We have a few open spots on the AIA Virginia Committee on the Environment Steering Committee and would love for you to join us. Coordination meetings are held virtually on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Contact info@aiava.org or dogden@aiava.org for more information.
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) is an AIA Virginia Knowledge Community working for architects, allied professionals, and the public to achieve climate action and climate justice through design. We believe that design excellence is the foundation of a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future. Our work promotes design strategies that empower all AIA members to realize the best social and environmental outcomes with the clients and the communities they serve.
Visit The Committee on the Environment page here to learn more!
Do you have a love and passion for historic architecture? Maybe adaptive reuse of existing buildings? If so, we need more committee members and would love to have you join this wonderful knowledge community.
Mission To identify, understand, and preserve architectural heritage within the Commonwealth of Virginia. VHRC is engaged in promoting the role of historic preservation, rehabilitation, and adaptive use within the profession through the development of information and knowledge among members, allied professional organizations, and the public.
Virginia HRC’s activities are developed and sponsored by a leadership group of AIA Virginia members from across the state.
If you are interested in participating and being a member of the committee, please contact us at info@aiava.org or dogden@aiava.org
Please join us for the upcoming 2024 Design Forum XVI on Friday, April 5-Saturday, April 6, 2024 in Richmond, VA at Institute for Contemporary Art VCU. The theme of Design Forum XVI will be [Un]Certainty: Reflections on Craft at the Cyber Frontier, and our speakers will challenge assumptions and define new boundaries along the spectrum of craft and design, evolving how humanness and technology continue to intersect in our built environment.
We are excited for this event and hope to see you there!
The Virginia Design Forum is a biennial event celebrating and exploring critical topics around design. Curated by the Design Committee, the two-day event showcases the talent and work of some of the profession’s most cutting-edge designers, and brings together and connects architects of all ages as we engage the pressing issues of our time.
Launched in 1994, the Virginia Design Forum continues a tradition of matching urgent topics with engaging speakers, which have included Samuel Mockbee, Tod Williams, Kai-Uwe Bergman, Anne Fougeron, Glenn Murcutt, Doris Kim Sung, and many more.
Click below to view the Emerging Leaders in Architecture 2023 class project presentation to the leaders in Charlottesville and Albemarle County on October 13, 2023.
Join AIA Virginia for our Procrastinator series – a series of Lunch-n-Learn sessions for those who still need LUs and specifically HSW credits before December 31, 2023.
Each approved course is worth 1 AIA LU | HSW credit.
We hope you’ll join us below:
(click the subject below to be taken to registration link)
Registration is now open for ArchEx 2023. I certainly hope you have reserved the dates of Wednesday 1 November to Friday 3 November and that you remain alert for our forthcoming announcement that the site is open for registration.
And while you are gearing up to plan your itinerary more precisely, please be aware of some important changes at this year’s conference. The event will open mid-morning Wednesday with plenary sessions including the “Kick Off and Keynote(s)” and will continue with our Annual Membership Meeting, sessions, tours, and workshops.
Thursday will begin with Coffee Conversations and Round Tables followed by the lunchtime Expo, afternoon sessions, and the Connections Happy Hour in the Exhibit Hall. Visions, our annual Honor and Awards gala, will be hosted at the Hippodrome on Thursday evening.
There will be more sessions and workshops on Friday morning before the majority of the program draws to a close around lunchtime.
We look forward to having you join us to connect across the Commonwealth, compare perspectives, and celebrate the achievements of our members, our colleagues, and our organization. I look forward to seeing you there.
Paul Battaglia, AIA Executive Vice President AIA Virginia
Join us for a FREE full week of daily lunchtime webinars from 1-2 p.m. EDT, September 18-22.
Log in each day to learn about the various benefits and resources available to AIA members, components and staff from AIA Trust benefit and financial plan providers and legal and risk management experts! Some webinars will provide AIA CE Credit. Check out the schedule below and register to attend one, two, or all five sessions:
Day 1:
AIA Trust: Overview & Wayfinding to AIA Member Benefits! Monday, September 18th | 1-2 pm EDT
The AIA Trust has a lot to offer you as an AIA Member. In this webinar, AIA Trust Executive Director Elizabeth Wolverton will review the many different options you have and take you on a tour around the website so you know where to find them when you need to take advantage of them!
Day 2:
LegaLine: The Legal Information Hotline to Manage Risk and Build a Stronger Practice (1 LU) Tuesday, September 19th | 1-2 pm EDT
Small firms and sole proprietors with many questions but limited resources often wish for a convenient and cost-effective way to get the risk management assistance that they need to make important decisions. LegaLine is an AIA Trust member benefit service, formerly known as Practice Coach, that offers members access to qualified professionals who can help identify and manage risks while minimizing claims–whether dealing with clients, contractors, employees, or others. Learn more about this fantastic service and ask questions in real time with Peter Stacy, Esq. and Jacqueline Pons-Bunney, Esq., both of whom have extensive experience in a wide range of issues involving complex A/E and construction matters.
