Committee on Design

 View Only

Community HTML

Via Aequalitas

Quick Links

Who we are

The Committee on Design (COD) was founded to promote design excellence among members of the AIA, the broader design community, and the public at large, both nationally and internationally.

2024 COD Conferences

Arkansas

April 3-7 | 21c Hotel | Bentonville and Eureka Springs - Registration is sold out.

Brazil

Thu, Oct 17 - Sat, Oct 26, 2024
Sao Paulo > Brasilia > Rio de Janerio.  Registration will open in late April.

2024 Sponsorships

Download the prospectus for Arkansas and Brazil opportunities.


2023 COD Conferences

Last year, COD held two domestic design conferences investigating The Authenticity of Place.  The first conference was held in New Orleans, LA.  View the short video of the venue tours and download the conference program book. The second conference was held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, September 21-24, 2023. Download the Minneapolis guidebook and view the conference video

  • 1.  The Importance of Bill Krisel AIA

    Posted 06-17-2017 03:28 PM

    The passing of William Krisel last week was noted in the New York Times and on the COD website.  Mr Krisel represented the very best that our profession can be.  While he practiced in one of the meccas of the upper one percent (Palm Springs, CA), his most important work was for the rest of us. 

    I believe
    our profession is divided into two very different worlds; one world of excellent architects working for appreciative clients, and the other world of clients begrudgingly forced into using (often unhappy and underpaid) architects in the process of building a new facility. 

    The first category includes a small percentage of the membership of the AIA, those who have the good fortune to work for institutions, corporations and individuals who come to the table valuing the importance of design in their developments.  These architects and their clients select each other based on their shared interests and the high quality of service provided both in terms of aesthetic skills and programmatic and technical expertise.  This culture perpetuates itself by attracting the best and brightest architecture graduates.

    The second category includes the vast majority of AIA members.  These architects are generally hired because their clients cannot get a building permit without them.  Like their counterparts in the first group, these architects think of themselves most importantly as ARCHITECTS(those who see monuments as their goal), their primary contribution being the certainty that a project will be aesthetically pleasing.  Across the country we give ourselves awards according to this standard and not in terms of client satisfaction.  Clients in this category may not embrace the value of aesthetics.  Beyond being forced to hire an architect, they hope that their architect can guide them towards the most efficient use of their resources.  The lack of correspondence between the goals of the two sides leads to the marginalization of most architects in many communities.

    Bill Krisel, on the other hand, bridged this divide.  He worked for profit-oriented developers.  His work incorporates what he knew about aesthetics, function and technique.  It also reflects the market realities that his clients faced.  Although I accept that Krisel may have been exceptional in his ability to practice in the merchant-oriented world, I also think many more of us could do so if we would soften up our determination to be ARCHITECTS!

    In Madison, Wisconsin, (arguably a culturally advanced community) the many FLW homes are generally sad misfits in neighborhoods of more conventional houses.  Palm Springs on the other hand is not only a mecca for the rich, it is also a mecca for what we call modern architecture.  Bill Krisel's willingness to carefully design speculative homes and commercial buildings may well have been the essential piece in Palm Springs' unique evolution.

     I strongly recommend that you take time to watch "William Krisel, Architect", a video available at https://vimeo.com/153836200.  Among others, Alan Hess, one of my favorite architectural historians, is featured in this video.  It would be great if he weighed in here.  Alan, are you out there?



    ------------------------------
    Mike Mense FAIA
    mmenseArchitect
    New York NY
    ------------------------------
    2024 HRC Taliesin West


  • 2.  RE: The Importance of Bill Krisel AIA

    Posted 06-20-2017 07:01 AM

    Mike, I would like to watch the video, but it is password protected.  Any help?

     

    Greg Burke, AIA, NCARB

    President

    2017 AIA Florida Pullara Award Winner

    2017 AIA National Committee for Equity and the Future of Architecture

    2015-2016 AIA Florida Vice President

    2016 AIA National Diversity & Inclusion Council Vice-Chairman

     

     

    GREGORY JOHN BURKE | ARCHITECT, PA

     

    333  17th Street, Suite J

    Vero Beach, Florida 32960

    PH: 772.299.6999

    FX:  772.299.6444

    CP: 772.473.6423

    gjburke@burkearchitects.com

     

    Florida C of A No. AA26001974

     

    This e-mail and any attachments contain Gregory John Burke | ARCHITECT, PA confidential information that may be proprietary or privileged.  If you receive this e-mail in error or are not the interested recipient, you should not retain, distribute, disclose or use any of the information and you should destroy this e-mail and any attachments and/or copies.  All information is protected by Copyright laws of the United States of America

     




    2024 HRC Taliesin West


  • 3.  RE: The Importance of Bill Krisel AIA

    Posted 06-20-2017 07:32 AM
    Ah, private enterprise strikes again. I suppose, appropriately in this case. It was not a private video last week, but someone has now put up that wall. You can rent the movie at various sites. I am sorry to say that's the best I can do.
    Mike

    Sent from my iPad


    2024 HRC Taliesin West