Art of Practice Registration Now Open

Posted on by Delaney Ogden

Every other year, AIA Virginia convenes a diverse cadre of decision-makers, from practices of all sizes, sole proprietors, allied organizations, educators, etc. This one-day forum is intended to cultivate strong leaders and advance business practices. With a focus on creating and fostering a healthy firm and team culture, both seasoned and emerging leaders will come together to share and learn best practices, be challenged, and be celebrated by their peers.

The 2025 Art of Practice will take place on Friday, March 14, 2025 from 9:45am-5:00pm at Tower Club Tysons Corner in Vienna, VA. This year the theme will revolve around the concept of, “The Current and Future State of Work.”

Registration is now open for the day-long event in Northern Virginia. Space is extremely limited, so early registration is strongly encouraged. Participants can earn 6 AIA LUs.

Take a look at what the day holds on March 14 below:

Morning

  • Breakfast and Welcome
  • Winning Work: Storytelling and Value in Architecture presented by Kelly O’Keefe (Brand Federation)
  • Rethinking the Future of Work: Neurodiversity in Design presented by Corrie Cohen, Assoc, AIA (WPA) and Alison Allred, CID, IIDA (WPA)

Midday Lunch

Afternoon

  • Broad Perspective: Macroeconomics presented by Terry Clower and/or Dr. Keith Waters (George Mason University)
  • Panel discussion: Strategic Planning for Strong Firm Culture featuring:
    • Donna Phaneuf, FAIA (VIA design)
    • Andrew McKinley, AIA (VIA design)
    • Susan Pryor, AIA (Quinn Evans)
    • Mel Price, FAIA (WPA)
    • Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA (The Three Aspens)
  • Firm Size Roundtable Discussions and Report Out, led by
    • Maggie Schubert, AIA, (Chestnut Knoll Studio) (small)
    • Andrew McKinley, AIA, (VIA design) (mid-size)
    • Charles Piper, AIA (Quinn Evans) (large)
  • Networking and Cocktails (5:00-7:00pm)

Register today for Art of Practice 2025!

Tickets
AIA members: $175
Assoc. AIA member: $135
Non-member: $200

Art of Practice is generously sponsored by Moseley Architects, and O’Hagan Meyer.

If you would like to sponsor Art of Practice, please contact Jody Cranford

The Interactive Wall at ArchEx: Architecture and Adaptation

Posted on by cguske

This year’s ArchEx, themed Adapt, featured an interactive wall that asked a profound question: “How will architecture adapt to future societal needs?”

That’s undeniably a big question, but asking big questions is central to architecture; thought-provoking questions, questioning future scenarios and projections, questions for the sake of questioning…

Some questions are easy to answer, requiring no hesitation. Others are answered with a margin for error. And then there are questions that carry more weight than the answers themselves. Instead of focusing on reaching an answer, the process of how we get there and what that process entails becomes more significant. Perhaps the question posed by the interactive wall was one of those—a big question seeking a well-considered process design.

As Jaspers said, “Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.”* The interactive wall aligns with this ethos, with the big question creating a space for dialogue rather than finding a single definitive answer. It’s a journey of exploration, not just of reaching a conclusion, but of understanding the way forward.

When we design, we envision structures that will stand for at least fifty years. Every decision we make today shapes that future. The responses from the wall can be seen as calls to action, urging us to start building a better tomorrow. Key themes emerged from the collective input:

Inclusivity: Designing with equity, listening, and fostering communication.

Technology: Embracing machine learning, AI, automation, and research to redefine the possibilities of design.

Environment: Using renewable energy, designing for longevity, and reimagining material use and reusing structures.

Architecture adapts today for its future self, for what it is becoming. As we move forward, the journey will be defined by the questions we ask and the processes we design to answer them.
Let us remain curious, reflective, and always on the way.

Irem Sezer, Assoc. AIA
Coastal Adaptation & Resilience Design
Post-Graduate Research & Development Fellow

*Karl Jaspers, 1951. Way to Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy. p.12.

Procrastinator’s Series presented by AIA Virginia

Posted on by Delaney Ogden

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, 2024.

We hope you’ll join us below:

(click the subject below to be taken to registration link)

December 3: Interior Non-Load Bearing Partitions with Anthony Stazzone from Marinoware (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

December 4: Drainage and Drying in the Exterior Wall with Mike Lee from Benjamin Obdyke (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

December 9: Exterior Cladding Innovation: Rainscreen Design with Ultracompact Surfacing with Sue Lee from Cosentino (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

December 10: Going with the Grain: Mass Timber with Chris Ruiz from TYLin | Silman Structural Systems (1 AIA LU credit)

December 11: Waterproofing Roof Decks and Balconies with Walkable PVC Membranes with Nathan Heavel from Duradek (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

December 12: Phenolic Panels: The Ultimate Sustainable, Durable, Versatile, and Cost-Effective Interior Wall Cladding with Steven Culver from Fundermax (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

December 16: Choosing the Right Roof System with Paxton Whitmore from Garland Industries, Inc. (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

December 17: Transportation Noise Control In Residential Buildings with Scott Harvey from Phoenix Noise and Vibration (1 AIA LU | HSW credit)

ELA Applications for 2025 Class due Nov. 13

Posted on by cguske

AIA Virginia announces the call for applications for the 2025 Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) class: An Honors Academy of AIA Virginia.

The application and more information is available here>>
The application deadline is Nov. 13, 2024.

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 with 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 each area’s firms, schools, and the local AIA component.

The class project for 2025 will be in Norfolk, so many sessions and the project workdays will be located in the Coastal 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: Any student enrolled in an architecture degree program (UVA, VT, Hampton, WAAC, or JMU) may apply. A maximum of 2 student participants will be selected each year for the class.

