Nature-Inspired Engineering to Inspire Public at UC Riverside

Water bears. Undersea snails with teeth harder than steel. Shrimp that clobber their prey with “hammer-like clubs that accelerate at speeds exceeding that of a .22 caliber bullet”. Do I have your attention?

These are just a few of the marine animals which engineering professor David Kisailus and his students will bring to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum this weekend. Why? To talk about how these strange, exotic, and even bizarre organisms can inspire human engineering.

The event will showcase research done in Kisailus’s Biomimetics and Nanostructured Materials lab by both Riverside undergraduates and a team of younger students from Mira Loma Middle School.

The event is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the museum, 3580 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside. It is free and open to the public. Advance registration is not required. Read more about the event at the UC Riverside website.

Nine student groups will present on Saturday. Here are just a couple of our favorite abstracts:

Water bears go where no man has gone before

Students: Steven Herrera, Ashley Carrillo, Irma Gonzalez and Tayler Halverson

Abstract: Water bears possess a talent for survival. They can live in the vacuum of space, resist the pressure of deepest ocean trench six times over, and bear temperatures from one degree above absolute zero to 300°F. Researchers at UC Riverside unravel the secrets of this microscopic lumberer.

Using snails with tough glowing shells for deep space expeditions

Students: Jessica Hernandez, Leslie Martinez, Jessica Richardson and Chris Salinas.

Abstract: Mollusks have evolved a wide range of calcified shells to survive in a variety of habitats. Certain mollusks (gastropods) have a shell with an architecture that makes it tough. Here, we study a very unique gastropod, which is tough and also has evolved to allow green light to penetrate through its thick shell. Investigation of the structure of this shell could lead to development of fracture resistant windows that control intensity and wavelength of light, which would be used for growing plants for food on deep space missions.

We’re intrigued!

All nine abstracts can be found in the original announcement on the UC Riverside website.

Project Insurance: Benefits and Cautions – Part 1 of 2

The February 2013 issue of ProNetwork News is the first installment of a two-part article; the author, Tim Corbett of SmartRisk explains the origins and principles of project coverage and introduces the reader to two of the four main types of Project Insurance.

Project insurance for design professionals was initially established to provide higher, dedicated limits for larger and more complex projects. The other main driving force behind the development of project coverage was to provide owners the security of having project specific limits both during and after the project was complete. Project insurance has evolved and continues to change based on market needs and conditions, as well as insurance company underwriting standards and “appetite,” or the desire to write certain kinds of risks.

More recently, the collaborative project delivery method sometimes referred to as the integrated delivery (ID) or integrated project delivery (IPD) process has impacted project insurance. In IPD, design professionals are no longer the sole authors of the project design: greater contributions are provided by other entities, including the general contractor and the major trade subcontractors. A few select insurance companies have begun to offer project specific policies tailored to the methods and exposures of IPD.

The key to selecting the correct coverage is theoretically simple: match the benefits of the insurance with the entity or entities requiring the protection. Will one option meet that goal? That’s a very good question: you may need a combination of alternatives to accomplish your insurance and risk management objectives. You should also be aware that even obtaining project insurance has been a challenge in the past, and continues to be so today.

This is the Architect’s Brain…

Photo via Houzz: The Brain of a Designer, in Diagrams (Coffee with an Architect)

Architecture isn’t brain surgery, but it is a mentally demanding profession that requires input and effort from both sides of the brain. Wouldn’t it be cool to know how an architect’s brain works? Now you can.

Recently, Realty Today posted an article on How an Architect’s Brain Functions:

“While the left brain pays attention to the patterns, measurements it also focuses on meeting deadlines, understanding building and design codes, paying bills , setting appointments and remembering them, “cleaning the refrigerator”, “smelling like vanilla” and going to “sleep at 10 p.m.”(apparently, architects and designers need their sleep).

“The right brain of an architect mainly focuses on the possibilities and potential of a new project and is easily excited by each option that surfaces. However, arriving late at every meeting or appointment, spending $200 on a pen, wearing a scarf in July and leaving sticky notes in the pocket are also some of the activities it controls.”

Explains a lot, right? In fact, I’m pretty sure Mom’s disapproving voice is an area of the brain not unique to architects! Ditto Needs more cowbell.

The illustration above is just one in a series created by architect and artist Jody Brown; as Curbed explained, Brown is “the guy behind architecture-themed Valentine’s Day cards and a simplistic representation of architects’ inner psyches”. See the rest of these cool, quirky, revealing drawings here.

