News from the YAF

Posted on by cguske

As we transition from summer—hopefully with a few pool or beach days behind you—I hope you’re feeling refreshed and ready for an exciting fall. There are some fantastic opportunities on the horizon, especially for young architects and emerging professionals.

Erin Agdinaoay, AIA, NOMA

First, I highly recommend attending the 2024 ArchEx. Caitlin Morgan, Virginia’s STAR and the newly announced 2024 AIA Virginia Associates Award winner, and I are thrilled to be presenting and helping with the programming. We’re excited to connect with colleagues from across the industry and hope to see many of you there! The local YAF teams have been working hard to organize some great programming for students, emerging professionals, and young architects, so keep an eye out for a detailed guide soon.

On a national level, the Young Architects Forum (YAF) is exploring whether it’s time for a rebrand to better reflect the evolving identity of architects within their first 10 years of licensure. With more flexible paths to licensure available, the term “young” does not fully capture the diversity of this group, as licensure can occur at any age, especially as more-and-more barriers to licensure get removed. Over the past year, YAF has conducted research and surveys to explore a potential name change. In talking with other state Young Architect Representatives, many of us have noticed that while the YAF’s national role is focused on recently licensed architects, local engagement often blends with Emerging Professionals and Associates. This overlap can help boost engagement through density of shared interests, but it also raises the question: how do we maintain a focus on architects in their first 10 years of licensure at every level of the AIA? YAF is working closely with AIA National on this renaming effort, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me at erin@wparch.com.

In other exciting news, nominations are now open for the AIA National Young Architects Award! This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight someone you know who is doing exceptional work deserving of recognition at the national level. I’d love to see a Virginia architect win this year, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or need assistance.  The nomination period is open until November 15, 2024. For inspiration, you can learn about some of this year’s winners here.

Lastly, if you’re not already following the YAF on social media, I highly recommend doing so. It’s an easy way to stay informed on the latest news, events, and resources.

Looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

Best,
Erin

Follow the YAF:

Stay up to date on the latest news:

Virginia Emerging Architect Award for 2023 Goes to Agdinaoay and Gemmer

Posted on by cguske

The Virginia Emerging Architect Award honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers, whether through design, service, education, or advancement of social justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion. For 2023, Erin Agdinaoay, AIA, and Jessie Gemmer, AIA, will receive the award. Both women are graduates of Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Agdinaoay, an architect and project manager at Work Program Architects in Norfolk, leads WPA’s hiring process and culture/strategy development. “What truly sets Erin apart is her ability to effect meaningful change,” notes firm principal Mel Price. She led the creation of the firm’s Summer Internship & Scholarship for Diversity Advancement, which has attracted LBGTQIA+ and racially diverse applicants from a dozen universities. She has shared WPA’s success with improving DEI strategies through hiring practices and pay transparency with other firms.

Agdinaoay also mentors students at the K-12 level. An active member of the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (VANOMA), she believes the future resiliency of the profession and practice will be led by designers from nontraditional backgrounds.

Agdinaoay’s innovations extend to her abilities as a designer. For example, Agdinaoay took charge of the largest and most complex building design in WPA’s history — the Norfolk State University Science Building, a $122-million project spanning 131,000 square feet. With a team of more than 70 NSU stakeholders and 50 architects, engineers, and specialists, her exceptional leadership skills have been instrumental in navigating the project to its current success.

Since 2022 the principal of Acme Architecture in Richmond, Gemmer has contributed to her community through several volunteer paths, including her work with the Richmond Urban Design Committee and Storefront for Community Design. She has given back to the profession with her service on AIA Virginia’s Design Forum committee and as a juror for AIA Richmond’s Alice Lehman Sunday Prize. Her commitment to education is evident in the classes she has taught at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design in Washington, D.C., the University of Virginia, as well as the studio critiques at VCU’s interior design department. Teaching led her “to define my thoughts regarding design and architecture and identify the tools and techniques that would develop students into innovative and critical thinkers,” she recalls.

Before opening her firm, Gemmer previously worked with Richmond practices Fultz & Singh Architects and Spatial Affairs Bureau, as well as New York firm Danny Forster Design Studio, for whom she served as designer and project manager on Manhattan’s 31-story Ground Zero Marriott at only 22. The project’s facade addressed the gravity of the site while standing alone as a part of the New York skyline. Her Virginia work ranges from a 1,500-square-foot coffee shop to a 20,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for 200 employees and now includes many residential projects.

For their contributions to the profession, Erin Agdinaoay, AIA, and Jessie Gemmer, AIA, will be recognized with the Emerging Architect Award at the Visions for Architecture event on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at the Hippodrome Theatre in Richmond.