The aim of the conference is to consider the threat to the UK’s unique heritage from fire and other such incidents and is a must attend for anyone who is involved with Fire Protection or the restoration and preservation of heritage buildings.

The conference will involve key players from across the cultural and heritage sectors as well as representatives from the world of fire engineering, architecture, tourism and planning.

For more information and to book please contact Mandy Eeles on 07919 175310 or Richard Daly on 01606 868290.   

Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service
The Institution of Fire Engineers

The Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA), AIA NY Chapter, is pleased to announce its fourth biennial international ideas competition, High Bridge: Bronx, Building Cultural Infrastructure (HB:BX). This competition is open to all emerging professionals, including, but not limited to, architects, artists, engineers, landscape architects, urban designers, and planners who have completed their education at the undergraduate or graduate level within 10 years of the competition announcement (September 10, 2009).

Registration Begins: Sept 10, 2009
Registration Ends: Nov 18, 2009
Submission Deadline: January 18, 2010 (postmarked)
Open to: Emerging Designers
Entry Fee: $35 Student, $65 Individual, $110 Team (2-4), $300 Group(5+)
Awards: $5,000 (ENYA prize), $2,000 (2nd Place), $1,000 (3rd Place), $1,000 (Student)

HB:BX is an open ideas competition to design an arts center that culturally reinforces the physical connection between the Manhattan and Bronx High Bridge communities of New York City. Working in cooperation with the arts organizations Artists Unite and the Bronx Museum of the Arts, ENYA means to draw awareness to the current efforts to restore and reopen the historic High Bridge. This competition is a forum to explore the urban and community improvement opportunities that may come with the achievement of such a momentous milestone. Thus, ENYA challenges designers to explore how disused structures can be reprogrammed into elements of a vibrant urban cultural center. Entrants are also challenged to rethink the relationship between existing infrastructure (aqueduct, railway, highway) and the contemporary urban context. These issues, universally relevant to any growing city, take on a more site-specific nature when considering the importance of the High Bridge and the topographic challenges posed by the steep riverbanks of the Harlem River. Also defining this competition are the unique clients who ask entrants to reconsider architecture’s role in the creation, display, and experience of viewing art in one of the world’s most culturally vibrant cities.

General information about HB:BX follows:
Type: International Ideas Competition. The competition results are intended to generate ideas for the site and will not result in actual development by ENYA or other parties involved.

About ENYA, AIA New York Chapter
ENYA (Emerging New York Architects) is a forum for the interests and activities of students, interns, associates, and new architects. The committee, which is part of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, establishes networking, mentoring, technical, and public advocacy initiatives to foster the professional development of architecture students and young professionals and to strengthen the quality of the built environment.

About the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter
Founded in 1857 by seven visionary architects, the AIA New York Chapter is the first and largest chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Today, the AIA New York Chapter is a membership-based organization comprised of licensed architects and professional affiliates in real estate, construction, engineering, and facilities management, and currently has 4,300 members. Operating out of the Center for Architecture, a storefront space in Greenwich Village, the Chapter is dedicated to three Primary goals: public outreach, professional development, and design excellence.
The AIA New York Chapter is guided by the work of its dedicated committees. Over two-dozen committees, open to all interested, are continually exploring such vital issues as housing, planning, urban design, community development, historical preservation, and environmental sustainability. The AIA New York Chapter also serves as an advocate in public policy discussions with governmental decision-makers and other civic and professional associations.

More information

Contact: enyacompetitions@gmail.com

1 October 2009, The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, photo: Emily Tracey

This meeting will address current issues of building and roofing stone in the UK and how to improve the use and availability of indigenous building stone today and for the future. It brings together those with a professional interest in the use of building stone from throughout the UK to address the key issues for heritage and new construction. The event is aimed at planners, architects, stone producers, heritage conservation professionals and all those with a professional interest in stone.

More information

Contact: Emily Tracey emiace@bgs.ac.uk or Tel: 0131 667 1000