I trust this message finds you safe and healthy in your socially-distanced workplace. I must say, I never in my wildest dreams, or nightmares, would have imagined a time period such as this in our profession. Many of us who have been practicing for several decades, have seen the ups and downs of the economy. We have weathered the storm; modified our practices; and adjusted our points-of-view. But this time is different. This time our struggle is affecting our health, well-being, sense of belonging and personal lives in many more ways than financial. We are all juggling separation of our personal and professional lives. How many of you have now seen your co-worker’s or client’s dining room, kitchen, home office space—and sometimes bedroom—on a video conference call? What used to be considered an option to “work from home” has become yet another adjective: WFH, and a necessity to keep our businesses moving forward.
Our current president, Kristen Waltz, Ellen Taylor, and other members of our knowledge community have been working tirelessly with the AIA, providing our industry with resources for our practices. Please make sure to see the AIA website for these useful and important resources.
In light of this, we know that you have also likely been inundated with webinars, ZOOM or GoTo Meeting calls, online work sessions, required fireside chats and virtual happy hours. The Academy of Architecture for Health understands this information overload and in respect of this, have opted to alter our cadence of communication with you and minimize the amount of emails and messages you receive. We are using a web-based newsletter, starting this month, to provide you with relevant content for your reference. Rest assured, we are still seeking research, articles, recognition and white papers to help you succeed in your health practice. We have not forgotten our mission: to “provide knowledge which supports the design of healthy environments by creating education and networking opportunities for members of—and those touched by—the healthcare architectural profession.”
As always, we are available if you have questions, comments or suggestions for the Communications committee, you can reach me directly at kmontague@hksinc.com .
Be well,
Kimberly Montague, AIA EDAC LEED AP