Message from the AIAO President

Kaley Fought, AIA
AIAO President

If you’re like myself, and many of the members I’ve met in my first year of this Presidential term, you have been very busy this summer. I hope that you’ve been able to work on exciting projects (hoping to see some of them in the 2022 Oregon Architecture Awards!), find some fun away from the office (like attending one of our concerts at the Moda Center with other members from around the state), or perhaps just taking it easy and getting to know new friends – maybe by attending one of the section picnics like I did in Portland and Salem.

However you chose to spend it, our lovely Oregon summer is coming to an end. However, this transition marks the beginning of a fabulous fall season of events here at AIA Oregon. If you haven’t heard, we are seeking nominees to the Board of Directors (I’ve heard the President is fun to work with!) and we are finalizing the makeup of our New HQ Task Force. We are assembling a group of volunteer members representing leadership and fresh ideas who will guide the discussion around finding AIA Oregon’s next ‘home’. The next Board of Directors will work closely with this team and will have the final responsibility of seeing the solution through to completion, which will be very exciting for those who want to step into that challenge with our ongoing board leadership.

We are also looking forward to the Chris White Memorial Golf Tournament on September 29 at Langdon Farms, and of course, getting together to celebrate the OAA awards - which include Professional Achievement Awards – at the Portland Art Museum on November 18. Our Sections will finish the year with their own annual holiday get-togethers, as I am sure you all will in your offices as well. Please remember the Moda Center is available throughout the Portland Trailblazers season for you to take advantage of for your own events as individual or firm members. Reach out to staff to learn more about that.

We have plenty more to accomplish before the end of the year. Students are back to school, and the energy around getting back together in person is palpable. We hope to see you at any (or ALL!) of these upcoming events and as always, we are here to answer your questions about any of them. Please feel free to reach out to me directly with questions and feedback – I am pleased to have the opportunity to hear from you and look forward to continuing to serve as your President as we draw 2022 to a close and plan for a very exciting 2023.

Looking forward to connection with you soon,

Kaley Fought, AIA

Message from the AIAO EVP/CEO

Heather Wilson
AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

Professional Achievement Awards are open for nomination and if you’ve not considered it, I hope you’ll look at the details for submission this year. Presented alongside the Oregon Architectural Awards, recipients of these chapter honors will be recognized for their achievements among their peers on a night of food, fun and FINALLY SEEING EACH OTHER IN PERSON for this year’s event at the Portland Art Museum!

AIA Oregon will occupy the lower gallery space for presentation of all entries and time for our attendees to meet, mingle and munch on some light snacks before moving to the function space for the presentation of awards and honors.

Firm leaders, industry partners and our trusted allied members will be in attendance, along with the Design Awards jurors, AIA Oregon Board members and others who will gather to share some fun and celebration after these few years in pandemic.

Wouldn’t it be fun to win an award on a night like that?

To be considered for entry, nominees must meet the criteria for one of our three Professional Achievement Awards –the President’s Award, the Young Architect Award and the Emerging Professional Award (links) -Each award is based on AIA National’s four (4) content categories that that exhibit exemplary contribution to the profession and community:

Design Excellence: through the aesthetic or scientific application for the built environment

Practice: through leadership, management and/or specialized technical expertise

Education: through teaching, publications and/or research

Service: through exemplary service and contributions to the profession and/or society.

If you or a member you know meets the criteria for these awards, I would urge you to consider placing the nomination forward. The deadline has been extended to September 30 to offer the best opportunity to respond and ask questions. Please feel free to reach out to Heather Wilson, AIA Oregon CEO / EVP by phone or email (contacts) with any questions or clarifications. I’m hoping to learn more about what makes our AIA Oregon members uniquely poised to solve our very real and challenging built environment issues through your personal stories and I am looking forward to making sure the public knows how that dedication makes a difference.

Best of luck,

Heather WIlson

Message From a representative of the ArchiPAC Steering Committee and the Managing Director, Advocacy & Engagement Programs at AIA.

Bill Seider, FAIA
Member, ArchiPAC Steering Committee

Devon Gray
AIA Senior Director, Advocacy Capacity Development

ArchiPAC Pre-Check Program

AIA's ArchiPAC is the only political action committee (PAC) that represents architects and the profession at the federal level. ArchiPAC promotes prosperous, sustainable, and equitable communities through bipartisan political contributions to federal candidates. Since the beginning of 2022, I have served with a dozen AIA members and component executives on the ArchiPAC Steering Committee. Through collaboration with AIA's federal relations and political affairs staff, we fundraise and guide the disbursement of PAC contributions.  

