Amid complaints that architects and engineers on public school projects are not fairly paid for their work , a Jefferson Parish School Board committee is looking into revising the contract they sign when they accept a job.

Much of the issue centers on unreasonably low bids by some construction contractors, who later increase the budgeted amount through change orders. Architects and engineers typically take in 7 percent to 10 percent of the original construction budget, but on Tuesday they said their fees should be based on the actual cost of construction, including change orders.

"Oftentimes we are the victim of a contractor who bids a project too low," architect Russell Burgdahl of Burgdahl & Graves told the School Board's facilities committee. "All it does is increase our work level because he is constantly coming up with ways to add money to the job."

Governments are allowed to choose any qualified architect or engineer, regardless of price, and critics say this leads to politicians picking their campaign contributors for the professional work.

But state law requires public entities to accept the lowest qualified bid on construction work. While none of those appearing before the committee Tuesday suggested doing otherwise, Steven Graves of Burgdahl & Graves said, "Sometimes, it's our worst nightmare."

Graves suggested that professional service fees be based on an average of all the bids received. "That would make sense," he said. "Then you find the true value of the project."

Neither the professionals at Tuesday's meeting nor committee members gave examples of the change-order problem.

But a Feb. 1 capital project status report on Jefferson schools lists several projects with multiple change orders. Examples are six change orders on a roofing project at Harry S Truman Middle School in Marrero, five on two projects at Ella Dolhonde Elementary in Metairie and 11 for an athletic complex and other work at East Jefferson High in Metairie. In all three cases, contractors exceeded the budgeted amount by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Architects and engineers said change orders are often necessary, especially when they involve renovations to some of the school system's oldest campuses.

"When we are assigned a project, it may be a 50-year old building," said Rick Meyer of Meyer Engineers. "And we may find an unforeseen item that needs to be repaired. There will be change orders. We just hope they are reasonable."

Board member Etta Licciardi, who chairs the facilities committee, described the meeting as "productive and enlightening.

"I understand your concerns," she said. "And it is certainly my hope that the document we end up with will meet your needs and the needs of the school system."

Afterward, she and board member Larry Dale said revisions to the professionals' contract are long overdue.

Besides changing the fee structure, the committee is studying such issues as project schedules, professional liability insurance, liquidated damages and errors and omissions.

Licciardi said the committee plans to consult the American Institute of Architects and the Louisiana Office of Facility Planning and Control's contract to come up with the fairest agreement.

. . . . . . .

Barri Bronston can be reached at bbronston@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7058.

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Jefferson Parish schools committee hears complaints from architects, engineers

February 27, 2012 - American Institute of Architects (AIA) and National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) underscoring mutual interest in design, construction, operations, and maintenance of high-performance buildings and desire to collaborate on issues surrounding said topics. Upon signing this MOU, NIBS President Henry L. Green said, "We are very pleased to work with AIA on such an important effort."

National Institute of Building Sciences
1090 Vermont Avenue
Washington, DC, 20005-4905
USA

Press release date: February 23, 2012

The American Institute of Architects and the National Institute of Building Sciences Sign Agreement to Work Together on Promoting Building Industry Research and Knowledge

Robert Ivy, FAIA, Chief Executive Officer of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA, President of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) are pleased to announce the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding underscoring the two organizations' mutual interest in the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance buildings and the desire to collaborate on issues surrounding these topics.

"Through cooperation and coordination on the issues impacting the entire building community and the pursuit of high-performance buildings, the Institute and AIA can work towards improving our nation's buildings. We are very pleased to work with AIA on such an important effort," said Green upon signing.

One of the first projects the two organizations will work on collaboratively is the joint development of an on-line portal for building industry research and knowledge. Intended to be accessible to the public, this initiative will include the participation and contribution of a variety of building science and performance disciplines. NIBS and AIA anticipate this partnership will culminate in providing a centralized location for the knowledge and research efforts underway that are relevant to the building industry.

