Upcoming DfRR Earth Day Event

New York at Risk:  On The Waterfront

SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM  RSVP

At the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place

Organized by AIA NY's Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR) & co-sponsored by The New York American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)

We’ve got 600 miles of coastline, water underground, water rushing at us from upstream, tidal currents rushing in from all around. We have one of the world’s largest natural harbors, from which an amazing port city grew. Even without a changing climate, we would have waterfront problems and just as many conflicting demands on our shores.

On Earth Day Sunday, a panel of design professionals will – no: must – consider current and future imperatives for our city’s bountiful but, in recent years, destructive waterfront.

The panel will address:

• What is New York City’s hydrological cycle? How does climate change affect it?

• What is at stake and what is at risk?

• What constitutes good long-range policy for water on, above, below, and beyond the city’s surface?

• What are the most interesting water-related ideas, proposals, and projects for the 5 boroughs, the city, and the region? Water’s edge, inland, and upland? Beach to wetland to building block?

All of DfRR’s programs address planning and design through the lens of what is at risk for New York City, how to avoid major episodes, and how to rebuild better after them. The committee presents experts and strategies to consider how the City’s form and buildings affect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens.

Welcome and Introduction 
Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, Co-Chair, Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee
Illya Azaroff, AIA, Co-Chair, Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee

Moderator:
James Russell, FAIA, Architecture Critic, Bloomberg News

Panelists:
Jennifer Bolstad, Founder, Local Office Landscape Architecture 
Walter Meyer, Founders, Local Office Landscape Architecture
Bonnie Harken, AIA, President, Nautilus International
Anthony Romeo, AIA, Program Director of Park Programs, NYC Dept. of Design & Construction
Claire Weisz, FAIA, Founder, wxy architecture + urban design

Schedule
3pm - 5pm Panel Presentation & Discussion
5pm - 5:30pm Reception

Price:  Free for AIA/ASLA Members and students;  $10 for non-memebers
AIA CES: 1.5 LU   1.5 HSW

"Sandy's Watery Wake-up Call"

Check out the new Spring issue of Oculus featuring the article "Sandy's Watery Wake-up Call", written by DfRR co-chairs, Lance Jay Brown FAIA & Illya Azaroff AIA.  The article discusses and explores steps that must be taken to prevent future loss and devastation.

For the full article, click HERE.

Fears of lawsuits held back Sandy help

The following excerpt is from a recent article featured in Crain's New York, where Architects say state's tough tort laws are barrier to free advice after a disaster hits.

"We had 400 people turn out, all ready to go, but in the end nobody here wanted to expose them to what could have been considerable litigation—thousands, and even sometimes millions of dollars," said Lance Jay Brown, co-chair of AIA New York City's Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee, which put out the call to arms.

For the complete article, click here.

AIA Trains First 45 New York area SAP Post-Disaster Damage Assessment Volunteers!

The 12/22/2012 training was initiated by the DfRR, supported by AIA national, and hosted by the AIANY Chapter.

Rick Bell, FAIA and Lance Jay Brown, FAIA welcomed and introduced the program and Dan Eschenasy, P.E., Chief Structural Engineer for the NYC Dept. of Buildings gave a lunchtime presentation including how NYC hopes to engage architects in the future. The day long program was expertly delivered by Rachel Minnery, AIA, LEEDac, Chair of the AIA Disaster Assistance Advisory Group.


Illya Azaroff (DFRR Co-Chair), Rachel Minnery (AIA Disaster Assisstance Advisory Group Chair), Lance Brown (DFRR Co-Chair)

 images from the AIA training of our first 45 New York area SAP post-disaster damage assessment volunteers!



SAP post-disaster damage assessment training



Architects Respond to a Call for Post-Sandy Aid

Here is a recent article from Architectural Record by Fred A. Bernstein.  The article discusses the DfRR co-chairs, Lance Jay Brown and Illya Azaroff,  recent efforts into helping architects obtain training for performing damaged building assessments Post-Sandy.



A house destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, NY.
Photo by Ian Reid



Upcoming DFRR Event: After Disaster: How Does NYC Plan to Recover?

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM     Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Center for Architecture
536 Laguardia Place     New York, NY

We are at a watershed moment in government planning where agendas for disaster recovery and the development of sustainable communities are aligning at the Federal level. Two NYC agencies, the Office of Emergency Management and the Dept. of City Planning are developing plans that set national precedents for preparing for and responding to disaster. Speakers will present how the City plans to respond to disasters, and how that planning makes NYC more sustainable now. A new training opportunity for NYC architects to become a part of planned response funded through the AIA and Architecture for Humanity’s Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Program will be presented by Architecture for Humanity New York.

