American Institute of Architects, Hanley Wood Launch Revamped 'Architect' Magazine

WASHINGTON, DC -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Hanley Wood, LLC, announce the unveiling of the first issue of the recently revamped Architect magazine. Now the new official publication of the AIA, Architect will be the largest of the four titles published as part of the partnership. The other magazines include Residential Architect, EcoHome and Eco-Structure.  "The AIA-Hanley Wood partnership represents a rare collaboration between a multi-national industry association and a publishing house that will produce and deliver content to the design and construction industries across multiple distribution channels, including print and online, and via major events," said AIA President Clark Manus, FAIA. "We will leverage the partnership to develop and publish content that demonstrates the increasing importance of architecture across many facets of society, as well as the role of the profession in economic development, modernizing urban infrastructure and green building design, to name a few."  In addition, Hanley Wood will also run the AIA's annual national convention, attended by tens of thousands of architects, builders and design professionals. This year, the convention will be held in New Orleans from May 12-14.  A main component of the AIA-Hanley Wood media partnership is a dedicated section in each of the four publications that will focus exclusively on AIA-produced content. Called AIArchitect, it will be a sister publication to the online-only, bi-weekly newsletter that currently serves as the AIA's primary in-house publication.  "This is a tremendously exciting partnership for Hanley Wood," said Frank Anton, CEO of Hanley Wood.  "It will allow us to expand our editorial capacity and demonstrate our powerful convention production expertise. These dual missions are unique in publishing - one that we hope will serve as a longstanding model for the industry in terms of profitability and creativity." In order to provide timely and relevant content, the two groups have appointed an eight-member editorial advisory committee composed of AIA members.  This group will consult on the editorial direction month-to-month; ensuring that content will be fresh and reflect up-to-the-minute issues in the profession. Ned Cramer, Assoc. AIA, will be editor-in-chief of Architect, in addition to his role as editorial director of the Hanley Wood Commercial Design Group, which includes Architect and Eco-Structure.  The first AIA issue of Architect was recently mailed to the nearly 80,000+ qualified subscribers from the AIA membership and Hanley Wood's subscriber list can be accessed online atwww.architectmagazine.com.  Article Source: http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=10067&subcategory=48

Frank Gehry Article at Archinect

World-renowned architect Frank Gehry has unveiled plans for his first building in Australia - a state-of-the-art business school to be built in Sydney. The building will feature a wrinkly facade built using a combination of brick and glass. "The hardest thing to do with modern architecture is make it human, give it character, give it feeling, historically the great artists of our history have always been fascinated with the fold. Michaelangelo did many drawings, Leonardo Da Vinci did many drawings on that topic, and I've been fascinated with that topic."

Article Source: http://archinect.com/news/article.php?id=103500_0_24_0_C17

Hilton, Starwood settle corporate espionage lawsuit on trade secrets

By David S. Hilzenrath and Danielle Douglas

Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 22, 2010; 9:26 PM

Anyone looking forward to courtroom testimony in a corporate espionage lawsuit against Hilton Worldwide is in for disappointment.

The Mclean-based hotel giant has settled a lawsuit in which rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts accused Hilton of using stolen trade secrets to launch a niche brand called Denizen Hotels and advance other Hilton lines such as its Waldorf Astoria Collection.


The settlement, disclosed in a federal court filing Wednesday, calls for the appointment of an independent monitor to make sure Hilton doesn't take advantage of the documents allegedly purloined from Starwood.


For just over two years, the settlement also prohibits Hilton from creating any hotel brand that would compete "in the lifestyle hotel or branded boutique space."


There was more to the settlement, but some terms were kept confidential, Hilton said.
"Hilton Worldwide regrets the circumstances surrounding the dispute . . . and is pleased to bring an end to this prolonged litigation," Hilton chief executive Christopher J. Nassetta said in a news release. Under the settlement, Hilton denied Starwood's allegations.



The Justice Department previously revealed that it was conducting a criminal probe, and the document filed in court Wednesday said a grand jury is still investigating.
Starwood operates hotels under brand names that include St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin, and Sheraton. The company's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleged a far-reaching effort by Hilton to exploit internal Starwood documents obtained when Hilton hired executives away from Starwood.


Hilton's "senior management personally induced and used Starwood employees to serve as corporate spies . . . to provide Hilton with real-time information about Starwood's confidential development plans," the lawsuit said.


The litigation began after Hilton informed Starwood in February 2009 that it had found confidential Starwood information at Hilton and in the homes of Hilton employees. Hilton turned over to Starwood thousands of Starwood documents and computer files.


Starwood alleged that Nassetta was told of the theft months earlier and that, in November 2008, an executive whistleblower within Hilton sent Nassetta a letter describing the wrongdoing.


Hilton introduced its Denizen brand in March 2009, and Starwood alleged the concept was developed using Starwood's internal documents.



Hilton employees "scrubbed" documents of images that would reveal their origins at Starwood and distributed Starwood's information widely within Hilton, the lawsuit said.

But Hilton insiders knew the source, the lawsuit said.


According to the lawsuit, in an internal e-mail, a senior manager for Hilton's Waldorf Astoria Collection wrote: "So, I am veraciously [sic] reading these St. Regis and W Residential Development Kits. The writing style is superb and the content is quite relevant."
Another Hilton e-mail referred to "one more I managed to get from Starwood," and another urged that Hilton employees get to work "on Hiltonizing this and sharing it with the Exec Group ASAP," the lawsuit said.


One Hilton executive urged caution, writing, "We need to be careful about sending 'Starwood' branded stuff into the wider audience," the lawsuit said.


