News briefs

AIA convention to keynote security design. In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the AIA National Convention and Expo 2002, May 9-11, in Charlotte, N.C., will host a series of seminars and workshops focusing on improving building security through design.

Representatives from structural engineer Weidlinger Associates, New York City, will discuss advancements that allow architects to design creative facilities that will withstand terrorist attacks. Randy Atlas, president of Atlas Safety & Security Design Inc., Miami, will outline essential elements of designing schools to resist crime, violence and terrorism. For information on attending the convention and expo, call 800-242-3837, or visit www.aiaconvention.com.

Lawsuits filed in scaffolding collapse. The families of three women killed when scaffolding at the John Hancock Center in Chicago crashed to the street below have sued the building's owner, the scaffolding manufacturer, the contractor and the scaffold erector, claiming negligence and wrongful death. The lawsuits are against owner Shorenstein Management Inc., San Francisco; the local arm of Denver-based contractor AMS Architectural Technologies Inc.: scaffold manufacturer Beeche Systems Corp., Scotia, N.Y.; and Prime Staging Inc. of Bensenville, Ill., which assembled the scaffold.