AIA Philly Associate Committee - Habitat Philly LEED Homes Tour

Last Thursday, August 22, 2013, AIA Philadelphia Associate Committee of Philadelphia arranged a tour of the three Habitat homes in various states of construction. 

 

We started off at this newly completed row house. Troy Hannagin, project planner at Habitat for Humanity, gave us a brief overview of Habitat for Humanity and how Philadelphia's chapter specifically functions in the city. For this particular house, they combined two rowhouses in order to accommodate a family with four children. They had the dedicated over the weekend - congrats!

Next, we moved across the street where two houses were under way concurrently. 

Here, Troy explained that the Philly Habitat Chapter was very interested in implementing LEED for more of their homes, and that these houses would hopefully acheive LEED Platinum. 

One of the most intriguing methods they used was "Advanced Framing" - in which the traditional framing method reduces wood use by using 2x6 studs 24" on center, window headers are only included in bearing walls, corners only use 2 studs not 3 by implementing dry wall clips, and trusses are aligned with studs.

Example of a window in a bearing wall with header (left) and a window without a header in a non-bearing wall (right).

Example of a corner with dry wall clip circled in green.

Example of stud / truss alignment.

The roof they used pitched trusses even though Philly's neighborhoods tend to have flat roofs. This increases their life to about 30 years, whereas flat roofs tend to have a life closer to 15 years.

The plastic is the attic vent. 

And here is a lovely "shop drawing" of a flashing detail made in field for explanation :)

AIA Associate Philadelphia, thanks so much for hosting this lovely event!

Scenes from the August Happy Hour

Thanks so much for coming out, everyone!

2013 Summer | Philly AYAC Young Alumni Event

The A-School Young Alumni Council (AYAC) would like to welcome the 2013 graduates who are now settling in the area. Let's celebrate with a happy hour! Please join us at Morgan's Pier (map) on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 for snacks and tasty beverages. Look for the UVa banner!

Hope to see you there :D

AYAC | PHILADELPHIA REGION

Fatima Olivieri [MArch] 

Sophia Lee [MArch] 

Sarah Bolivar [B. Urban & Environmnetal Planning] 

Megan Bucknum [MUEP] 

[Attribute: the photo of Morgans Pier came from this flickr user. Thanks for the great photo!]

Alan Metcalfe presents "Out on a Limb" at Morris Arboretum!

 

On Saturday, May 18, thirteen UVa School of Architecture Alumni and friends gathered at Morris Arboretum's "Out on a Limb" with the designer of exhibit, Alan Metcalfe of Metcalfe Architecture and Design.

Alan began by giving us some history and context about Morris Arboretum. Rather than the more rigid style of gardening that is exemplified by Versailles Gardens, the founders John and Lydia Morris preferred the more Picturesque style of the English. 

The challenge was to create an exhibit showcasing trees and their stewardship that could attract a younger clientele who have at their disposal a dizzying array of attention-grabbing video games. And yet, Alan, with a very multidisciplinary team, was able to do so with "Out on a Limb."

Paul Meyer (pictured above), the Executive Director of Morris Arboretum, also dropped by briefly to tell us about the incredible success of "Out on a Limb." When other kinds of funding was dropping off, their membership and visiting rates increased as much as 30%, and he attributes that in strong part to the popularity of this exhibit.

Alan then led us to the ceremonial gateway of the walk. The pathway desires to instill a certain "perception of fear" - that thrill that makes an experience truly memorable, especially for kids. To achieve this sense, Alan and his team explored methods of "dematerializing" the pathway. A parallel goal was to rarefy the pathway to throw the focus on the surrounding trees which are the true subject of the exhibit, but this needed to be balanced by the need to accomodate strollers and absolute safety. What emerged is the structurally-sound walkway that begins as solid wood, and then visually melts underfoot with transparent bar grate and even gives way in a net!

The pavilion emerged as a fascinating dialogue between wood craftsmen and steelworkers. They quite literally had to design a joint that would unify the two trades in one unified whole. 

