Message from the AIA Bend Section Director

James Satzinger
AIA Bend Director
Architect, semi-retired

Greetings AIA Oregon:

As Director of AIA Bend Section, I am challenged to organize a new Section from the ground. I receive untiring help from a dedicated group of Bend Architects and Associates, our Section Steering Committee: Kathy Austin, Natasha Derkatch, Andrea Arndt, Chris Moore, and our new Section Director-elect, Sara Bergby. Thank you all!  Please join us, as participation in AIA Committees leads to a richer AIA Oregon experience.

Our focus in AIA Bend Section is to elevate the importance of good Architecture in our communities, and to tackle industry challenges in our changing environment. Architects are uniquely positioned and equipped to prioritize the use of sustainable and healthy materials, renewable energy sources, and resource-saving systems, as we plan, design and construct today’s built environment. 

My story begins in 1969 at UC Santa Barbara, as my acceptance and transfer to the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley is on hold due to campus anti-war protests and the chaos that followed. Through my youth, I am an explorer, fort-builder, and landscaper in our neighborhood. The call of Architecture is strong, but not to be, yet. I graduate in Fine Arts; my senior project compares and contrasts Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City with Paolo Soleri’s Arcology. Buckminster Fuller becomes my hero, and during graduate school I build a number of Geodesic Domes in the foothills of Paradise, CA. Leaving graduate school, I join the Carpenter’s Union and become a pro at T-1-11 Roughtex siding. Charles Moore and the Third Bay Region Tradition would influence my first building designs.

Twenty years forward, a Contractor, Developer and Partner in a Santa Fe Architectural firm, my family would relocate to California, where I qualify as “Broadly Experienced” and pass the ARE during one week in June. Architect Bob Easton, my partner in Santa Barbara urges, “join the AIA”; I fill a board position, report CEUs to Oklahoma, and become AIA Santa Barbara President. Inspiration at AIA Grassroots, “Architects as Leaders”, launches my election as Delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Development opportunities hasten my return to New Mexico where I design and build LEED Gold, right-sized homes. AIA Design Awards, and Energy and Water efficiency awards follow. Membership on AIA Santa Fe and AIA New Mexico boards beget a term as AIA New Mexico President, when we lobby the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Architects to open New Mexico Registration to candidates who have passed the ARE, are licensed in another state, but lack a “Professional Degree”. The pinnacle of my AIA participation and reward, I chair the 2014 AIA Western Mountain Region Conference in Santa Fe, “The Art of Architecture”, and become AIA WMR representative.

“Retiring” to Bend in 2017, I join AIA Oregon and offer to lead AIA Bend Section. During our first year, AIA Bend members would attend Bend Urban Renewal, Transportation Plan and Affordable Housing task force meetings. In response to City of Bend needs, we host a series of charrettes to study and design new East-West Pedestrian Connections through Central Bend, an effort that culminates in an AIA Bend-led seminar at the annual Bend Design Conference.

Our initial studies spawn the idea of an underpass at Hawthorne Ave – near the center of Downtown Bend on the West and the Transit Center and Juniper Park on the East. Piercing the Bend Parkway and BNSF Railroad, this sky lit Accessible Route with Pedestrian and Bicycle lanes communes with public green space on both ends. PV Solar panels integrated into structures shelter open light wells between each lane of traffic and the railroad tracks, and supply lighting and other power needs.

AIA Bend Architects and local Engineers then study the existing Greenwood Ave underpass, a dismal and dangerous route. Can we transform Greenwood into a welcoming, landscaped crossing from Bend Central District to Downtown Bend, and include Pedestrians, Bicyclists, Motor Vehicles and Transit? Vehicle lanes would receive a diet to 11 feet, the width of walkways double, landscaped bio swales, new surface finishes, safety railings, lighting and way-faring signage are integral. Greenwood Ave, now a beautiful Multimodal Boulevard, can be the gateway in Bend, and as premier Transportation Spine, a catalyst to adjacent Urban Redevelopment efforts.