Welcoming Remarks:
Lance Jay Brown, FAIA and Illya Azaroff, AIA DfRR co-chairs

Moderator: 
Deborah Gans, AIA Principal,Gans Studio and Professor,Architecture School,Pratt Institute

Speakers:
Cynthia Barton, Housing Recovery Program, NYC Office of Emergency Management
Heather Roiter Damiano, Transportation and Infrastructure Unit, NYC Office of Emergency Management
Thaddeus Pawlowski, Office of the Chief Urban Designer at the NYC Department of City Planning
Katherine Malishewsky and Matt Charney, Architecture for Humanity’s New York City chapter (AFHny)

This event will show how the government organizes response to catastrophic events; it is the second event in a series sponsored by the AIAny’s Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee that looks at how NYC prepares for and responds to disaster. The first featured the NYC Dept. of City Planning’s work related to long-term climate change mitigation.

Cost: 
Free for AIA and ASLA Members and Students
$10 for non-members

Co-Organized by the AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee and NYASLA

Upcoming DFRR Event: Designing for Risk: Climate Change Adaptation in NYC

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM Wednesday September 12, 2012 

The Center for Architecture 

536 Laguardia Place New York, NY 

The AIA New York Chapter Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR) and the NY Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects will host City representatives as they discuss the City's framework for improving our long-term resilience to coastal flood risks and describe ongoing initiatives to promote climate change adaptations. 

Welcoming Remarks: 

Lance J. Brown, FAIA, Co-Chair AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee 

Denisha Williams, ASLA, ASLA New York Chapter President 

Moderator: 

Howard Slatkin, Director of Sustainability, Department of City Planning 

Speakers: 

Leah Cohen, Policy Advisor, Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability 

Levan Nadibaidze, Policy Advisor, Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability 

Mary Kimball, Waterfront and Open Spaces, Department of City Planning 

Thaddeus Pawlowski, Urban Design, Department of City Planning 

Howard Slatkin will moderate questions after the presentations. 

5:30-6:00 pm Reception 

6:00-7:15 pm Program 

7:15-8:00 pm Discussion and questions 

Cost: 

Free for Members and Students 

$10 for Non-Members 

This is the first of two related programs that play off the DfRR Committee name. 

The second program, Designing for Reconstruction, will take place the third week of October and be organized by the New York City Office of Emergency Management. 

The AIANY DfRR Committee hopes that these events and others will continue to foster a dialogue between city government and the design community that will help to make the city ready for future climate hazards while protecting the quality of the design of the public realm. 

Organized by the AIANY Design for Risck and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR), and the NY Chapter of Americans Society of Landscape Architects

Event: VisioNYC 2080: Towards a Risk-Resilient City

When: Thursday, October 6th, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: At The Center

New York City in 2080
Looking significantly farther into the future than typical projections, the speaker and panel will outline the design community's risks and opportunities for the design and adaptive reconstruction of our waterfront, low-lying areas, and below-grade infrastructure.

Speaker:
Klaus Jacob, Geophysicist, Urban Environmental Disaster Expert, Columbia University (SIPA, EI/LDEO)

Respondent panel:
Adam Freed, Deputy Director Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning
Deborah Gans, RA, Architect, Educator and Author
Jill N. Lerner, FAIA, Principal, Kohn Pederson Fox Architects
Donald Watson, FAIA, CIP. Architect, Planner, Educator, and Author

Moderator:  Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, Co-chair DfRR
Introduction: Illya Azaroff AIA, Co-chair DfRR

Cost:
Free for Members
$10 for Non-Members
AIA CES: 1.5 LUs | 1.5 HSW

Organized by the DfRR and part of Archtober 2011, Architecture and Design Month in New York City

Post by: Anne Marie Chance

Event: AIA NY Hosts Inaugural Meeting of Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR)

Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR) Inaugural Meeting

Where: Center for Architecture
When: August 24, 2011
Organizers: AIA NY DfRR Committee

The DfRR Committee will meet on the third Wednesday of every month to "evaluate, communicate, and expand the role of the design profession in this time of dramatic climate, energy, economic, and social change."

Co-chaired by Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, and Illya Azaroff, AIA, the DfRR will address the potential for the design community to mitigate and adapt to disasters through the built environment.

Published in e-Oculus Reports from the Field on August 31, 2011

Post by: Anne Marie Chance