Blogs

Letter to Membership

By Kristine B. Johnson AIA posted 03-06-2023
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Greetings Academy of Architecture for Justice Members, Welcome to 2023! It was great seeing so many of our members at our 2022 Fall Conference in Austin. We appreciate all who helped to make the conference a success and we especially want to recognize the efforts of the NextGen members that led panels, social events, and facilitated our breakout sessions. The inspiration you provide is critical for our future success! At the conclusion of the conference, we had some open discussions to evaluate where we are as a Knowledge Community (KC) and where we want to go in the future. The feedback we received was that the membership is energized around the social aspects ...
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AAJ Initiatives Process

By Bruce Bland posted 03-03-2023
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What The AAJ is implementing a new structure to promote short and long-term planning of strategic, actionable initiatives that align with the mission and goals of the Academy of Architecture for Justice Knowledge Community. Why This process is intended to support the development of tangible deliverables, tools, research, resources, and presentations that support the mission and goals of the Academy of Architecture for Justice Knowledge Community. How Submit a request for initiative review form to AAJ leadership group (LG) no later than one week before a scheduled all-membership meeting. Initiative champions are invited to provide a brief ...
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AAJ Research & Technology Committee updates

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 04-16-2021
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Virtual Courts Working Group The pandemic has closed courthouses and restricted case flow. The use of virtual court technology has allowed the courts to maintain some semblance of operations. Coupled with electronic filing and payments courts have learned that video conversations with the public increase confidence in the technology. The use of virtual court technology in some cases was made possible by a temporary relaxing of court rules requiring in-person appearances. Video court technology has clear advantages in many types of proceedings including lower court proceedings such as traffic and misdemeanors, small claims and evidentiary hearings and is ...
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NextGEN Profile: Eric Zeldis

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 04-16-2021
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What is your favorite piece of architecture? Although I’m a New Jersey native, my favorite piece of architecture is down in Washington, D.C. My favorite space in the city is the National Building Museum because of its rich history, grand scale, and attention to detail as it relates to the original function of the building. What degrees did you earn and at what college? I’ve earned both a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture from the University of Maryland. When did you first know that you wanted to be an architect? I first fell in love with design and architecture while building lego towers in my room as an eight ...
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Meet the Leadership Group: Marayca Lopez

By Marayca Lopez i Ferner posted 04-16-2021
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What are you most passionate about in regards to Justice Planning and Design? As a justice planner, I am most passionate about planning for justice facilities that can help to achieve long-term health improvements and positive outcomes for justice-involved people; incorporating scientific research, best practices and evidence-based solutions; providing clients (and a plurality of justice system stakeholders) with data-driven information, resources, and right-sized and innovative solutions; and identifying methods for tracking and measuring progress towards improved outcomes for individuals, families and communities impacted by the criminal justice system. ...
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AAJ Journal: AAJ Leadership Group op-ed

By Gregory A. Cook AIA posted 10-16-2020
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Letter from the Academy of Architecture for Justice Leadership Group Dear AAJ and community members, Over the course of the past year we have seen an awakening in our country and around the world regarding social justice and racial inequality that has prompted a spirited public dialogue about our justice system and the responsibility of architects engaged in the planning and design of justice facilities. Recent statements from AIA New York, ADPSR, and individual firms and architects have brought to light important ethical considerations that are essential to the work of our Knowledge Community. As architects committed to the advancement of fair, just, and ...
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AAJ Journal: Get to know your LG

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 10-16-2020
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Get to know your LG Kristine Bishop Johnson, AIA What are you most passionate about in regards to Justice Architecture? KBJ: As a justice architect, I’m most passionate about the ability to impact positive change in our communities through civic and justice projects. We are impacting project development, planning and design for all phases of the criminal justice system through our work. Justice architecture seems to be a misunderstood career path. We have access to and influence with politicians, practicioners, judges, community organizations and those who are impacted by the criminal justice system. Our work helps facilitate conversations ...
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AAJ Journal: Emerging Professional Profiles

