A/E/C New York City Networking Opportunity

Attention all NYC-metro based architecture, engineering, and construction professionals:

I have been a part of the AEC-NYC Professionals Circle networking group since its inception in late 2008 and currently serve on its board. We just wrapped up a membership feedback period and we are looking forward to implementing the ideas generated to make the 2010 events even better.

There are a lot of these types of groups, so here is a little bit about what makes AEC-NYC different:

• No structured networking, just casual conversation and mingling
• No lectures or panel discussions to sit through
• Great venues, food, and beverage supplied by the AEC-NYC sponsors
• Opportunities to meet people in the building industry, but not in your specific field

I highly recommend that you consider the upcoming event on March 11, or any future event to check out the group for yourself.

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AEC-NYC Professionals Circle Networking Event
Sponsored by HAWORTH: Thursday, March 11th, 6 - 9 PM, $5
Meet · Engage · Succeed

HAWORTH
125 Park Avenue
2nd Floor (entrance on 42nd st)
New York, NY
10017

Registration is REQUIRED. Security at the
front desk is strictly enforced.
Please register here.

About AEC-NYC Professionals Circle
The AEC-NYC Professionals Circle is a regional networking community that brings together the finest architecture, engineering and construction professionals in the New York City area. Taking much of the “work” out of networking, our monthly social events provide ample opportunity for members to make meaningful, industry-specific connections.

Social networking is all the rage these days, but there is nothing like meeting face to
face, exchanging ideas in person and making real, live connections with people who share your professional interests and goals. We welcome you to join our growing network and discover for yourself how the AEC-NYC Professionals Circle can help you further your business goals through the power of relationships. You never know where you’ll meet your next valuable contact.

Registration is REQUIRED. Security at the front desk is strictly enforced.
Please register here.

AEC Professionals Circle Website
You will find member profiles, future event announcements and photos.
Join the AEC Professional Circle group on LinkedIn.

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[1016] Architecture is ready. Are you?
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When it Comes to Housing Bottom, Who to Believe?

Picking the bottom of the market may be impossible, but perhaps the conflicting views of 2010 presented in the WSJ.com videos below mean opportunity is out there for intrepid buyers.

This video says foreclosure activity will see a second and third wave in 2010. The first wave was started by poor lending practices, which help create the now-burst bubble. The second wave of foreclosures will come from unemployment and the third wave from the boom-vintage adjustable rate mortgages resetting on underwater homes. Yikes.




All that said, if you still have a job, in most places of the country, housing is affordable relative to historic earning power. This is a powerful, but rarely emphasized metric that Inside the Brackets has written about before in our Moody's Crystal Ball.

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Underwater Homeowners Get the Guilt Trip?

Would you walk away from your mortgage if you knew you owed more than your home was worth? What if you owed significantly more? Turns out a lot of us do.

FEMA recommended homeowner attire?

As New York Times Magazine contributing writer Roger Lowenstein points out, businesses often implore the "strategic default" as a means to minimize losses and bring forward potential returns. Bankruptcy, renegotiation, and contract termination are all cards to be played if free-market circumstances call.

The idea of an individual walking away from a mortgage, though, seems to carry moral implications not emphasized in the high-stakes world of big business deals. Homeowners are being implored by CEOs and politicians to "do the right thing" and honor their contracts even though it could be against the individual's best interests.

Certainly there are economic consequences for an individual defaulting on an underwater mortgage (e.g. foreclosure, personal bankruptcy or damaged credit); so if those consequences are fairly suffered, why the moral argument?

Inside the Brackets wonders if its readers think it's hypocritical for leaders to expect individuals to act a certain way while they run their businesses another. Further, speaking strictly in the long term, is it possible that staying in an underwater mortgage hurts not only the owner, but other homeowners as well?

Let us know what you think. Comment below.

Full NYT Magazine article text: here.

Interesting interactive graph of negative equity mortgages on WSJ.com: here.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mister_tee/ / CC BY 2.0

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[1016] Architecture is ready. Are you?

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Green Condos: Proving You Right or Wrong?

Is your opinion that spending time and money building sustainable, "green" condos is a risk that further compounds an already dangerous investment, or is it a perfect differentiation in a market of commodity that will lead your project to success?

Check out this video about one of the greenest residential buildings in NYC, The Visionaire, also previously featured on Inside the Brackets here and see what you think.


Video from McGraw-Hill

It should be pointed out that despite all of the 2008-2009 economic headwinds, The Visionaire sales team reports great results in this Bloomberg.com article by John Gittelsohn.

"Starwood is the majority investor in the Visionaire, a $300 million, 35-story apartment building that opened in October 2008. Apartments there have been selling at a pace of more than one per week, with six units closing in November, said Christopher Albanese, principal of the Albanese Organization that developed the project.
'In this market, selling more than one a week is
like hotcakes,' he said. Almost 60 percent of the Visionaire’s 250 apartments
have been sold, Albanese said."

Perhaps this is further evidence that well-designed, well-built, sustainable, and correctly priced units will vindicate a development strategy that may look riskier upfront because it is different from the norm. This is Albanese's third green residential tower in NYC, so clearly they believe they are onto something good.

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Andrew C. Wilson, AIA, LEED AP is a Principal at [1016] Architecture in Chicago and New York. Contact him to discuss sustainable, infill development opportunities in either of these cities.

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Wrightwood Crossing: Progress Update 2

Construction continues at a healthy clip over at Wrightwood Crossing, a GCorp Development project and [1016] Architecture design. This project is LEED registered with the certification goal of Platinum.

The activity is attracting attention in a neighborhood that otherwise has few projects under development at this time, and was recently featured on the blog ChiTown Living in a post called Wrightwood Crossing Rises.

Despite being a 19-unit building, efforts were made to ensure that the street frontage of the building fit the scale of the neighborhood. From the front, only the two and a half stories shown here will be visible. The third floor and penthouse levels will be set well back from this wall.

The deep site will be well landscaped with native plants and trees along this long side. The corners of the building (now empty) will be high-performance window walls for floor-to-ceiling views.

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Let us know: Think about it, comment below, then:

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