Compared to other PACs in the design and construction industry, AIA's ArchiPAC is seriously underfunded. Only 1.5% of AIA Members contribute to ArchiPAC annually, placing AIA at a disadvantage. It limits the ability to promote AIA's legislative agenda to candidates, advocate for our local communities, and encourage the election of pro-architect candidates who can influence policy issues important to architects.

To raise awareness about ArchiPAC and encourage contributions, the AIA Board approved the ArchiPAC Steering Committee's proposal to institute a Pre-Check program on the 2023 Member Dues Statements that adds a voluntary $25 PAC Contribution to all members' annual dues. In previous years, members could check the box to add a PAC contribution. However, by implementing a "pre-checked" PAC contribution box that members can uncheck if desired, we can highlight AIA's ArchiPAC and federal advocacy and expand member participation.

If you mistakenly leave the box checked during the membership dues or later decide you do not want to give to ArchiPAC, a full refund of the $25 will be issued upon request.

Before implementing the ArchiPAC Pre-Check program across the AIA, the AIA Board approved a Pilot Program to be conducted in three volunteer states during the 2023 Annual Dues Renewal. I have learned that the best way to influence AIA Policy and Programs is to get involved early. I am happy to announce that the AIA Oregon Board has agreed for Oregon to be included in the Pre-check Pilot Program, along with AIA South Carolina and AIA Oklahoma. AIA National and AIA Oregon will release further information about the ArchiPAC Pre-Check program.

Please sign up for next week’s Thursday Roundtable to learn more about the program, ask questions, and share your comments.

Message from the AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

Heather Wilson
AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

While cleaning the AIA Oregon office / AIA Portland Center for Architecture, I had the opportunity to go through many of the chapter’s archives, which gave me a unique “history at a glance” perspective. In the process of deciding how to deal with the chapters’ sensitive materials and records, archives, and member produced materials, I decided to call the Oregon Historical Society to help discern items that could be best displayed in the state archives for state history purposes.

I’m happy to report that a great deal of material was donated. Most of the chapter archives of meetings, minutes, elections, and leadership were taken, along with other significant items that linked our chapter to architect Pietro Belluschi or to the development of planning and development materials in master planning efforts of downtown Portland. Did you know that the Whitney Young speech delivered in Portland to the AIA also started the AIA Communities by Design Committee and the AIA’s RUDAT / SDAT program? We placed some of that information in the archive as well. Your donation lives under the file number RL2021-101 for now, and is being sorted by the archivists for collections to consider. I’ll be glad to see what impact that may have.

I was, however, a bit disappointed that the historians did not want to take the archives of our design awards. Here I had found what I though was a treasure – an archive of awards jury members, member volunteer committee members, entrants, winners, event invitations and guests – neatly bound into 4 unremarkable black binders with hand-lettered call outs: “DESIGN AWARDS ARCHIVE.” These 4 (VERY HEAVY) books contain correspondence, invitations, notes, and more spanning the years 1956-1997. I have spent a great deal of time poring over these books to learn about this chapter, your architectural heritage, and what matters most as we turn ourselves toward this year’s call for entries.

First, I want to note that our awards are not just design awards, but PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT awards as well, and all will be presented on the same evening. While we are celebrating design excellence, we’ll also be celebrating the professional achievements of nominees put forward for our President’s Award, Young Architect Award, and Emerging Professional Award, so please take a look and nominate yourself or a worthy member you know. This is how we support, elevate, and promote not only each other, but the profession over time.

Next, I’ll draw your attention to the People’s Choice Awards (PCAs) going on in our sections and we are looking forward to recognizing the results that we have in by then to also celebrate our sections’ hard work. We hope to see your faces as we gather back in person for presentation.

This year, we’ll celebrate at the Portland Art Museum, a venue we used in 1965 when we combined our night with a gallery exhibition of the Northwest Printmakers 36th International Exhibition, Organized by the Seattle Art Museum for the then Portland Art Association. We held our awards entries in exhibition alongside the Printmakers and the Artists of Oregon Paintings and Sculpture of 1965. It was then the 9th annual event, so if my math is correct that makes this our 66th annual outing and I am looking forward to making a big deal out of it.

