Licensed Interior Designers: Endangered Species?

Below is an excerpt from the AIA Florida weekly newsletter regarding HB5005 which affects the regulation of interior designers and a few other businesses. From the material we have read on the Web the motivation behind the GOP backed plan is to deregulate in order to entice more people to start businesses in the State. The House leadership feels that regulations are an unnecessary obstacle for entrepreneurs. The State only generates about $6 million in revenue from licensing regulations. -JT

 

AIA Florida News

Deregulation Bill Passes the House

This week, the Florida House of Representatives passed HB 5005 that will deregulate 14 professions including interior designers, removing them from the list of licensed design professionals. Over the course of the public testimony, members from the Interior Design Associations Foundation and students presented opposing and contradictory arguments to legislators. They first argued that anyone will be allowed to practice interior design completely unfettered thus creating a threat to public health, safety and welfare. The second argument, conversely, claimed that only architects will perform commercial interior design. Neither is true according to AIA Florida General Counsel J. Michael Huey, Hon. AIA.
Huey, explains, “If interior designers are deregulated, business will return to the way it was prior to their regulation. The Florida Statutes specifically state that interior designers cannot perform work that impacts lifesafety, therefore proving both arguments wrong. Work will not be limited to architects. Non-structural design that does not extend into the architects”””” scope of practice will be allowed by de-regulated interior designers.”
Currently, Florida Statutes prohibit interior designers from work pertaining to “construction of structural, mechanical, plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, ventilating, electrical, or vertical transportation systems, or construction which materially affects lifesafety systems…such as fire-rated separations between interior spaces, fire-rated vertical shafts in multistory structures, fire-rated protection of structural elements, smoke evacuation and compartmentalization, emergency ingress or egress systems, and emergency alarm systems.” (F.S. 481.203, (8))
AIA Florida President Michael Lingerfelt, AIA, LEED AP, states, “The Florida Statutes govern this state and have governed the practice of architecture since 1915. Currently, the public””””s health, safety and welfare are not and cannot be affected by the work of interior designers in Florida. In fact, only three states have an interior design practice act and only 19 have title acts. In my 30+ years of work across the country, I have experienced the positive impact of a well designed space. If this bill is passed, architects will continue to utilize the skills of interior designers.”
Another complaint from made by interior design students was that, with deregulation, their degrees would be wasted. During the floor debate, Rep. Dorothy Hukill (R – Port Orange) stated that this deregulation will provide more opportunities, not less, for students and professionals, noting that both the Florida State University and University of Florida interior design programs were established years prior to the regulation of the profession and the success of those professionals.

AIA National policy supports only architects and engineers as licensed design professionals. To-date, AIA Florida has remained neutral on the issue.

 

Postdiluvian Miami – Stage 3


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maturation

Branches

Postdiluvian Miami matured.  The branch developed into a lightweight steel framed structure intended to grow incrementally predicated on the inhabitants energy needs (01). The branches produce three types of energy:

  • Food
  • Solar
  • Wind

 

Food

Food is literally energy for humans to consume. There are two types of foodstuffs produced: plant-based and seafood. The branches’ scaffold-like design allows for light to penetrate and reach plants that are growing even when not on the edge (02). The food energy grown meets 71% of the hives needs (the average Americans diet is 71% plant based; the balance is animal based). Seafood is produced in fisheries at the base of the branches. These fisheries are created by carving the center of the foundation which serves as a tank for seafood production (03).

 

01

 

02

 

03

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solar

Ascending the branch there are solar PVs which are mounted on the steel structure. These panels are hot-swappable and as technology improves they can be easily replaced. This strategy allows our skyscraper to take advantage of the latest technologies over the lifespan of the structure.

