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The debate over reforming the nation’s healthcare system is heating up. Lawmakers in Congress are debating a number of plans, and President Obama has called for passage of comprehensive health reform this year.

Approximately 46 million Americans currently have no health insurance, and an additional 25 million are underinsured. Meanwhile, health care costs are rising. The United States spent $2.4 trillion on healthcare in 2007, or $7,900 per person, 52 percent more than in Norway, the world’s second most expensive health care system.

AIA members know all too well that the high cost of insurance is stretching their personal and business budgets. The AIA believes that reform must allow unrestricted access and choice of affordable health insurance and care for all Americans.

But how to get there? A national insurance plan like Canada and many European nations have? Tax incentives and purchasing pools to lower costs? There is little consensus on how best to expand access, improve quality, and lower costs.

We want to hear from you. Click on the “Continue reading” option below for more detail on four of the most prominent healthcare reform options before Congress. Then go to the polling site and let us know which one you would support the most, if any. The AIA will report to Congress and the White House the results of this survey to let policymakers know where architects stand on this crucial issue.

Continue reading "Do You Favor a Healthcare Reform Plan?" »

Congress will soon consider the Waxman-Markey bill on establishing a cap and trade system for carbon dioxide emissions. The cap is the legal limit of the greenhouse gas that can be emitted into a region. The trade is among emitters that have emission permits. The debate is about whether it works and, if so, how it should be implemented.

The theory is that putting a monetary value to reducing emissions will stimulate innovation in the reduction of emissions. Whether a reduction to 83 percent of the 2005 level by 2020 (the stated goal of the Waxman-Markey bill) will have any real effect on global warming is one point of contention in the debate, especially given the generally accepted forecast that it will be consumers who foot the bill. Another is whether, initially, the permits should be auctioned or given away free, how they should be apportioned, and how those apportionments might be adjusted over time.

As Congress moves ahead on this legislation, involved AIA members and staff will work to educate policymakers about the role of architects and buildings in greening the economy. With buildings currently accounting for nearly half the carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S., there is vast potential in the AIA 2030 Commitment to make significant reductions in greenhouse gases.

It’s a decidedly lighthearted way to pay tribute to an architect who always took himself quite seriously, but what’s not to love about the new Frank Lloyd Wright Lego sets?

To honor the 50th anniversary of the opening of his Guggenheim Museum in New York, Lego has unleashed a miniature kit of the iconic circular museum. This summer, the Danish toy company will release a Fallingwater Lego set in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the house, complete with a clear plastic waterfall and blocky, forest green foliage. (Though the world-famous cantilever doesn’t look as striking or proportionally bold in Lego-form).  Both sets were designed by Lego architecture guru Adam Reed Tucker of Brickstructures, Inc., and you can order them at Brickstructure’s online store.

How about Lego cut a deal with the AIA and hands over a model of each gold medal laureate's most well-known building with their prize!?!