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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.

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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.  Baker City Historic District

    Posted 07-16-2020 11:52 AM
      |   view attached
    Bonny and I were planning a trip to the National Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, worth the trip by the way.  The nearest town is Baker City Oregon.  Preparing for the trip, I stumbled across a collection of photographs that supported Baker City's application for historic district status in 1978.  I decided to take more or less the same photographs during our visit.  The attached pdf is the result.  A trifle at best, but it can't hurt.  I intended to post this to the Historic Resources Committee but I guess I am not allowed to do so, or I haven't figured out how to do so.  If any of you are also members of HRC and can post this there, please do so.
    Thanks and stay well to all.
    Mike

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    Mike Mense FAIA
    New York NY
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    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    powerpoint.pdf   14.75 MB 1 version
    24.06.07 CODAIA24


  • 2.  RE: Baker City Historic District

    Posted 07-17-2020 05:39 PM
    Thank you, Mike.  Glad to see the buildings have been well taken care of and, in some instances, look better than they did when built. Many large animals roaming around. Is that an art installation? I saw two. Are there more? Your comments on the town putting a lot of effort into preservation are also something to think about. Was the tower on the hotel totally new or was it intended for the original to have the tower as well?

    ------------------------------
    Judith Repp AIA
    Principal
    JUDITH REPP ARCHITECTS
    Evergreen CO
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    Original Message
    24.06.07 CODAIA24


  • 3.  RE: Baker City Historic District

    Posted 07-17-2020 05:43 PM
    Thanks for posting; great to see!

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    Meghan Brown Assoc. AIA
    Principal
    Occupi Design
    Chicago IL
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    Original Message
    24.06.07 CODAIA24


  • 4.  RE: Baker City Historic District

    Posted 07-17-2020 06:49 PM
    There are at least 15 animals all over town.  An art project for sure.  The hotel has a number of additions at the top.  They look "right" to me so I am guessing they qualify as "restoration".​
    On the other hand, at the upper right corner of the picture of the Alfred Block, there is a piece of what might be called "enhanced historicity".

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    Mike Mense FAIA
    New York NY
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    Original Message
    24.06.07 CODAIA24


  • 5.  RE: Baker City Historic District

    Posted 07-21-2020 12:37 PM
    thank you mike, i enjoyed the virtual visit and the slide show.  i'm not sure what you mean by the disneyfication of other towns but I for one appreciate the texture and detail historic properties can add to a downtown.  From your pictures it looks like to date economic prosperity, business ingenuity and tourism may have bypassed Baker City, but i don't believe that's the fault of the buildings or the historic register.  didn't note a t-shirt or jade shop which is gratifying.  Another consideration is all the embodied carbon these buildings represent.  Many of these historic properties will lend themselves to adaptive re-use if they are not full of asbestos and lead paint, and the principles of natural ventilation, daylighting and the high floor to floor height associated with those principles make for wonderful spaces and greater potential for retrofitting.  again, thanks for the post and the thoughtful question.

    Catherine

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    Catherine Call AIA
    Blue Sky Studio, LLC
    Anchorage AK
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    Original Message
    24.06.07 CODAIA24


  • 6.  RE: Baker City Historic District

    Posted 07-17-2020 06:17 PM
    Nicely done Mike ... great way to do a virtual visit to an out of the way spot

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    Michael Malinowski FAIA
    Sacramento CA
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    Original Message
    24.06.07 CODAIA24