Wind

Rising to the uppermost levels, wind energy is harvested by turbines (from branches oriented north-south to harvest wind coming from the east and west). This energy produced by the turbines is only a small percentage of the total and does not serve the hive but rather is enough to meet the power needs of the food production in the branch.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hive

The hive is now the core of the organism. A typical hive starts with transportation and ellipses of commerce. Incrementally, the hive expands upwards up to 1000 feet. The ellipses designated for housing grow 3-5 story multi-family buildings of an average of 1300 sf per unit (04, 05). Each hive can support 500 families or 1050 people. That’s a lot of energy to be produced! However, the skyscraper of the future produces more energy than it consumes. The branches are designed to always produce 10% more energy than the 20 megawatts a year it is estimated to consume.

 

04

 

05

Obesity in Miami

This energy machine also fosters better habits in a city that has the highest obesity rates in the country. Postdiluvian Miami addresses this issue by proposing that in order for Miami dwellers to become aware of and reduce their energy consumption they must be an active participant in its production. 8% of our total energy production from the building is generated by human kinetic energy if all inhabitants produce one hour of energy per day on a stationary bicycle.

 

 

 

Secure Miami

This energy producing machine has a life cycle of 150+ years. Its energy production capacity increases as the hive increases in population. This correlation extends to: more hives = more branches = more energy produced (06). Whatever the future may bring Postdiluvian Miami will be secure…(07)

 

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BC No.3 Now an AIA Florida Member Firm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building Center No.3 has joined AIA Florida as a member firm, demonstrating our commitment to being active participants in the State of Florida in matters affecting the practice and the built environment. AIA Florida is one of the largest and most legislatively engaged chapters in the country and has played key roles in advocating for issues that protect the profession and advance a strong sustainability agenda at the state level.

Awards
In addition, membership at the firm level will allow Building Center No. 3 to become eligible for the prestigious AIA Florida Firm of the Year Award. The chapter website also allows members to publish built and un-built work which has the potential to increase the firm’s statewide visibility.

Cheaper, Faster, Better?

An article in the New York Times published on March 17th, titled: Prefabricated Tower May Rise at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards details the developer Bruce Ratner’s possible plans to erect the world’s tallest prefabricated steel structure. As currently planned the towers,16 in all, would rise to 34 stories (approximately 470 feet) and each would house nearly 400 apartments. The apartments are attracting a lot of attention from the local community because 30% of the planned 6000 units are to be designated as affordable housing and the impact on the local construction job market would be significant.

Advantages

The advantages of prefabrication of any building system used in construction are centered on the job site: factory vs. field. In factory construction the labor costs are cheaper as a result of fewer work hazards, greater reliance on automation (fewer laborers are needed), and fewer delays associated with coordination between trades and suppliers. The article cited labor cost reductions of more than 50% for the hourly wages of a factory carpenter compared to a field carpenter.

Prefabrication in Miami?

In Miami there are a number of big challenges for a 34 story prefabricated tower to become a reality:

  1. Addressing the problem of lateral forces (hurricane wind loads). Marcus Unterweger, P.E., a structural engineer based in Fort Lauderdale and Principal at MUEngineers stated that as long as the frames were crossed braced (as shown by the diagonal members in the above diagram) there would be no obstacles to implementation in this region.
  2. Persuading local building departments to approve unfamiliar technology
  3. Integrating parking into the lower levels (conspicuously absent from the above illustration; off-street parking is not required in New York City)
  4. Creating enough demand to warrant building a local factory to reduce the logistics of transportation and associated costs.
  5. Finding the skill within the local labor force to work on integrated building systems
  6. From a cost perspective, sourcing of iron ore to produce steel in Florida might be prohibitive. There are plenty of small section steel components available (rebar and post tension cables) but bigger cross sections in large quantities may be very expensive. Nearly all of the iron ore mined in the US comes from Michigan and Minnesota (according to the US Geological Survey). In Florida the iron ore is shipped, likely, via freight train from the Midwest. The fabrication of steel components is concentrated in Jacksonville, Florida.

Closing
Precision manufactured hi-rise structures may indeed be cheaper, faster and better but geographical location would seem to be biggest consideration regarding its viability. Integrating parking and addressing costs might make South Florida a more challenging environment than New York to realize such a structure. However as cities such as Miami continue to grow and densify, developers may yet find ways to incorporate new strategies to meet housing demands.

