park has fulfilled her passion to work with the community. She has been involved in a wide range of projects from urban amenities design to the planning, design and construction of Community Redevelopment Area projects.

Wess Luke (Click to enlarge)

Wess Luke graduated from University of South Florida’s School of Architecture and Community Design in Dec. 2006. While working toward his masters in architecture Wess was part of the Architecture College Council and was inducted into the Honor Society for Architecture and the Allied Arts (Tau Sigma Delta). Also while in attendance at USF he worked for the university’s Facilities Planning and Construction Dept. As of January of this year Wess has been working with The Scott Partnership based in Orlando, specifically for the retail/office studio. He has optimistically set short-term goals of completing the ARE within the next year and obtaining LEED accreditation within the next two months.

New Members- Assoc. AIA

Devon S. Tully, Assoc. AIA

Rhodes & Brito Architects Inc

Carline Fontaine, Assoc. AIA

Joseph Joaquin Lara, Assoc. AIA

Richard W. Luke, Assoc. AIA

The Scott Partnership Architecture

Andres Mauricio Mogollon, Assoc. AIA

Cuhaci & Peterson, Architects LLC

Ameenah K. Williams, Assoc. AIA

The Scott Partnership Architecture

New Members- Allied

Richard H. Wedding

QORE Property Sciences, Inc.

Scott Lee Bogden

Bogden Design Studio, Inc.

Westgate Resorts (Click to enlarge)

The Orlando office of BSB Design (formerly Bloodgood Sharp Buster Architects & Planners) recently designed elevations for three buildings at David Siegel’s hot-selling Westgate Resorts in the popular tourist venues of Orlando and Kissimmee.

BSB Design’s architectural team designed two 6-story, 60-unit buildings in the Westgate Town Center Resort off Old Lake Wilson Road in Kissimmee. A third 6-story, 60-unit building will be constructed in Westgate Lakes Resort overlooking Big Sand Lake in the Dr. Phillips section of southwest Orlando.

"The timeshare industry continues to thrive in the Greater Orlando area, and Westgate Resorts is among the leaders in the industry because its properties offer a quality of life that hinges on strong architectural design, ideal location, and resort-style amenities," said BSB Design’s Rick Piacente, project manager.

The new buildings reflect the Mediterranean-style prevalent throughout Westgate, and each timeshare unit boasts 1,448 sq. ft. of living space, including two bedrooms, two baths (one with a whirlpool tub), an eat-in kitchen, a kitchenette, and an expansive balcony off the living room. All three buildings are handicap accessible, provide both elevator and stair access, and feature below grade parking for residents.

Florida Capital Bank (Click to enlarge)

HuntonBrady Architects, an Orlando-based architecture, interior design and planning firm, recently completed interior design renovations of Florida Capital Bank and the adjoining lobby of Magnolia Place in downtown Orlando for Jones Lang LaSalle. Located at 198 E. Church Street, the bank and building lobby received a sophisticated and contemporary renovation featuring bird’s eye maple and granite interior finishes. The space was re-visioned for ease of wayfinding and to communicate to visitors a distinct sense of place.

Michael Lingerfelt (Click to enlarge)

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 18, 2007) – C.T. Hsu + Associates today announced that Michael Lingerfelt, AIA has joined the firm as a project director.

Lingerfelt is a registered architect with more than 27 years of experience in design and project delivery. His career includes 15 years with Walt Disney Imagineering where he served as the architect of record for projects ranging from Expedition Everest and the Animal Kingdom Theme Park to Mickey’s PhilharMagic and the new Tomorrowland attraction. While there, his projects received numerous awards from the Themed Entertainment Association.

Lingerfelt currently serves as chair of the AIA National Retail & Entertainment Knowledge Community Advisory Group, formed to “foster the creation, discussion, and dissemination of knowledge about the retail and entertainment environments to advance the practice of architecture.” He also serves on the Board of Directors of the AIA Florida Association and AIA Orlando Chapter. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and is a graduate of the Stanford Virtual Design & Construction Certificate Program at Stanford University.

