December 29, 2005 -- January 1, 2006
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Please visit the 2005 Sponsors. We are sincerely appreciative of their support.

Thanks for being part the 49th annual FORUM meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. More than 600 people gathered in Cincinnati. The AIAS is very appreciative of the hard work of FORUM Chair Christopher Davis and the committee of AIAS members at the University of Cincinnati. Thank you also to the many sponsors, including the local architecture community and the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design.

The tsunami in Asia, the hurricanes along the Gulf of Mexico, political struggle in the West Bank and the earthquake in India were just a few of the topics that made for great conversation at the conference labeled Building from Crisis. Approximately 650 attendees participated in the four day event.

The Honorable Jeremy Harris, Hon. AIA provided the opening night keynote lecture on the crisis that is affecting all of us: the sustainability of our buildings. The built environment the profession of architecture has left us with is in need of major repair and immediate care. Not only did Mr. Harris present on his own efforts as the Mayor of Honolulu to rate it one of U.S. Top Ten Green Cities and the 2002 Tree City USA, but also he talked about how over the years he has come realize the need for the next generation to get more involved at the local level of government and in preservation. The lecture ended with questions from the audience and a charge from Mr. Harris to the students: "Take control of the built environment you design, and make it be more responsible. Get out in your neighborhoods and make sure everyone knows what good design is. Then make sure your local government knows what good design is."

On the second night attendees had the privilege of hearing Lebbeus Woods talk about his theoretical art and design based on crisis. There are areas of the world that have to rebuild from major catastrophes and use the empty shells that were left behind. "Design a space that you do not know how to use. Make a person think about the space that is there and the space that used to be there." His art work has long since been the topic of many designers and planners projects. With the simple stroke of a pen or a paint brush, Mr. Woods invokes a thought process for design in areas that typically get left behind in the glossy world of architecture magazines and monographs. From the rebuilding of a skin on a federal building in a war ridden third world country to designing an artificial beach that also seconds for a retaining wall in a flood plan of Cuba, Mr. Woods conveys a sense of hope in desolate areas. While more recently his work has been in the form of sculpture, Woods still can challen ge critical thought in the minds of the future architects of the world.

The eve of the new year ushered in the thoughts of change with a keynote lecture by Zvi Hecker. As an architect working in the West Bank of the Middle East, Mr. Hecker comes across any different challenges, including the destruction of his own projects. Working with extremely old sites and limited resources, Mr. Hecker has allowed his creativity to thrive. Many of his works connect to more than just clients, but rather a thought, feeling or spiritual connection to the site. In one project he presented, a former church was portrayed on the empty site as small benches lined up where the pews used to stand. While not memorializing the old building, he evoked a sense of loss and remembrance in a now urban park landscape. His humor also won over the crown as he offered many side bar comments to lighten the mood of an otherwise somber topic. "II have never had a problem because I never work with the same client twice," Hecker responded to a question of how he deals with "bad" clients.

The last night of the FORUM celebrated the new year and the 50th Anniversary of the AIAS. It also included a moving keynote lecture by Eric Wandmacher, a Design/Build Associate from Red Feather Development Group and Mary Tenakhongva, a Native American from the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Red Feather Development Group of Montana specializes in the building of straw-bailed houses for the many homeless or nearly homeless Native Americans in the U.S. As one of the first recipients of a new home in Arizona, Ms. Tenakhongva had a touching outlook to share to those in attendance. "For everyone that helped to build my home, I reminded them they too had a new home where they were always welcome." While this is not a crisis like the Earthquakes in India or the Tsunami in Sri Lanka, the nearly 300,000 homeless Native Americans is a tragedy that should not be ignored. Mr. Wandmacher reminded the students that even one student can make a huge impact on the lives of many, while also promoting sustainable design through straw-bailed housing. For more information on Red Feather Development Group visit www.redfeather.org.

While the topic of "Building from Crisis" became very meaningful this year with the numerous natural disasters, there are many more crisis out there that are not dealt with adequately. Like the many homeless Native Americans and the thousands of people who go starving everyday or die of AIDS in Africa and the rest of the world. While these issues may seem like a predicament for the Red Cross or the Peace Corps, everyone can help. Architecture is not just about the built environment; it is also about the built community.

Attendees departed Cincinnati with a new awareness of the environment and the communities in which designers and architects work and the inspiration to make a difference.