Postdiluvian Miami – Stage 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By coupling the Banyan tree survival techniques with the Portuguese-Man-of-War parasitic growth Postdiluvian Miami develops. Branch-like structures stretching and curving in response to the sun path or the direction of prevailing winds begin to shape the chosen urban site (01). The structure of these branches becomes a topic of research (02, 03). Housing was initially thought of as a part of a branch swelling at specific points to provide living spaces within its body (01). But the project takes a turn…

(01)

(02)

 

 

 

 

(03)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within the project team an idea was brought up that housing could instead be expressed as massive energy producing turbines. Should we forget about the branches? The chosen solution was a hybrid of both (04). The hive + branches design was born. The branches now latched on to the hive providing lateral support and continuity throughout the project (05,07). The hive itself was then divided into separate ellipses connected by a vertical datum (06). Within each ellipse, an incremental growth of housing aggregate along its periphery and communal courtyard spaces take place within its center. Inspired by the Portuguese-man-of-war and the concept of incremental growth, the ellipses can be built individually as the population grows. Once reaching its full capacity, another ellipse emerges. When the entire hive reaches its structural limitations, it multiplies by accretion and parasitic growth throughout the branches, emerging like new tentacles of a Portuguese-Man-of-War.

(04)

(05)

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(07)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now Postdiluvian Miami is ready for more research-based implementation that will make this living structure self-sufficient. The team works on strategies of energy production and smart energy consumption (08). The hive attains its shape (09). The branches now develop into more than structure and connectivity; they become the component of the hybrid responsible for harvesting most of the energy (10). Essentially this skyscraper of the future becomes an energy producing machine.

(08)

(09)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10)

 

 

AIA 2030 Commitment: 1 of 159

Building Center No. 3 (BC3) has made a pledge to honor the American Institute for Architects (AIA) 2030 Commitment. The commitment is a voluntary program for member firms working in the built environment. It is a well known fact among design professionals and environmentalists that in the United States buildings are responsible for nearly half of the greenhouse gas production–one of the driving forces behind climate change. In order to have a meaningful impact on reversing this statistic, design firms will need to incrementally alter their design and delivery methods to incorporate sustainable strategies into their core practice. Environmental stewardship needs to move from the periphery where it is now considered an additional service for a client willing to pay for it, to a place in the firm’s collective conscience and skill sets. 

One Among Giants
At the time of this post 159 firms have made the commitment; many of them large established firms but a few smaller firms with big aspirations such as our office have also pledged. In order to honor the commitment the office has purchased Design Builder to begin simulating every project–large or small–to measure the performance of our design solutions. The expectation is that what we measure, we can track, and what we track we can improve upon.

Peter Zumthor: The Architect’s Architect

A recent article in the New York Times Magazine on Peter Zumthor obliquely offered some insight into what perhaps may be two competing visions for the architect of the future. Though the article does not establish this duality one is left with the vision of one camp that sees the role of the master architect as grand thinker, tinkerer and dabbler at both the urban scale and the scale of the building, and the other camp positing that the architect needs to seek a finer grained resolution. This resolution of detail is where craft and material might interface with the sensory and, perhaps, the spiritual side of the human consciousness. The article places Zumthor firmly in the latter group where the architect is a sort of trusted aesthetic advisor or, interestingly (or peculiarly, depending on which group you adhere to), a spiritual guide where “the chance of finding beauty is higher if you don’t work on it directly.” In Zumthor’s work there is greater value placed on working closely with the client not simply to “render a service” but also to embark on a process where the partnership yields intellectual growth.

Postdiluvian Miami – Stage 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Building Center No. 3 decided to pursue the eVolo Magazine’s 2011 Skyscraper Competition. The company was driven by the chance to further explore today’s urban living challenges. The intention was to promote the exploration of innovative concepts for vertical density. The aim of this competition was to redefine what we understand as a skyscraper and initiate a new architectural discourse involving a level of environmental responsibility that could ultimately modify our cities and improve our way of life.

