Weber Thompson’s Post

In the spotlight >>> The UIA 2030 Award #Architects worldwide can now submit entries for built projects demonstrating design quality and significantly contributing to achieving the #SDGs. UIA - International Union of Architects UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)

👏 P U B L I C S T A T E M E N T: And here is the public statement from Moriyama Teshima Architects on the recent and abrupt closure of the Ontario Science Centre by the Ontario Government | Gouvernement de l’Ontario The landmark 1969 building by renowned Japanese Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama was closed following an engineering report by Rimkus with the Ontario government citing that the report found “serious structural issues with the Ontario Science Centre building.” While these issues would not be expected to materialize until the winter, according to Infrastructure Ontario, the intervening months were needed “for staff to safely vacate the building.” A deep dive into the engineering report revealed a different story. It suggests that the building’s key exhibition areas could continue to operate safely for years to come—even if the Ontario government chooses not to invest in any structural roof repairs this year. #OntarioScienceCentre #SaveTheScienceCentre #architecture #heritage #historiclandmark #canadianarchitecture Elizabeth Pagliacolo Stefan Novakovic Eric Mutrie AZURE Media Canadian Architect magazine

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reports that the decline in architecture billings continues with the Billings index falling to a score of 42.4 (down from 48.3) and the Contracts index falling to a score of 45.6 (down from 49.2). AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker observed that “Over the past nine months, volatility has increased, and scores have softened more significantly, with the May score the weakest reported since the end of the pandemic recession." #constructioneconomics #architects #economics #rlb

Read ArchNative's interview of Pricipal Partner Sonia Gagné, where she shares her experience about the evolution in the construction industry, being a female architect, and more. https://lnkd.in/ehZAeyXU

The time is now to apply for an AIANY Future Forward Grant! Register to join for the info session on 3/28 and apply by 4/19: https://bit.ly/3IPLPth A project presented by the Large Firm Roundtable (LFRT) and the AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF), this grant supports students, emerging professionals, and early career architects in the testing of new ideas that disrupt the traditional conception of practice, process, and product in the field of architecture. The primary objective of the Future Forward Grant is to perpetuate innovation in the practice of architecture by empowering students, emerging professionals, and early career architects to do things they would not otherwise have the capital or resources to accomplish. This grant seeks to fund untested ideas and advance exploration, innovation, and disruption in the architecture profession.

I’m glad to announce that months ago, I participated in the UIA 2030 Award. Organized biennially in six categories and aligned with the World Urban Forum, this prestigious award invited architects from around the world to submit their projects. These projects were evaluated for their design quality and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I submitted in *Category 6: Promotion, Restoration, and Sustainable Use of Ecosystems*. Weeks ago, I felt quite desperate not making it to the finalists, but I’m honored to have made it to the pre-finalists. At this young age, reaching such an international competition and raising the name of my country high is a significant achievement. I received an email with this honorable comment: --- "Dear Aya Ezzelarab, Thank you for your interest in the 2024 edition of the UIA 2030 Award, organized by the International Union of Architects (UIA) in collaboration with UN-Habitat. Having now concluded the first stage evaluation, we regret to inform your project has not been selected to proceed to the finalists stage. This year’s award attracted over 100 high quality entries from around the 5 regions of the UIA. The finalists will now go forward to the second stage, and the winners will be announced at the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum (WUF12) next November in Cairo, Egypt. We hope that you will continue to participate in UIA-endorsed prizes and competitions." --- The competition was assessed regionally, representing the five UIA regions: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, The Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Africa. The selected entries highlight the power of design to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges and showcase progress towards achieving the SDGs across six categories. On a side note, the competition involved several stages: project submission, assessment for being a pre-finalist, assessment as finalists, and winners announcement. #UIA2030 #SustainableDevelopment #Architecture #YoungArchitects #InternationalCompetition #DesignForGood

New sub-study: #digitalisation within the architectural profession in Europe Following the launch of the 2022 Sector Study, the Architects' Council of Europe is taking a closer look at certain key issues through the publication of 3 sub-studies. Today, ACE is publishing its first sub-study specifically dedicated to digitalisation, based on extracts from the ACE Sector Studies from 2018 to 2022. "Digitalisation of the various economic sectors, including the professional services sector and, therefore, also that of architects, is now seen as one of the main tools to ensure a rapid implementation of the EU Green Deal. This sub-study is strategic as it is important to have knowledge of the level of digitalisation of European architects in order to take the political actions necessary for increasing the use of digital tools and for actively managing the transformations of the profession connected to these tools”, stated Diego Zoppi, ACE Executive Board Member & Coordinator of the ‘Practice of the Profession’ thematic area. The ACE sub-study is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. https://lnkd.in/eFg-Yy2v #architecture #europe #digitalisation

Register for the BUSGoCircular webinar on the Continuous Professional Development tool for circularity. Registration link in the post below.

I'm Glad to announce that months ago, i had participated in the UIA 2030 award, This award is an Organized biennially in six categories and aligned with the World Urban Forum, the UIA 2030 Award invited architects from around the world to submit their projects. These projects were evaluated for their design quality and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I had submitted in *Category 6: Promotion, restoration and sustainable use of ecosystems* and weeks ago, I had been quite desperate that I couldn't make to the finalists which were announced and i only made it to the pre-finalists but I'm honored that at this young age i could make it to such an international competition raising the name of my country quite high and receiving an email with such an honorable comment: "Dear Aya Ezzelarab, Thank you for your interest in the 2024 edition of the UIA 2030 Award, organized by the International Union of Architects (UIA) in collaboration with UN-Habitat. Having now concluded the first stage evaluation, we regret to inform your project has not been selected to proceed to the finalists stage. This year’s award attracted over 100 high quality entries from around the 5 regions of the UIA. The finalists will now go forward to the second stage and the winners will be announced at the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum (WUF12). We hope that you will continue to participate in UIA-endorsed prizes and competitions." The competition had assessed regionally, representing the five UIA regions: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, The Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Africa. The selected entries highlight the power of design to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges, and showcase progress towards delivery of the SDGs through six categories. On a side note the competition is stepped into project submission, assessment for being a prefinalist, assessment as finalists and winners announcement.

9 of 12  This is Dr Carin Combrinck and Tshepo M. - my fellow Co-authors (!!). Carin was my architecture masters supervisor in 2014, and really shaped my understanding of alternative forms of practice. The research and reading I did in my architecture honours and masters, the exposure to participatory practices, and the power of collaborative design, fundamentally shifted how I crafted my career.  Now, almost 10 years later, I am collaborating  with my mentor, and my friend on a book!!  The book proposes the documentation of selected architectural interventions in South Africa since 1994 that represent a paradigm shift towards Public Interest Design (PID). PID is an approach that emphasises the social, economic, and environmental impact of design on communities and the public. PID goes beyond the traditional focus of architecture and involves architects working closely with communities to address pressing social issues and improve the quality of public life. PID focuses on what the building/intervention DOES rather than simply what it is. I can’t wait for it to publish next year!