Day 3:
Victor: Protecting Your Firm from a Major Claim: The Importance of Contract Language (1 LU) Wednesday, September 20th | 1-2 pm EDT
In this webinar, Frank Musica, Risk Management Consultant for Victor Insurance Managers LLC, will discuss specific case studies that result in payments by insured firms and their insurer and suggest alternative contract language and actions that each firm might have taken to mitigate its risks.
Most professional liability claims are brought by clients of architects or by construction contractors directly or through claims that are first brought against the project client. While all claims disrupt practice, consume otherwise productive time, and result in defense costs paid by the policyholder or the insurance company, claims from parties involved in the project can be managed through contract language and prudent practice. Claims from third parties – often those injured during construction or when using the designed facility – are more difficult to avoid through contract language and are becoming an increased factor in the risk of architects. The webinar will also suggest methods to make injury claims more defensible.
Day 4:
Hagan Insurance Group: Employee Benefits Help Maintain Firm Success (1 LU) Thursday, September 21 | 1-2 pm EDT
Your firm’s success relies on the talent, experience, and dedication of your employees. Without them, your firm may not succeed—which is why most consider their employees to be their most valuable asset. Offering your employees good benefits, including salary, health care coverage, and retirement incentives is key to retaining your top employees and in return, contributes to your firm’s success. Hagan Insurance Group along with Farmers Insurance Choice will go into detail on insurance options to help you, help your firm continue to thrive.
Day 5:
Equitable: Make your Financial Future Take Flight (1 LU) Friday, September 22 | 1-2 pm EDT
Many architects don’t know where to begin their retirement planning. This Webinar, Make Your Financial Future Take Flight, is designed to give AIA members, components, and staff an understanding of the key considerations for effective retirement planning and savings.
AIA Virginia announces the call for applications for the 2024 class of Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA): An Honors Academy of AIA Virginia.
The application and more information are available here>> The application deadline is Nov. 10, 2023.
ELA is an intensive program of educational sessions structured around presentations, discussions, team exploration, analysis, consensus-building, collaboration, and case study activities undertaken over the course of a year by a small cadre of participants selected for their potential to be outstanding contributors to the profession and the community. Facilitators and mentors who are established leaders in the building, finance, non-profit, development, university, legal, consulting, and design professions and in the community at large develop and deliver the sessions, designed to provide participants with advanced knowledge and skills related to specific areas of leadership and practice.
The program consists of monthly, day-long seminars, work sessions, or class project presentations, culminating at a presentation at Architecture Exchange East in November.
The seminars are interactive, drawing on real examples and actively involving participants. They rotate among sites in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Richmond, Alexandria, and Norfolk in conjunction with the firms, schools, and the local AIA component in each area.
The class project for 2024 will be in Northern Virginia, so many sessions and the project workdays will be located in the Northern Virginia area.
How to Apply The committee seeks applicants from three categories:
Component Nominees: Each of the five AIA Virginia local component Boards may nominate one or more individuals for admission to the program. One participant will be selected from each component for a total of five. If interested, please contact your local AIA chapter representative. Each chapter sets its own deadline and application requirements for these positions.
Student Nominees: Each Virginia Architecture School (UVA, VT, Hampton, and WAAC) may nominate one or more students for admission to the program. One participant will be selected from each school for a total of four. If interested, contact your department Chair/Dean.
Open Applications: Applicants may apply on their own or be nominated by someone else. Seven participants will be selected from among these applicants.
The application and more information are available here>> The application deadline is Nov. 10, 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Guske, Member Services Director, cguske@aiava.org
Join us on September 14 at The Virginian in Lynchburg to hear from local government building officials about concerns/issues with implementing the building code. Bring your questions! This event will help the AEC industry build relationships with building officials and offers networking with peers and colleagues.
Panel: William Yeager, Assistant Director of General Services, Montgomery County Jerry Heinline, Building Official, Christiansburg Nate Young, Building Official, Amherst County Sam Sapienza, Building Official, Town of Blacksburg
Sponsorship Opportunities:
Gold Sponsor, $500: Includes two complimentary tickets to the forum, logo on the website, and signage + verbal recognition.
Silver Sponsor, $250: Includes complimentary ticket to the forum, logo on website, and signage + verbal recognition.
email Jody Cranford, jcranford@aiava.org if you’d like to support this event with a sponsorship.
AEC is a joint venture of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia, the American Institute of Architects, and the Associated General Contractors to educate and promote best practices of the design and construction industry.
The AIA Virginia Committee on the Environment (COTE) has been awarded a Knowledge Community Grant to present the 2030 Challenge series this summer to the members of AIA Virginia.
To help advance the AIA’s overall climate goals, Virginia COTE seeks to elevate understanding of the AIA 2030 Commitment, among architects and designers, and provide an actionable framework towards meeting the challenge goal of carbon-neutral building by 2030.
Watch your inbox and www.aiava.org for upcoming details on these lunchtime viewings and discussions. All sessions will be offered at no charge to AIA Virginia members and be 1.25 to 1.5 elective LUs (pending.)
