Greetings - ReCap of HIgher Education at AIA National Conference
AIA Conference on Architecture was held in Las Vegas on June 6-8, 2019. Though smaller than A'18 in New York City, it was a memorable event,with our continuously growing Intersections Symposium, fun student events, and some emerging themes supporting research, education and practice. Here is a brief snapshot...
Some Themes I Heard at A'19 sessions (emphasis is all mine)
- Can't use historic data to design – must move to adaptive design with climate issues
- Collaboration across multiple disciplines – finance, law, real estate, insurance, planning, engineering, and more
- Mentors/Interns are key to keeping young/new rising architects in the profession and succeeding
- Architects broadening their repertoire generates MORE Work!
- Architects must GET TO THE TABLE!
- Need to collaborate and build trust with the community/partners.
- Go into project with an open mind and get creative – low budgets – GREAT learning – look for opportunities to go beyond the original project and make it better.
- Build in small efforts for quick results to build trust.
- Engaging the community as your experts will result in better informed decisions and design.
- Work like this can lead to additional projects for architects.
- Architects must get engaged to be written into the RFP process – codes and zoning issues – teaching the next generation and solving societal issues.
- Architects must PROMOTE what it is they do and share with the public/govt./business/etc.
Intersections Symposium: Bottom Up Social Change
We had an outstanding Intersections Symposium at AIA Conference in Las Vegas last week. Interest in research continues to grow and this was evident by our attendees. Our headcount for the three sessions on Saturday, June 8 was 359. The theme was Bottom Up Social Change, curated by our two co-chairs, Elizabeth Golden, AIA, Univ. Washington and Joshua Vermillion, Univ. Nevada Las Vegas. Each session was moderated by an architect in practice and/or academic. Bryan Bell, Public Interest Design, North Carolina State Univ., moderated a session on infrastructure projects in Sacramento, CA, with Sergio Palleroni, Portland State, and in Tucson, AZ, with Courtney Crosson, Univ. of Arizona. Our second session was moderated by Dan Maginn, FAIA, Dake Wells and Dwell podcaster, in Kansas City. This session focused on community engaged and design/build projects by: Emilie Taylor Welty, AIA, Tulane, Parisite, a skatepark in New Orleans; Tadd Heidgerken's community center project (Detroit Mercy), and Hans Hermann, Mississippi State University, and their community pavilion using repurposed materials. The final session of the day featured larger housing projects working with city government, grants, codes and zoning issues in Seattle, Los Angeles and Detroit. The session was moderated by Katie Swenson, Loeb Fellow and Enterprise Community VP, with her panelists, Sharon Harr, FAIA, Univ. Michigan; Rick Mohler, AIA, Univ. Washington; and Angie Brooks, FAIA, Scarpa & Brooks, Los Angeles.
Many thanks to these participants for some great discussion and powerful examples of the impact architects and future architects can have. The proceedings from these three sessions will be shared in late 2019, thanks to our collaboration with ACSA and Eric Ellis. The call for 2020 Intersections in Los Angeles will be announced soon.
Student Events @ A'19
More than 200 students took advantage of the AIA National Conference and access to more than 3500 exhibitors and hundreds of educational sessions. This is always a bargain at a $25 registration fee. We offered Don't Gamble on Your Future: Spin, Ask, Learn! -- a panel on building a career with large and small firm owners, a hiring manager, recent grads, and a student, moderated by the current AIAS president, Amy Rosen. Topics covered firm culture, getting hired, needed skills, and sharing of experiences from established pros to new small firm owners. Many thanks to our panelists:
- Dominic Armendariz – AIAS West Quad – UNLV
- Meg Brown - Perkins & Will, Washington, DC
- Destanee Cook – AIAS UNLV President
- Kyle Fischer, AIA – Ikthus Design, Las Vegas, NV
- Tania Van Herle, AIA, LEED – HED, Los Angeles
- Nate Hudson, AIA – FormGrey Studio, Reno, NV
Another wonderful opportunity for students and practitioners is the AIA Film Challenge, Blueprint for Better. We hosted a panel featuring films on architecture students' design build projects and a panel discussing this work. Many thanks to these panelists as well:
- Moderator: Amy Rosen, Assoc. AIA – 2018-2019 AIAS National President
- Sarah Curry – 2019-2020 AIAS National President, featured in Rural Studio film
- Emilie Taylor Welty, AIA, Design/Build Manager, Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design, Tulane Univ.
These are the films we watched and they are available for viewing: Rural Studio (2016 Seed Film); Pisces (2017); ARCH 335: Rebuilding Medcamps (2016); and Claim Y(our) Space (2016).
