Dave Mojica, Assoc. AIA
Housing Advocacy Committee (HAC) Co-Chair
Housing Oregon Conference Recap (on behalf of the HAC)
This September the AIA Oregon Housing Advocacy Committee (HAC) participated in the 2025 Housing OR Conference at the Portland Convention Center. More than 1,300 housing advocates from across the state participated to share and discuss housing justice and how to expedite the creation of quality affordable housing.
Of the ninety-four workshops over ten percent featured AIA OR firms or members. Architects were able to share their expertise through presentations, panels, and one on one networking opportunities over two days. Topics included innovative modular and CLT techniques, Inclusive and Social Housing, and the Integration of Art in Architecture. The HAC hosted a Best Practices Panel on How to Work with an Architect, which centered on educating participants on how architects traditionally support development teams in balancing the design process with funding timelines, lead land use approvals, and permit reviews. This panel highlight the nuanced approaches they take for community engagement and managing stakeholder goals and requirements. In addition to being able to share knowledge we were also able to celebrate excellence in quality affordable design that features livability, community revitalization, and service integration. Congratulations to CPAH & Carlton Hart for receiving the Urban Golden Hammer Award for Plambeck Gardens.
For HAC and architectural participants this conference allowed them to interface with advocates, policy makers, developers, and local jurisdictions in a format not readily available in day-to-day practice. The Development Fundamentals and Finance tracks gave architects the opportunity to learn the details of the evolving circumstances that make affordable housing possible. The Policy and Advocacy track highlighted the ways senate bills have broken down design and approval barriers to increase housing production which noting the challenges that lie ahead.
A key takeaway reinforced at the Lunch Plenary is that housing advocates need increased support and active involvement of architects to make change. Architects possess a unique ability to graphically and verbally bring form to housing concepts and guiding sentiments. The HAC looks forward to responding to this call and taking the lessons learned at this conference by increasing volunteer and advocacy opportunities for AIA OR in 2026.
For updates and notification of where recordings from the conference are available sign up at: https://sites.google.com/view/aiaohac/home.