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 10-16-2020
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Emerging Professional Profiles Drew Hustedde, Architect, TreanorHL Personal Information: • How do you like to spend your free time? DH: I love hands-on work and problem-solving. Becoming a homeowner in 2018, I have learned the list of projects never ends but am certainly not complaining. I spend a lot of free time tackling these projects of both necessity… and intention. • What is your favorite book? DH: Tough question. Can I have favortie books? I like books that enable me to dream, think, and do. I will first say a favorite recent read of mine would be Artemis, by Andy Weir, the same author of The Martian – you may have seen the movie. ...
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Letter from a Chair

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 10-16-2020
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Letter from a Chair Welcome to our first (and only) Journal of 2020! I think it is safe to say that this year has been a challenge. First a global pandemic has made us put our lives on pause and forced us to re-think what it means to gather and to examine the implications of sickness on design and community. We are still figuring out how to navigate this new normal while doing our best to study and investigate best practices to keep our built environment COVID safe. We are also navigating the uncertain economy this virus has also spread. Then the death of George Floyd at the hands police officers has brought the systematic racism in our societies forward ...
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Meet Your Departing AG Member

By Erin Persky (Costino) Assoc. AIA posted 12-13-2019
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How did you join the Leadership Group? Describe past committee work if possible. EP: I was asked to join to Leadership Group in June 2015 to replace Amy Phillips, who needed to step down from the LG six months into her tenure in order to take on a larger role in her firm’s local initiatives. (Hi, Amy!) I was very nervous – Amy is fantastic and I knew it was a tough act to follow. At the time I was in my second year as Chair of the Communications Committee and was active on the Research Committee, in the midst of developing the Courthouse POE Toolkit survey instruments. It was a busy time, but I knew I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to serve on the LG. ...
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Reflections on Crossing Borders

By Stephanie Fleming posted 12-13-2019
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I’ve always marked the spring of 2018 as the beginning of my involvement in justice architecture, when I was assigned to my first courthouse project and sat down with the designer for an introductory lesson on the complexities of courthouse planning. It was such a memorable initiation into a field that has since become a career focus, that I’ve pointed to it as a kind of professional milestone. So, I was surprised to learn at this year’s AAJ conference that my justice experience had not, in fact, started with that lesson, but had actually started more than a year earlier, when I worked on a border crossing. This year’s conference theme of “Crossing Borders”, ...
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Breaking Down Barriers Between Community Correctional Facilities

By Francisco N. Caceres posted 12-13-2019
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In late October 2019, various professionals in the Justice Sector including those working in design and law enforcement, came together in San Diego, CA to engage in workshops, lectures and discussions around the political, ethical, economic and sustainability challenges that designing for security and welfare present. Speakers and attendees of the AAJ Fall Conference 2019 contributed innovative ideas that are breaking down the stigmas associated with the traditional punitive Justice System and reducing recidivism by way of inmate re-integration into the community through design and treatment. The David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center Expansion by Dewberry in ...
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Letter from the Chair

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 12-13-2019
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The AAJ Fall Conference in San Diego was a great success! It was great to ‘talk-shop’ with so many engaging thought leaders in the field. These are important conversations we are having because it is so critical to not work in vacuums and silos. In the spirit of keeping the communication going: It’s time for our last journal of 2019! First, we will focus on our latest Seasoned Professional, Ms. Laura Maiello Reidy. She is a bit of a “Justice Hero” for me. I always find her presentations at the AAJ so human focused and in-line with the work I want to do. In fact, when she describes her intentions “pay it forward” by influencing how design professionals ...
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Seasoned Professional Profile

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 12-13-2019
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Personal Information: AAJ: What degrees did you earn and at what college? LMR: My plan of “going away to college” changed when my mom passed away my senior year of high school. I wound up attending Kean University in New Jersey, my home state, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). Losing my mother was traumatic and it changed the course of my future, but my time at Kean University laid the foundation for a career I never envisioned. Back then, you didn’t have to declare a major until your junior year of college, and I selected Sociology. But when I described my desire to work in corrections, he recommended a Social ...
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Report from AIA AAJ Fall Conference 2019: San Diego, CA Plenary Lunch, Keynote Speaker, Two Sessions and a Missed Tour Bus

