Full Education Schedule Coral Gables Traditional Building Conference December 1-2, 2021
Schedule as of November 8, 2021, Subject to Revision- We are keeping a close watch on Covid-19 developments. Please check the website for updates
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
8 - 9 am Meet and greet sponsors and breakfast
9-9:15 am Welcome and Introductions
9:15-10:15 am
Affordable by Design: Codes, Classicists and Class
Speaker: Andrés Duany, FAIA; Architect and Co-Founder, DPZ Co-Design, Miami, Florida
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
In that great westward migration between the Civil War and the New Deal the United States managed to house more than 30 million penniless immigrants. This achievement was without government subsidy and in a manner that, however crude in its beginnings, created wealth within an urban pattern of development and community. The new towns and cities that were a result of this growth were soon graced by civic buildings as good as those in Europe. Today, in stark contrast, we have a wicked problem of affordable housing, regardless of how much government money is thrown at it.
It is surely useful to study this period, and the presentation will discuss some of these practices, so different from those today—comparing bureaucratic hurdles, applicable codes, complex building types available for bootstrapping, and the protocols of successional building.
However stimulating, the presentation will not urge engaging the reforms necessary to reinstate those processes; as those would involve the kind of long-term commitment and skill sets not normally associated with traditionalist architects. They have little to do with the beauty of design and more with the sordid involvement of vested interests. Rather, there will be a technical presentation of some of the existing code loopholes, permit bypasses and hacks that may allow housing design that costs less.
The most evident of them, and possibly the most controversial, are those associated with the manufactured home industry; yes. . . the mobile home! This industry delivers 28 percent of the affordable housing in this country—and without subsidy. This branch of housing production has solved many of the technical problems of affordability and still struggles with the cultural problems of acceptance. There is a paradox of municipalities desperately in need of the price points delivered by mobile homes that nevertheless reject this most evident solution; civic leaders often fear that they will be future slums. There is no situation more in need of better designers—more cunning ones—and risk takers.
The speaker, despite being a winner of the Driehaus Prize, will describe "the lore” of this orphaned branch of architecture, a tradition in a minor key. He will illustrate the concepts by his own recent work and misadventures in the belly of the industry.
Learning Objectives
Explain the benefits of vanished building types that support spaces for home and work and tenants—with the aim of generating income.
Discuss ways to hack codes to allow affordability by design, rather than by means of subsidy.
Describe the parallel universe of building regulations that enable mobile homes, park models and tiny houses.
Disclose the aesthetic camouflage derived from traditional architecture--especially the Craftsman Style and Mid-Century Modern Manner that would extend acceptance and even glamour, to a socioeconomic range not normally provided with the option.
10:15-10:40 Networking Break
10:40-11:45 am
Culture, Climate and Classicism: A Tradition of Beauty and Durability in Florida
Speakers: Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA; Co-founder DPZ CoDesign, Miami, FL; and Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Master in Urban Design Program, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida; and Marieanne Khoury-Vogt, Partner, Khoury-Vogt Architects, Seacrest, FL
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
Florida has a distinguished architectural history that has blended Neo-Classical, Spanish, Mediterranean, English, and Caribbean elements since the late 16th century. Bearing wall masonry is a preferred method of construction for response to hurricane season, and it lends itself well to the stylistic choices of Floridians who revel in the warmth of Florida’s climate. By building historically and anew with traditions in mind, the same buildings that capitalize on the cooling power of ocean breezes can also repel brute hurricane forces. Our speakers will explain why classicism and traditional building practice endure in Florida.
Learning objectives
Explain in general terms, Florida’s architectural heritage.
Relate historic building practice to success in climate response for hurricanes, heat and humidity, and durable building materials.
Compare and contrast historic neighborhood development to new developments that reinforce pedestrian friendly design and unified design benefits for the enjoyment of building occupants.
Recognize Coral Gables’ planning department and its published design guidelines that recommend historical precedent for neighborhood development and single-family home design.
11:45 am -12:20 pm
Storm Windows: Mitigating Heat Loss and Sound Transmission
Speaker: David Martin, President, Allied Window, Cincinnati, OH
.5 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
Storm windows have been a traditional approach to protecting primary windows and improving the ability of buildings to hold heat since the 19th century in the United States. As noise levels have risen from traffic and people in dense urban environments, they have increasingly been used to aid noise reduction as well.
Learning Objectives
List ways in which storm windows improve energy performance for historic and new buildings.
Mitigate noise thorough the use of storm window installations for improved occupant comfort.