Upcoming Events, Webinars, Continuing Education, etc.
Check out AIAU and all AIA Continuing Education opportunities for members and non-members.
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Note –Launching in June for members only and to non-members in the Fall 2019.
Call for Papers, Abstracts, etc.
Call for Abstracts - special issue of Buildings & Cities, open access, peer-reviewed journal - Deadline is Sept. 26, 2019. Climate Justice: Carbon Metrics for Buildings and Cities: Cross-scalar Assessment & Control of GHGs The focus of this special issue is to go substantially beyond the calculation of embodied and lifetime energy/CO2, to explore the appropriate units of assessment and their scalability for each country's /region's built environment in relation to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the more recent commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5 C or less. Full details about the scope of the special issue and information about submitting abstracts and timeline can be found on: https://www.buildingsandcities.org/calls-for-papers/carbon-metrics-for-buildings-and-cities.html
BUILDINGS, CITIES, AND PERFORMANCE - Simulation-based and data-driven methodologies in environmental research - November 15-17, 2019 4th International Symposium of the PhD Program at IIT College of Architecture in collaboration with the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC). Extended abstract submission deadline: July 31, 2019 https://sites.google.com/iit.edu/2019bcp-symposium/home
Competitions
AIA Technology in Architectural Practice Knowledge Community invites all AIA Members, nonmembers, and academic institutions to submit for the AIA Innovation Awards. This program recognizes the exemplary use and implementation of innovative technologies and progressive practices among designers, their collaborators, and their clients. Deadline is August 2, 2019. Visit our website to view submission requirements and past recipients.
Enter the AIA Film Challenge today! Enter the fifth annual #AIAFilmChallenge and share how you've improved a community, from rebuilding a coastal city to creating cost-effective housing and designing secure schools. You're invited to partner with filmmakers to submit a documentary-style film, three-to-five-minutes long, that shows how you've helped build more sustainable and resilient communities. You could win up to $10,000 and a screening at Chicago Ideas. Each finalist will receive $500. Deadline to submit is August 12, 2019. https://aiafilmchallenge.org/
Architizer - Enter the 2019 One Drawing Challenge Create a single drawing that tells a story about architecture, and you could win $2,500. Early Entry Deadline is June 28, 2019.
Architecture MasterPrize – Deadline to enter is June 30, 2019 - Submit your work, present your concepts and vision to the internationally renowned jury and have a chance to be recognized by the Architecture MasterPrize! You can enter here.
Project StaSIO 2019 Competition to produce actionable simulation graphics is now open, with winners to be announced at ASHRAE Building Performance Analysis Conference. Deadline is July 15, 2019.
Grants, Scholarships, etc.
2019 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Grants
The Upjohn program funds up to six research grants of $15,000-$30,000 per recipient annually for projects completed in a 6- to 18-month period. Research should be relevant and applicable to practicing architects. Upjohn Research grant funding will be allocated to projects related to AIA's priorities for 2019. These include a drive toward design that helps reduce energy use, supports the investment in sustainable buildings, and encourages equitable communities. Submit your proposal by August 29, 2019. Questions? upjohnresearch@aia.org
New FY2020 Our Town Guidelines Join the Design & Creative Placemaking staff on June 24 for a webinar on how to ensure your Our Town application is clear and compelling. An overview presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. Matching grants range from $25,000 to $200,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount. https://www.arts.gov/grants-organizations/our-town/grant-program-description The deadline for applications is August 8.
DOE Small Business Innovation Research Program Announces 12 New Buildings-Focused Projects for FY19. EERE's Building Technologies Office (BTO) will fund 12 awards under five subtopics that have demonstrated enough technical feasibility to suggest the possibility of significant innovations in the first phase of research. Learn more about BTO's SBIR selections.
2019 Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship The Architects Foundation is accepting applications for the 2019 Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship through Friday, July 12.
Articles, Announcements, etc.
A 3-Point Manifesto for Advancing Women in Architecture - Architizer Let's accelerate the dedication, quicken the rhythm and see how the industry begins to change for the better. Julia Gamolina
Building Technology Educators Society announce 2019 Awards BTES 2019 Emerging Faculty Award - Shelby Doyle, Assistant Professor, Architecture at Iowa State University.
BTES 2019 Book Award - Dana Gulling, Associate Professor of Architecture at NC State University, for her book Manufacturing Architecture: An Architect's Guide to Custom Processes, Materials, and Applications. Laurence King Publishing, 2018
Umbau A new alternative - architecture/design school http://umbauschool.org/
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Dr. Nissa Dahlin-Brown, Assoc. AIA
Director, Higher Education
The American Institute of Architects
Washington, DC
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