By Emilia R. Cabeza de Baca Assoc. AIA posted 12-12-2019
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Report from AIA AAJ Fall Conference 2019: San Diego, CA Plenary Lunch, Keynote Speaker, Two Sessions and a Missed Tour Bus By: Emilia Cabeza de Baca This year’s AAJ was my first. I am a young architect focusing on Justice/Civic work in Olympia and Seattle, Washington and was one of three recipients of an emerging professional scholarship. This was an incredible opportunity. I immediately felt like I was around change makers who weren’t afraid of taking on big challenges. When I got home, I chatted with colleagues and peers in and around justice design about what we can do to demonstrate justice. Two sessions that were particularly interesting ...
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AIA AAJ Conference 2019: Las Colinas Women’s Detention and Reentry Facility: Normative and Trauma-Informed Design, human rights, opportunities for gender-responsive practice

By Emilia R. Cabeza de Baca Assoc. AIA posted 10-07-2019
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On Thursday, October 24 th at 3:30 pm, AAJ will lead a tour of the Las Colinas Women’s Detention and Reentry Facility. This LEED Gold campus has been awarded 17 awards, and counting, and completed its first phase of construction in 2014. The first phase of construction provided living quarters for the facility’s residents, exterior courtyards, administration, and visitation spaces. Normative design principles were key in this design. Normative design is an emerging practice that is gaining prominence in healthcare, treatment, educational, and assisted living spaces. Normative spaces feel like home and are at a smaller residential scale with materials and ...
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Interview with Former San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman – Upcoming Opening Plenary Speaker for the 2019 AAJ Conference!

By Erin Persky (Costino) Assoc. AIA posted 10-01-2019
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In anticipation of the upcoming AAJ conference taking place in San Diego October 23rd-26th, I had the opportunity to sit down with Former San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman to get a few teasers for her opening plenary talk. Make sure to get to sunny Southern California in time to participate in what will certainly be an engaging, interactive discussion. Can you tell me one of your most memorable moments as the Police Chief? (But, please, save the best stories for the conference!) Being the Chief of Police comes with many late nights, weekends, and phone calls. There are no days off – but it also comes with perks. One such perk was the ...
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Welcome message from 2019 AAJ conference co-chairs

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 10-01-2019
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Welcome to the 2019 Conference of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice Knowledge Community in beautiful San Diego, California! Our conference theme this year – Crossing Borders – is especially relevant now and reflects not only our location near the US border with Mexico but also the increased national focus on constructing barriers on that border. We hope to use this forum to turn the spotlight away from building barriers and instead, have conversations about how justice facilities can make an impact by bringing communities together rather than by creating walls that divide them. Today, alternatives to detention, innovative courts focused on therapeutic ...
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Report from the 2019 AAJ JFR Jury

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 10-01-2019
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I was honoured to serve as a juror in this year’s Justice Facilities Review ; under the capable leadership of Frank Greene, FAIA.; and supported by the strong staff of the AIA. Here are five observations: As a Canadian, I always look forward to stimulating conversations with my American counterparts. Once again, despite all the messages that say otherwise, we all have more in common than we might think. This year’s jury was comprised of folks from diverse geographic and professional backgrounds. Apart from the observation that some of us ‘talk funny’; it is readily apparent that across our two countries, the people and issues and trends ...
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Emerging professional profile of Jacob Kummer

By Kerry Feeney Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 10-01-2019
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Personal Information: What is your favorite piece of architecture? One of my favorite pieces of architecture is La Muralla Roja by Ricardo Bofill (Taller de Arquitectura). I love everything about it from the intentional use of colours to the way the distinction between public and private spaces has been challenged. It’s a truly beautiful building. What degrees did you earn and at what college? I graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from IE School of Architecture & Design in Madrid. When did you first know that you wanted to be an architect? My grandfather was an industrial designer. Growing up I used to spend ...
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