About the new partnership and the outline of work planned, Ivy said, "The AIA has long recognized the power of knowledge to inform design. For many years, the AIA Knowledge Communities have provided ample testimony to the value of that orientation. The AIA-NIBS research portal will enable practitioners to use knowledge creatively in ways for which they have impatiently hoped. Now the wait is over."

Later this year, NIBS and AIA will also collaborate on an industry summit bringing together leaders in the fields of architecture, construction and engineering. The summit will focus on elevating awareness and understanding of how design adds value to the building process, whether it's expressed through increased property value or the health, safety and welfare of the building's users.

Additionally, AIA and NIBS are working together on High Performance Buildings: Combining Field Experience with Innovation, the third Building Enclosure Science & Technology (BEST) Conference, April 2-4, 2012, in Atlanta. The Conference is part of the Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council's (BETEC) mission to explore the advancement of energy efficiency of buildings as well as the durability of buildings as affected by moisture and the indoor environment. The AIA and NIBS have been partners in the Building Enclosure Councils since 2004.

About the National Institute of Building Sciences

The National Institute of Building Sciences, authorized by public law 93-383 in 1974, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology. For more information, please visit http://www.nibs.org.

About The American Institute of Architects

For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. Members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct to ensure the highest standards in professional practice. Embracing their responsibility to serve society, AIA members engage civic and government leaders and the public in helping find needed solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit http://www.aia.org.

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AIA and NIBS Sign Agreement to Promote Building Industry Research and Knowledge

A pair of NYC architects have submitted plans for a Kickstarter campaign that will allow them to build an underground park in an abandoned trolley terminal in the Lower East Side. Dan Barasch and James Ramsey of Raad Studio are hoping to convert the unoccupied Williamsburg Bridge Trolly Terminal into the city's first subterranean park. The plan is called Delancey Underground and has also been cleverly dubbed the "Lowline."

The space, which is about 60,000 square feet, will be lit using Ramsey and Barasch's self-devised remote sky lights. The remote sky light "concentrates natural sunlight at the surface, channels it underground and then redistributes it. It actually kicks off enough light to support photosynthesis so we can grow plants, tress, grass etc," said Ramsey in their Kickstart video. The video also features stunning renderings of the prospective park, which appears to be a synthesis of modern design and organic textures. 

The duo first presented their idea to their local community board in September, and then to the MTA, which owns the site. They have garnered a significant amount of public interest and will now need to produce a full-scale model that will serve as a demo for the city and potential investors. 

Ramsey and Barasch are aiming to raise $100,000 for the project. As of Monday, they have reached just over half of their goal. The project will only go through if they can reach their pledge by Friday, April 6. 

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NYC Architects Plan Exquisite Underground Park

Only about 3 percent of AIA Architects nationwide are recognized as Fellows. The last time any Santa Barbara architect was elevated to that distinction was more than 20 years ago.

“Had it not been for the fantastic clients and the talented team of design professionals working along side me, I would not have received this award,” Holliday said. “The credit for this recognition deservedly goes to them.”

Fellowship in the AIA recognizes architects who have made significant contributions to the profession of architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. The nation’s leading architectural service organization, the AIA was founded in 1857 and represents more than 80,000 architects and design professionals worldwide.

Holliday will receive the Fellowship Medal at the May National AIA Convention in Washington D.C. at a ceremony in the Washington National Cathedral. A South Coast celebration and reception for the AIA and community members will be announced in the coming weeks.

Holliday has been a leader in the Santa Barbara community for more than two decades and recently served as the chairman for the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce. His pool of clients consists of an array of public and private institutions, including the city and county of Santa Barbara, UCSB, Westmont, SBCC, as well as a number of private corporations and high-tech start-up companies.

Mayor Helene Schneider said, “Santa Barbara is extremely fortunate to have someone of Michael Holliday’s caliber, integrity and deep care and compassion in our community.”

