These might be of interest to AAO members.  Check out the links for more detail.

                                      National Award for Smart Growth Achievement    

Through the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to recognize and support public entities (from cities to state governments and the many types of public entities in-between) that promote and achieve smart growth, while at the same time bringing about direct and indirect environmental benefits.

Smart growth development practices support national environmental goals by preserving open spaces and parkland and protecting critical habitat; improving transportation choices, including walking, bicycling, and transit, which reduces emissions from automobiles; promoting brownfield redevelopment; and reducing impervious surfaces, which improves water quality.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. This competition is open to public- and private-sector entities that have successfully used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically. The application period is open from February 8, 2010 to April 5, 2010. Up to five awards will be given in the following categories:

    * Programs, Policies, and Regulations
    * Smart Growth and Green Building
    * Civic Places
    * Rural Smart Growth
    * Overall Excellence

Eligible candidates are invited to submit an application for the 2010 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement.  If you have questions concerning the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement program, contact Abby Hall or call (202)566-2086, or visit the EPA online.

                                                      Problem Solvers Wanted
The challenge: design something that solves a problem

Young designers and engineers are brimming with creative ideas to change the world – it’s this ability to think differently that the James Dyson Award celebrates and encourages.

The James Dyson Award is an international design award that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers. It’s run by the James Dyson Foundation, James Dyson’s charitable trust, as part of its mission to inspire young people about design engineering.

There will be one International Winner, and one National Winner in each country participating in the James Dyson Award 2010. Entry is open to product design, industrial design and engineering university level students (or graduates within 4 years of graduation) who have studied in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA.

Read more about the James Dyson Award online.

Gregory Dreicer, Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and Gregory Wessner, Digital Programs and Exhibitions Director at the Architectural League of New York, are AAO's resident experts on creating engaging architecture exhibitions.

At the AAO conference in November 2009, Greg and Greg hosted a popular break-out session about strategies for engaging broad audiences in learning about the design of the spaces and places that surround them through exhibitions.  The session focused on the different possibilities for encouraging learning about the big issues in architecture, infrastructure, and planning.

Be sure to check out the MP3 recording of this session at the bottom of this post.  Enjoy!

Gregory Dreicer, Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs, Chicago Architecture Foundation

Gregory Dreicer is a curator and historian whose explorations of built environment and building technology have received national recognition. He is the former director of Chicken&Egg Public Projects, which was a leading exhibition planning, development, and design firm specializing in social, political, and technological issues. Dreicer worked with organizations including the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Museum of the City of New York, Smithsonian Institution, and Federal Highway Administration. In the 1990s, Dreicer was a curator at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. He has curated more than 20 exhibitions and his articles have appeared in journals including Perspecta, Culture Technique, History and Technology, and Design Book Review. Dreicer received his PhD from Cornell University’s Department of Science and Technology Studies. He holds an MS in Historic Preservation and a BA, both from Columbia University. Dreicer joined CAF in January 2007.

Gregory Wessner, Digital Programs and Exhibitions Director, Architectural League of New York

Gregory Wessner is the Digital Programs and Exhibitions Director of the Architectural League of New York.  As a curator and editor, he has organized numerous exhibitions, including New New York: Fast Forward, Studio as Muse: Herzog & de Meuron’s Design for the New Parrish Art Museum, 13:100: Thirteen New York Architects Design for Ordos, and, most recently, Toward the Sentient City (with curator Mark Shepard) and New New York 6:1000 Blocks. Publications include 125 Years: The Architectural League of New York, and Travel Reports from the Deborah J. Norden Fund.

In 2006, Wessner initiated a major digital programs initiative for the Architectural League and since that time has produced more than 150 podcasts and short videos.  Wessner is a Level 2 PhD candidate in architectural history at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, where his focus of research is architectural culture and exhibitions.  

He formerly served as Chief Administrator of White Columns and the National Academy School of Fine Arts.