From the pavilion, we visited the bird's nest, where Alan and his team took great pains to scale the space down to a child's space. The windows and openings, for example, are placed so a seated child can peer out at the wilderness. 

Back through the pavilion, we headed out to hang amongst the tree canopy. There are three layers of netting, and it's tested for safety regularly, but there's really nothing quite like the experience of walking on swaying netting!

We concluded by taking a quick walk underneath the structure where the Metcalfe Architecture and Design team worked hard to design it just as rigorously as every other aspect of this exhibit, even though it was less likely to be seen by the public. Here, Alan explained that components can collapse independently without harming the entire structure. Also, in the event that a nearb tree collapses on to the structure, components can be dismantled and moved elsewhere. They placed the pile footings with utmost care not to destroy near by tree roots. Even the diagonal bracing was designed less symmetrically and more randomly to be more in tune with the natural pattern of tree branches.

We all had a truly wonderful time. Thanks again, Alan Metcalfe!

Photos and article all by Sophia Lee.

Dear A-School Alumni,

The A-School Young Alumni Council (AYAC) would like to invite you to the Philly Alumni Spring Event on Saturday, May 18, from 10am - 12pm at the Morris Arboretum.   Alan Metcalfe, Principal of Metcalfe Architecture & Design, will join us to discuss the Out on a Limb design process.  Spaces are limited so please RSVP by e-mailing Sarah at bolivar.sarah@gmail.com no later than May 10.  Please see the attached PDF for more details.  We hope to see you there!

AYAC | PHILADELPHIA REGION

Fatima Olivieri [MArch] 

Megan Bucknum [MUEP] 

Sarah Bolivar [B. Urban & Environmental Planning] 
Sophia Lee [MArch] 

Dining Out for Life

Left: the donation envelopes (via Instagram - user wilderbahn | Right: Aprons worn by volunteers to give out envelopes, stickers, and pens (photo courtesy of Alaya White)

Dining Out For Life is a fundraising dinner that was founded in Philadelphia by ActionAIDS in 1991 and has expanded to over 60 cities in North America.  This year's event occurred on Thursday, April 25th, at an incredible number of the participating restaurants. Volunteers helped spread awareness of the fundraiser and answered questions about the organization.  A third of each diner’s food bill was donated to local AIDS service organizations, and the volunteers helped raise additional contributions from individual patrons. Anyone that donated $25 or more is eligible for 20% Off Tuesdays for the rest of the year!

Two of our AYAC members participated in "Dining Out for Life." Megan Bucknum had a wonderful time South Philly Taproom, while Sophia Lee joined ActionAIDS volunteers Marian and Alaya at Route 6.

We had a great time, and we collected many additional envelopes from generous customers. Thank you to the restaurant patrons, the restaurants, and to Megan Bucknum for sending this volunteer opportunity along to the rest of the UVa AYAC members! We are making great progress for our "13 in 2013" service initiative!

Left: the donation envelopes (via Instagram - user wilderbahn | Right: Aprons worn by volunteers to give out envelopes, stickers, and pens (photo courtesy of Alaya White)

Above: Volunteers were encouraged to make reservations and invite friends to dine out too - Route 6 has amazing food - I'll definitely be back! (via Instagram - user wilderbahn)

Above: Group Photo - thanks for sending it along, Alaya!

PHS Bare Root Tree Planting

Through the PHS-led One Million Trees initiative, UVa AYAC member Sarah Bolivar and A-School Alumna Lisa Bonitatibus volunteered with Friends of the Schuylkill River Park Tree Tenders to plant street trees, such as small cherry and maple cultivars.  It was a great opportunity to talk to passersby and residents about the importance of our urban forest.  Also, we had a great time digging pits and playing in the dirt.  If you'd like to become a tree tender in your own community, you can visit the PHS webpage.

This is just one of the many volunteer opportunities you can join for "Thirteen in 2013."

 Digging the pit and making sure the hole is wide enough for the roots to stretch

 Another pit!

Admiring our great work :D