Attendees gather at Taliesin West for the 2020 AIA Taliesin Colloquium; Image: Margaret Brown

Taliesin Colloquium Scholar Recap

By Shelby Schrank

As a student pursuing a career in preservation architecture, I think AIA events such as this Colloquium at Taliesin West are highly valuable. The event offered great subject matter and detailed content that I believe is extremely useful for an aspiring architect, especially one looking to work with existing buildings.

By attending, l felt that I was provided the necessary materials and methods I needed to start getting involved and thinking ahead about what is next for building codes. The background and history of building codes to date and how they have affected existing buildings thus far were great discussion topics. A timeline of past resources and various publications that have been issued were also helpful to understand. The speakers were very knowledgeable, and their presentations offered great case studies that really spoke to the theme as well as their passion for this field.

The location for the Colloquium was beyond comparison. I have been to many other Frank Lloyd Wright sites, but Taliesin West felt special not only for its architecture but for its evolving nature and the fact that its spaces are utilized on a day-to-day basis. The venues offered a pleasant and evoking learning environment.

I also had the opportunity to meet many wonderful individuals in attendance who were very supportive and willing to share insight and advice on my current and future endeavors. I want to thank them all for their time and I look forward to having them as colleagues in the preservation community.

I can only hope that the Historic Resources Committee continues to grow within the AIA and offers more of these events in the future. I want to thank the committee for providing me the funding to attend and I look forward to returning to another Colloquium in the future!