Please join in the excitement by entering your work today! The Call for Entries is open for OAAs, several PCAs and the PAAs. You can find links to all the programs here. Firms must be members to enter, and all members can enter projects as individuals. If you are unsure of your Emerging Professional / Young Architect status, please let us help you, we can do that quickly. If you have questions about entry eligibility or your firms’ membership status, please contact us so we can get you squared away ahead of the September 4 deadline for entry submission. 

Our esteemed panel of jurors featured in this weeks’ T@3 article will give you more insight into the amazing professionals that your President has invited to participate in this year’s program. You can also visit the recording our recent program, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Design Awards (But Were too Afraid to Ask)” where I take the time to give some helpful information for creating your best entries for submittal.

Best of luck, and I look forward to seeing the work we put forward to represent our state’s design excellence for 2022.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Message From the AIAO EVP/CEO

Heather Wilson
AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

“There are some games you can’t win unless you’re all in.” –Jordan B. Peterson

When you are good at something, but don’t really love it, you can do alright. You will get your work accomplished ok, and you’ll earn your living. Nothing out of the ordinary, probably, and so what? There’s a lot to be said for a life of coloring inside the lines. For one, your pictures are very, very pretty, and everyone will recognize exactly what’s happening in those pictures. Boxes, checked!

But what if you’re good at it AND you love it? That’s the place I assume many of you exist in architectural practice, both being great designers and really enjoying the work of collaboration, energy and visualization that it takes to craft a solution in theory to a real built thing. You maybe even like to compete a little? I know I do. This year, our Design Awards program Jury will be chaired by Suchi Reddy, AIA, founder and principal of Reddymade Architecture and Design based in New York. If you missed it, she was our closing speaker for ODC 22 and gave a powerful presentation regarding her work in neuroaesthetics. The conference theme –LINK –is clearly followed through with her agreement to serve as our jury chair, and we couldn’t be happier. If you had a chance to meet her, you know we’re in excellent hands. I can’t wait to see the selections made this year.

But you can’t win if you don’t enter (and you can’t enter if you aren’t an AIAO Firm member – see details here). I really enjoy this time of year because I get to see my members’ best, and it energizes me to keep doing my job supporting all you do. I am hoping to see more of your amazing work this year. We’ll be back in person for the awards presentation at the Portland Art Museum, and you won’t want to miss it.

You’ll also want to make sure you attend the prep session – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Design Awards *But Were Too Afraid To Ask on August 4 where I will share basic do’s and don’ts, common jury questions and insights, and review the entry process in detail so you’re relaxed and ready to submit your entries. I can’t wait to see this year’s work. Best of luck!

Messages from the AIAO Legislative Affairs Committee

Chris Forney, LAC Committee Member

Using our Collective Voice

In the wake of the latest Supreme Court EPA Ruling, I would like to seize upon this moment to promote discussion, healthy debate and understanding amongst our membership and feel empowered to drive home our shared priorities. Our superpower as an organization is that we have a collective voice that is smart, informed, and structured and can be used to influence legislation. From my perspective, it is a lot more apparent how critical it is that we get better at using that superpower to influence legislation. If we don’t, others will and we may not like those outcomes.How do we do that?

• Can we promote discussion and debate towards hammering out a shared agenda? A shared agenda can be mobilizing for membership.

• Can we be polling our members more frequently and sharing the results? I think Architects want to know what other Architects are thinking. These results might also help us communicate shared priorities with more validity, authenticity and transparency.

• Can we get good at deciphering permission from membership (voting) on 1-3 clear goals that we then confidently use to direct committees to execute, full steam?

I’ve long suspected that executive action through agency directive was not a durable pathway to responding to climate change (or any matter). The recent supreme court decisions are telling us that the only durable response to women’s rights, environmental and health protection and social justice is through legislation. We are being told by this Supreme Court to set clearer rules for them to judge by. So, let’s get organized and let’s get clear on the rules we want our local, State and National communities to live by.Our collective voice just became a lot more important. My hope is that we, as a community of Architects, can gather our focus amongst our membership to describe the future we want to see.