Of Holliday, county Supervisor Janet Wolf said, “Mr. Holliday is a forward thinker with a dedication to environmental issues. He has always been vocal on the importance of building green.”

Holliday designed a commercial office building at 1100 Santa Barbara St., which his colleague Bill Mahan called “one of the nicest designs that’s been done in Santa Barbara since the 1930’s. It’s just a wonderful building, beautiful composition, simple, incredibly compatible. It’s a standout.”

Holliday is a past president of the AIA Santa Barbara Chapter and has served as the government relations chairman for the group. He has helped the organization lead various planning, energy conservation and “green” environmental initiatives to benefit the community. He serves on the boards of the UCSB Economic Forecast, the Santa Barbara Region Chamber Commerce, the Central Coast MIT Enterprise Forum, Kids Helping Kids, and is chairman of the South Coast Business Forum.

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American Institute of Architects Honors Santa Barbara Leader

By Roberto A. Capili

Real Estate Updates

Sunday, February 26, 2012

(Speech delivered by the author during the monthly general meeting of the Philippine Institute of Architects – PIA – Manila Section February 24, 2012 in Pasig City, Metro Manila)

FIRST of all, allow me to extend my deep appreciation for this invitation. It is indeed my great honor and rare privilege to be with you – the cream of the crop of Architects – in this meeting of the Philippine Institute of Architects (PIA), Manila Section, a prestigious organization in the forefront of the Architectural profession. On our part and as our humble share in increasing awareness in various disciplines allied with your profession, we shall share with you the latest developments as regards the real estate industry in general and the professional real estate service practice in particular.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Personally, I have had many acquaintances and had actually worked with Architects in several projects which we jointly undertook and handled. I am greatly amazed and hold in high esteem their dedication and professionalism in their chosen field of expertise. The truth is, Architecture and Architectural practice shares a lot in common with Real Estate and Real Estate Practice.

Basically, both fields of Architecture and Real Estate serve as pillars in fulfilling one of the Basic Needs of Man – and that is Shelter. Along the service that we render in this endearing endeavor is the assurance that: Man and the populace lives in a livable and habitable dwelling, moves around in a place or neighborhood that is safe, peaceful and enjoyable and proud of a community that is well-planned and offers all the amenities and facilities that is needed: commercial centers; schools and educational institutions; hospitals, clinics and health centers; government centers and institutions and many others to mention a few, designed by Architects for the welfare of all. I can go on and recite all common grounds which Architects and Real Estate Practitioners share. But that is not what I am here for.

Which brings me to the main purpose of my presence here today with you. The updates on Real Estate. More than two (2) years ago, July 30, 2009 to be exact, a landmark legislation in the real estate business, the Real Estate Service Act (or in short RESA) by virtue of Republic Act No. 9646 was implemented.

The main purpose of the law was to professionalize real estate practice by requiring future practitioners to undergo a four-year college course in real estate and to pass a licensure examination conducted by the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (or PRB-RES) in coordination with the Professional Regulation Commission (or PRC). As some of you know, real estate practice was then supervised and regulated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) before RESA was implemented.

As a recognized profession under our Professional Service Act, Real Estate Service Practice is the newest calling under the wings of PRC, where you as Architects, had long been a standing and recognized member of the community of professionals. The objectives of the new real estate law are:

1. To promote the real estate market, stimulate economic activity and enhance government income from real property-based transactions.

2. To develop and nurture a corps of technically competent, responsible and respected professional real estate service practitioners.

3. To assure the development of real estate practitioners whose standards of practice and service shall be globally competitive through proper and effective regulation and supervision.

4. To promote the growth and development of the real estate industry.

The highlights of Resa could be summarized as follows:

The categories of real estate service practitioners are:

• Real Estate Consultant

• Real Estate Appraiser

• Real Estate Assessor

• Real Estate Broker

• Real Estate Salesperson

> THE CREATION OF A PROFESSIONAL REGULATORY BOARD OF REAL ESTATE SERVICE (PRB-RES) composed of a Chairperson and four (4) Members appointed by the President of the Philippines. It shall have the over-all supervision and regulation of the real estate service practice in the Philippines.

