President's Letter

Dear Members,

I hope that you are all doing well.  I wanted to take this opportunity to write you a brief note on the upcoming Shanghai conference and the work of the International Strategic Task Force.

As you are aware the AIA International Region in partnership with the AIA Shanghai Chapter are finalizing the organization of a major three-day conference in Shanghai from November 14th-17th.  This conference will focus on the developmental history of this world city as well as its future growth plans. Originally settled in 4,000 BC this city has gone multiple iterations including being a fishing village, a market town and today a leading global financial center.  Today this city with a population of 24 million is known worldwide for its amazing skyline, and as a global financial, innovation and technology, and transportation hub.

We have assembled an amazing group of leading Chinese Architects that are forming the future of this world city.  We look forward to learning from our colleagues in terms of design, sustainability, cutting edge technology along with the cultural nuances of designing in China. Our global architectural community that is working on virtually every continent should be keen to gaining this knowledge which is easily transportable to other geographies both at the macro and micro level. As someone who has never been to China, I am very excited to experience this amazing city, its neighborhoods and its architecture. As such I invite you all to take advantage of this unique opportunity to attend the AIA IR Shanghai Conference, I am certain that this will be a wonderful learning opportunity.

On a separate note, I am pleased to let you know that the AIA Global Strategic Task Force which I am chairing met on October 5th in Brussels to start the important work of developing our global strategy which will address a broad range on initiatives focusing on elevating the profession.  The Task Force members comprising of every experienced group of architect, including Thomas Vonier, FAIA (Former AIA President and current UIA President), Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA (former AIA President and incoming International Practice Committee Chair), James Wright, FAIA (Immediate AIA IR Past President & current Director of UIA Professional Practice Committee), Sam Oboh, FAIA (Past President of Canada’s RAIC and IR Representative to the College of Fellows), Alison Laas, AIA (Immediate past Chair of the AIA International Practice Committee), Alton Chow, AIA (Immediate Past President of the AIA Shanghai Chapter) and John Padilla, AIA (Past Secretary of AIA National and current Vice President of Pan American Federation of Associations of Architects) met for a full day of work.  I am pleased to say that our intense session bore many fruits, we now have key action items to develop over the next few months.  Our task force is very excited at the prospect of developing an implantation method for many of these initiatives.  I will keep you updated over the next few months. We also were delighted to have the opportunity of partially participating in AIA Continental Europe’s Conference in Brussels which reminded me of the great work being done by all of our international chapters.  I truly encourage you to attend chapter conferences being organized by our chapters in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Canada.

Back Row from left to right: Sam Oboh FAIA, Thomas Vonier FAIA, Alton Chow AIA, John Padilla AIA, Alison Laas AIA, Dr. Tillman Prinz, Elizabeth Chu Richter FAIA, James Wright FAIA, Derek Walsham. Front Row: Paula Seidel, Thierry Paret, FAIA, Terri Stewart.

Again, I encourage to join us in Shanghai from November 14th – 17th, it will be an unforgettable event! 

Sincerely,
Thierry Paret, FAIA
President
AIA International Region
Chair AIA International Strategic Task Force

AIAJ/FIU INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM: RESILIENCE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

In the recent years, local communities are facing various threats on a global scale due to the increase of heavy rainfall, drought, landslide disasters, etc. caused by climate changes. In the United States, Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) have made serious damages, and the impact of rising sea levels has become a major issue in Florida. Even in Japan, Hiroshima landslides (2014) and floods in the western Japan (2018) caused serious damage.  Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and associated nuclear power plant accidents (2011) left devastating damages to the eastern Japan coastal area. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to seek the built environment of the next generation by introducing a broad perspective connecting the city, infrastructure and landscape in order to make our cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This symposium "Resilience and the Building Environment" was made possible by Japan chapter of American Institute of Architects (AIA Japan) with the cooperation of Meiji University in conjunction with students and faculties of the international program of Florida International University. AIA members and other architects and experts from related fields make discussions that transverse area of studies with a broad perspective, and look for the future of architecture and cities.

