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1 Save the dates: May 17-1 AIA 2012 National Convention Washington, D.C. June 11 Renate Woods Office Board Meeting Sept Phoenix CONSTRUCT2012 May 21-25, th Annual Arlington Building Professional Institute Inside this issue: President s Notes 2 Curmudgeon s Corner 3 Chapter Officers 6 FY12, Issue 5 Fort Worth CSI Chapter June Meeting Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Please join us at times ten cellar 1100 Foch Street Fort Worth, TX (Map to "times ten cellar") Fort Worth CSI s Award Banquet Social Hour Begins at 5:30 pm Awards: 7:00 pm The event cost is $20.00 per person; includes 2 drink tickets. This meal will consist of hors d oeuvres and is not covered in your annual dues, please pay by check or cash at the door. Please RSVP your attendance by to gyancy@usg.com by 5:00 PM June 11 th. If you have any special needs, please include them in the RSVP. Founding Members at the South Central Regional Conference Larry Brooks, FCSI, Member Emeritus & Albert S Komatsu Architect CSI CSI was founded in March 1948 by the specification writers of government agencies who came together to improve the quality of construction specifications. The Institute s efforts were essential in improving construction specification quality so that it could meet the demands of the post-war construction boom. Development of specifications best practices, promulgating standards/formats, professional education, and certification were cornerstones of the Institute. The Institute grew quickly to include specification writers in the private sector, design professionals concerned about communicating their vision in construction documents, constructors interested in delivering high-quality facilities, and material suppliers with unique solutions to construction challenges. These construction professionals continue to work together today as CSI members to effectively communicate the designers vision, the material producers solutions, and the constructors techniques to create outstanding facilities that meet facility owners objectives. Page 1 of 10

2 President s Notes Our Fort Worth Chapter had the honor of hosting New Frontiers the 2012 CSI South Central Region Conference this past April. I m pleased to report that the reviews have been nothing less than outstanding. The event was held at the Historic Hilton Hotel in downtown Fort Worth and was well attended by fellow CSI SC Region members from Oklahoma and Texas. Our conference was kicked off with a Golf Tournament held at The Golf Club at Fossil Creek. The team of Rick Lueb and Curt Jeanpierre took 1 st Place honors each winning a $75 Academy Gift Card. Morris Johnson won the contest for Closest To The Pin winning a $25 Academy Gift Card. Awards were also presented for Farthest From The Pin, 7 th Place Team, and Last (but not least) Place Team! All reported having a great time! A special Cultural Tour of Fort Worth was planned for those guests not attending the conference activities on Friday. The group enjoyed tours of the Fort Worth Water Gardens and Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The day was completed with a visit to the Kimball Art Museum where they viewed the touring exhibition of The Age of Impressionism: Great French Painting from the Clark. Friday was busy with Continuing Education Sessions scheduled throughout the day. Our speakers were outstanding and some traveled great distances to be there. The featured programs were informative, enlightening and fit perfectly with our New Frontiers theme. We thank each of our honored speakers for their support and contribution to the success of our conference. A Product Show was held at the conference with 39 Sponsors and Exhibitors supporting the event. Two dedicated hours were set aside for visiting the exhibits. A contest drawing was held for our design professionals driving traffic to each exhibit booth. Prizes were presented to the lucky winners at the end of the day! We offer our sincere gratitude to each of our Sponsors and Exhibitors for their tremendous support to our conference! It is their generous support which allows us to keep registration fees at a reasonable level. Thank you again! Fort Worth celebrated our 50 th Anniversary Friday evening with a nice dinner, program and dance. We had to opportunity to recognize and welcome our members, past presidents, and guests from the Region and Institute. We were proud to have two of our Fort Worth Charter Members, Larry Brooks and Al Komatsu as our honored guests. Both were presented engraved clock awards and each shared their special memories of the early infant days serving the chapter. CSI Region Leadership Training was scheduled on Saturday, followed with our Keynote Presentation featuring The Design Region of Cowboys Stadium. Our South Central Region Awards Ceremony followed lunch and we are proud to recognize three of our Fort Worth Chapter Members who received region awards: Certificate of Appreciation: Patrick Connelly Region Commendation Award: Gary Yancy Region Continuous Service Award: Renate Woods Our South Central Region Board Meeting was held Sunday morning and Page 2 of 10

