SALT/NFH 2009 Housing Competition

Two San Francisco Bay Area housing non-profits, Suburban Alternatives Land Trust (SALT) and Northbay Family Homes (NFH) have, in the past 30 years, facilitated the building of 4,000 homes – half of them affordable to low-moderate income families. Together, SALT and NFH are sponsoring an open competition to develop ideas that optimize their site’s potential uses, including ideas that address the need for senior housing in a suburban setting. The Project site is located in the City of Novato, Marin County in a recently developed area known as “Bahia.” 
 
The site contains two non-contiguous parcels (6.8 and 8.7 acres respectively) for a total of about 15 acres, with the possibility of transfer of development rights. SALT/NFH envisions the site supporting a set of complementary uses - with homeownership being the core use.  The site is adjacent to existing homes, and over 600 acres of open space lands, land are managed by a local open space district, State Fish & Game, and the Marin Audubon Society. Although the competition is site specific, the Sponsors wish to also demonstrate the advantages of land banking that was used in this project and its potentials for other properties. 
 
Designers are encouraged to develop and present ideas that reflect SALT’s mission: assisting low-income individuals and families to secure good housing, become homeowners and improve their economic position by working with donors of land to maximize and leverage tax advantages and benefits generated in the course of developing a full array for land use options for each parcel, including affordable homes, jobs, recreation, agriculture and open space.
 
The schedule calls for the detailed Competition Kit to be available in mid-August, 2009, with a briefing and site tour in late September 2009. Submissions will be due in early December 2009. Information regarding the Sponsors may be found at www.nfh.org Bill Liskamm, FAIA will serve as Competition Advisor. Please direct questions to him at bill@nfh.org . 

Design is the new economic engine, but never a mention of architecture?

Source: Marketplace/American Public Media

Job market has designs on new Dream

Doodlers and tinkerers, take heart. Design has moved from a decorative sideshow to center stage in the business world and, says commentator Kay Hymowitz, career opportunities abound.

Read the commentary

NAAB Releases 2008 Report on Accreditation in Architecture Education

source http://www.naab.org/news/view.aspx?newsID=28

Washington, DC (May 13, 2009) - The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is pleased to announce the release of the 2008 Report on Accreditation in Architecture Education. This report, to be produced annually, shares the accreditation decisions made by the NAAB in the previous year, provides a review of the aggregated statistics provided by each accredited program, and reports on other activities. The report is available at www.naab.org.

 

As stated by NAAB President Douglas L. Steidl, FAIA, “This report represents a new step for the NAAB: proactively presenting information on accreditation actions and accredited programs on an annual basis.” The decisions represented in this report were all made on the basis of visits and Visiting Team Reports submitted in 2008; these decisions were all effective January 1, 2008. There were 29 accreditation visits and eight focused evaluations in 2008 involving over 135 volunteer team members.

 

The data summaries are based on information submitted in the fall of 2008 through the NAAB’s Annual Report Submission (ARS) system. For the first time, 100% of accredited programs submitted statistical data to the NAAB. Notwithstanding minor adjustments that will be made in time for the 2009 annual reports, the ARS represents a significant step forward in the NAAB’s ability to collect and present data that is consistent, rigorous, verifiable, and comparable.

 

About NAAB: The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture in the United States. 

 

Press Release

2008 Report on Accreditation in Architecture Education

 

Contact:

Lee W. Waldrep, Ph.D.

(202) 783-2007

lwaldrep@naab.org

New Task Force Coordinates Federal Transportation and Housing Investments

Source: MacArthur Foundation
Citing research and work supported by the Foundation, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a new partnership to help American families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs.  The task force will enhance integrated regional housing, transportation, and land use planning and investment; redefine affordability and make it transparent; develop livability measures; and undertake joint research, data collection and outreach. HUD is also proposing to create a new Office of Sustainability that would work to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas. Testifying before Congress, Donovan cited the Foundation-supported study by the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology that finds that the average working American family spends nearly 60 percent of its budget on housing and transportation costs.  Donovan also highlighted other institutions and projects supported by MacArthur, including: Brookings Institution's Blueprint for American Prosperity, theChicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's integrated land use and transportation plan, and Denver's new Transit-Oriented Development Fund, in which the Foundation invested $2 million.