> LICENSURE EXAMINATION. Every applicant seeking to be registered and licensed as a real estate service practitioner, except a real estate salesperson, shall undergo an examination to be given by the PRB-RES. (to be continued)

-o0o-

(The writer is a Certified Public Accountant and president of the Baguio Realtors Board, Inc. Apart from being a recognized Real Estate Practitioner as a Real Estate Broker and Educator, Lecturer and Resource Person, he is likewise a Business Management/NGO/Cooperative Consultant, Project Development Consultant, Financial Advisor/Loan Broker and Columnist. For comments and more information of Real Estate Updates and Studies, you may get in touch with him at No. 04 Old Forestry Compound, Baguio City 2600, Tel. No (074) 427-1971/ Cell Nos. 09109302753/09163188274 or email: bert_capili@yahoo.com/ bertcapili65@hotmail.com).

Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on February 27, 2012.

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Capili: Sharing real estate with the architects (I)

SARASOTA SchenkelShultz Architecture in Sarasota received two first- place awards in the high school and elementary school categories presented by the Florida Educational Facilities Planners’ Association at its Winter 2012 Conference in February.

The company received awards for its design of Hernando County School Board’s Weeki Wachee High School in Weeki Wachee, and Lake County Schools’ Sorrento Elementary School in Sorrento. Weeki Wachee High School incorporates the extended learning community concept and features two academic “neighborhoods” with an athletic, dining and performing arts “town center” clustered around a secure central courtyard. Sorrento Elementary School was designed to Lake County Schools’ Sustainability Initiative incorporating environmentally friendly design principles.

SRQ Wealth Management updates website

SARASOTA SRQ Wealth Management has updates its new website http://srqwealth.com.

Created by Marketeria, the website provides direct access for clients to login to their accounts from every page, streamlined searching and intuitive navigation informative presentations using multimedia and downloadable educational materials, blog posts with current news.

The Furniture Warehouse honored in Top 100 list

MANATEE The Furniture Warehouse was named one of the Top 100 Independent Furniture Stores in America by Furniture Today in its 2011 Beyond the Top 100 list. The list recognizes retailers who are significant players in their markets.

Nuevo Advertising named web developer for physician

SARASOTA Nuevo Advertising Group is now working with Dr. Julio E. Pabon, board certified reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist, and the Fertility Center and Applied Genetics of Florida, Inc.

Nuevo Advertising is administering the center’s current website while designing and building a new site and addressing search engine optimization issues.

Home Resource named retailer for furniture designer

SARASOTA Home Resource has been named the Florida Gulf Coast retailer for Filipino furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue, whose pieces have been showcased in several Hollywood films. The multi-award-winning designer offers a complete line of signature creations, including bedroom, dining, living room and outdoor groups.

Home Resource will carry the new introductions of his 2012 line in addition to classics like the Yoda easy chair, Ying & Yang easy armchair and Wave dining table.

Cobonpue takes his inspiration from nature and is known for his use of organic fibers. His furniture has appeared in such Hollywood films as “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Maid of Honor” and “Spread,” and can be found in leading hotels and resorts in Paris, London and the Caribbean.

Solar Direct to work with Manatee firefighters

SARASOTA Solar Direct, a provider of residential and commercial solar power solutions, has agreed to work with Manatee County Fire District to assist in the training of firefighters on the basics of solar power systems.

The training is scheduled to take place at Solar Direct headquarters, in March and is designed to expose firefighters to solar power systems in a commercial setting. The training will cover commercial solar system basic design, electrical principles of solar systems including disconnection in case of fire, safety including accessing roof with solar modules installed.

