Young Architects Forum

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The Young Architects Forum (YAF), a program of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the College of Fellows (COF), is organized to address issues of particular importance to recently licensed architects.

FAQ: What is a young architect and what is an emerging professional? Young architects are architects licensed up to ten years of initial licensure, and the name does not have any relationship to age. Emerging professionals are professionals who have completed their academic studies up to the point of licensure or up to 10 years after completion of their academic studies. Although young architects are now defined as distinct from emerging professionals, many components refer to these groups similarly. For example, a local YAF group may include emerging professionals and a local Emerging Professionals Committee may include young architects.

  • 1.  Learning from Hospitality

    Posted 02-28-2020 02:08 PM

    At a recent excellent panel discussion on Public Spaces hosted by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson as a part of their Gathering Series; Lisa Picard, CEO and President of EQ Office, a forward looking Seattle developer, said something like this:  "More and more we ask our commercial and residential designers to learn from hospitality designers.  We realize that our most important products are experiences rather than bricks and mortar."

    Boy Howdy!

    Some of you may remember hearing me rant about "monument to instrument" -How an architect's responsibility nowadays is much more about ensuring that built environments support human activities than documenting, celebrating, reflecting the best of our cultures (this task doesn't go away, and there is no reason that we cannot accomplish both).

    Lisa Picard seems to have realized that the hospitality industry knows that if it's environments do support human activity, those environments are more likely to engender more business.

    BUT WAIT A MINUTE!  Don't we all want our designs to do the same thing!  Not for the business, but because that's what we're all about!?



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    Mike Mense FAIA
    New York NY
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  • 2.  RE: Learning from Hospitality

    Posted 03-02-2020 05:55 PM
    It would be great if longtime architects who have dedicated their careers and are grounded first and foremost from planning and designing from a cultural and local perspective could be highlighted.  Most of the architects in the US who have this experience are Black Architects, examples are Max Bond, Phil Freelon, Bryan Lee, Donald King, Jack Travis, Micheal Willis, Dr. Sharon E. Sutton,  Darrel Williams and Deanna Van Buren to name several.
    We as a profession must be more open and diverse about who we lift up as examples.

    Prescott Reavis NOMA | LEED AP | SEED | NCARB
    Spatial Activist | Architect | Educator | Planner
    http://skibison.wixsite.com/preavis

    Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
                                                                                                                -- Martin Luther King Jr.

    "The architect's role is to fight for a better world..." Oscar Niemeyer






  • 3.  RE: Learning from Hospitality

    Posted 03-04-2020 12:01 PM
    From my experience, it takes a team of a good developer and good architect that are sensitive to those efforts to pull it off.
    I have seen many time where the developer, especially ones who are planning to flip the project, design and build to the minimum code requirements. Even the "High End" projects can be schlocky. Which I find to be a bit annoying because I got into this bushiness to "help make our built environment a better place".
    But reality is a different thing. Even is Seattle, the design team does not have control over the purse strings and there is some real crap being build that is marketed as luxury. Work force and low income housing is another whole can of worms.
    I work on 80-90% hospitality projects up and down the west coast and mid west. These are driven by the franchise design and specification requirements which force the developers (franchises) to conform to their standards of quantity and as mentioned, customer experience. Not only do we have to have our design pass the building department, but there is an additional multiple reviews of the design from the franchise. The developers and contractors (and architects) who are new to this are kicking and screaming at every step.
    depending on the franchise, these development projects can be awesome.

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    Paul Richards
    Lynnwood WA
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  • 4.  RE: Learning from Hospitality

    Posted 03-05-2020 10:28 PM
    Brilliantly said words from a very forward thinking developer.  

    Crafting experience into projects may soon become as pivotal as the Form vs Function debate. Integrating experience into project challenges architects to view the project not only through the lens of the client or the developer, but rather view the project through the the lens of the end-user who will experience the space. Human interaction and user experience are kings of the day, not only in the tech world, but also now in the hospitality sector.

    I have focused on hospitality and retail projects in Asia for almost 10 years now, and there has never been more a market demand for this project typology. Skeptics claimed brick-and-mortar retail was dead, however it was simply evolving....e-commerce has created a powerful moment when a retail brand no longer needs to fill space with product stock, but can rather create an experience-driven space that reflect the brand's DNA and create a unique journey for the customer.

    However, I increasingly see architects being left behind in this area as more and more corporate clients are grouping this design service in the scope of work of marketing agencies or generalist creative consultancies.

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    Jason Holland AIA
    Co-Founder/Architect
    STUDIO DOHO
    Shanghai
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