Projects Archives - a/e ProNet

AIA Names Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects Nation’s Top Architecture Firm

By Lynda

pexels-photo-196642

Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, an a/e ProNet client hailing from San Francisco, California, has received the coveted AIA Architecture Firm Award for 2017.

“Firm principals William Leddy, FAIA, Marsha Maytum, FAIA, and Richard Stacy, FAIA, began collaborating in 1983 and the belief that architecture is the synthesis of poetics, economics, technologies, and meaning has always been embedded in the firm’s culture. Dedicated to addressing issues of resource depletion, climate change, historic preservation, and social equity, LMSA and its leadership clearly demonstrate that architects can help their communities adapt to a complex and rapidly changing world. To that end, the firm’s proficiency in diverse building types – from affordable housing to the adaptive reuse of historic structures – has been recognized with more than 140 design awards and are only one of three firms to have ever received eight AIA COTE Top Ten awards.”

Founded in 2001 by principals Marsha Maytum, Bill Leddy and Richard Stacy, LMSA is well known in the region for its long list of modern, sustainable projects. This includes the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley and North Beach branch library, as well as multiple low-income apartment buildings in the Bay Area. LMSA’s Plaza Apartments and Rene Cazeneve Apartments house “formerly homeless residents who need on-site support services to try to rebuild their lives.”

As noted by SFGate.com, “In announcing the selection, the AIA praised Leddy Maytum Stacy for its ‘highly influential work that advances issues of social consciousness and environmental responsibility.’ Only two other San Francisco-based firms have received the national firm award in the past 45 years: EHDD in 1986 and Gensler in 2000.”

LMSA has consistently ranked among the Top 50 firms each year since 2011. It considers itself “a teaching practice committed to developing complete, well-rounded architects, leaders in the profession and effective global citizens.” Read more in Architect Magazine.

Congratulations to Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects on this honor from the AIA! Your commitment to social consciousness and environmental responsibility is an inspiration.

Shout-out Credit

Leslie Pancoast, CIC, RPLU
Vice President IOA Insurance Services – Pleasanton, CA
Email: Leslie.Pancoast@ioausa.com / Phone: 925-416-7862

Two a/e ProNet Clients Win AIA Indiana Design Awards

By Lynda

Normal Hall in the evening shortly before unveiling. Photo credit: arcDESIGN

Last month, AIA Indiana announced the winners of their annual awards. Happily, a couple of familiar names were among the group.

ONE 10 STUDIO Architects came away with two awards. The first was a Merit Award (Preservation / Adaptive Reuse / Reservation) for the Marion County Public Defender Agency project.

Jury Comments:

Though entered as an adaptive reuse, this project was the strongest interior as well. A small number of elements (red doors, wood ceiling panels, white walls) are employed to create spaces that elevate the program – a public defender’s agency. The new systems are clearly articulated and juxtaposed with the historic shell that contains them.

ONE 10 STUDIO also achieved a Citation Award – New Construction (Project cost greater than $1 million) for their Reliant Partners project.

Jury Comments:

This small commercial building is expressed as a simple, wood frame pavilion placed upon a masonry plinth. This strategy allows the lower level bank to appear (appropriately) secure, while allowing the upper level office space to be airy and filled with daylight. The scale of the building appears to complement the neighborhood without copying the neighbors.

Also honored with a Citation Award (Preservation / Adaptive Reuse / Renovation) was arcDESIGN for their project at Indiana State University Normal Hall.

Jury Comments:

This project lovingly restores a series of public spaces lost and hidden by years of ill-conceived renovations. The preservation component of the project was thoroughly researched and painstakingly executed – recapturing the grandeur of this academic building. The work was very clearly communicated allowing the extent of the renovation to be completely understood.

Congratulations to all the Indiana design firms who won! And good luck going forward.

Shout-out Credit:

Holly Gill-Gaither, CIC
Agent, Professional Liability
Walker & Associates
Email: holly@walkeragency.com / Phone:317-759-9320

Hargreaves Wins Rosa Barba Prize for Int’l Landscape Design

By Lynda

In Barcelona last month, a/e ProNet client Hargreaves Associates received the Rosa Barba International Landscape Prize for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Senior Principal Mary Margaret Jones was on hand to collect the 15,000 Euro prize and spoke briefly about the project, which she helped design for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The park converted an abandoned industrial area of the capital. After years of pollution damage, the riverbank needed rehabilitation, and Hargreaves found a way to do it. At 270 acres, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is the largest park created in Europe in more than 150 years.