Christopher Forney | Principal
BRIGHTWORKS SUSTAINABILITY

*****

Cindy Robert, Rainmakers LLC (AIA Oregon Lobbyist)

State Wildfire Risk Mapping now available – a proactive measure to prevent and respond to the growing threat of wildfires.
The searchable map shows the wildfire risk of properties across the state. Anyone can plug in their address and see where their property falls on a risk spectrum. The map was made by a collaborative that included the state’s Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University as part of Senate Bill 762 (2021 legislative session). That bill, passed during the 2021 Legislative session, ordered state agencies to undertake a slate of measures to modernize and improve wildfire preparedness through three key strategies: creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective response, and increasing the resiliency of Oregon's landscapes. The bill is the product of years of hard work by the Governor's Wildfire Council, the Legislature, and state agencies.

At its core, the wildfire risk map is a tool to help inform decision making and planning related to mitigating wildfire risk for communities throughout Oregon and making it a reality has been an immense lift. Every tax lot in Oregon is assigned a wildfire risk classification. Knowing their level of wildfire risk will assist homeowners in identifying mitigation actions that can help protect their homes and communities. For homes that fall within the WUI and are classified as high or extreme risk, there will be required mitigation actions. The Office of the State Fire Marshal is working on defensible space codes and the Building Codes Division is working on home hardening codes.

Message from the AIAO President

Kaley Fought, AIA
AIA Oregon President

A’22 - AIA Conference on Architecture

June has been quite an inspirational and exciting month for myself and many of my colleagues! I had the great pleasure of kicking things off with the ODC in Portland, where we heard from a range of fantastic speakers on everything from architectural education to housing to neuroaesthetics. Our panel from NOMA shared a powerful conversation around diversity and inclusion with the field, and how critical it is to not only build diversity within practice, but to seek out and elevate underrepresented voices. Our featured speakers and breakout sessions continued to challenge and invigorate the conversation, and the collective energy and excitement for architecture and the design field left me well-prepared for A’22 in Chicago.

The conference this year felt monumental to me on multiple fronts. Outside of the obvious highlight - seeing President Barack Obama speak - the keynotes were inspiring, honest, and truly poignant. Getting back together with colleagues from around the country was an uplifting and truly energizing experience. Combined with the spectacular architecture and spaces that Chicago offers, I felt immersed in a place of design thinking. Amidst this backdrop, AIA’s new EVP/CEO Lakisha Ann Woods announced the newly elected leaders for AIA National; Kimberly Dowdell as the 100th President of AIA, Britt Lindberg as Secretary, and Illya Azaroff as At-Large Director. I’m so excited to see Kimberly Dowdell lead us into the next chapter of AIA alongside her leadership team. Lakisha also spoke with Julia Gamolina, Founder of Madame Architect, about moving the profession, and ourselves, forward by changing the way we think about equity and sustainability in architecture.

The Day 2 keynote panel, featuring Jeane Gang, Vishaan Chakrabarti, and Renee Chang, delivered a powerful message that immediately brought to mind the Whitney M Young Jr speech in Portland, where he said (paraphrasing) that we are most defined by our thunderous silence and our complete irrelevance. They covered this in full; not shying away from stressing that we have an enormous impact on influencing the world around us through spatial justice in the built environment. This includes breaking down the barriers we have fostered as a profession that can deter many underrepresented groups from even considering architecture as a career. I carried this with me for the duration of the conference, as the lens through which I considered our role in improving the environment around us.

Finally, Day 3 brings us President Barack Obama, who captured the room with his eloquence and resonant message that we are uniquely suited to contribute to the conversation on environmental issues and spatial justice. Just as important as being an active contributor however, is being an active listener. We cannot learn if we are the only ones speaking, and by seeking new and diverse voices, who often are most affected by the projects we work on, we can facilitate creation of healthier, more sustainable, and more reflective spaces for our communities.

The threads of spatial justice, equity, sustainability, and public safety (health and welfare) were strong and continuous throughout the breakout sessions, and left me eager to find opportunities to put words into practice. I hope that you do not take lightly your role as a change agent and architect, and seek opportunities on any scale that can have a positive impact on the human condition. Liberty and progress are a spatial practice, and design is a mechanism for us to contribute to an equitable, tolerant, and healthy world.

