Blogs

July Climate Action Events

By Lisa M. Ferretto AIA posted 6 days ago
JULY Climate Action + Equity Events! A listing of events, webinars, deadlines, etc. that may be of interest to those working for Climate Action and Equity! To return to the full monthly list, click here . _________ National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building Announced - On June 6, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building to advance public and private sector efforts to decarbonize the buildings sector, which is responsible for more than one-third of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. A standardized definition for zero emissions buildings will help advance ...

AIA Corporate Partners COTE Newsletter Article: Sherwin-Williams July 2024

By Alison Karfeld posted 8 days ago
Sherwin-Williams helps s implify y our s ustainability i nterests. During the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design 2024, Sherwin-Williams launched our product portal to the Ecomedes network . As a n industry leader, we’re excited to make sustainability easier to deliver into the market every single day . With Ecomedes , you can s implif y the evaluation and selection of sustainable materials via a one-stop shop . The platform pulls in all the certifications, documentation , and details of our products’ sustainability attributes , ...

Materials Pledge @ AIA24

By Misha Semënov-Leiva AIA posted 12 days ago
At the top of this month, the AIA Conference on Architecture and Design convened over 13,000 attendees in Washington, D.C. for the first time since 2012. Architects and designers and everyone in between flocked Conference sessions on materials health, sustainability & resilience, the role of specifications and manufacturers, and the Expo Floor boasted over 500 companies, many bearing the green buttons “Ask me about sustainability” a nd “Ask me about materials.” Since it was launched in 2018, the AIA A&D Materials Pledge and its Working Group has been hard at work developing the program’s structure and reporting metrics. The program was ...

Materials Pledge: What’s new and what’s coming

By Tanya T. Eagle Assoc. AIA posted 15 days ago
The architecture and design industry is increasingly understanding the crucial role materials have in both human and planetary health. To turn aspiration into action, t he A&D Materials Pledge program is excited to announce its official reporting framework, releas ed in-person last month at the AIA Conference on Architecture and Design by our Materials Pledge Working Group. L aunched in 2018 and formally adopted by the AIA in 2020 , t he Materials Pledge community now includes 26 5 + signator y firms . The goal of the Materials Pledge reporting framework is to help push the industry toward a ...

Materials Pledge: What’s new and what’s coming

By Tanya T. Eagle Assoc. AIA posted 15 days ago
Materials Pledge: What’s new and what’s coming by Tanya Eagle and Eana Bacchiocchi The architecture and design industry is increasingly understanding the crucial role materials have in both human and planetary health. To turn aspiration into action, the A&D Materials Pledge program is excited to announce its official reporting framework, released in-person last month at the AIA Conference on Architecture and Design by our Materials Pledge Working Group. Launched in 2018 and formally adopted by the AIA in 2020, the Materials Pledge community now includes 265+ signatory firms. The goal of the Materials Pledge reporting framework ...

COTE Top Ten Awards announced

By Lyndley E. Kent AIA posted 15 days ago
Congratulations to the 2024 COTE Top Ten Award winners! This is a year of a few firsts for the Top Ten Awards, while carrying on the tradition of celebrating the best of the best in a rchitectur al design and environmental performance . The nine projects awarded represent notable examples of holistic design that embody all measures of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence . The list of winners includes many project typologies that span geographic location. The nine winning projects are: Alice West Fleet Elementary School in Arlington ...

Letter from the Chair -- July/August 2024

By Michelle Amt FAIA posted 16 days ago
I am still recovering from AIA24. To be honest, this was only my second AIA conference ever. (I mean, really, who wants to spend that much time with 13,000 architects, am I right?) So, I was as shocked as anyone to learn that it’s both fascinating and empowering to spend a few days comparing notes with professionals facing the exact same struggles. Transforming the profession to take on the biggest design challenge of our time can be daunting, frustrating, and lonely. Belonging to a community is essential to keep you both grounded and motivated, and that community was in full force at AIA24. A couple of observations on the conference in general: ...

LMN’s 2030 Reporting, Transparency, and a Path to Zero Carbon

By Kjell M. Anderson FAIA posted 19 days ago
I have long admired the transparency that many of my peers are sharing 2030 reporting results , started b y Michelle Amt , Director of Sustainability and Inclusion at VMDO , with their firm’s radical transparency . T his blog continues that spirit , diving into L MN Architects ’ data process and firm culture . LMN is a large firm based in Seattle and has been a 2030 Commitment signatory since 2010 , reporting a 25% reduction that first year . T his year we finally surpas sed the Architecture 2030 Challenge threshold of 80% pEUI reduction ...

What was the 2030 Commitment program up to at AIA24?

By David G. Arkin AIA posted 19 days ago
In the beginning of June, the AIA Conference on Architecture and Design was held in Washington, D.C. for the first time since 2012. The city welcomed over 13,000 attendees , including many who are passionate about ensuring that the A&D profession moves holistically towards creating a more sustainable built environment. Conference programming included sessions on decarbonization, sustainability and firm culture, data visualization, embodied carbon, and tours of net zero projects in the DMV area . AIA24 was also the place where ahead of the Day 1 Keynote on the Main Stage , Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate ...

FAQ: What is a small firm?

By Kathleen McCormick posted 20 days ago
FAQ: What is a small firm? Approximately 75% of all firms within the AIA are small firms (less than 10 employees), which equates to 14,459 small firms within the organization. ~26.8% = sole practitioners = 5,173 ~33.5% = 1-5 employees = 6,459 ~14.7% = 5-10 employees = 2,827 For context, small firms share of staff is 16.0% and share of billings is 12.0% We need to find ways to leverage that size for collaboration and influence, just like the individual large firms do.

