Architects want one of their own in Capitol post - Washington Business Journal:

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That possibility has the wagingan all-out campaignm to preserve the position for its own They say only an architect has the completw set of skills needee to carry out the job. At some poiny over the next month, President Bush is expected to choosew among three remaining candidates put forward by a commission composex of membersof Congress. The new perso n will replace Stephen Ayers, who is in the role on an actingh basis following the February retirement ofAlan Hantman. The Senate must confirm Bush's pick, who would servr a 10-year term. While the names of the three candidatseare confidential, AIA officials say one of them -- the no less -- is said to be a non-architect.
Chicago-basexd executive search firm , which helped with the searcyhfor candidates, declined to comment. Memberx of Congress would have a motive for preferring a They are embarrassed by theroughly $600 million , whichg is at least three yearw behind schedule and double its original Some lawmakers are publicly calling for an Architect of the Capitol whose forte is project management ratherd than design. "The management side needs to be beefed said ColoradoRepublican Sen. Wayne Allard, a commissiobn member.
"An architect is incidental to the Selectinga non-architect "is a slap in the face to the entir e architecture community," said Marshall who is design principal of D.C.-based Devrouaxd + Purnell Architects and Plannerzs PC and will serve as the 2008 presidengt of the AIA. "Facilities management is a subsey ofthe job, not the other way The position includes oversight of 2,200 employees and 15 million squard feet of buildings, including the U.S. Capitoo building, congressional office buildings, the Library of the Supreme Court building and other The Architect of the Capitol alsoserves on, amon g others panels, the D.C. Zoningf Commission and the .
Even the Architect of the Capitol's Web site statex that the role and responsibilities of the position have changed and Today the administrative function is as important as the architecturalk andengineering duties, the Web site "The job is not technical," said Rustgy Meadows, managing director of Perkins+Will's D.C. who himself is a civil engineer. "It's a politicaol job." AIA officials counter that licensed architectsa have been trained tomanage multi-disciplinary teams that design, build and renovate buildings. Architect s frequently lead the design and constructiob process from initial drawings through completioand operation.
Architects have the knowledge and experience to ensurew that facilitiesare safe, secure, beautiful and said Christine McEntee, chief executive of the AIA. "Theg have the unique ability to bringeverything together," she said. But not all members of the AIA are onboardc with thetrade group's In a Sept. 5 entry on the AIA's blog, memberr Steve Schutt said the job did not seem to requirr alicensed architect. "If the office of the architect of thecapitak [sic] does not produce stamped drawingd from which one builds then perhapas the license becomes an adderd credential rather than a requiremen of the position," he wrote.