Bonus: Are you right-brained or left-brained? Take the quiz!

Florida: Design Professionals Receive Limited Statutory Immunity

Where does professional liability end and personal liability begin? For design professionals, the line can sometimes be fuzzy, especially with regard to personal injury claims.

Now, Florida’s lawmakers have taken steps to limit liability in for design professionals in these cases.

According to a recent announcement by the legal firm of Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP:

 

“On April 24, 2013 Governor Scott signed Senate Bill 286 into law creating section 558.0035, Florida Statutes. This new law grants individual design professionals employed by a business entity or an agent of the entity immunity from liability for economic damages resulting from negligence occurring within the course and scope of a professional services contract under the following conditions: (a) the contract is made between the business entity and a claimant or another entity for the provision of services to the claimant; (b) the contract does not name an individual employee or agent as a party to the contract; (c) the contract prominently states that an individual employee or agent may not be held individually liable for negligence; (d) the business entity maintains any professional liability insurance required under the contract; and (e) any damages are solely economic in nature and do not extend to persons or property not subject to the contract. The law takes effect on July 1, 2013 and does not state that it is retroactive…

This new law erodes Florida’s common law which has allowed professional negligence claims against an individual design professional based on the professional’s violation of her duty of care to those who may be foreseeably injured. Florida’s common-law imposes a duty of care on all individual professionals that exceeds the duty of care of the general public. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, and design professionals, have always been held to a higher standard of care and associated individual liability for professional negligence. This new law will afford design professionals protections that other professionals do not enjoy.”

For the full, detailed announcement, visit the Smith, Currie & Hancock website.

Shout-Out Credit:

Meade Collinsworth
Collinsworth, Alter, Fowler & French, LLC of Miami Lakes , FL
Email: mcollinsworth@caffllc.com / Phone: 305-822-7800

Could Texting While Driving Lead to Professional Liability Claims?

Tom Cochrane’s Life is a Highway has got you head-dancing in the fast-lane. Your hands are at a perfect ten-and-two. Your seat belt is secured. The signs say you’re two miles from the exit which will take you to your next appointment. It’s a good day.

Then your cell phone buzzes in the cup holder. The screen is obscured by the parking break. It buzzes again. Information is coming in and you’re missing it! Granted, it’s probably just a photo of your cat, Honey Booboo, wearing a Christmas sweater. But in case it’s your boss, you reach for the phone… even though it’s illegal to operate a cell phone in your vehicle in most states.

“According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, distracted driving led to motor vehicle accidents that killed almost 5,500 people and injured close to 450,000 more during 2009. The 2010 study attributed about one-fifth of the accidents directly to cell phone use.” But did you know that, if the call/texts coming into your phone at this moment turn out to be work-related, any subsequent accident could leave you and your firm vulnerable to a Professional Liability claim?

Project Delivery Methods: A New Video CE Series from aecKnowledge

Partnering with aecKnowledge, one of the nation’s premiere sources of relevant and practical online continuing education for design professionals, a/e ProNet has sponsored a new video series on Project Delivery Methods.

This 5-part series is the culmination of a decade-long look at the exploration and evolution of alternative methods of project delivery. It will help you in your efforts to advise owners on making informed decisions about which project delivery option is most appropriate for each project. Choosing the most appropriate method helps align stakeholders’ goals relative to quality, schedule and cost control, decision-making and risk management, and leverages the skills, knowledge and resources available to each team member. Click here to watch a preview of this series, at no charge.

You will also earn 5 HSW Learning Units and, if you are an AIA member, your AIA credits will be automatically reported after you complete each course.

Purchase the courses in this series following these steps:

1. Register on the aecKnowledge website
2. Go to the Continuing Education module
3. On the right hand side, you will see Suggested Curricula. Click on Project Delivery.
4. Proceed to purchase each of the five courses.

If your insurance broker is a member of a/e ProNet, you are entitled to a 20% discount off of the lowest course prices available to anyone else. Contact your a/e ProNet broker today for the discount code.

Whether you are an architect, engineer, contractor, specialty consultant, owner, CM or advisor, these courses will enable you to make informed decisions about which project delivery method will best achieve your goals and, ultimately, create a better built environment. On behalf of a/e ProNet, we hope you find the Project Delivery Methods video series valuable.

