An architect since 1978, Ric Licata is the 2005 president of the American Institute of Architects, Northern Nevada Chapter.
He is a professor of architecture at Truckee Meadows Community College and principal of Licata Hansen Associates Architects in Reno, which does commercial and residential work, including the Reno United Blood Services, Nevada State Railroad Museum and Washoe Medical Center Professional Center.
Ric Licata's interest in architecture didn't start with the study of buildings.
It began with study of anatomy at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The body's intricate structure led him to think about the design of man-made spaces.
He sat down with NNBW reporter Barbara Marquand to discuss the business of architecture.
How would you describe the regional architectural business climate for the coming year? I see it continuing to be very positive, which certainly has its own challenges.
Everyone is so busy that you don't get the sharp competitive prices that you may have gotten when things are leaner.
Our budgets are more difficult to manage, and because everybody is spread a little thin, it becomes a challenge as far as keeping projects moving ahead on schedule.As the region grows and as firms grow or as new firms come in, it's difficult to find experienced, qualified individuals to work.
When you refer to new firms, does that mean that our hot local market is attracting architecture firms from other regions? There are a couple of cases where national firms have come in and bought local firms to create a presence.
But I'm not seeing a lot of that.
Reno's a great market for us, but I'm not sure it's large enough yet for some national firms to come in, although there are some Las Vegas firms that have a presence up here.
The relationship between architects and contractors is often a topic of discussion.
Do you see ways it can be improved? In the conventional view, architects and contractors have many times been in adversarial roles.
I'm an advocate of everyone working on the same side of the table.
A real big movement in the construction industry is the designbuild approach to projects.
The client/owner will hire the architect and contractor simultaneously and in many cases they'll work together from the very onset of a project.
That's not necessarily new although it's really gaining momentum and acceptance in today's market.
There are a number of advantages.
One is getting everybody to work on the same side of the table.
The other is you get the contractor involved earlier.You keep a tighter control on budgets, and a refining of the construction methodology can be worked out.Not every project lends itself to this process, but we're finding more and more of them do.
Communication is the key to making relationships work.
AIA has developed a series of excellent contract documents tailored to different relationships that really spells out the communication and the process of doing business.
What community design opportunities do you see in the Reno area? With the RETRAC project I see an opportunity for adjacent properties to really blossom.
I know there's been a lot of difficulties for some of these properties, but I think in the long run it's going to create a lot of opportunity for them to grow and create a real positive, built environment.
What about technology.
Anything new having an impact on architecture? It's hard to keep up with because there are so many changes in technology from energy systems to green building products.
For example, there are now window wall systems that not only transmit light but also create electrical energy.We're also seeing new product development in resource design and construction methods.
Construction methodology is trying to create greater speed while minimizing waste.
What are the current, major trends in architecture? Green technology is huge, and we're beginning to see a commitment from a number of sources.
For example, the General Services Administration, which manages the properties of the federal government, is now committing to the U.S.
Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.
It wants all of its new and remodeled projects to achieve a LEED Silver certification.
They realize it's going to take some more up-front costs, and they're willing to pay their design professionals more to achieve that.
The project I've been watching is a new high-rise building in San Francisco, which is using a lot of new and interesting technologies.
For one, it has no air conditioning.
It's naturally ventilated.
I see the green building movement not only as a philosophical approach but also as having its own imagery and aesthetic.
An up-and-coming area of landscape architecture is going to be the integration of landscape systems and building systems.
You can create a higher quality of air, and you can create cooling by introducing planting.You can also filter water and reuse water, whether it's rainwater or domestic gray water in a building.
These integrated systems are going to have functional and mechanical aspects, but they're also going to have a very real aesthetic character.
Lighting systems is another area that has really advanced.
I've seen some building materials that create their own light.
Rather than having a light fixture, there are films that can be applied that actually put off a luminescence through an electrical current.
Building materials and lighting will be all in one.
It could be a piece of furniture that creates its own light or a wall covering even floors that are illuminated.
I see light fixtures in the future being more sculptural elements or more task-oriented.
Another trend is addressing transit-oriented type developments.
We're at a crossroads here in northern Nevada where our transportation systems and arterial streets are being overtaxed.
I can see us in the immediate future committing more to development centered on transportation hubs.
It's a very exciting time for building and architecture.
As the new president of the northern Nevada wing of AIA, what are the goals you have for the coming year? I want to continue AIA's focus on professional education and on increasing the public awareness of what architects do and what it means to be an AIA architect.
In an industry that's changing so fast, AIA is really committed to continuing education.We're going to offer a wider variety of education opportunities this year.
I want the public to become more aware of the advantage of good design of our buildings, community and neighborhoods and the advantages that architects bring to a team,whether it's a construction or a planning project.
I want architecture and architects to be accessible to the public not just something rich homeowners or big business can afford.AIA architects, especially, are committed to getting into the community to make themselves more available and to get neighborhood input for projects.
What are the biggest challenges for AIA in this region? A big challenge is educating the public, including the general public, clients and other design professionals and contractors.
Part of the education is that good design does good business, so we should all be committed to good design.As part of that commitment,we can look to other communities and their redevelopment districts, such as San Diego and its Gas Lamp District.
We also have to be committed to the environment in our communities through our design process.With the environmental issue,we've just begun to touch the tip of the iceberg to look at the quality of the interior environment of our buildings.
In many cases the interior environment is polluted 10 times more than the outside environment because of the off-gassing of the materials, furnishings, adhesives, carpeting, even the wiring.
If you address the issues and improve the interior environment to make it more healthy, it becomes more productive.
If you can improve productivity by just 10 percent through good design, you eclipse any additional costs it would take to make your facility a more healthful and productive environment.