Starwood alleged that Nassetta used confidential Starwood information when he went to outside meetings to prospect for business.


In his statement Wednesday, Nassetta said Hilton "is committed to fair, ethical and robust competition."


Article Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/22/AR2010122205827.html

From the.....

New year's resolutions for those who shape D.C.

On this first day of 2011, I propose several new year's resolutions for architects, urban planners and real estate developers, along with government officials and citizens, all of whom determine or influence the shape of buildings and cities.



Resolved: That creation of green architecture with reduced or zero carbon footprints will become standard practice. Achieving sustainability should no longer be an optional design goal or add-on marketing feature. In fact, as sustainable design and construction become the norm, comparable to ensuring fire safety or providing access for handicapped people, the extra cost of making new buildings sustainable will be marginal.

Resolved: That we will pursue architectural sustainability by not demolishing aging or obsolete buildings, historic or otherwise, but instead by recycling them whenever economically and technically feasible. Even ugly, dysfunctional buildings can be transformed through creative reconfiguration, technological modernization and adaptive reuse.

Resolved: That we will create sustainable urban and suburban infrastructure as well as sustainable communities. Being green should not be limited to buildings. To save energy, reduce carbon emissions and eliminate pollution, new policies and practices are needed for design, construction and operation of transportation and utility systems, civic facilities, parks and public open spaces. The location of new development or redevelopment should be predicated on existing and future infrastructure capacity and availability, access to employment and other public amenities, and preservation of valuable natural or agrarian landscapes.

Resolved: That states, counties and especially cities will substantially amend or get rid of out-of-date, obstructive and overly complex zoning ordinances. Let's abandon the basic zoning paradigm dividing counties and cities into patchwork quilts of single-use zones. Throw away overly generalized plans and undertake fine-grain urban design, street by street and block by block, taking into account not only localized physical conditions - topography, microclimate, views, access - but also social, cultural and economic circumstances.Resolved: That Washington area governments, state transportation agencies and Metro will act regionally and collaborate to plan, finance and implement enhanced, region-wide, multi-modal transportation options. All city and suburban streets should safely work for cyclists, pedestrians, motorists and, in places, streetcars. All modes of rail and bus transit should be affordable, reliable and well coordinated. Regional transportation planning should even include the embryonic, privately operated water taxi service.

 To realize its full potential, more frequent trips and more stops will be needed along the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, which will necessitate some public sector financial support.
Most conventional zoning has been at best a crude, counter-productive tool. Historically the primary goals of zoning have been to restrict land use and density; to mandate open space and parking; and, with maps delineating single-use zones, to protect property values by separating presumably incompatible uses. Rarely do zoning regulations proactively define a planning vision for a city and its neighborhoods, much less enable realization of a visionary plan or explicitly address issues of architectural quality.

Resolved: That the D.C. mayor, council, Office of Planning, Zoning Commission and other agencies will study and reconsider the height-limiting provisions of the D.C. zoning ordinance. As asserted periodically in this column over the past 26 years, there are numerous sites in the District, outside the area planned by Pierre L'Enfant, where taller buildings would make sense aesthetically, functionally and economically. Increasing height and density in such areas would not compromise the capital's historic profile and skyscraper-free character, nor would it open the door, as some would argue, to relaxing height limits city-wide.

I could go on. But today is a holiday, and this is enough seriousness after last night's festivities. Happy new year.

Roger K. Lewis is a practicing architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland.


Article Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/30/AR2010123003267.html

Three-Building Constitution Square Project Complete in NoMa

Clark Construction Group, LLC, has completed the three-building, 1.6 million square-foot Constitution Square project in Washington, D.C.'s NoMa district.

The $530 million project developed by StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital includes two office buildings and a residential building, spans a full city block, and is serviced by two entrances to the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Galludet U Metro station.

Both of Constitution Square's office buildings are 12 stories above grade with three levels of below-grade parking. The buildings' exteriors are precast concrete with punched windows and curtain wall. The 350,000 square-foot One Constitution Square has a covered and partially enclosed roof top terrace with a panoramic view of Washington, D.C. Two Constitution Square is 589,000 square feet and features a three-story glass atrium with limestone flooring, back-lit imported onyx stone lining the walls, a massive skylight, and an interior curtain wall system.

The Department of Justice has fully leased Two Constitution Square. Clark Interiors performed the tenant fit-out of the office space.

Both Constitution Square office buildings achieved LEED® Platinum certification. In addition to sustainable features including efficient fixtures and a design that maximizes natural light, the buildings have greywater recycling systems and green roofs.

Constitution Square's 657,000 square-foot, 13-story residential building includes 440 luxury apartments, a 204-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, and a 50,000 square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store. Building amenities include three courtyards, a fitness center, a club room, an outdoor swimming pool with sun deck, and a roof terrace.

Constitution Square is one of several recently-completed Clark projects in Washington, D.C's NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) business district. Other NoMa projects include the Courtyard Marriott US Capitol, 90 K Street/Sentinel Square I, and 111 K Street, NE.

HOK, Inc., Washington, D.C., is the architect of Constitution Square's office buildings. SK & I Architectural Design Group, Bethesda, Md., is the architect of the project's residential component. Additional project partners include GHT Limited, Arlington, Va. MEP engineers; Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson Associates, Inc., Silver Spring, Md., structural engineer; Parker Rodriguez Alexandria, Va., landscape architect; and Wiles Mensch Corporation Reston, Va., civil engineer.

Article Source: http://dcrealestate.citybizlist.com/5/2011/1/2/ThreeBuilding-Constitution-Square-Project-Complete-in-NoMa.aspx