Forks & Corks festival draws record crowds

SARASOTA Forks & Corks, the four-day food and wine festival presented by The Sarasota-Manatee Originals, attracted more than 1,500 attendees to its grand tasting. The Grand Tasting featured signature dishes from over 40 Originals member restaurants, wines from more than 80 vintners, live entertainment, and a charity wine auction to benefit The American Red Cross.

The silent auction raised more than $6,000. The event also raised more than $25,000 for The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. New this year was a retail wine area where guests were able to buy bottles of wines sampled at the event.

Herald staff reports

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Sarasota architects receive first place awards on Florida school construction

The Irish Times - Monday, February 27, 2012

FRANK McDONALD

THE WORK of Dublin-based Heneghan Peng Architects will be showcased at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale.

“As an emerging international practice, they demonstrate the direction in which Irish architecture can evolve in the future,” said John McLaughlin, curator of Ireland’s presentation at the biennale and former director of architecture with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

He said Heneghan Peng was working across four continents on a “wide range of competition-winning projects”.

“Several of these are in sensitive and symbolic sites that include three Unesco world heritage sites,” Mr McLaughlin added.

The practice, established in 1999 by Róisín Heneghan and Shih-Fu Peng, won its most significant international competition in 2003 to design the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, within sight of the pyramids. Work is expected to start on the project this year.

In 2005, Heneghan Peng won an international open competition to design the Giant’s Causeway Visitors’ Centre – the second world-heritage site project to be awarded to the practice. The centre is under construction and is due to open in June.

The practice also designed Kildare County Council’s headquarters in Naas; pedestrian bridges on the site for the London 2012 Olympics; and a library and school of architecture for the University of Greenwich.

Other projects include a bridge over the Rhine in the sensitive Lorelei stretch of the river, although the architects are in dispute with their client over this project, and a masterplan for the Palestinian Museum at Birzeit University near Ramallah.

Ireland’s participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale, which opens in late August, is sponsored by Culture Ireland in partnership with the Arts Council.

Ireland’s commissioner for the biennale, Elizabeth Francis, is an Irish-born architect based in Bologna, Italy.

Culture Ireland chief executive Eugene Downes said the presentation of Heneghan Peng’s work at the 2012 biennale would “promote the high quality, dynamism and strong reputation of Irish architects around the world”.

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Emerging architects get Venice showcase

By  Steve Wartenberg

The Columbus Dispatch Sunday February 26, 2012 6:24 AM

ED MATTHEWS | DISPATCH

A bike race on cobbled Town Street is seen through the arch at the Annex at River South apartment complex Downtown.

Architects are opinionated when it comes to the future of Columbus and the surrounding suburbs — and also quite optimistic.

And those opinionated optimists say the next decade should be interesting and present a lot of opportunities, especially Downtown and in the surrounding historic neighborhoods as more people move in and the vacant spaces are filled in with new projects.

Six prominent local architects from the American Institute of Architects Columbus recently shared their views during a wide-ranging discussion: Keith Myers of MSI-KKG; James Bresler and David Brehm of Braun & Steidl; Michael Bongiorno of DesignGroup; John Kelleher of NBBJ; and Jonathan Barnes of Jonathan Barnes Architecture & Design.

They weren’t focused at all on the design of specific buildings and didn’t share whether they liked the look of the new hospital buildings at Ohio State or Nationwide Children’s or the proposed statue for the Scioto Mile riverfront park.

They were in full city-planning mode, and were more interested in sharing their dreams of what could and should be in and around Columbus.

“We realize that the cumulative efforts of what we do changes neighborhoods and cities, so we are thinking on that scale when we design buildings,” Barnes said.

Downtown and infill came up several times during the discussion.

In the not-so-distant past, the trend was to tear down the old buildings Downtown, which gradually became devoid of residents as people moved farther and farther out. These days, the trend is to preserve what’s left and then fill in the empty spaces with new projects, including a plethora of residential units that are bringing people back to live Downtown.