 

BC3’s Approach

Assemble Team- Building Center No. 3 introduces multidisciplinary collaborative work in the early phase of a project to deliver the necessary research to direct its development. For this project, a team was assembled consisting of architects, an urban planner, an urban designer, a landscape architect, a mechanical engineer, and an analytical diagram designer.

 

Jason Tapia AIA, LEED AP, NCARB is a registered architect in Florida and New York. He earned a B. Arch at Cornell University and an M.S. in Architecture Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been practicing architecture for thirteen years and is a Principal at Building Center No. 3, LLC. Areas of expertise include the design of buildings using life cycle assessment tools, building performance modeling and passive design strategies. He currently resides in Miami, FL.

 

José Vázquez Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, has been practicing architecture for 13 years and is a Project Manager, Technical & Design Manager, and Office Manager at Zelch and McMahon, Architects. He earned his B.Arch. at Cornell University. His areas of expertise include the design of K-12 educational facilities, commercial and residential buildings, as well as, technical analysis of Universal Access laws and Building Code regulations. José currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

 

Benji Power is an urban planner, born in Santiago, Chile, but raised and calling home in Miami, Florida. He studied Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a Master in City Planning and M.S. of Real Estate Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Benji has worked as a planner for four years in Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, and Cartagena, Colombia, with a focus on issues of community, economic and real estate development. His passion and focus is in learning about and working with his hometown of Miami. Currently, Benji is working with a local community development corporation in Miami, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida, leading its Community Building and Organizing team in the non-profit’s outreach to target low and moderate income neighborhoods that they are helping revitalize through the use of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.

 

Deborah Buelow LEED AP has eight years of experience practicing architecture New York and Boston. She earned her B.Arch from Iowa State University and an M.S. in Architecture Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a focus on Architecture and Urbanism. Her projects have ranged in scale from furniture to urban design, but her interest lies in making urban space more habitable. She currently resides and is practicing in Boston, MA.

 

Kelly Woodward LEED AP, is a Graduate Landscape Architect. She earned her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Ball State University.  She has several years of experience practicing landscape architecture in Miami, Florida with ArquitectonicaGEO. Her project experience includes museums, green space in mixed-use towers and community planning. Areas of focus include environmentally and culturally sensitive design with an interest in urban ecology. Kelly currently resides in Miami Beach, FL.

 

Anaclaudia Magalhaes is a landscape architecture student at Florida International University. She earned her Associates in Arts in the discipline of architecture at Miami Dade College. She is originally from Brazil but has resided in Miami, FL for the past 10 years. Her academic work focus includes investigating context-driven concept solutions fostering community and environment. She currently works at Building Center No.3.

 

Tea Zakula is currently Research Assistant and PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned a Dipl. Ing. degree at Zagreb University, Croatia and a M.S. in Building Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Areas of expertise include HVAC systems, with a concentration in efficient cooling in buildings, natural ventilation, daylighting, thermal comfort, air quality, and energy modeling.

 

 

Research Topics:

  • Urban agriculture
  • Hydroponics & arable land
  • Area’s projected flood levels
  • Annual energy needs per occupant (commercial and residential)
  • Site analysis of five different potential sites
  • Demographics of chosen site
  • Direction of winds and sun path
  • Depths of Miami River
  • Obesity on state by state level

 

Research-based Concept

The fundamental seeds of Postdiluvian Miami were born. Experts of different disciplines evaluated multiple sites and selected the chosen area in Miami, Fl which suffer the greatest negative impacts and would benefit most from our research-based implementations. The intersection of Miami River and Interstate 95 was the target area chosen for the challenge. The concept was to develop an energy producing housing structure that would change the way we think about conventional vertical living. This hybrid would not only be self-sufficient, but also produce enough energy to give back to its surroundings. As inspiration for this continuously growing and mutating structure, the team explored the Banyan Tree; an invasive species found prospering in the South Florida lands. To harvest energy, its branches project out horizontally reaching out for nutrients necessary for its survival. The metaphor of the Banyan tree aptly describes the survival techniques of an inundated urban site that inspired our skyscraper of the future.

Transformation

Portuguese Man-of-War Incremental Growth

Banyan Tree

Chameleon