Message from the First VP/2024 President-elect of AIA

Kimberly Dowdell, AIA
AIA First VP/2024 President-elect

As a new day begins, I awaken with sincere gratitude to all of the AIA delegates who chose my name on the ballot for 2024 President-Elect. I know it wasn’t an easy decision. Having two very well qualified and dedicated women of color in the running is a first for AIA. I am proud of the campaign that we both ran, and I know that we will continue to serve this profession in so many different ways over the horizon of our careers. While my presidency will officially commence at the end of 2023, I am the 100th representative of the Institute’s highest elective office right now. I am beyond grateful.

This is monumental, no matter my race, gender, or age. The fact that I happen to be a Black woman under 40 makes this extraordinary. Together, we have made history in the field of architecture. My selection is a win for all of us. I entered this race for AIA President with strong encouragement from people of various backgrounds who I respect and admire. This win is for them. I entered this race to be a representative to those who have historically felt under-represented. This win is for them. I entered this race to help build a better profession for future generations of architects representing the full spectrum of humanity. This win is for them. I entered this race in an effort to help build a better and more sustainable world for all of us. This win is for you.

I deeply appreciate the tremendous support that I have received from so many. Special thanks to my family and inner circle of friends, who have been my foundation during this time. Further, I could not do this without the generous support of my firm. Many thanks to HOK’s leadership for their continued support of my service to the industry. Finally, none of this would be remotely possible without God. My faith has been my anchor from the very beginning, and it will continue to propel me forward to serve the AIA with everything I have to offer.

Yes, we’ve made history. Now it’s time to go build a better future! #KND4AIA

Message from the AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

Heather Wilson
AIAO EVP/CEO

In the spirit of Whitney Young

There are no words for the tragedy that occurred in Texas, just as there were no words in Sandy Hook or in any of the other 27 shootings that have occurred at American schools in 2022. I am fighting the conflicting emotions involved with talking this over with my children, while secretly admiring their ability to still get up and go to class knowing what they know about their full safety: it isn’t guaranteed.

I shouldn’t be, but I have been caught off guard when faced with the emotional responses from people like Coach Steve Kerr, whose disappointment and anger reflected (I hope) the hearts of many. There is a weariness here, and, at least on my part, a strong desire to figure out what we can do – both “we” as an organization and “we” as individuals working in our homes and communities.

I would like to propose that, to the extent you can find your personal intersection between your practice as an architect, the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public and how you feel about designing buildings for enhanced safety, you at least educate your clients. And while every solution we see in legislation isn’t the right one (code-mandated automatic door locks have been floated, for example, but present real obstacles to accessibility design) perhaps we can work proactively to create design solutions to the realities we ask teachers and students to face as we open our increasingly state-of-the-art institutions.

ODC 22 will be a place to reconnect with your colleagues from around the state, and not only see each other for the first time in a couple of years, but engage these conversations with intention, fulfilling the request made of AIA in 1968 by Whitney Young, in Portland Oregon, where we were admonished to replace our “thunderous silence” on the issues of that time with action.

I suggest we consider educating ourselves and clients to a way of seeing resilience as three-layered, considering physical, social, and psychological impacts when considering design elements, and incorporating all the best practices we know how. Seizing this moment to gather and discuss these issues as they are happening (and even perhaps come up with some solutions together) would go a long way toward honoring Mr. Young, those who have already been victims and those we hope to protect from ever seeing that fate. I believe that if we gather with that intention, we will have at least made a move in the right direction, and that’s better than thoughts and prayers alone.

If you have already signed up, thank you. If you cannot attend, but would like to get the recordings digitally, please consider registering for the digital package. We have much to accomplish together, and it won’t be the same without you – so I hope to meet you there.

Message from the AIAO President

Kaley Fought, AIA
AIAO President

The Missing LINK 

Have you registered for the AIA Oregon Conference June 1-3? ODC 22: LINK is ready to go, with a full schedule, health and safety protocols in place, and speakers that are equipped to elevate your practice. The 2022 ODC Planning Committee – a group of dedicated AIAO volunteers from our sections, committees, and firms of all sizes, has worked very hard for the last six months to bring you a full range of presentations covering equity, design, innovation, resilience, and more. 

Registration has been open for a few weeks now, and the early bird discounts expire tomorrow. If you haven’t signed up, I ask you to do so today. Alongside our Sponsors and Allied members and AIA Oregon staff, I have created an affordable conference with all of the credits you might need to both meet your licensure and AIA membership requirements, AND also your 5-hour ADA / Accessibility credits for California licensure. 