Downtown will continue to evolve — and these six architects have a vision of how they would like it to evolve.

“Enough with the red brick buildings,” Bongiorno said.

He didn’t mean exactly that. He was exaggerating to make his point: Review boards and planning commissions need to be more open-minded and accepting of new styles of architecture. A diverse sea of different, quality architectural styles will only enhance Columbus, he said.

“There’s a misplaced attention on style rather than quality,” Barnes said.

Everyone agreed that Columbus is filled with wonderful old neighborhoods — and it’s important to retain what’s here and add interesting, quality and sustainable new buildings.

While the future of Downtown and many historic neighborhoods looks promising, there could be problems farther from the center of the city.

Meyers and Kelleher said they are concerned about “the next ring out.”

“Land had been more valuable for homes the past few decades on the edges of the area,” Barnes added. “But it’s changing, and in some areas that land is now more valuable as farmland.”

Older residential and commercial developments in outlying areas could actually be plowed under and turned back into farms.

How’s that for reversing a trend?

These architects probably wouldn’t shed many tears if some of these suburban projects go back to farmland.

“Some of the builds in the last 20 to 30?years out there were built to throw away; there’s no quality,” Bongiorno said.

There was also agreement that many of these big suburban projects didn’t do a good job of integrating the residential units into the community.

This type of development is happening in the city — and everyone seemed to agree there are several opportunities to reinvigorate many long-suffering neighborhoods:

“Nationwide Children’s Hospital is expanding — how will it affect the area?” Kelleher wondered.

“Franklinton is on everyone’s radar,” Myers said.

The area around the new Hollywood Casino Columbus is another hot spot — and development around this project could reutilize this section of the city.

Grandview Yard is another development the group believes has an interesting future.

And so is Ohio State, where several student-housing projects are planned.

Brehm praised Ohio State for “creating a high-quality neighborhood community for students with redevelopment of their North Campus housing district.”

In other words, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.

“But we need leaders who are well-informed and make the kind of decisions that make us a better city,” said Gwen Berlekamp, executive director of the American Institute of Architects Columbus.

swartenberg@dispatch.com

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Architects see promising decade ahead for Columbus

On-Site continuing education course provides 21 LU/HSW/SD credit hours from the American Institute of Architects with surviving examples from millennia of building history.

Msida, MALTA (PRWEB) February 23, 2012

Six-thousand-year-old ancient structures are a starting point for an illustration of a multi-disciplinary approach to the preservation of historic properties. “Conservation of Architectural Heritage” will use classroom lecture, labs and escorted field trips to introduce a working concept of the marriage of architecture, archaeology and other sciences. Details of the course #G127MLA101 are available on-line at http://www.OTSF.org/AIACES.htm. Offered in both March and October 2013, the 10-day on-site course addresses options and methodologies for safeguarding irreplaceable built heritage, while still attending and protecting the needs of the modern public that seeks to experience it. Registered architects and designers will earn 21 Learning Units in the essential field of Sustainable Design.

The islands of Malta and Gozo, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, are home to a most remarkable concentration of intact built heritage, including the highest density of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any nation-state anywhere in the world. Malta's patrimony in stone ranges from the oldest free-standing stone architecture in the world, to one of the British Empire's most formidable defensive systems, and includes a rich mix of domestic, religious and military architecture from the ancient, medieval and early modern periods. Participants in this course will be introduced to these challenges by a team of specialists who are actively working on different aspects of the preservation of Malta's built heritage.

The course includes visits to several of the most salient of the island's monuments accompanied by a heritage conservation specialist, and which will be used as case studies to illustrate and stimulate discussion of some of the management and conservation challenges presented in the course lectures.

By introduction to many successful examples of adaptive reuse over centuries, participants will gain experience and inspiration for application in their practice. They can expect to design new public projects with a fuller historic understanding of the evolution of monumental architecture, particularly the world’s purest and most original expression of sensitivity to the union of nature and preplanned enclosed ceremonial space. Most attendees will also correct their education about the beginning of architecture.