As Jones said, the goal was to develop the area in a beautiful, sustainable way. Hargreaves Associates collaborated with London’s LDA Design on the innovative master plan. They combined traditional British landscapes with forward-thinking trends in green design. They hoped it would continue to be an asset to the city in the years after the Games had come and gone. The theme of the 9th International Biennial of Landscape Architecture was “Tomorrow Landscapes,” so the olympic park was the perfect candidate for the prize.

Learn more about the development of the park

Watch a short film on the creation of the park posted by the UK Landscape Institute. Or read more about the design at the Hargreaves website:

“The head gardener of the Olympic Park says,”This may have the feel of a Chelsea show garden, where everything has been grown to be at its best for the same limited period of time, but it really isn’t. After the Games, everything will be allowed to flower at its natural time of year. I’ve been a gardener for 35 years and I’d always previously worked on private estates because most municipal gardens are a bit crap. But this park is absolutely stunning.”

Congratulations to Hargreaves Associates! Read more about the award and ceremony at World-Architects.com.

Shout-out Credit:

Leslie Pancoast, CIC, RPLU
Managing Partner
IOA Insurance Services – Pleasanton, CA
Email: Leslie.Pancoast@ioausa.com / Phone: 925-416-7862

Design Professionals and the Give-and-Take of “Standard Contracts”

By Lynda

The word standard implies many things. A bar to be cleared; a rubric to be followed. But for design professionals, the word becomes tricky when applied to contracts. Project owners often want to keep things simple by requiring so-called Standard Contracts for all parties. This is a problem for architects and engineers, especially from an insurance perspective.

Construction contracts cause problems for design professionals.

The following are a few Frequently Asked Questions we see from architects and engineers on this issue:

My project Owner insists on using their own contract for hiring my professional services. They are adamant this is a Standard Contract. How should I respond?

There is no such thing as a Standard Contract. Be sure to read each contract submitted by your clients carefully. You need to understand both the client’s expectations and your firm’s rights and responsibilities. It is a good idea to have all owner-drafted agreements reviewed by your attorney and/or insurance broker. This will help to determine whether you are accepting responsibility beyond what common law would hold you to in the absence of the agreement. If, for example, you agree to accountability beyond the protection afforded by your professional liability insurance, that’s a problem.

When I perform professional services for a Contractor in lieu of an Owner, should I be concerned?

Yes. Construction contracts are not meant to be used in this arrangement; they are not designed to meet the needs of the design professional.

What are some of the problems with using “construction contracts” for design services?

Construction contracts are problematic for design professionals. A General Contractor’s contract with a project Owner includes certain requirements (e.g. means, methods, procedures, sequences, safety, etc.). These requirements trickle down to construction subcontractors the verbiage of construction contracts. Beyond that, none of these requirements meet the test of what a design professional should required to do on the same job.

Contract document libraries available via the AIA and EJCDC can be a good place for design professionals to begin. These are standard in the sense that they are templates. However, it’s still important to seek individualized guidance from your attorney and/or insurance broker.

What are some of the other problems with utilizing “construction contracts” for design services?

Most construction contracts contain warranties/guarantees, and some have performance standards. To our knowledge, all professional liability insurance policies for design professionals exclude coverage for warranties/guarantees and (likely) performance standards. Remember: if you commit your design firm to more responsibility than the law expects of you, your insurance policy cannot protect you the way that it should.

We hope you’ve found this helpful. As always, be sure to contact your local a/e ProNet broker if you have further questions.

Farm-to-Table Community–The Cannery–Wins Gold Nugget Award

By Lynda

The Cannery–a master-planned, “farm-to-table” community in Davis, California featuring neighborhoods joined by beautiful sets of trails and bike paths–has received the Gold Nugget Award for the Best Residential Housing Community of the Year. Congratulations to a/e ProNet client Jeffrey DeMure + Associates, an integral part of the outstanding team of design professionals responsible for the win!

Shout-out Credit:

Leslie Pancoast, CIC, RPLU
Managing Partner
IOA Insurance Services – Pleasanton, CA
Email: Leslie.Pancoast@ioausa.com / Phone: 925-416-7862

Award-Winning Scorpion House Lists for $5.5M

By Lynda

Undoubtedly one of the most dramatic homes in the American Southwest, the so-called Scorpion House has recently been put up for sale in Scottsdale, Arizona. Designed by a/e ProNet client Eddie Jones of Jones Studio in 2001, the 4,700-square foot Scorpion House blends “poured concrete, glass and oxidized titanium panels into a curvilinear plan that spans the desert and boulder outcroppings in an organic form to protect the natural setting.” It holds an impressive roster of design awards, including ‘Gold, Architecture under 5,000 Square Feet’ by The Arizona Home Book Design Excellence Awards. The property has also been featured in Architectural Digest and Desert Living Magazine.

