Rising Currents:NYC Harbor Boat Tour

"Rising Currents is about getting back to what brought people here.. "Barry Bergdoll, MoMA Chief Curator of Architecture and Design

“The exhibition and our tour is to view New York harbor where the national discussion on infrastructure and climate change intersect....get the idea of the water being up to your feet on deck, does that make it more palpable?”

Through his masterful interweaving of urgent issues, port history, and future visioning Barry Bergdoll led a richly informative tour through the 5 project sites. To transport us to the imaginative terrain of the architects-in-residence, Barry suggests we begin by softening the edges between land and sea and consider getting back to what originally brought people to New York, the port.

Each project team spokesperson offered some solution for us to live, work and grow more at sea:

Matter-of-Factly:

“We carved out some buildings in our design because, they'd be underwater anyway” Susannah Drake with a new sunken forest and coast extension for the East River.

“As you can see, it is currently a brownfield, the strategy is to have it absorb storm surges” Paul Lewis Water Proving Ground project for Liberty State Park

Deferentially,

“Inspired by the Dutch, the resilient inflatable dams are to accommodate the 9 million population growth “ Noah Levy for the New Aqueous City proposed for Sunset Park, Bay Ridge and Staten Island and

Michael Baird's Zone 2 Working Waterline with reuse of WWII buildings to raise green land and process waste water into fuel”

And hopefully:

"In 2050 after they have cleaned the canal, YES, we will again be able eat oysters from the Gowanus Canal" Ben Abelman's Oyster-Tecture.

Any ideas for your harbor? We'd love to hear them.

For the next Center for Architecture boat tour August, check http://bit.ly/aia-ny for details. For more about Rising Currents: Projects for New Yorks' Waterfront, visit MoMA.org/risingcurrents.

@n_o_r_a + @RachelWells re-connecting

AIANY's What You Say and What They See: A Client Perspective on Winning Proposals

"What if you think you aren't qualified or its not your strength? Do you still submit an RFP or would it be better from the client's perspective to wait till another more appropriate assignment?

Last night at the Center for Architecture, I was able to catch the panel discussion, a lot was discussed but I'd like to comment on this question from the audience and the multiple choice is raises:

A. Yes absolutely respond! It's a numbers game, xEntries = A WIN

B. No, save time, time is money! In no way waste the busy clients' time or your own. You won't win something that is not your strength in this environment.

C. Be direct. Call the client. Check fit. Briefly describe where you see yourself as a firm and see if there is a potential opportunity.

So what did the esteemed panel suggest? C, which let's you do A, B and C - respond, save time and check fit! From that check in, one winning firm brought talent from another and executed the engagement together.

Remember, "clients also have a tough time selecting", the panel cautioned. "The drive to elimination begins immediately" so be conscious of that and don't hold back on your strengths for this or some other assignment i.e. "If you have gone to that museum, your whole life, say so!"

What You Say and What They See: A Client Perspective on Winning Proposals

Kirsten Sibilia, Associate AIA, Chief Marketing Officer, Dattner Architects*

Frances Halsband, FAIA, Principal, Kliment Halsband Architects,
Stephen Yablon, AIA, Principal, Stephen Yablon Architects,
Mark Gordon, AIA, Director for Design, NYU Strategic Assessment, Planning+Design;
Faith Rose, Design Liaison, NYC Department of Design + Construction.
*Moderator
http://bit.ly/aia-proposals

The AIANY posts webinars of many events held at the Center for Architecture so if you cannot attend in person you can still hear what was discussed. http://bit.ly/aia-ny;