Malta and Gozo are home to megalithic structures that were created by a highly developed people more than a thousand years ahead of Stonehenge and the pyramids. The earliest known use of forecourts, retaining walls, and ring compression systems are evidenced in megalithic construction. Malta’s extraordinary Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum mirrors design features of the temples including corbelled ceilings in a superb subterranean example of architecture in the negative. Ongoing research by the University of Malta in the field of archaeoacoustics and the sound behavior of the Hypogeum have been introduced on major television networks.

For a free brochure, email postal address to AIACES(at)OTSF(dot)org

The course is provided by the Florida-based nonprofit OTS Foundation and the University of Malta’s Faculty for the Built Environment. OTSF is a registered provider for the American Institute of Architects, has operated for Elderhostel and currently runs a Malta program for the Road Scholar organization of adventures in lifelong learning. Educational outreach about Malta's megalithic legacy and new research in the field of archaeoacoustics are currently being prepared by OTSF for a travelling lecture in the USA.

###

Linda Eneix
The OTS Foundation
941 918 9215
Email Information

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American Architects to Study the World’s Oldest Freestanding Buildings for Lessons in Conservation and Sustainable ...

SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwire -02/23/12)- Green Endeavors, Inc. (OTCQB: GRNE.PK - News) (Pinksheets: GRNE.PK - News), a majority owned subsidiary of Nexia Holdings, Inc. (Pinksheets: NXHD.PK - News), announced that its newly formed subsidiary Landis Experience Center, LLC (LEC) has made significant progress on its proposed Aveda™ Experience Center (EC).

Richard Surber, CEO of GRNE, stated, "I have received sufficient funding commitments to complete the construction and initial inventory requirements to open our proposed Aveda™ retail store in Salt Lake City's City Creek Development. Additionally, we have retained Atlas Architects which has completed an initial design of the floor plans. Atlas is projecting the completion of a full set of architectural plans in March. I expect the City of Salt Lake to pass off on the drawings by the end of March. We are projecting an opening date for the Aveda™ Experience Center by June 1, 2012; which will be just in time to prepare for back to school and the 2012 holiday season."

Mr. Surber continued, "After nearly 8 months of planning and negotiating, I expect to have a definitive lease signed by the end of next week. I have also conducted several interviews with potential hires that have Aveda™ experience. These prospective new hires will be responsible for managing the new store, as well as fine tuning our front desk and retail sales systems throughout our existing Landis Lifestyle Salons. I am looking to increase products sales system wide by at least $500,000 in the 12 months subsequent to the opening of the EC. Increased product sales will improve our profit margins. The margins on product sales are much higher than on service sales."

About Green Endeavors, Inc.
Green Endeavors, Inc. (OTCQB: GRNE.PK - News) (Pinksheets: GRNE.PK - News), headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a holding company with operations in health & beauty. GRNE owns a majority interest in several Aveda™ based businesses. Visit http://www.landissalon.com; Landis Salons operate hair salons built around the world-class AVEDA™ product line. For more information, visit http://www.green-endeavors.com.

GRNE strongly encourages the public to read the above information in conjunction with its filings and disclosures filed in 2010 and 2011. GRNE's disclosures can be viewed at http://www.green-endeavors.com, http://www.otcmarkets.com or http://www.sec.gov.

This press release contains forward looking statements. The opening of the additional location is contingent upon signing a definitive lease agreement and raising sufficient capital to fund the construction and operation of the prospective location. Management believes that it will be able to raise sufficient capital to construct staff and operate the new location. However, there are no assurances that such assumptions will prove correct with regard to this potential additional location. The actual results that GRNE may achieve could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. Investors should not invest more than they can afford to lose in penny stocks.

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Green Endeavors Retains Atlas Architects and Receives Funding Commitments for Its Proposed Aveda(TM) Experience Center