3 New Tryouts for Cheerleaders! before we knew it, the time had come to say our good-byes! It was a great conference and the time flew by much faster than anyone expected. New Tryouts for Cheerleaders! The Hope for Super Bowl XLVI! A Cowboy Stadium VIP Tour followed our Saturday meetings. Attendees had the opportunity to visit Jerry Jones Private Box (Jerry s Perch), the Cowboys and Cowboy Cheerleaders Locker Rooms, and completed with a visit to the field for a picture on the star! New Super SCRC Award! Fort Worth CSI Scholarships Scholarship awards will be presented at the Fort Worth CSI Chapter Meeting in June The Fort Worth CSI Scholarship Committee may award annually a maximum of three scholarships, one each in the amounts of $3,000; $2,000; and $1,000. Page 3 of 10

4 Curmudgeon s Corner - By Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA What happened to the Master Builder? It's time architects accepted reality: They no longer are master builders, and haven't been for a long time. It's nothing to get excited about (well, not too excited), and there is no reason to maintain the fiction that architects are what they were in the good old days. In fact, there is good reason to admit the truth and move on. Building materials have evolved, fabrication and construction have evolved, and the tools of our profession have evolved, yet we continue to create and use construction documents the same way we have done for nearly two hundred years, simply because that's what we have done for nearly two hundred years. And, even though architects do less now than they did many years ago, we maintain the fiction that architects are master builders. "Heretic!" "Blasphemer!" "How dare you!" "Vile person!" OK, now that we have that out of the way, let's take a dispassionate look at what architects do, what they did in the past, and what people did before there were architects. I have trouble answering the first question. Although architecture is a licensed profession in much of the world, and the use of the word "architect", or any of its derivative forms, by one who is not licensed, often is prohibited by law, it can be difficult to define what architects do. It may be easier to answer if we look at what architects don't do. Good design should be more than an attractive building. As architects will tell you, good design is based on understanding the client's activities, the spaces those activities require, an understanding of special relationships and perception, and familiarity with a multitude of building materials and products. It is all of those things, but even that is not enough. Good design must keep water and weather out, and control light, heat, and humidity; it must consider durability and upkeep of the products used, and the access needed to maintain building systems; it must include selection of the optimum structural, mechanical, and electrical systems; it cannot ignore permit fees, energy costs, utility costs, or taxes. Good design is total design. Unfortunately, architects gradually have given away, or had taken from them, just about everything not directly related to appearance. As we will see, there has been good reason for some of this, while other things have slipped away because they were seen as too difficult or uninteresting. One of the big changes we have seen in the last decade has been a move away from the familiar design-bid-build delivery system, to design-build, different forms of construction management, and other delivery systems that de-emphasize the role of the architect. The result has been greater control by contractors, with correspondingly less need for what architects offer. While some decry the growing importance of contractors, there is nothing inherently wrong Page 4 of 10

