Congratulations to REC, AG Members, Ed Shriver, FAIA and Michael Lingerfelt, FAIA, on their advancement to the AIA College of Fellows.
Ed Shriver founded AIA’s Retail and Entertainment Knowledge Community in 2005, which under his leadership raised the prominence of retail architecture, promoted knowledge-based design and improved retail and entertainment environments, strengthening our communities and our profession.
Through his leadership in the AIA, Ed has improved the quality of environments for commercial exchange and social engagement. He added to the body of knowledge about retail architecture and elevated the role of architects in retail and entertainment markets, which constitute nearly 25% of all non-residential construction spending. He recast retail and entertainment design as an expertise-based profession sustained by research and proven models. Ed has pursued rigorous levels of research concerning the underlying drivers of urban retail. Breaking new ground, he explored “urban ecology” – the application of landscape ecology tools to urban design – and used this approach in his own projects to create designs which were both commercially advanced and made their urban environments more vibrant. He has collaborated with Carnegie Mellon University to explore urban ecology and its application to the next generation of architects, and in 2011 he was awarded an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant to continue this exploration.
As a practitioner, Ed creates retail environments that energize urban communities. He promotes retail architecture as the lynchpin for livable communities at AIA seminars, workshops, and roundtables.
Michael Lingerfelt, became the other half of the Retail and Entertainment Knowledge Community representing the entertainment component. He is a high-energy architect with more than 30 years experience in design and project delivery directing projects as diverse as schools, theme park attractions, stores, restaurants, health care and hospitality facilities. He spent over 15 years with Disney Imagineering as the Director of Project Architecture and Engineering. His entertainment skills were honed as the Architect of Record for Disney's Animal Kingdom, Mission: SPACE, Rock-n-Roller Coaster as well as many attractions in the Magic Kingdom.
He has been an active leader in AIA Florida, including serving as 2009 legislative and regulatory affairs vice president, 2010 president-elect and 2011 president. While leading the association, he was instrumental in the passage of legislation that aligns Florida building codes with model codes that insure safer, more consistent administration. Michael has served on AIA national’s Disaster Assistance Committee, represented the AIA at FEMA's Emergency Management Institute's Strategic Plan 2009 – 2014 Focus Group, participated in the Haiti Rebuilding Summits and been a California Emergency Management Agency Safety Assessment Program (SAP) trainer. He has modeled how architects can be a valuable asset to communities before and after a natural disaster as well as in the rebuilding effort.