Business & Labor
GSA Creates New Post to Help Chief Architect
(archrecord.construction.com - 01/11/06)
By Sam
Lubell
The U.S General Services Administration,
which is still searching for a new Chief Architect to replace
Ed Feiner, FAIA, who left just under a year ago, has created
a new position to help the Chief Architect manage construction
issues.
The new position, posted on December
9, is called the Assistant Commissioner for Capital Construction
Program Management. This person, according to the GSA job
posting (www.gsa.gov), will advise on all policy matters concerning
the management of the Public Building Service’s capital
design and construction program. The position is vital, says
GSA Commissioner of Public Buildings David Winstead, because
of the huge amount of GSA construction projects. “Everyone
is struggling with material cost increases and trying to find
ways to deliver these projects on budget,” he says. As
of December, the GSA had about 200 building projects underway,
at a cost of about $11 billion. Sixty-four of these projects
are new construction, and 112 are renovation projects.
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Feiner left the Chief Architect position
just under a year ago, after serving since 1996. He was highly
influential in establishing the GSA’s Design Excellence
Program, which was started in 1993, and later headed by him.
The program helped streamline and improve the architectural
selection process for federal buildings by facilitating architects’
applications, and improving the participation of jurors.
GSA employee Les Shepherd has been filling
in temporarily as chief architect since last February. Shepherd
was Deputy Chief Architect from 1998-2002 and Director of
Federal Buildings and Modernizations from 2002-2005. After
Feiner’s departure, the GSA posted a call for a new Chief
Architect in April, 2005, but closed it at the end of May.
Winstead says there were not enough qualified candidates.
The GSA reposted the position in December, and is now recruiting
more aggressively.
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