5 with a process controlled by those who build the building. Put simply, if architects were doing what they claimed they could do, there would be no need to change. Many owners, including public agencies, have embraced design-build. The attraction is obvious - "Why go through all the trouble of dealing with both an architect and a contractor, who will stand back and point fingers at each other when something goes wrong, when I can hire a single entity that is responsible for everything? If I can buy a multi-million dollar airplane, which is far more complex than a building, without the hassle of both design and construction contracts, why should I not do the same for my new building?" In theory, the design and construction parts of a design-build firm have equal standing, but in practice, architects are especially vulnerable. You can't design structure without an engineer, you can't design site work without an engineer, you can't design mechanical or electrical systems without an engineer, and you can't build a building without a contractor - but it's hard to say why you need an architect. Design-build firms often are led by contractors because they're the ones who know the most about construction. They know about costs and schedules, they know how to build, and they know how to hire and employ subcontractors. The only reason they employ design professionals is because states require their certification. Even without that requirement, any contractor interested in self-preservation would still employ engineers to make sure their buildings wouldn't fall down, but what's left that requires an architect? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make sure that doors have at least 32 inches clear opening and that there are enough fire extinguishers to go around. However, because certification is required, we still need an architect on the team. But what is the architect's role? It may now be relegated to drawing and specifying what the contractor wants to build. The architect may have little or no interaction with the owner, other than selecting a few finishes and creating impressive perspectives to sell the job. The real design work may be done by someone who knows nothing about architecture, engineering, or construction, other than relative costs. Certification of construction documents typically consists of the architect signing a statement that says, "I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision " or something to that effect. Question: When the architect is not in charge of the design process, when the contractor drives the decisions, isn't the architect's certification of the drawings and specifications no more than "plan stamping"? To be continued 2012, Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CSC Follow me at TH ANNUAL BUILDING PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE The Building Officials Association of Texas (BOAT) and the Construction Research Center (CRC) at The University of Texas at Arlington have established the Building Professional Institute (BPI), an annual week-long program of quality education and training courses for the Building Professionals, including Builders, Building Designers, Building Officials, Contractors, Municipal Inspectors, Real Estate Inspectors, Architects, Engineers, Plumbers, Fire Protection Personnel, Electricians, Insurance Adjusters, Code Enforcement Personnel, Permit Technicians, and Environmental Health & Safety Personnel. The Twentieth Annual offering of the BPI is scheduled for the week of May 21, 2011, on The University of Texas at Arlington campus in Arlington, Texas, in Nedderman Hall. Registration online: Page 5 of 10

6 Chapter Officers and Chairs FY10 President: Russell Long, CSI, CCPR President Elect: Patrick Connelly CSI Vice President-Technical: Jim Gilliland, CSI, CCCA Vice President-Programs: Robert Popp, III, CSI, CCPR Secretary: Robert F. Smith, CSI, CCCA Treasurer: Renate Woods, CSI Immediate Past President: Waller S. Poage III AIA NCARB CSI CDT CVS Page 6 of 10 Awards: Charlene Wilson CSI CDT RAS BBA cwilson@komatsu-inc.com Education: Waller S. Poage III AIA NCARB CSI CDT CVS waller@valuearch.com Certification: vacant Membership: Gary T. Yancy, CSI, CDT, LEED AP gyancy@usg.com Newsletter Director: John Swink, CSI, (Maryland) PE jswink@acme.com Liaison Director: Gary T. Yancy, CSI, CDT, LEED AP gyancy@usg.com Advertising and Sponsorship Sales Director: Armando Ahumada aahumada@kellymoore.com

7 2012 South Central Regional Conference Exhibitor Sponsors Page 7 of 10

8 2012 South Central Regional Conference Exhibitor Sponsors Page 8 of 10

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10 Chapter and Board Meeting Info Fort Worth Chapter CSI board meetings are typically held on the Monday prior to the Chapter Meeting of each month. Meeting place alternates between the offices of Komatsu Architecture, 3880 Hulen St Ste 300, Fort Worth, TX (evenly numbered months) and the offices of Renate Woods, PE, 1151 W. Pioneer Pkwy., Arlington, Texas (odd numbered months). All members of the Fort Worth Chapter are invited and welcome. Page 10 of 10

11 Fort Worth Chapter of Construction Specifications Institute Visit this month's participating website for drawings to win prizes at the Chapter's meeting! Click on the Logo to visit the exhibitor's website! WEBSITE VISITOR CARD NAME: A/E FIRM: Contributing Sponsor Contributing Sponsor Contributing Sponsor Contributing Sponsor Tote Bag Sponsor Design Professional Attendees ONLY! Drawing will be held at the end of the of the Chapter Meeting. MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!