With all of those benefits, many of you still haven’t signed up – and I want you to know the experience won’t be the same without you.  

I hope you’ll consider how YOU might be the missing link we’ll need to make this conference great.  

We are purposefully holding our conference in Portland, both to reduce cost for many and to make the location more accessible and available to carbon-free transportation options. Hosting at the Sentinel Hotel was an easy decision – their COVID protocols for staff, cleaning procedures, and overall flexibility and understanding have us convinced that we are in careful hands. They will help us practice proper distancing, provide us with checked and cleared service staff, and help us encourage indoor masking in appropriate areas. We are committed to following all county and state regulations as we monitor our progression into the endemic phase of this most interesting time. I also hope you’ll do the same, obtaining a booster if needed, or taking your own steps of masking and distancing to keep yourself comfortable on site.  

If you register and attend, you will have the opportunity to catch up with your colleagues from around the state for the first time in 3 years, while also having the chance to talk with our featured speakers at the receptions hosted all three evenings of the conference. If you register and view digitally, you will have access to featured speakers via live broadcast and the opportunity to chat with your colleagues in between. As a firm leader, I hope you all take advantage of this great opportunity to introduce new staff members to the design community. 

Speaking of which, this will also be the first time many will have to meet our new EVP / CEO, Heather Wilson, in person. It’s been a little over a year since her arrival, and I expect she is also very eager to meet and greet with members from around the state. Let’s please make this the welcome I couldn’t offer last year! 

Lastly, I hope all of our firm principals will extend to their their staff – especially the youngest and most talented – the opportunity to educate and expand their ideas around practice by hearing from our carefully selected featured speakers. If you have not yet, please see our lineup of speakers, all examples of excellence in the industry who are certain to give your firm’s talent powerful insights and new tools for the office.  

Unfortunately, because of how we have to balance the affordability of broadcasting live and recording breakout sessions, there will be NO ON-SITE REGISTRATION and you won’t be able to access livestreams the day of the conference without registration. Conference offerings will not be available for free for another several months, but your registration will ensure access to it all, even after the event. THAT is a deal. 

The committee and staff have worked hard, the sponsors have all stepped up and the Sentinel Hotel is ready to welcome us. We’re on the edge of creating something great together, if we connect the links - I know it. I am excited for ODC 22, and excited to have had the opportunity to work with these amazing professionals from around the state to bring it to you. Please register today! 

Message from the AIAO Representative to the AIA Strategic Council

Curt Wilson, AIA
Principal, Wilson Architecture
AIA Oregon Representative, AIA Strategic Council

Hello AIA Oregon!  It’s been about a year since my time as the interim EVP/CEO for AIA Oregon ended and since then my focus has been growing Wilson Architecture.  It’s been exciting to do all the things necessary to build a business, such as creating a website, preparing marketing materials, establishing work processes, pursuing projects, and most importantly doing the work.  Working closely with clients, consultants, and contractors, evaluating existing buildings and planning renovations, drawings and details, spec writing, securing permits and construction activities are in my wheelhouse and my career passion, and it is great to be doing it again.  As with most firms in this market, I’ve been fortunate to have many opportunities and be staying very busy.  Some of my projects include a new library and city hall in Lowell, a Navigation Center in Roseburg that is part of the city’s infrastructure to help people living on the streets, and a new Visitor Center and Admin Building at the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northern California.  I’m enjoying the new challenges of integrating Revit into my work processes and pushing myself to stay on top of all this work.  The next step for Wilson Architecture is to add staff and grow capacity.  I’m forever grateful to AIA Oregon for the opportunity work as the EVP/CEO in my transition to the new firm and all the experiences and skills that came from it.

One of the challenges I have faced is working as a single person firm from my home office and the lack of engagement with others during the design process.  I have a great group of clients and consultants that I’m working with and meeting on one project or another daily, but I miss the informal conversations that take place during the design process and about design.  That is one of the reasons that I’m excited for the 2022 Oregon Design Conference, June 1-3 in Portland, and looking forward to face to face interactions! I was on the AIA Oregon board when the ODC was created and participated in almost all of the conferences since then.  The relatively intimate venue on the coast and design-focused themes was a welcome diversion from the day to day pace of practicing architecture and a chance to reflect on design as a core principle in the work we do, and interact with colleagues.  The coastal format was pretty fantastic, but the format was accessible only to those with the ability to take a few days off and to afford the costs of the venue hotel.  AIA Oregon leadership has acknowledged that for the ODC to live up to its potential, it needs to be available to more people associated with our profession.  The format change to Portland is appropriate, a good step forward towards our goals of an integrated state chapter as future conferences will be held in other Oregon communities.

