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!
