September 12, 2020

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AIA New Jersey 2021 Vice President Brian Penschow, AIA, is Endorsed by the New Jersey Architects Political Action Committee

NJ APAC, the political arm of the NJ AIA, has endorsed Brian W. Penschow, AIA, NCARB, in his run for Middletown Township Committee  this November. 

Brian W. Penschow, AIA, NCARB has been a resident of Middletown for the past seven years, and a resident of Monmouth county since 2008. He is the current chairperson for the American Institute of Architects’ Custom Residential Architects’ Network and Small Firm Exchange committee, and the immediate past-President of AIA Jersey Shore. Brian has been elected to serve as AIA New Jersey’s Vice-President for 2021.

At last year’s inaugural Young Architect Conference, Brian received a conference award detailing his contributions to the community through leadership and mentorship. An award-winning design architect, Brian is fortunate to have worked on nearly all building types throughout his career. In 2018, he completed work with a developer to adaptively reuse several buildings in the historic four-corners district of Newark, NJ, utilizing the federal historic tax credit and sound preservation techniques to breathe new life into a few glorious buildings.

In addition to his other volunteer work, Brian is a State licensing advisor for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the chairperson for the residential exam development committee for the International Code Council (ICC), and an AIA-NJ liaison to the New Jersey State Board of Architects. He also serves on AIA’s public affairs, legislative and governmental affairs, k-12 education, and women in architecture committees.

Brian has attended Union County College, Rutgers University College of Engineering, and New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Architecture.

According to the Middletown Democratic Party, “Brian believes in accessible, sustainable communities and has been a strong voice statewide for smart, responsible restoration techniques to ensure our future resiliency. Volunteerism and service are key elements of their lives, and both have to their credit an impressive list of community and professional service roles.”

– Middletown Democratic Party

Brian currently owns his own small architecture firm and works with Construction Specifications Incorporated as a consultant writing specifications for many major New York City architecture
firms. On weekends and evenings, you can find him spending time with his family hiking, climbing lighthouses, or traveling. Brian loves nature, and cities, people, and animals, and has bucket-loads of passion for architecture and the community that he desires to serve. We urge you to help support and elect Brian and encourage you to visit his campaign website to learn more. 

As part f the vetting process, NJ APAC asked Mr. Penschow to answer a series of questions. Please find his responses below.

1. Do you support a mandate to have architects on review boards such as planning and zoning? 

Yes! Architects have the training and insight to provide valuable information to the Township Committee about making development decisions within New Jersey communities.

 

2. Do you support that codes should not be legislated but should go through the DCA adoption process?

Except in cases where a local specific condition requires a local more stringent amendment to the building code to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, I support that building codes should not be legislated.

 

3. Do you oppose mandating the use of or prohibition of specific materials in specifications for buildings? 

I oppose legislating the use of specific materials for buildings. I do NOT oppose prohibiting certain materials for buildings that have been proven scientifically to be harmful to the occupants.

 

4. Do you support tax credits at all levels for climate change environmentally specific design? 

I do.

 

5. Do you support AIA National’s Legislative Agenda and National’s Policies as part of your platform?

I fully support both the AIA’s National Legislative Agenda and National Policies as part of my platform, and further if elected will attempt to implement some of that agenda locally.

 

 

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By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in Members & the Community, NJAPAC | Tagged: #BrianPenschowAIA, #CitizenArchitect, #MiddletownNJ, #NJAPAC | Comments (0)