For 2020, in addition to AIAO programs and “Lunch and Learns”, AIA Bend Section is building on the success of “Thirsty Third Thursday”, adding an Emerging Professional Committee education component. We will inaugurate a “Call for Design Presentations”, asking AIA Bend Architects to show and discuss recent projects via PowerPoint and tales of challenges, successes, and material and system selection. Think of it as an AIA Design Awards submittal, but with a live presentation and AIA Bend member feedback. It’s going to be a creative year, and participation in your local Section will infinitely heighten your experience as a member of AIA Oregon!

Message from the AIA Eugene Director

Colin Dean
AIA Eugene Director
Architect, Rowell Brokaw Architects

Greetings and happy new year as we enter the 2020s! My name is Colin Dean and I’m excited to be taking the helm as your AIA Eugene Section Director. First of all, I’d like to thank our previous Director, Frank Visconti for his countless contributions to our organization and for leading us through the transition from Chapter to Section. Without his tireless dedication, we would not be on the solid footing that we currently find ourselves. Likewise, I’d like to thank Rex Prater for stepping up and volunteering to serve as Director-elect for the next two years.

To give you a little bit about my background and experience with the AIA. I’m originally from Washington state and first came to Eugene as a student in the University of Oregon’s bachelor of architecture program. As circumstances would have it, I had the misfortune of graduating in 2010 during the depths of the Great Recession. Employment opportunities in the profession were nonexistent. After returning to Washington, one of the first moves I made with my new degree in hand was to join AIA Seattle as an associate member. Doing so was a pivotal move. As a member, the AIA not only gave me access to numerous networking opportunities, a place to post my resume, and access to ARE study materials but most importantly, membership provided me the ability to stay close to the profession while the economy slowly thawed. Participating in chapter events led to short term gigs and eventually to full-time employment at Callison (now CallisonRTKL). Fast forward a couple of years and I found myself in Portland, a registered architect at Ankrom Moisan, and a professional member of AIA Portland. Following a stint there, my wife’s career brought us to southern Oregon. I served as President-elect of AIASO in 2018-19 while practicing at Kistler, Small, + White in Ashland. Last May saw my return to Eugene as my wife’s company relocated to the Willamette Valley. I came full circle to my days as a student. Now an architect at Rowell Brokaw, I’m excited to settle in as Director of AIA Eugene and look forward to all of the events planned for the upcoming year.

In 2020, the over-arching goal for AIA Eugene is to increase our focus on elevating the member experience, ultimately increasing membership value. This means that we’ll strive to create engaging, informative, and thought-provoking content to better serve our members and their interests. With this in mind, 2020 is poised to be very busy year for us. At our kickoff section planning meeting, we brainstormed a list of potential events so extensive it would keep our members engaged well into 2021. After paring this down, we shortlisted the following. Starting the year off, last night we co-hosted the annual Reverse Crit Pin-up with AIAS UO. This was an amazing event that offered students the opportunity to critique professional work from local firms. Following this, we’ll host tours of the Benton County Historical Society Museum, Hayward Field, and the Knight Campus. We aim to offer continuing education credit for each of these tours. Later in the year we’ll celebrate summer and winter with the ASLA; first at our co-hosted summer picnic followed by our annual holiday party. We’ll continue our tradition of presenting the People’s Choice Awards and publishing the Design Annual. Sprinkled into the mix of these events, we’ll continue to offer monthly lunch & learns and our committees will continue to hold periodic get-togethers. We have a very active Emerging Professionals committee (EPC), Small Firms Exchange (SFx), and Committee on Local Affairs (CoLA). All committee events are open to all members. I highly encourage everyone to at least sit in on a committee event and see if it’s a place for you to lend your voice. All events will be thoroughly advertised in Thursdays @ Three.

Reverse Crit Pin-up with AIAS at University of Oregon

In addition to our many localized events, we look forward to harnessing the power of a single state chapter to provide members with state-wide engagement opportunities. While continuing to provide events unique to Eugene, we’ll be working with AIAO to rollout statewide initiatives that are set to enhance the member experience. An example of this includes offering simulcast events incorporating panel discussions and local break-out sessions. These events will center around each of the quarterly themes mentioned by our president, Amy Vohs in the 01.9.2019 edition of Thursdays @ Three. A prime example of the potential found in our new state chapter’s organization can be found in AIAO’s recently held and immensely successful 2019 OSSC Updates webinar. With over 200 attendees, this event positions itself as the standard bearer for future state-wide engagement opportunities. But to be successful, all of these events will depend on you, your input, and most importantly, your participation.

