Academy of Architecture for Justice

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The Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) promotes and fosters the exchange of information and knowledge between members, professional organizations, and the public for high-quality planning, design, and delivery of justice architecture.

My Experience at the AIA AAJ Conference

By Amineh Warrayat posted 01-18-2016 12:21 PM

  

I just wanted to start by saying what an honor and privilege it was for me to attend the 2015 AIA AAJ Conference in Miami. This being the first AIA conference that I attended, I really didn’t know what to expect. Being a recent graduate I haven’t been around the architecture profession long enough to be exposed to all the sectors of architecture, most particularly Justice Architecture. I knew this was something I wanted to gain exposure on based on the discussions that were being led and the scheduled sessions that were selected for the conference. I’m glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised on the varying discussions and potential solutions that were being presented. The merged ideals of design initiative and social justice made for some interesting conversations that often get lost in the architecture field. What really enhanced the success of this conference was the involvement of professionals and stakeholders outside of the world of architecture. Getting the input of professionals in the various fields of justice is an instrumental part of coming up with solutions that are geared towards all the users of these programs.

View of Conrad Hotel, Host of the 2015 AIA AAJ Conference

The conference began with opening words by the 2015 Conference Chair, Tom Perica introducing the first speaker Judge Steve Leifman for the Opening Plenary. Judge Leifman delivered a strong opening speech that shed light on the failures of our current Justice System involving correctional facilities and the mismanagement of the incarceration of citizens with mental health issues; a reoccurring issue that was presented in many of the following sessions in the conference.

Opening speech by Conference Chair, Tom Perica

Pre-Justice Facilities Review Dinner

Restorative Justice Visioning Part 3: Defining Values and Success

I made the effort to attend all three parts of the Restorative Justice Visioning Sessions as these sessions were formatted in a manner that encouraged conversation. Rather than present information and data, these sessions allowed design and justice professionals, stakeholders and daily users of justice facilities to provide insight based on their own perspective. I believe these sessions ultimately highlighted the theme of the conference of "Challenging the Status Quo" by opening up the conversation to a wide range of professionals and users.

Again I am so fortunate to have been in attendance during this conference and am very excited to see what types of conversations will be brought up in the next conference!

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