FILARSKI/architecture.planning.research

I am very proud and privileged to conduct another national disaster responder training through the AIA/California Governor's Office of Emergency Services today, March 20th and tomorrow March 21st. I will be joined in this training by my good friends and colleagues, the esteemed Will Robarge AIA, and the incredible Paola Capo and Caroline Willauer from AIA national staff. DISASTERS ARE NOT GOING AWAY...WE NEED ALL HANDS - AND THE DESIGN MINDS OF ARCHITECTS - ON DECK!

As an integral element of the American Institute of Architects '24 Leadership Summit, visits to our elected Congressional leaders in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House have been a vital part of the Leadership Summits and its Grassroots predecessor for decades. This year's visit with U.S. Representative Gabe Amo is significant as Representative Amo is the newest member of Congress, being elected to in a special election, with a large field primary, to succeed former Representative David Cicilline. As you can see in the photo with Rep. Amo, my tie was askew from taking off my name tag lanyard too quickly while going through security. Our discussions were so engaging and robust, no one noticed...or everyone was too polite to tell me I did not know how to properly wear a tie. Tie issues aside we did discuss the AIA priorities, including tax refrom on research and development tax credits, affordable housing, more efficient and effective structures for financing housing, carbon and de-carbonization. As we asked all our elected officials in our visits the question, "What can the AIA assist you with, or do for your legislation initiatives?" Representative Amo responded with a very intriguing answer which I had never heard in recent times. He said that he would like the AIA to become more involved as a voice in important issues that are not necessarily in the traditional "lanes" of architects or the AIA. I plan to follow up with him on that idea and challenge when I see him back in Rhode Island...which is 3% bigger at low tide. (that's low tide, not low tie...!)
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As an integral element of the The American Institute of Architects '24 Leadership Summit, visits to our elected Congressional leaders in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House have been a vital part of the Leadership Summits and its Grassroots predecessor for decades. This year's visit with U.S. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. Frank Mruck FAIA and I are pictured here with one of the best members of the United States Senate. Frank and I were not able to meet with Senator Reed last year as he was Chairing a meeting of the Senate Arms Services Committee, and he is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. We discussed the AIA priorities and also the Senator's strong concern for housing and affordable housing. I expressed my perspective that design is not the issue, as architects have the designs, but the burdensome stacking of financial packages leads to stretching the development time and adds unnecessary costs to the cost of housing production, especially for community non-profits. To that end Senator Reed commented on the supply chain impacts for construction in general and housing in particular. Frank offered his thoughts and expertise to the Senator and his staff on the issue of carbon and de-carbonization in the construction sector and how architects and product manufacturers are approaching carbon.
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As an integral element of the American Institute of Architects '24 Leadership Summit, visits to our elected Congressional leaders in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House have been a vital part of the Leadership Summits and its Grassroots predecessor for decades. This year's visit with U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse encompassed special meaning as Frank and I were privileged and honored to be joined by the AIA's 100th and the 2024 President of the AIA the incomperable Kimberly Dowdell AIA, NOMAC, the excellent Alexander Cochran, Esq. and Anne Law, Esq. of the AIA, and the excellent staff members of the Senator. We discussed in depth the AIA priorities, including the proposed research & development tax credit amendments and its complexity in legislative negotiations, federal design, appropriate fee compensation for increasingly complex Federal projects, and carbon/de-carbonization in general and particularly in the construction sector.

Pictured with Senator Whitehouse are seated left to right: Alexander Cochran, Esq., Chief Advocacy Officer of the AIA; Kenneth J. Filarski FAIA, LEED FELLOW, Candidate for AIA At-Large Director;
standing left to right: Anne Law, Esq., Managing Director, Public & Federal Affairs of the AIA; Frank Mruk FAIA, Past President AIA/Rhode Island; Kimberbly Dowdell AIA, NOMAC, 2024 President of the AIA; United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island.
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I am honored, humbled, and very proud to be part of this historic legislation...

HURRAY!
THE GREEN BUILDINGS ACT - PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY & RESILIENCE AWARD - 2022 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION/RHODE ISLAND

link to The Green Buildings Act, Chapter 37-24:
https://lnkd.in/eQrEVihk

CONGRATULATIONS to Kenneth J. Filarski FAIA, LEED FELLOW Chair, U.S. Green Building Council Rhode Island, author of the bill; Representative Terri Cortvriend Prime Bill Sponsor, RI House of Representatives; Senator Louis P. DiPalma, Prime Bill Sponsor, RI Senate; Representative David A. Bennett, Chairman, RI House Environment & Natural Resources Committee; Senator Frank Lombardo III, Chairman, RI Senate Committee on Housing Municipal Government; Representative K. Joseph Shekarchi, RI Speaker of the House; Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio, RI President of the Senate; Governnor Daniel McKee, Governor of Rhode Island.

Gratitude for their vision and support also goes to the Legislation Sponsors and Co-Sponsors: H-7278 Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Ruggiero, Bennett, Kislak, Edwards, Carson, Speakman, Knight, Fogarty, and Potter; S-2700,Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Euer, Coyne, Kallman, and DiMario

OVERVIEW

The 2022 Green Buildings Act (Act) improves Rhode Island’s historic Green Buildings Act, aligning and integrating it with Act On Climate RIGL 42-6.2, fully incorporating LEED with LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES - The Sustainable SITES Initiative into the Act - the first state to do so.

LEED, LEED-ND, and SITES fulfills the RIGL 37-24 statutory requirements for high performance green building standards for our public buildings, public structures, and the public real property of ourcherished landscapes with a continuum and guiding framework of sustainability. The 2022 Green Buildings Act expands and strengthens the Legislative Findings; expands and strengthens the Definitions; expands and strengthens the Green building standards; expands and strengthens the Administration and reports, including the reporting requirements, and the Green Buildings Advisory Committee. The 2022 Green Buildings Act (Act) is in concert with, supports, provides a methodology, and a strong strategic tool to implement Act On Climate, achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Legislative Findings are significantly strengthened integrating it as a strategic tool to achieve the reduction targets and the other objectives of Act On Climate, but also stating that the Act will "improve the quality of our individual and shared human experience and environmental justice for all citizens of the state."

webserver.rilin.state.ri.us

This is exciting, opening up many possibilities.

MIT engineers build load-bearing structures using tree forks instead of steel joints Discarded tree forks could replace load-bearing joints in architecture projects using a construction technique developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

USGBC guide to the infrastructure law…

USGBC shares guide to new federal infrastructure law | U.S. Green Building Council Explore the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act most relevant to USGBC members.

Fantastic choice!

Today, the American Institute of Architects Board of Directors announced Lakisha Woods, CAE, will be the next AIA EVP/CEO. Please join us in congratulating Lakisha and welcoming her to the AIA community.

Read our full announcement. → https://bit.ly/3DARW0n