AIA Oregon through the local sections  is a member driven organization. Your engagement is highly valued as it keeps our chapter and section energized and relevant to all members. If you’ve never sat on a committee, participated in a planning session, or it has been a while since you last have, I strongly encourage you to join in and help guide the conversation. We depend on our professional, associate, and allied members to raise their voice, create dialog, and help shape our future so we can continue to provide meaningful services to our members. I’m excited to lead this section. Knowing its storied history, I look forward to continuing our traditions while keeping an eye looking towards the future as our profession continuously evolves.

Message from the 2020 AIA Oregon President

Amy Vohs, AIA
AIA Oregon President
Senior Associate, DLR Group

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you’ve all had the opportunity to spend some holiday time with friends and family—or at least your favorite four-legged friend(s). I was able to read two books while my favorite four-legged friend snored on my lap. I call that a successful holiday.

I am very excited for this year as we welcome new section directors, a new secretary and new section directors-elect. We have been working on programs and communication plans as we address member comments and pursue new efforts to organize committee involvement. As we organize programs, we are focusing on three main areas: sustainability, government affairs through state and local advocacy and equity through design and practice. However, the overall focus connecting our efforts is planning for the future, or at least planning for what’s coming next.

Programs Overview:

You may have read in previous issue of Thursday at Three about the strategic planning efforts we started in fall 2019 and the four initiatives we are focusing on. The strategic planning process led to the idea of developing quarterly themes in 2020 to tie together many of our programs and events. Starting this spring, we will add a chapter-wide event featuring a live broadcast panel discussion and a presentation emphasizing the quarterly theme. 

As we complete our budget and plan events, we are also working to finalize the quarterly themes. At this point, we expect the themes will include:

• Policy and Advocacy

• Emerging Technologies

• People and Culture

• The Big Move (A focus on sustainability and a long-term vision. Design for Economy, Design for Energy, Design for Equitable Communities. Read more here.)

Our planning work over the next few weeks will solidify the events schedule, themes and 2020 budget.

Krista Philips, Chair of the Programs Committee and staff have been working to organize the calendar of events for the year based on committee program requests and national conferences. Here are a few events planned for 2020:

Quarter One

            Code Update Training
2020 Oregon Legislative Session

Quarter Two

            Resiliency – Business and Building Planning and Recovery Conference in Portland
            Homes Tour in Portland

Quarter Three:

            Golf Tournament
            Design Justice Panel Discussion
            Future Vision Conference

Quarter Four

            Sustainability Week
            Design Awards
            Legislative Advocacy Forum (in anticipation of 2021 legislative session)

These are just a few items on the program calendar for the year. There are lots of opportunities to get involved as we look for volunteers to help for any event. If you are interested, please contact Executive Vice President Curt Wilson, AIA at cwilson@aiaoregon.org.    

Steering Committee Callout:

At the holiday parties, we invited members to get involved in your local section Steering Committee to help plan local events. With new section directors and directors-elect, your input is valued to make each section active and locally relevant to members. Please check out the Leadership page on the AIA Oregon website to find out who your local section director is.

Communication:

Our website is constantly being updated with new information. Our goals for this year are to make our website much more user friendly and to add more content on committee work. We’ve recently updated the Resources page to show where you can borrow ARE study materials in each section for Emerging Professionals. You will start to notice other changes on the website over the next few months.

Statewide Programming:

We are excited to test out new strategies for disseminating programs statewide. This Friday’s webinar on the updates in the 2019 OSSC will be the first. So far, almost 200 attendees have signed up. We look forward to your feedback on how the webinar worked for you so we can better tune that process throughout the year. It is our intent to rotate locations where main presenters are located so everyone has the opportunity to attend in person.

I truly look forward to this coming year as we keep moving towards a more cohesive and inclusive state chapter. As always, if you have an idea on how to make AIA Oregon better, don’t hesitate to share.

Happy New Year!

Amy Vohs