FRAMEWORKS OF UNCERTAINTY: ARCHITECTURAL STRATEGIES OF CONTROL AND CHANGE IN THE WORK OF CEDRIC PRICE AND ARATA ISOZAKI

MARCELA ARAGUEZ

 Architect based in Zurich. 
-MArch from the University of Granada in Spain.
-PhD in Architectural History & Theory from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London

Marcela Aragüez is a Spanish architect based in Zurich. She holds an MArch from the University of Granada in Spain and a PhD in Architectural History & Theory from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, where she was also awarded with an MSc in Spatial Design (UCL Turner Prize for best dissertation). Marcela’s research interest lies in the understanding of uncertainty as a spatial quality in architecture, with a particular emphasis on the investigation of post-war practices from a cross-cultural perspective. She is currently coordinating the joint research project ‘The Culture of Water’ between the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland and the Kyoto Institute of Technology in Japan. A former editor of LOBBY and current editor of InForma, Marcela has lectured widely in the UK, Switzerland, Japan, France and Spain and her work has been acknowledged by grants and awards from institutions such as the Japan Foundation, Sasakawa Foundation, Canon Foundation and the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. She is a licensed practitioner with professional experience in Spain and Switzerland.

ABSTRACT: 
This paper argues that the creation of buildings with the potential of functional and physical change over time is inextricably linked to what can be labelled as ‘frameworks of uncertainty’ – i.e. those tools of architectural theory and design that predict, enable and manage the accommodation of controlled changes. To this purpose, the differing contexts of British and Japanese post-war architecture, and more specifically the work of Cedric Price and Arata Isozaki, are investigated as instrumental in understanding this friction between fixity and freedom within architectural design.

AIA Hong Kong FAIA Leadership Series / Hello Fellow with Professor Nelson Chen, FAIA, FRIBA, FHKIA

We enjoyed an engaging, intimate 'fireside' chat with Professor Nelson Chen, FAIA, at the Gaggenau Poggenpohl Showroom in Causeway Bay. Introduced by his former student - Florence Chan, AIA, Professor Chen shared his career experiences of both practicing architecture professionally and teaching architecture in a university degree program.

The AIA Fellowship program was developed to acknowledge architects who have made significant contributions to architecture and society and achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Fellowship recognizes the architect as an individual and honors the awardee on an international level. The AIA College of Fellows seeks to stimulate a sharing of interests among Fellows and encourages them to promote the purposes of the Institute, advance the profession of architecture, mentor young architects, and be of ever increasing service to society.

We thank Professor Chen and our sponsors - Gaggenau, Poggenpohl, Kitchen Infinity, BeTrue - for making this evening possible and we look forward to continuing this series with more of our FAIA members.

Emerging Architects / Young Architects Group, ARE 5.0

Thanks to a generous AIA Fellowship Grant, the YAG has upgraded our comprehensive lending library of ARE 5.0 study guides and flash cards. These materials are available at the AIA office.

AIA Hong Kong hosts monthly ARE study groups at the Chapter Office in PMQ and, at present, Hong Kong is one of only three locations outside the U.S. where the ARE 5.0 exams are offered.

Our study sessions are led by licensed AIA members and integrate content review, study strategies, tips & tricks, and sample questions.

In addition, we are starting a peer-to-peer Bootcamp that will meet weekly, via conference call, to help keep you motivated and accountable.

Remember - Becoming a licensed architect requires a lot of time and commitment. Through weekly meetings, you will be able to both help, and learn from each other, and to keep a study schedule.

Please signup at emergingprofessionals@aiahk.org. Be sure to include your full name, affiliation and email address.

Building Tour / French International School

The French International School at Tseung Kwan O provides an open and active learning environment for kindergarten, primary and secondary level pupils. Completed in September 2018, the 19,600 m2 campus sets an outstanding example for sustainability, with its strategic use of daylight, extensive landscaping and energy saving features.

The facility was designed by Henning Larsen –practitioners of sustainable design and inclusive design strategies– and the tour was led by Henning Larsen’s Elva Tang and Claude Bøjer Godefroy, together with Jean-Charles Querette, International Associate. AIA, who served as Project Manager for the school.

Tour participants gained insights into the architect's renowned approach to daylighting design while experiencing how the school’s collaborative learning vision has been implemented while integrating many state-of-the-art sustainable design strategies.

Unassigned Members Survey Results

The International Region recently conducted a survey of its Unassigned Members in an effort to better understand how the IR might better serve these members. Unassigned members make up of approximately 500 members of the International Region who are not assigned to one of the seven international chapters.

Download the Results