Open Applications: Applicants may apply independently or be nominated by someone else. Participants will be selected from among these applicants to fill the class.

The application and more information is available here>>
The application deadline is Nov. 13, 2024.

If you have any questions, contact Delaney Ogden, Education Director, at dogden@aiava.org

Mansfield Keynote Speaker at ArchEx ’24

Posted on by Delaney Ogden

Jeffrey Yasuo Mansfield is a principal at MASS Design Group, where he works on a portfolio of projects that uplift lived experience and cultural memory. Jeffrey was named the 2023 Lifchez Visiting Professor of Practice in Social Justice at the University of California-Berkeley and the 2023 Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture at the University of Oklahoma. He has taught design studios at the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Jeffrey is also an inaugural recipient of the Ford and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Disability Futures fellowship and is a former John W. Kluge Fellow at the Library of Congress. Jeffrey co-authored The Architecture of Health, published by Cooper Hewitt and co-edited MASS Design Group’s first Monograph, Justice is Beauty. Jeffrey received his A.B. in Architecture at Princeton University and M.Arch at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has been deaf since birth.

We are thrilled to have Jeffrey join us at ArchEx this year and give our members a keynote presentation exploring how lessons from Deafness and Disability can inform the design of spaces that promote cultural belonging.

Online Registration is now closed. You can register onsite starting November 6th at the Richmond Marriott.

ArchEx for Emerging Professionals

Posted on by cguske

Are you an emerging professional? See what our AIA Virginia Associate Director and Young Architect Representative are looking forward to at ArchEx 2024.

From Ashleigh Walker, Assoc. AIA
Associate Director, AIA Virginia Board of Directors

  • Craftsperson’s Crawl – it’s always great to visit the shops of local craftspeople, and get a better understanding of how built elements are constructed.
  • Designing for Designers: How to Create Spaces for Creatives
  • Building in the Park – an Integrated Relationship with Nature
  • Innovative Preservation: Digital Twins & Historic Buildings
  • 2024 AIA Virginia Design Awards Winners
  • IS AI / NOT AI: Dispelling Myths and Deciphering Hype vs. Practical Applications of AI in the Design Industry
  • Visions for Architecture Cocktail Reception + Gala
  • An Architect’s Cheat Sheet to Carbon-Free Interiors

From Erin Agdinaoay, AIA
Young Architects Representative

The COTE Corner

Posted on by Delaney Ogden

The Energy Modeling Deciphered for Architects 3-Part Virtual Workshop was a great event. To watch/rewatch the recordings of these sessions, please visit our AIA Virginia YouTube Channel here or click the links below:

October 9: Great Design – Climate, Daylighting and Comfort
October 23: Energy Modeling Basics 
November 21: Optimizing Energy Models

In the three-part workshop, sustainability experts focused on the basics of what architects need to know to integrate successful energy modeling into their practices. Various types of modeling systems were discussed as well as how to decipher the layers of data needed to successfully complete a sustainable project. 

Read the national COTE newsletter by Chair, Michelle Amt here.

MONTHLY VA COTE CALLS: Do you want to join a VA COTE monthly call!? The committee meets the third Tuesday of each month from 4:00-5:00pm and would love for you to participate. Please use this link to join!

The Resilient Design Collaborative (RDC)

Posted on by Delaney Ogden

The RDC encourages and assists the AEC (architectural-engineering-construction) industry in designing and building high-performance resilient facilities that save money, improve people’s lives, and ensure a sustainable future.

The RDC was conceived in late 2023 by Virginia Architect, Steve Sunderman, because it seemed that there was plenty of “talking the talk”, but not much “walking the walk” concerning resilient design strategies for new architectural projects. So, with assistance from the AIA Virginia and ARISE-US organizations, the RDC was formed to advise and assist architects, engineers, and others in identifying project hazard risks and implementing effective resilient design strategies for their actual projects. To date, this effort has been all volunteer-based.

The Problem: There is no greater blow to sustainability than destruction. Climate change is real and significantly increasing natural hazards, damaging and destroying our built environment and way of life. We cannot afford to keep designing and building the same as we did in the past.

The Solution: The AEC industry must create resilient infrastructure so our communities can be sustainable places to live, work and thrive for this and future generations.

The RDC meets via Zoom on the first Tuesday of each month from 3:00-4:00 PM Eastern time with participants nationwide sharing their sustainable and resilient performative expertise.

The RDC will make a positive impact on our communities as well as the entire planet for generations.

  • RDC VISION: All building projects are designed to create resilient and sustainable communities.
  • RDC MISSION: Work collaboratively with the building design and construction community to promote and create sustainably resilient projects that resist, absorb, recover from, or successfully adapt to manmade and natural hazards.
    • Action Plan 1: Organize a group of architects and others to meet virtually and, when needed, in person, to discuss means and methods to implement appropriate resilient design strategies for their actual projects.
    • Action Plan 2: Create a library of resilient design Case Studies for others to reference as examples to influence their project design efforts.
    • Action Plan 3: Create a network of AEC professionals nationwide to collaborate and create resilient facilities for this and future generations.

Please contact Steve Sunderman if you would like to learn more about our mission and how you too can help us advance resilient design strategies for more sustainable communities.

The COTE Corner

Posted on by Delaney Ogden

On June 26, AIA Blue Ridge hosted design professionals and elected officials for a collaborative building tour showcasing excellent sustainable design at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke, Virginia. The LEED Silver research institute by AECOM serves as a new model for biomedical and behavioral science as part of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute.

This tour was organized in part with Virginia COTE to promote and showcase achievements in sustainable design to local and state elected officials in Virginia. If you have worked on a project that exemplifies sustainable design excellence and would like to organize a building tour please reach out to Delaney Ogden at dogden@aiava.org.