There is a necessary critical mass for a successful conference, so we need many of us to register.  I appeal to firm leaders to support the Oregon Design Conference by encouraging your team to attend, and providing as much financial support as you can.  A few years back, Seth Anderson, past AIA Oregon president and now a principal in the Bend office of BLRB brought all of his firm’s staff to the ODC.  My partners back then at PIVOT were motivated, so we did something similar for the next one.  This is my challenge to you: support your employees to attend the 2022 Oregon Design Conference.  I’ve focused this past year on growing Wilson Architecture, I’ve continued to be an engaged AIA member.  Sending your staff to conference is one way you can do that as well.

Another way I have remained engaged is through Strategic Council.  At the end of 2021, the AIAO Board appointed me to the new role as Oregon representation to the AIA Strategic Council.  The Strategic Council was created when the former large operating board comprised of regional directors was reorganized into a smaller board, and charged with thinking broadly about the future of the Institute.  The mission of the Strategic Council is:

The Strategic Council advances the architecture profession by informing the Board and other Institute bodies about important professional issues, opportunities, and threats. Although it is not an AIA governing body, the Council’s work is vital to AIA’s ability to serve the profession.  The Council approaches its tasks with an emphasis on an outward and forward-focused vision.    

State chapter representatives replaced regional representatives as the Institute changed the governance model recently from regions to states, and we are working through what that means for the Strategic Council and how members are represented.  As the year progresses, I look forward to providing you with updates on the activities of the strategic council.

Respectfully

Curt Wilson, AIA
Principal, Wilson Architecture
AIA Oregon Representative, AIA Strategic Council.

Message from the AIAO EVP/CEO

Heather Wilson
AIAO Executive Vice President/CEO

Linking Action to Intention

Have you seen how ODC22 is shaping up? 3 days, 5 featured speakers, 2 parties! Don’t miss it!

The excitement generating between committee and Board members, AIA Oregon staff and our alliedpartners is getting palpable! We are really looking forward to welcoming membership back to in-person event attendance as well as providing a quality digital experience for those who prefer to stay at home.

We’ve come through 2 years of pandemic and hopefully we have learned so much that we can put into practice when we meet, including sharing what we’ve been working on, the way we see the profession shaping solutions for our new landscape, and just having fun seeing each other.

What can you expect? Three days of presentations on practice and design culture, the opportunity to ask lots of questions and even a little yoga. The Sentinel Hotel will serve as our venue –and they are offering a discounted stay for our members, so consider staying overnight. With good food and evening receptions, you can also stick around and avoid traffic nightmares talking with your colleagues about all we’ve missed while we’ve been apart.

Those who register for the digital experience will be able to tune into live broadcast presentations of our Featured Speakers. Breakout sessions will be recorded and shared with registrants for 6 weeks. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to hear from these great presenters, reconnect with fellow architects and allied members. Register today, and set your intention toward inspiring interaction in Portland, Oregon June 1-3!

Message from the UO Architecture Department Head

Michael Zaretsky, AIA
Architecture Department Head
University of Oregon

Hello AIA Oregon!

I am a new member of AIA Oregon, but not new to Oregon. I was a Master of Architecture student at the University of Oregon (UO) from 1994-1998. I then practiced architecture in Copenhagen, Denmark, San Francisco, California and Seattle, Washington before choosing to transition to academia. I taught one quarter at UO in spring 2004 and then two years at the Savannah College of Art and Design before taking a tenure-track position at the University of Cincinnati (UC). I taught for ten years and led the MetroLAB Community Design/Build program before transitioning to an Associate Dean role in the UC College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). In 2018, my wife was offered a position as Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). We moved to Dallas, Texas where I became the Director of Architectural Engineering at UTA. However, when the opportunity came up to come back to the University of Oregon, we couldn’t resist. My wife, Adrian Parr, is the Dean of the College of Design and I am the Head of Architecture at UO.

