The Committee on Design (COD) was founded to promote design excellence among members of the AIA, the broader design community, and the public at large, both nationally and internationally.
Arkansas
April 3-7 | 21c Hotel | Bentonville and Eureka Springs - Registration is sold out.
Brazil
Thu, Oct 17 - Sat, Oct 26, 2024Sao Paulo > Brasilia > Rio de Janerio. Registration will open in late April.
Download the prospectus for Arkansas and Brazil opportunities.
Last year, COD held two domestic design conferences investigating The Authenticity of Place. The first conference was held in New Orleans, LA. View the short video of the venue tours and download the conference program book. The second conference was held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, September 21-24, 2023. Download the Minneapolis guidebook and view the conference video.
Providence is experiencing a rebirth, culturally and economically. This smaller city provides one of the best examples anywhere of how good design, innovative small-scale architecture, creative use of old infrastructure, and an urban planning vision can help smaller cities thrive. We will open the conference on Thursday, October 1st with a dinner and our traditional Member Slide Show (see details below) held in the recently-renovated Providence Public Library. On Friday, we will learn about how the city has evolved and where future planning and development is going. We will then visit specific projects downtown and on the ‘East Side’ at the Rhode Island School of Design and around Brown University. These projects illustrate ways to integrate new architecture into existing contexts; creating new places that make more of what already exists. We’ll host a cocktail party/petcha kutcha with local architects and craftspeople. Friday dinner is on your own allowing you to explore Providence’s terrific array of restaurants. On Saturday we will hear from two very talented local architects about the opportunities and challenges in making a difference in a smaller city. We will then explore highlights surrounding Providence, including visiting a house with Peter Bohlin - who will talk about “Locally Grown” design. Our closing dinner will be held in the RISD Museum. Also Saturday is Providence WaterFire - an urban event not to miss!!