Hello Dan.

I do not know how the lobby committe was selected, as this was done by the board. You probably know that last year the board held a meeting for all shareholders who had an interest in the lobby renovation. At the end of the meeting everyone who wanted to be on the lobby committee wrote their name on a list with background information, if relevant. After a few weeks, the board chose 8 shareholders to be on the committe with 4 board members, roughly, the numbers keep changeing. Of the eight shareholder, 3 are architects, including myself. One other is in a design-related field. The other 4 shareholders have diverse backgrounds.

Initially the committee was going to do a survey, to find out what shareholders wanted from the lobby renovation, but this was decided against, (not-unannimously) because it was not clear how such a survey would benefit the proccess. Ie., presumably, shareholders would want a nicely designed new lobby by a reputable firm, completed on time and within budget.

Given our $3 to $4 million budget, we worked-out what the scope of work should be, and created the RFQ (Request for Qualifications). We received 33 completed RFQ's from interested firms, and yesterday [March 23 2004] selected 7 of those firms for interviews. Selection was made mainly by looking at the quality of each firm's built work, their reputation, relevant experience, and the care they had taken in responding to the RFQ. Each interview will last about an hour. Based on the interviews, we will select 4 or 5 firms who will be asked to submit design proposals, for which they will each receive $5,000. Given that the budget is not huge, it will be up to them to identify priorities within the outlined scope of work and allocate funds accordingly.

The committee will assess the design submissions for feasibility, some additional cost estimations may be made, and no doubt we will have different favorites. How the final selection is made has not been decided yet. Most likely the decision will be open to a vote by all shareholders.

One design decision that has more or less already been made, and which is in the RFQ (a copy of which is available at the management office) is that the new lobby should maintain some of the character of the 'International Style' in which the buildings were designed, although in an updated and more contemporary way.

... It's been a positive experience so far, with thorough, cordial and sometimes humorous discussions and debates. Mitch Kupfer, Karen Wolfson and Carlos Rosado, the main board members involved, have handled things very well so far. No-one is throwing their weight around, and everyone is given a fair hearing.

Best,

Pietro.

P.S. You can post this on the buzz if you like.