12:20-1:10 pm Lunch
1:10-2:15 pm
Environmental Product Declarations for Historic Preservation: Intuition versus Data
Speaker: Jill H. Gotthelf, AIA, FAPT; WSA Modern Ruins, Inc.
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
In the race for climate action, intuition and opinions may serve to plant seeds vital to innovation; in the end, though, we all benefit from solutions that are grounded in supporting data. This long-held belief within the preservation community – and an embrace of innovations that support it – will continue to serve us well as we recognize the expanding contributions of heritage buildings toward the global initiatives of environmental stewardship and climate action.
It’s crucial that we critically and honestly examine the decisions we make during the process of restoring and adapting heritage resources, continually evaluating, and refining the environmental footprint of our projects. The imperative for a unified, readily accessible data bank on environmental impacts of materials and products used in historic preservation has long been a pressing need within the preservation community.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD's) – the life cycle story of a product in a single comprehensive report – have become an increasingly important and reliable tool that affords a better understanding of products' sustainable qualities and environmental repercussions. EPD's help us to make decisions that are better informed and more defensible. Employing standardized methods of evaluating and labeling, EPD's are designed to provide transparency—disclose and disseminate—the environmental impacts of building materials in a scientifically-credible, well organized, and easily comparative format. Although they have been widely used in the green building industry, EPD's remain relatively unknown and under-utilized within the field of historic preservation. You will learn how to harness this reporting system in this session.
Learning Objectives
Recognize what an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is and how it is developed.
Compare the carbon footprint and sustainable manufacturing practices of products and the benefits of standardized EPD labeling.
Formulate approaches for integrating EPD's into to historic preservation projects.
Identify current limitations in EPD data for heritage building products and how these can be overcome.
2:15-2:50 pm
Garage Doors and the Impact of Hurricanes
Speaker: Joe Carlson, General Manager, Cambek and Lauri Wilson, Territory Manager, Cambek, River Falls, WI
.5 AIA Health, Safety, Welfare Learning Unit
Garages are integral to the design of homes today. Great care is often taken to design compatibly with traditional homes. This session will explore in detail the effort to meet Miami-Dade’s stringent codes for hurricane response for garage door design.
Learning Objectives:
Consider species, design, track selection and other factors when designing in areas prone to hurricanes.
Balance aesthetics with durability and performance when designing garage doors in traditional and historic settings that are also prone to hurricane damage.
2:50-3:15 pm Break
3:15-5:30 pm Tours
Pre-registration required. Choice of one tour from the following three tours; each tour will be repeated on December 2, so each attendee will have the choice of two tours over 2 days.
Each tour has been submitted for credit review to the AIA.
Thursday, December 2, 2021
8 - 9 am Meet and greet sponsors and breakfast
9-9:15 am Welcome and Introductions
9:15-10:45 am
Monuments, Diversity and Design: A moderated panel discussion
Moderator: Lori Garrett, FAIA, LEED Green Associate; Senior Principal and Vice President; Glavé and Holmes, Richmond, VA
Panelists: Steven W. Semes, Professor, School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame, H. Randall Holmes, FAIA, Senior Principal and President, Glavé and Holmes Architecture, Richmond, VA; W. Taylor Reveley, IV, President, Longwood University, Farmville, VA; and Christopher J. Howard, Architect and Assistant Professor of Architecture and Planning, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
1.5 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
For millennia, classical ideals have contributed to a rich history of iconography in monuments, landscapes, and buildings. Art and architecture, like words, can be used to inspire or demoralize people. Several tragic deaths in 2020 gave rise to a summer of heated debate about the role of monuments in the United States. The removal of Confederate monuments was at the center of last summer’s conflict. Monuments including Native Americans came under scrutiny as well. Where are we in 2021 and how did we get here? Can other cultures shed light on guiding our decisions? How do we move forward in design? How do artists, architects, and other design professionals work with their clients to tell the whole truth and serve diversity and inclusion? Join a panel with a depth of experience: a university architectural school professor, architect, and historian; a university president and several architects share their perspectives on setting a course into this difficult conversation with clients and constituents.
Learning Objectives
Explain the rich history of traditional design and the desire to convey ideals.
Recognize that there are moral and aesthetic judgements made when designing monuments and buildings that convey an appropriate sense of place.
Consider ways to tell a complete narrative from multiple perspectives.
Compare and contrast the choices for controversial monuments including removal and the resulting presence of absence; relocation to museums for interpretation; and maintaining them either with or without additions or creating new installations.
