“The National codes, the International Code Council, who is the model code that Virginia follows does have a requirement for fire sprinklers in one in two-family dwellings, as well as town houses. In Virginia, that requirement is removed at the state level, through the board of Housing and Community Development, so there is no current requirement for fire sprinklers in one in two-family dwellings.”

Concern over the future of professional licensing recently arose in Tennessee when state lawmakers introduced a bill to amend licensing regulations affecting 26 different professions, architects and builders included. The bill (HB 1945/SB 1914) proposed that an unlicensed person could provide services within these realms so long as the two parties (consumer and provider) entered into a written agreement prior to delivery of service.

Founded in 2013, Hempitecture is the brainchild of CEO and founder Mattie Mead. While completing his thesis on natural building strategies, an interest in vernacular architecture lead Mead on a journey from France to the Virgin Islands, learning about and developing strategies for building with hemp.

Renewal deadlines for Maryland architects may vary, but the licensing requirements do not. Here are a few FAQ about how and when to renew your Maryland architect license. If you are unsure of your renewal date, you can search for your license here on the Maryland Board of Architects website.

The Architectural League of New York has chosen their 2020 Emerging Voices. Every year a panel of experts reviews significant completed works and choses a group of architects and/or design firms who show the most potential to contribute to the evolution of the design and architectural world.

No one likes to change, not even us. We have set routines, set ways to do things, habits we cannot break if we tried, and even ways we’ve developed to do things based on many, many years of experience learning to get it right. Regardless of whether another way seems like a better choice to you, if we haven’t decided on the necessity of change ourselves, nothing will be done.

Balance will become a significant issue. This problem can arise from a loss of physical strength, effects of different medications, cognitive and visual impairments. Without thinking through a strategy to prevent or at least minimize falls, an issue with balance can become a significant health hazard.

Every design or building issue dealing with the disabled or handicapped cannot be dealt with here. Massive laws have been passed for the purpose of guiding design decisions for buildings intended for use by the disabled. Many of these focus on commercial buildings financed with taxpayer funds, institutional projects where users regularly come when facing health challenges, and multi-family housing of various types, possibly used for occupancy by the elderly.

A year before, she had slipped on ice taking trash out from a back deck. Falling on the steps, she had broken one of her kneecaps. Given her advanced age, it was slow to heal. In the process, favoring one leg had put undue stress on the opposite side hip, which had begun to severely deteriorate. Now, though it seemed her knee had mended, she would not leave the home. And the suddenly obvious answer flashes into your mind: your mother is afraid of her steps. Literally. The memory of the intense pain from the fall, coupled with the weakness in her hip, has left her afraid and unsure of her ability to successfully climb down the front or back steps. Pain, and the fear of more pain, has made her a prisoner in her slightly elevated home.

Over three dozen experts “from diverse fields—and spanning academia, practice and policy” (p. 3) were included in a discussion that took more than a year to culminate in this succinct and well-thought out document. Their main goal was to identify “ways to advance [the] current understanding and practice of design for sustainability in the environment” (p. 3).