See more beautiful photos of this luxurious private residence on the Xtravaganzi blog.

Shout-out Credit:

Jeff Gerrick
Professional Underwriters of Az., Inc.
Scottsdale, AZ
Ph: 480-483-0440

AIA College of Fellows Elevates Christ J. Kamages of California

By Lynda

Churches, cathedrals, and temples have historically drawn attention for their architectural beauty. Sometimes these buildings took centuries to complete, employing tens of thousands of craftsmen, all to meet the original vision of a single architect, inspired by the great Architect in the sky. It would be a mistake to think that–with the exception of project length and the architect’s scope of services–this has changed. Modern churches and temples continue to rise all over the world, and the architects behind them are often motivated by their own faith. These buildings are often spectacularly intricate, having been designed with a whole and holy purpose in mind.

One architect who has dedicated his practice to the design of such buildings is a/e ProNet client Christ J. Kamages of CJK Design Group in California. Many of the glorious, golden domes of modern Greek Orthodox churches, cathedrals, and missions across the country can be attributed to him. Last month, Mr. Kamages’s 33-year career earned him the honor of being elevated to the AIA College of Fellows at a ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia.

As noted on the CJK Design Group blog:

Established in 1857, the American Institute of Architects is a professional association made up of Architects and a related field, which seeks to “promote the scientific and practical perfection of its members” and “elevate the standing of the profession.” Through the AIA, standards of ethics and business practice have been developed and members hold each other up to maintain the highest standards. Each year, the AIA selects Architects from its membership to be elevated to the status of Fellow. Fellowship is one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow upon a member. Elevation to Fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of the architect as an individual but also elevates before the public and the profession those architects who have made significant contributions to architecture and to society.

Mr. Kamages was one of only 147 architects to be elevated to the College of Fellows this year. Of the 85,000-architect membership, only 3,200 have received this distinction.

Congratulations to Mr. Kamages and his fantastic team. We look forward to seeing many more beautiful designs from you in the years to come!

Shout-out Credit:

Leslie Pancoast, CIC, RPLU
Managing Partner
IOA Insurance Services – Pleasanton, CA
Email: Leslie.Pancoast@ioausa.com / Phone: 925-416-7862

TAT House Wins Architect Mag’s 2014 Annual Design Review Award

By Lynda

An expansive glass wall on the ground floor of the recently renovated TAT House opens onto a chic and spare outdoor living room. The third-floor of the house is wrapped in “an Ipe wood–framed rainscreen,” allowing “interior and exterior glass walls carry the sense of the outdoors throughout the interior.” We want to congratulate Santa Monica architecture firm fleetwood/fernandez on their beautiful design, as well as their clearly deserving win of Architect Magazine‘s top 2014 Annual Design Review Award.

Visit Architect Magazine‘s original post for more photos, elevations, and renderings of this beautiful project.

Shout-out Credit:

Alicia K. Igram, AAI, VP & Branch Rep
Design & Consulting Liability Specialist
IOA Insurance Services – Aliso Viejo, CA
Email: Alicia.Igram@ioausa.com / Phone: 949-680-1789

Subcontract Termination: The right business decision?

By Lynda

Sometimes the grounds for termination are absolutely clear. And sometimes several legal options are available. But when preparing to terminate a subcontract, there’s one more question to ask: Is this the right business decision? We turn to Burns Logan’s Southeast Construction Law Blog for the answer.

The following is an excerpt from a September 2014 post on the blog titled Subcontract Termination: Not for the Faint of Heart:

After a few weeks of poor performance by the stucco subcontractor, my client and I sat down to determine all the possible avenues to resolve the issues. The first thing we did was pull out the subcontract which controlled the stucco subcontractor’s work. We wanted to be sure that the subcontract included all the necessary provisions to allow my general contractor client to remedy the situation. Some of the common default provisions in subcontracts include:

failure to prosecute the work promptly and with due diligence;
failure to prosecute the work in a workmanlike and safe manner;
failure to supply proper supervision;
failure to properly staff the job;
failure to supply materials and equipment of proper quality and quantity;
failure to promptly correct defective or deficient work;
failure to pay sub-subcontractors or suppliers;
failure to maintain the project schedule as directed by the contractor; and
failure to submit proper progress and completion schedules.

We found that this subcontractor had violated many of the standard default provisions in my client’s subcontract. Therefore, we felt we had the proper authority to issue notices of default.

Continue reading “Subcontract Termination: The right business decision?”