10:45 – 11:10 Networking Break
11:10 am 12:15 pm
A 1901 Townhouse for the 21st Century- A Case Study
Manuel G. Mergal, AIA, LEED-AP; Mergal Architecture and Design, New York, NY
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
This session will focus on substantial rehabilitation of a town house for multi- occupant shared living. The speaker’s architectural firm was commissioned to rehabilitate a 15,000 square foot townhouse on Riverside Drive in New York City. Designed by Janes and Leo in 1901, the townhouse was originally a single-family home that now serves 12 members of a Catholic residential study center similar to a monastery. The owner agreed that that while the building needed new heating, ventilating, a six-story elevator requiring a code variance for residential use, three new stairs, upgraded electrical systems and an en-suite bathroom for every bedroom, that this was a preservation project; the building needed to retain its historic fabric and new work should match old. The building is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1973. The commission would review and ultimately approve new windows, hose bibbs, mechanical grills, a bird deterrent system, a roof bulkhead and railings, exterior masonry restoration, the restoration of the mansard roof and interior modifications.
Learning Objectives
Explain the planning and development of a complex preservation project with an end goal to improve comfort, safety, and accessibility for a shared residential religious community.
Describe both the design process and regulatory review process for some complex code challenges- a variance for a residential elevator with six stops, upgraded electrical systems, HVAC with 25 separate zones, and multiple new stairs for egress requiring fire doors and rated fire walls.
Summarize the concerns raised during review by a preservation commission and how the concerns were resolved.
Apply lessons learned to other construction projects that address energy savings, code compliance, accessibility, and occupant comfort
12:15-12:55 pm Lunch
12:55 pm -2:00 pm
Incorporating New Technologies in Historic Buildings- Case Studies for Comfort, Conservation and Codes
Speaker: Aaron C. Ruby, AIA; Revival Architecture, Inc.; Scott, Arkansas
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
The speaker will present two projects completed recently involving major renovations and additions to early 20th century historic buildings located in Arkansas. The Mississippi County Courthouse located in Blytheville and the Tushek Building Renovation (now City Hall), located in Lake Village. Both projects made the most of retaining original building fabric while introducing new technologies that would improve their service to today's needs. We will discuss new HVAC systems, insulation, lighting, accessibility, life safety and occupant comfort and control of their immediate environments. One project earned LEED certification and was exhibited by USDA at one of their annual conferences for best practices in investing in small town downtowns. Both projects find opportunities for incorporating the history of their communities within the halls though use of exhibits and storytelling.
Learning Objectives
Recognize the main challenges of renovating existing historic buildings for contemporary use.
Assess the specific challenges of inserting modern HVAC systems into early 20th century solid masonry envelopes.
Strategize about how retrofitting historic downtown buildings can contribute to the sustainability of communities.
Devise methods to manage changes in building accessibility, security, and occupant comfort in today’s work-place environment.
2:00-2:35 pm
The Carbon Impact of Reglazing vs. Replacing Windows
Speaker: Kyle Sword, Business Development Manager, Pilkington, North America; NSG; Toledo, OH
.5 AIA Health Safety Learning Unit
This session will look at the carbon impact of different window restoration treatments. The course will compare the embodied and operating carbon impacts of window restoration, secondary glazing, and replacement windows as well as emerging glazing technologies. An in-depth case study analysis will explain the full carbon impact of each alternative in terms of material selection and ongoing operational efficiency.
Learning Objectives
Describe which treatment has the lowest impact on embodied carbon and the benefits provided by emerging glazing materials.
Explain how the historic restoration of existing windows can provide climate change benefits in addition to the preservation of the building aesthetics.
2:35 pm-2:55 pm Networking Break
2:55- 3:30 pm
Clay Tile Roofing: Durable, Renewable, and Disaster-Resistant
Speaker: Dan Harris, National Market Manager, Commercial and Institutional, Ludowici, New Lexington, OH
.5 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
Clay tile has been chosen for roofing and cladding for thousands of years because it has proven to be a long-lived building material. It is produced from earth and can be recycled when it no longer performs as a building material, usually after 100 or more years in service. This session will explore the material and its response to climate and fire.
Learning Objectives
List sustainability and durability features of this traditional roofing material.
Consider the natural fire-resistance of clay tile when choosing roofing and cladding.
3:45-5:30 pm tours
Pre-registration required. Choice of one tour from the following three tours; each tour will be repeated on December 2, so each attendee will have the choice of two tours over 2 days.
Each tour has been submitted for credit review to the AIA.
See schedule for December 1 to review description and learning objectives for each tour.