Remodeling Helps Homeowners Build Equity While Boosting Economic Growth
It’s fairly clear that residential architecture firms have benefited from the strong homebuilding industry in recent years. What is less well publicized is that home remodeling activity has fared just as well as new residential construction. Leading the upswing are upper-income homeowners who have realized several years of rising house prices and now have substantial equity in their homes. (members only)

Cincinnati Design Awards Program Yields Bumper Crop of Award-Winning Projects
AIA Cincinnati, International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Cincinnati/Dayton City Center, and the Society of Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) Midwest Ohio Region joined together to pay homage to the area’s design excellence through the sixth annual Cincinnati Design Awards (CDA) program.

Your Kiplinger Connection
AIArchitect links members to three stories a week from the pages of the renowned Kiplinger Letter. (Nonmembers may subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter by following this link.)
Global Business • U.S. Economy • Telecom (members only)

PROJECT WATCH
“Arts Block” Project Unites Diverse Interests
Schwartz/Silver Architects Inc., in association with New Orleans-based Eskew + Dumez + Ripple as executive architects, and with Jerry M. Campbell & Associates, Baton Rouge, is designing the Shaw Center for the Arts, a multi-use museum and arts complex to give a new cultural focus to Louisiana’s capital. The $50 million project comes from collaboration among Louisiana State University, city and state governments, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, private businesses, and the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. Instead of clearing the site of existing buildings—which include a 1930s parking garage—the “Arts Block” project incorporates them, interweaving new structures between and on top. Facing an open plaza at street level is the performing arts center outfitted in the same translucent glass as the museum. (Photo courtesy of the architect.)

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Opportunities for Associates, Young Architects, and Interns
The National Associates Committee is hosting its annual awards program, with submissions due February 28. The Young Architects Forum (YAF) invites nominations for the 2003 YAF Leadership Awards, due March 19. And ArchVoices is holding its first essay competition, with proposals due March 14.

BEST PRACTICES
Emergency Department Design
What considerations do physicians have when planning a new or renovated emergency-care department? Jon Huddy, AIA, tackles that question in a new book published by the American College of Emergency Physicians. Here are a few excerpts. (members only)

Mentor/Mentee Program Launched
The AIA launched “Mentoring: A Journey in Collaborative Learning,” a new online service designed to match mentors with mentees based on personal profiles capturing specific interests, experience, and expertise, on February 14. The program will assist in facilitating AIA members’ personal and career development through relationships with role models who share their interests. The program strives to serve AIA members through positive social, professional, and academic networking and occupational guidance. For an initial fee of $50, mentors and mentees will find partners to help them achieve both personal and professional goals. Click here and enter “AIA Architect” as the organization code for more information.

The Society of Architectural Historians Is Looking for a Few Good Architects
The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), a CES registered provider, invites the support and participation of AIA members who are interested in the study, interpretation, and protection of historic buildings, sites, and cities.

It’s Solar Decathlon Time Again
The student competition to build a solar-sufficient house on the Capital Mall last fall will be the feature of a one-hour documentary Sunday, February 23 from 6:00–7:00 p.m. EST on the Do It Yourself Network. As if that weren’t enough, a new DIY series, “Solar Solutions Workshop,” begins March 3 at 10 p.m. (Check the DIY site for local availability.) Registration for the next Solar Decathlon in 2005 is ongoing until the end of April 2003. Click here to register. (Pictured here is Auburn University’s 2002 entry under construction, from the 2002 Decathlon Web site.)

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