A Good Time to be An Architect

Is it finally a good time to be an architect? We saw this question posed recently by ChicagoBusiness.com and, like many of you, we were excited to know the answer.

“I think there’s optimism—a very guarded optimism, given where we’ve been over the past four or five years,” says Scott Sarver, principal at Chicago-based SMDP LLC, which hopes to latch on to the better economy here, boosting its billings from domestic projects to 50 percent this year from 25 percent in 2012.

Among industry giants, San Francisco-based Gensler plans to add 50 professionals here through next year, to 273, says Nila Leiserowitz, a managing director in the Chicago office.

The pool of new architects is rising, too. Architecture schools awarded 10,252 degrees in the 2011-12 academic year, up 13 percent from 9,073 degrees in 2008-09, according to the National Architectural Accrediting Board.

Things a looking up. And if the “industry giants” are hiring to meet the increase in project opportunities, it’s also probable that seasoned professionals will take this chance to open their own shops. We hope so!

Online CE Series for Architects: Growing a Small Firm

One way a/e ProNet supports the design community is by promoting continuing education for Architects and Engineers.

Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, discussing marketing strategies specific to small, growing firms with panelists Cass Calder Smith, AIA, and Melissa Werner from CCS Architecture, Sam Fajner from TEECOM and Sylvia Kwan, FAIA, from Kwan Henmi Architecture Planning, Inc.

aecKnowledge, in collaboration with AIA San Francisco and Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, has created an exciting new online series called “Growing a Small Firm”. This set of talks provides targeted advice to design professionals who have recently branched out on their own or are considering starting their own firms. Each panel discussion, filmed live at AIA San Francisco and moderated by Mark Cavagnero, features some of the Bay Area’s leading design professionals, contractors and owners generously sharing valuable insights gained from decades of experience. Among the topics:

• Developing effective marketing and diversification strategies
• Developing a clear, distinctive identity
• Pursuing public design opportunities
• Cultivating repeat clients
• Teaming with larger firms
• Elevating the role of women
• Collaborating with other design and construction professionals
• Forming partnerships with other small firm
• Managing a small firm (while staying sane)
• Leveraging online media and social networking

Click here to access the first in this series, Growing a Small Firm – Marketing.

This course delivers targeted advice on marketing and business development and captures decades of insights into how best to meet potential clients, expand a firm’s portfolio, implement a vibrant marketing program on a limited budget, create an identity that resonates with prospective clients, and successfully collaborate with larger firms and allied professionals in the pursuit of widely sought-after commissions.

Why Architects Need to Use Their Ears

Can you hear me now?

“It’s time to start designing for our ears.”

Classrooms, work spaces, restaurants, airplanes. These are just a few of the places we experience every day which should be reevaluated in terms of the audio experience. In this recent TED talk, Sound expert Julian Treasure demonstrates the importance of audio considerations in the design process.

Shout-Out Credit: 

Earleen Thomas
Account Executive/Professional Services Specialist of Cornerstone Specialty Insurance Services – Irvine, CA
Email: earleen@cornerstonespecialty.com / Phone: 714-731-7700

The Construction Contract: 3 Essential Rules

For design professionals, it’s good business to have a solid, fair contract in place before you begin work on a project. So, what are the three essential rules of putting together a construction contract? Our January 2013 ProNetwork News newsletter has the answer:

In the construction world, the contract rules the parties. It is the blueprint (pun intended) that says what you can be sued for, when you can sue the other party, and what your damages will be. If you do not have any written contract, the law presumes certain things that you may not want it to presume. Therefore, you must treat the contract seriously, and consider these three essential rules.

1. Put all agreements in writing
2. Negotiate or strike through unfair or one-sided terms
3. Deal with discrepancies between the Proposal for Services and the Contract

(1) Put all agreements in writing

Design professionals who rely on “handshake” or “gentlemen’s agreements” are playing a game of Russian roulette. One bad project, and you’ll wish that you had a well-written, reviewed and negotiated contract.

Written contracts are crucial to enforcing binding agreements once the dirt begins to turn. Memories fade, records are lost, and key employees leave. Having all the crucial terms in writing eliminates the need to argue over how changes are handled, how compensation issues are dealt with, and how disputes are decided.

(2) Negotiate or strike through unfair or one-sided terms

While a written contract is important, it is almost better to have no written contract than to have a poorly negotiated, unfair, or unclear written contract.