FAQ: What is a young architect?

By Kathleen McCormick posted 21 days ago
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.

FAQ: What is a young architect and what is an emerging professional?

By Kathleen McCormick posted 21 days ago
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. FAQ: Who can ...

June Climate Action Events

By Lisa M. Ferretto AIA posted 29 days ago
JUNE Climate Action + Equity Events! A listing of events, webinars, deadlines, etc. that may be of interest to those working for Climate Action and Equity! To return to full monthly list, click here . ___________ AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Grants – Call for Submissions open ! Submission deadline: August 28, 2024. The AIA Upjohn Research Initiative supports applied research projects that enhance the value of design and professional practice knowledge. Academic institutions, firms, practice, and other research and non-profit organizations are all eligible for grants. Research should be relevant and applicable ...

Join Us at AIA's Climate Action by Design Networking Reception, Presented by COTE

By Daniel J. Stine AIA posted 05-30-2024
If you will be at the AIA National Conference next week in Washington D.C. please consider joining us at this COTE reception. AIA's Climate Action by Design Networking Reception, Presented by COTE (EV219) Thursday, June 6, 5:30- 7:30 pm Marriott Marquis Atrium Presented by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE), in partnership with all of AIA's Climate Action member groups (Resilience and Adaptation Advisory Group, Disaster Assistance Committee, 2030 Commitment Working Group, Materials Pledge Working Group, Building Performance, and Historic Resources Committee), this event provides a valuable opportunity for networking with other architects, designers, ...

AIA Practice Management Digest - May 2024

By Rebecca W. Edmunds AIA posted 05-30-2024
Research in practice As we head to AIA24, where a few of our contributors are speaking this year, let’s consider what research actually means in architecture and the why and how of adding research to your practice or partnering with a firm that does. Letter from the editor By Rebecca W.E. Edmunds, AIA, NOMA Our profession has a loose association with vocabulary. Just Google “misused words in architecture” for a taste of what drives those of us who take the definition of words seriously to distraction. I obsess over these misused words, and I’m not alone in wishing the profession would be more conscientious with the terms it adopts. ...

An ambition-based approach to research in practice

By Rebecca W. Edmunds AIA posted 05-30-2024
By Rebecca Edmunds, AIA, interviewing Felix Kabo, Ph.D I spoke with Felix Kabo, Ph.D., Research Director at CannonDesign about the firm’s initiatives in research and his thoughts on what defines true research in practice. Rebecca Edmunds: Why does your firm devote resources to research? Felix Kabo: I came aboard because I recognized that research is critical to the firm's goals. CannonDesign is committed to a very clear ethos, or a philosophy or approach, called Living-Centered Design. Living-Centered Design basically fuses the best of human-centered and systems approaches to the design process. The firm is investing in research because ...

Research to innovation & impact: What it takes and why it is worth the investment

By Upali Nanda Assoc. AIA posted 05-30-2024
By Upali Nanda, PhD, Assoc. AIA, EDAC, ACHE, EVP and Global Sector Director, Innovation, HKS Architects. In 2006, HKS hired Dr. Debajyoti Pati, an experienced PHD, as “Director of Research.” This was a highly surprising move at the time—the title was uncommon in the architecture industry. Even in the years after, only a handful of architecture firms—and one art firm—have a research director role. Before Pati’s hiring, Big R “Research” was primarily the domain of academia. And firms did minimal—small r "research" to inform their projects. Healthcare as a typology was just starting to embrace the idea that design could be evidence-informed, which ...

The return on investment in environmental design research

By Sean M. O'Donnell FAIA posted 05-30-2024
By Sean O’Donnell, FAIA, Principal & K12 Practice Area Leader, Perkins Eastman Co-Principal Investigator, “ Addressing a Multi-Billion Dollar Challenge .” In December Perkins Eastman published a final report for a study that explored whether school modernization had a significant impact on educational outcomes. [1] Funded by the AIA College of Fellows through the biennial Latrobe Prize and J+J Flooring, the study, conducted in collaboration with the Drexel University School of Education, is the largest and most ambitious research project our team had undertaken since we began performing research around 2014. In presenting this study, and ...

The case for experiential research

By Melissa E. Marsh Assoc. AIA posted 05-30-2024
By Rebecca Edmunds, AIA, interviewing Melissa March, Assoc. AIA I spoke with Plastarc founder and Executive Director Melissa Marsh. The Plastarc practice model focuses on the study of “activity-based working & wellness” for organizations. Rebecca Edmunds: Do you have any special areas of focus or any special areas of research that you conduct? Melissa Marsh: I describe our work as social research and people analytics for the built environment. We are focused on the human experience of space and leveraging research methodologies from both a scale larger than architecture and a scale smaller than architecture. I would argue urban design ...

A call for organized open-source software infrastructure for the AEC industry

By Renee Cheng FAIA posted 05-30-2024
By Tomás Méndez Echenagucia and Renee Cheng, FAIA The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has been notoriously lagging in productivity when compared to other industries [1, 2] . When studying the reason for this, analysts point their fingers at a wide range of issues, from real estate dynamics, to lack of innovation, regulation, risk aversion, inability to work well across disciplinary differences, and lack of digitalization among others. Many of those reasons are somewhat inherent to the AEC industry, given the products it creates. Buildings are quite large and costly, location specific, and land use intensive. They require ...