National Institute of Arts & Letters, honor society, Act of Congress passed 4 February 1913
Nathaniel Owings, American architect, birthday 5 February 1903
Fire Extinguisher, invented by Alanson Crane, patented 9 February 1863
The National Institute of Arts & Letters has a confusing
and unnecessarily complicated history of inception. Without going into much detail as to how, the
organization is now known as the American Academy of Arts & Letters. The original “Institute” was founded in 1902
but was recognized by an act of Congress in 1913. This does not mean it is a government funded or
controlled organization, simply that it is recognized and is essentially an honorary
title. Other organizations with this
honor include the Girl/Boy Scouts and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Essentially, the purpose of the AAA&L is “to
foster and sustain excellence in Literature, Music and the Fine Arts by
identifying and encouraging individual artists.” It does this by awarding prizes (money),
exhibiting work and funding performances & literature of up-and-coming
artist & authors. To be elected to
the 250 council is not only an honor by being recognized by your peers but is
also a life-long membership. The Academy
has also identified and fostered some of the country’s most influential and
important artists. Despite a black period
when modernism was shunned, today the AAA&L is more akin to the original progressive
intention. Members include Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, Maya Lin, Richard Meier, I. M. Pei and Robert Venturi
to name just a few. 
As one of the founding members of the Chicago-based
architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merril (SOM), Nathaniel Owings’
business & organizational acumen lead the firm to become known worldwide
for reliability for large-scale developments.
Despite a cantankerous relationship with Louis Skimore, SOM became and
still is the quintessential “go-to” firm for record making skyscrapers. The two were so independently strong willed that a satellite
office had to be opened in New York so they didn’t have to be in the same city
together. But, with the even-tempered engineer
John O. Merril in the middle, the business partnership was an enormous
success. SOM has the most buildings on
the “World’s Tallest Buildings” list with 10.
That’s 6 more than any other firm on the list and they are about to add
11th with One World Trade Center holding fast to spots 1 and 2. Owings retired from the firm in 1975 but remained
an active advocate for open public spaces in American cities including acting
as President Johnson’s design advisor for the National Mall in Washington,
D.C. Additionally, the California
Architectural Council of the AIA continues his legacy by awarding an
architectural prize in his honor each year to projects that reconcile the
potential adverse needs between nature and the built environment. The 2012 winner, the California Academy of
Sciences is truly inspiring as it serves two purposes as a building and a
science experiment simultaneously. Think
of it as one giant terrarium. 
In the wake of yet another deadly night club fire last week
(this time in Brazil) it is appropriate that we look at a fire prevention
device. Before there were fire
extinguishers, there were fire grenades.
It seems counter-intuitive to throw a grenade at a fire. However, these small orb-shaped glass bottles
filled with fire suppression liquid would be hurled at an ensuing fire with
moderate success. With the advent of the
fire extinguisher, a person would have a bit more control over where the liquid
landed and thereby a better chance of actually containing the fire. The basic principle is to contain the liquid
within a pressurized canister when opened the liquid will shoot out; much like
a “Super-Soaker” water gun works. Thankfully,
there have been many devices created over the past few centuries but Alanson
Crane’s was the first in the US. 
With
each new technology, buildings and the public at large are safer provided municipal
codes are in place, followed and enforced.
The US today has some of the strictest Life Safety codes in existence. These are not hurdles that hinder the design
process. These are essential the functionality
of a building and legitimize our job as design professionals. The next time you enter a public building,
take a moment to locate some of the devices put there by the designer for your
safety: lighted exit signs, overhead sprinklers, fire alarms, emergency back-up
lighting (thank you Super Dome) and attached to the wall--a fire
extinguisher. 
American Academy of Arts & Letters
Biography of Nathaniel A. Owings on the SOM website
Willis Tower, Chicago, IL
John Hancock Center, Chicago, IL
Nathaniel A. Owings Award
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA
National Fire Protection Association
NFPA artidle on Brazilian nightclub fire, 27 January 2013
NFPA article on fire extinguishers
ESPN article on the Super Dome Super Bowl power outage, 3 February 2013
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