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AIA Washington Council now hosts its blog on www.aiawa.org under "News."

Federal Government Shutdown: What You Need to Know

by Andrew Goldberg
AIA National Managing Director, Government Relations & Outreach
(click here to view original article)

It’s been 17 years since the federal government last experienced a shutdown. As federal agencies begin the process of shutting their doors and furloughing non-essential personnel, there are lots of questions about how it will affect all Americans, especially those who work with (and for) the federal government. If your projects receive federal funding, will they have to stop? If you are a federal contractor, what should you be doing? Much remains unclear about what happens during shutdown, including the procedures that individuals and companies doing business with the government will face. In order to help AIA members through the confusion, the AIA has launched this page to provide up-to-date information about the shutdown and what you need to do.

AIA National: August 2013 Architectural Billings Index

With August Gains, Nearly a Year of Steady Non-Residential Billings Growth

Progress is tempered by disappointing housing starts and a broader economy that is still underperforming

By Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA
AIA Chief Economist

August showed further improvement in billings at U.S. architecture firms. The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 53.8 for the month reflected the strongest growth in activity in six months, and marked the twelfth time in the past 13 months that design activity has increased nationally. The strength in recent readings in the ABI, coupled with the extended period that architecture firms have been reporting generally favorable conditions, points to an impending healthy upturn in nonresidential activity. This view is shared by the recently released results from the AIA’s Consensus Construction Forecast Survey, which points to nonresidential construction spending picking up in the coming quarter and accelerating through 2014.

In Memoriam: Jon Pettit, AIA (DLR Group Managing Principal)

Jon Pettit (1952-2013)

DLR Group Managing Principal

Jonathan (Jon) E. Pettit, AIA, died August 19, 2013 in Seattle following treatment for cancer. He was 61. Pettit was a DLR Group managing principal and practiced for his entire professional career with DLR Group.