The Scott Partnership Architecture, Inc. (TSPA) held a silent auction at its Orlando headquarters to benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Wish List. Volunteers constructed and designed each donated bird house which was auctioned off to our guests on April 13th, 2007. All guests who attended enjoyed wine, hors ‘doeuvres, and bidding for a good cause, the result was a total of $345 donated to the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital.

Best in Show Bird House Winners: 1st Place-Kendra Roark, yo-yo bird house; 2nd Place-TSPA Interiors department, nature inspired bird houses, 3rd Place Tie-Jose Atencio & Michele Bairley, creative bird houses.

Craig Livingston (Click to enlarge)

VOA Promotes Livingston to Vice President

VOA Associates Incorporated, architecture, planning and interior design, promoted Craig Livingston, AIA, to Vice President for VOA's Hospitality Practice Group.

Mr. Livingston, who joined VOA as Senior Associate in late 2005, brings exceptional talent and 30 years of career experience, particularly in the areas of design and project management of complex, multi-component timeshare developments, resorts, hotel and gaming facilities. He currently serves as Project Manager overseeing master plan and design services for numerous large-scale, multi-million-dollar resort, hospitality and restaurant facilities throughout the United States and abroad.

Mr. Livingston holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute and attended Harvard University Graduate School of Design for continuing education. He is a member of AIA and is certified through the NCARB and holds licenses in six states.

Daryl LeBlanc (Click to enlarge)

VOA Announces Le Blanc Promoted to Senior Vice President

VOA Associates Incorporated, architecture, planning and interior design, promoted Daryl LeBlanc, AIA, to Senior Vice President.

Mr. LeBlanc currently serves as Senior Director for VOA's Hospitality Practice Group. He brings exceptional talent and thorough understanding with regard to the full scope of standard architectural services, particularly in the areas of design and project management of complex, multi-component resorts and hotel facilities.

Mr. LeBlanc has extensive experience in the design of resorts and hotels in the Caribbean, having lived and worked in St. Thomas, USVI for eight years. His project experience includes lead design and project architecture for such prestigious projects as The Ritz Carlton Hotel, St. Thomas, USVI; The Wine Room at Turtle Bay Estate, Caneel Bay Resort, St. John, USVI; and King's Bay Resort and Estates, St. Thomas, USVI.

Mr. LeBlanc holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Miami. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is certified through the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards with licenses in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. His professional affiliations include membership in the National Association of Industrial Office Parks (NAIOP) and the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association (CFHLA).

Joanna Del Moral (Click to enlarge)

VOA Announces Promotion of Marketing Director, Joanna Del Moral, to Senior Associate

Joanna Del Moral, Director of Marketing and New Business Development with the Orlando office of VOA Associates Incorporated, has been promoted to Senior Associate.

Ms. Del Moral joined VOA in October 2004 as an Associate. As a Senior Associate, she will continue to lead the firm's marketing efforts in the development of new business, including research and assessment of new and emerging markets and potential clients/projects.

Ms. Del Moral has been professionally involved in the marketing of design services in the Central Florida community for nine years. Prior to joining VOA,she served as Senior Marketer for another prominent architectural firm in the Central Florida area as well as for a national Architectural Landscape and Urban Design firm.

In addition to her career accomplishments, Ms. Del Moral is involved in several professional organizations, including Board Director (2003-2005) and 2006 Co-Chair for the Education Committee for the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and member of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association (CFHLA). In 2004, Ms. Del Moral was voted Member of the Year by members of SMPS. She is an alumnus of Leadership Orlando Class 69, completed in 2006. She has actively participated in volunteer work for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, coordinates and volunteers for the VOA Delivery Route for the Seniors First - Meals on Wheels program, and volunteers her time with AIA Orlando.

Joanne Harrell (Click to enlarge)

The Society for Design Administration (SDA) announces the election of Joanne Harrell, SDA/C as Secretary of the national SDA at its convention in San Antonio, TX May 3-5. Ms. Harrell is the Director of Finance for Hunton Brady Architects, Orlando, FL.

SDA is the largest international organization for design firm administrators and managers and is dedicated to improving practice management in architectural, engineering, and construction firms. The SDA provides education and networking for its members in the areas of finance, human resources, marketing, project management, office administration and IT.