Back to school marks more than just the end of summer; it’s an opportunity for students to step into environments that spark curiosity and possibility. The sense of discovery felt when starting a new school year is powerful because it does not stop at the physical space. When students encounter a thoughtfully designed environment, it invites them to imagine, question, and create in ways they might not have before. Every detail, from the openness of a learning commons to the energy of shared spaces encourages them to see learning not as a task but as an adventure, where students can uncover new strengths, passions, and ideas within themselves. By designing schools that ignite creativity and support exploration, we create more than classrooms – we create experiences that help students discover who they are and what they can achieve.
In the article below, Clark Nexsen demonstrates how they use technology and computational design to create new opportunities for design in their K-12 studio.”
Join AIA Virginia for virtual Architecture Month Trivia on Wednesday, April 23 from 12:00-1:00pm on Zoom for three rounds of Architecture trivia:
1. Name that Virginia Main Street ($25 Amazon gift card winner)
2. Virginia History ($25 Amazon gift card winner)
3. Name that Virginia Architect ($25 Amazon gift card winner)
Join Here on April 23>> *Please make sure to have your cell phone accessible to participate on the trivia platform.
Thank you to our event sponsor, Kawneer and trivia platform, Kahoot!
Resiliency is the ability to quickly recover from disruption. But, how quickly can our buildings and systems bounce back from natural or man-made disasters? Can our infrastructure rapidly adapt to changing environmental, social, and economic conditions?
Join AIA Virginia from 12:00-1:00 pm each day from April 22 to April 26 for an exploration of resiliency in the built environment and discover why investing in resilient solutions can help protect us all.
Schedule:
4/22: Luisa Black Ellis with Elizabeth River Project – The Ryan Resilience Lab: Accessible, Resilient Design – 1 AIA LU pending
4/23: Lindsay Brugger with Urban Land Institute – The Business Case for Resilience – 1 AIA LU pending
4/24: Paul Robinson with RISE – Architectural Adaptation and Risk Transfer: Making buildings safer and protection more affordable – 1 AIA LU pending
4/25: Lewis Lawrence with Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission – Flooding is Changing the “Landscape”= New $ Opportunities – 1 AIA LU pending
4/26: Troy Hartley with Virginia Sea Grant – Finding Innovative Climate Solutions: Knowledge Integration through Resilience Design – 1 AIA LU pending
As Virginia’s students, educators, and parents are working
(and sometimes struggling) to adapt to a new online learning environment,
architects and firms have an unprecedented opportunity to serve as a resource
to the community. Let’s do what architects do best and nimbly design a solution
to deliver online STEAM and design-thinking programming – with the secondary
benefit of introducing a generation of learners to the profession of
architecture!
Do you currently offer outreach programming that
could be adapted to deliver online?
Are you interested in volunteering to develop or
deliver online lessons to students?
Would you be willing to participate in an “Ask
an Architect” session online with students?
Let us know
and AIA Virginia can help make connections with local educators, take
registrations for courses, and facilitate communication and online delivery of
courses.
Now is the time to build relationships with educators and
students (and help out parents who are trying to keep children learning and
engaged)!
K-12 Outreach Clearinghouse
AIA Virginia is also working to develop an online clearinghouse
of existing programs. If you, your chapter, or your firm has a program that
you’re willing to share, please let us know.
We want to be the go-to place for Virginia’s educators and parents to discover
opportunities and architecture programming for students.
We’ll organize the courses you share and make them available
to other architects and educators. But, we don’t just want your courses – we want
your stories! We would love to share your experiences on our communications
platforms.
In September, AIA
Virginia will Unveil Groundbreaking Initiative to Connect Architects with Local
Community Leaders over Dinner
I’ve seen the data. I’ve read the survey results. One major common thread is that, in general, Architects wish the public understood what they did and why they are of importance to society. As a professional architect, I want that also. The knowledge and skills we possess through our unique education, experience, and training, position us to be a valuable resource to those who influence the quality of life in our respective communities. In September, AIA Virginia will unveil a groundbreaking initiative that will help bridge that gap around the Commonwealth.
This initiative will be centered on a simple concept of
bringing together architects and community influencers over a private catered
dinner to discuss what community means to each individual. Within the context of this conversation, we
will discuss what we are most proud of in our community and what challenges are
we working to overcome. How can
architects be a resource in overcoming these challenges?
Dinners will have no more than 20 invited individuals. Of these invitees, six to eight will be
architects who live or work in that hosting community. The other seats will be reserved for local
leaders who have influence over shaping the quality of life. Positions that come to mind are the Mayor, School
Superintendent, the individual overseeing Transportation, Housing, and so
forth.
We are proud to announce that the first dinner will be held in Richmond on September 10th at the home of Burt Pinnock, FAIA. The attendance of Mayor Levar Stoney has been confirmed and we are working on inviting other local leaders. This initiative is planned to continue for five years with the hope of hosting anywhere between 25 to 50 dinners during this time frame in all corners of Virginia. Our hope is that this initiative is a seed project in which each of our local components will begin to host their own dinners to continue this dialogue.
Meal after meal, we look forward to positioning our members
to be a valuable resource for the community.
With service, Corey Clayborne, AIA, MBA Executive Vice President
This July, the Virginia Center for Architecture was host to the Math Science Innovation Center’s Summer Regional Governor’s School program From the Ground Up. The program, aimed at middle school students, was a two-week exploration of the professions of architecture, planning, interior design and landscape architecture. Through hands-on activities, lectures, and visits to firms and sites — including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Carlton Abbott’s striking sculptural installation at historic Pole Green — students learned about the language of architecture, investigated green design, and planned their own community from the ground up.
The program culminated with presentations by the students to an inspired audience of onlookers. The students, broken into groups responsible for the design of five different zones of their fictional community, presented models explaining their various design choices — including a roof-top community garden on the recreation center to the green features of the police department.
This marks the fifth year the Center has played host to the program.
