From the moment I learned back in December that the CAE Spring Conference would be in Portland this year, I had been waiting in eager anticipation, hopeful that I would be able to attend. Thanks to a Scholarship from AIA National (and the generosity of my lovely wife for staying home with our daughter), I am now three days into the conference and loving every moment!
Having now seen a part of the country I had longed to see, and having immersed myself in hours of conversations with like-minded architects who also have a passion for pushing the boundaries of Educational Design for the 21st Century, I was not in the least bit disappointed. Oregon has proven to be one of the most beautiful places I've been, and the #CAEportland (check it out on Twitter
here!) participants that I was able to engage with throughout the experience were some of the most welcoming and engaged Architects.
And yet, like all truly great things in life, there were two unexpected encounters over the past three days that went above and beyond my expectations. Encounters that not only inspired, allowing me to reset and re-energize my passions, but encounters that stirred my soul. These were our tour of Mount Angel Monastery's Library and our extended visit at the Trillium Primary School. Each of these touched me in such a personal way; as the Brothers at Mount Angel and the students at Trillium took such pride in being able to introduce us to the spaces they have come to love and embrace as their own.
I won't forget the joy and eagerness by which the Brothers shared the history of their building with us. I was particularly moved when one of the Brothers read to us from the original letter that Alvar Aalto had written to the Monastery in 1962, after being asked to design the new library. Being careful to recount every detail, it was as though time had stopped as he retold story after story of his own interaction with Aalto, and Aalto's interaction with the site and building. What made the experience all the more moving was that he could not have found a more captive audience, with the eyes and ears of dozens of architects from across the country and around the world hanging onto every word. And then to see and hear and journey with the Students of Trillium, who so graciously opened their school wide to us; letting us touch and see and even slide (!!) through an educational gem of a school. A school that they so clearly have come to love and adore with the most sincere gratitude.
Why we do what we do as Architects, and in particular as Architects who create places for learning, was in full view during #CAEportland, and I am sincerely honored and grateful to have been granted the opportunity to attend.