BUILD PITTSBURGH KEYNOTE ADDRESS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 6-9PM
Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street

KEYNOTE: MICHAEL GARTNER

“You Can’t Do It Alone”

Michael Gartner has been a lifelong journalist. Over the years, he has been Page One Editor of The Wall Street Journal, editor and president of The Des Moines Register, editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal, general news executive of Gannett Co. and USA Today, and president of NBC News.
In 1997, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his common sense editorials about issues deeply affecting the lives of people in his community written for The Tribune of Ames, Iowa, where he then was the editor and co-owner. He also has won most other newspaper awards for editorial writing. He is the author of “Outrage, Passion & Uncommon Sense,” a book of American history as told through newspaper editorials of different eras.
In early 2000, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack named Gartner chairman of Vision Iowa, a board the Legislature established to oversee grants to Iowa’s tourist attractions and to disburse up to $300 million to help Iowa communities build major recreational or cultural facilities. In 2005, Gov. Vilsack appointed Gartner to the Iowa Board of Regents, a group of nine citizen volunteers committed to improving quality of life in Iowa by governing Iowa’s public universities and special schools and providing policymaking, coordination, and oversight of these institutions and affiliated centers. Gartner was subsequently elected president of that board by the 8 other Regents.
In addition, Gartner has been at various times a regular columnist for the op-ed page of The Wall Street Journal and the editorial page of USA Today, a commentator for Iowa Public Radio and the Voice of America, and the ombudsman for Brill’s Content magazine. Gartner is a lawyer as well as a newspaperman and baseball executive, and he has written extensively on First Amendment issues. He is a member of the bar of New York and of Iowa.

16:62 Design Zone Neighborhood Knockout Award! Nominations close NEXT MONDAY, September 12th(Deadline Extended)! Download a nomination form! A selection of nominations will be on display at the Design Awards Exhibit and the winner will be announced at the Design Awards Ceremony!

The 16:62 Design Zone and the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Architects invite you to shine the spotlight on your favorite buildings in the Strip District and Lawrenceville! Celebrate great spaces in our neighborhood as we team up for the first-ever Neighborhood Knockout Award, presented at AIA Design Pittsburgh. Sponsored by AIA, Design Pittsburgh is an annual celebration of architecture and design throughout the Pittsburgh region, and this year, this series of events is taking place in the 16:62 Design Zone.

What makes a place a Neighborhood Knockout? It can be any house, commercial building, or public space that you absolutely adore. Something about the design just speaks to you in a way that sets your heart a-flutter. It could be visually stunning or have a quirky personality. Because this year’s Design Pittsburgh events are taking place in the Design Zone, we’re looking for nominations for buildings and public spaces in Lawrenceville and the Strip District.

To nominate your Neighborhood Knockout, complete and return a printable nomination form by Friday, September 9, 2005.

A selection of nominees will be exhibited at the AIA Design Pittsburgh Competition Exhibit at the 51st Street Business Center in Lawrenceville. The exhibit is free and open to the public from October 6-29.

For more information on the 16:62 Design Zone please visit www.1662designzone.com

October 29, 2004
For Immediate Release

The People of Pittsburgh Have Spoken

Every year in October, AIA Pittsburgh, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects, presents Design Pittsburgh, a series of events coordinated to celebrate the quality of architectural design in the Pittsburgh region. Design Pittsburgh includes a design awards component where the best projects in architecture and landscape architecture are recognized. A jury of nationally renowned architects decides these winners, but what about the ultimate users of these projects? Which project would they choose as their favorite?

AIA Pittsburgh and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania have created the People’s Choice Award for this reason. People’s Choice Award winners of the past include: the Alcoa Building, the Hosanna House swimming pool project, PNC Park and the Southside Works, 2801 East Carson Street. This year the people have spoken again. By popular vote, the winner is Hillside House.

The People’s Choice Award was presented to Mary Cerrone, AIA and Kevin Wagstaff, AIA for their efforts in designing Hillside House. This compact, L-shaped house incorporates many of the ideas featured in Sarah Susanka’s book, “The Not So Big House”. It features an open living space that wraps around and connects to an 80’ x 35’ private garden. The open kitchen, living and dining spaces also look out over Pittsburgh’s picturesque East End. The lower level features a two-car integral garage and a home office. The cozy second floor “away” room takes advantage of the view while providing a quiet space for the residents. This project, owned and occupied by the architects themselves, also received an Honor Award in the Architectural Category of AIA Pittsburgh’s Design Awards. The Los Angeles based jury called the project “timeless, functional and quite elegant” and “well thought out.”

Sponsored by Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, the People's Choice Award was created to give the public an opportunity to vote on their favorite project. The public was able to view all of the entries, which were on display for a 2-day exhibition in the Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and a 12-day exhibition in The Photo Forum Gallery located in the U.S. Steel Tower Lobby.