It is an immense honor to return to UO Architecture to work with the faculty, staff and students of the Department of Architecture. My experience here set me on a path that embraces all forms of environmental sustainability, a critical integration of context and place as well as a deep appreciation of cultural specificity. I learned to collaborate with others to create meaningful buildings and places using appropriate materials and technologies. I learned to incorporate passive strategies and integrated systems through projects at all scales.

Upon returning last spring, I have discovered that the work of the faculty and the program has expanded to engage cutting-edge research in centers such as the Institute for Health in the Built Environment (IHBE), the Tallwood Design Institute (TDI), and Urbanism Next among many others. I have also learned that the department, and the School of Architecture and Environment (SAE), have embraced social justice as a critical component of sustainability. In the last three years, the Design for Spatial Justice Initiative (DSJI) program has brought 15 DSJI Fellows to UO from across the world to UO to integrate diverse perspectives from practice, academia and lived experience. These fellows have profoundly impacted our design and our dialogue.

We recently completed our accreditation visit from the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB). The feedback was extremely positive overall. They noted our focus on collaboration and the commitment to high quality teaching among our faculty. We received national commendations for two areas – “Ecological Knowledge and Responsibility” and “Social Justice and Equity.” However, there is one area where we need to improve - preparation for Professional Practice. While all UO Architecture students take a course in Context of the Profession, we need to do more to engage our students with the profession throughout their academic experience. We are currently preparing to start offering Practicum again (following covid) as well as offering more opportunities for Internships and engagement with Practice in Eugene and Portland.

We are hoping to build our relationships with all of our AIA partners in Oregon, throughout the PNW and across the country. We are excited to work with all of you to create more bridges between our program and your firms.

Don’t hesitate to reach out or come visit us in Eugene or Portland.

Message from the AIA Eugene Section Director-Elect

Andrew Scheidt, AIA
Eugene Section Director-Elect

Member Re-engagement

As the new Section-Director Elect for the Eugene Section of AIAO, I would like to take this opportunity to give you some information about myself and my motivation for taking on this position.  I primarily strive to be an architect focusing on design respectful towards and reflective of place.  With that in mind, I have found the local AIA sections to be the best avenue for discovering the factors/persons affecting the design of the places where I find myself.

In my undergraduate experience at the University of Virginia (‘02), I learned to design buildings from an artistic standpoint.  We learned how to take an idea and translate it into a built form. In my graduate studies at the University of Oregon (‘06), I was first exposed towards critical regionalism, and those studies provided me with the technical skills to analyze a site and make an informed response with my design proposal to create a building that will have a benefit to its environment. 

I worked for 7 years post graduate school primarily with other architects and designers at The Sea Ranch in coastal CA, designing custom mid-sized single-family residences, both for owner occupied and rental use.  Ten years ago, I moved back to Eugene where I have worked in local offices doing small commercial/retail work.  In the past 2 years I have picked back up and reopened my full-service architectural firm working primarily in residential and low-rise commercial/retail. 

My design philosophy is based around two main influences: client and site.  The conditions and goals placed on the project by the client and the opportunities presented by the site allow the project design to take a unique form, which I view as my definition of the ‘Ecology of Place’.  I feel design projects that relate to the ecology of their place and quantify environmental variables and their influences on the design result in holistic structures.  Structures that maximize the available functions, energy efficiency, longevity, sense of appropriateness and the physical and mental well-being of the occupants.  I believe in passive design strategies as a solution to the issues of excessive energy consumption, indoor air sickness, and as a method to reconnect building inhabitants to the natural world.

Prior to COVID I was participating in various AIA-SWO activities, of note were my participation in the most recent re-envisioning of the Eugene COLA group circa 2012/13, acting as the local Design Spring (Emerging Professionals) lead for Eugene for 2 years, and participation in and hope to take on as leading, (then COVID) of the local Small Firms group. These experiences have helped me expand the knowledge, expertise, and awareness of the factors and possibilities of our local design community.

However, during my educational experience I was not involved in AIAS and my early professional carrier I did not see the value in participating in the local AIA chapters.  It was only upon coming to Eugene and looking for professional networking that I began to reach out.

It quickly became evident to me the value of the local AIA.  If I can convey one message today it is that your local Sections value is commiserate with the effort one puts into it.  This is a volunteer organization; it runs on local members giving of their time.

My vision and goal for my time as a future leader in this organization is for it to facilitate your needs.  This includes both being a resource, but also a venue for you to be able to make your ideas happen.  Do you wish there was more peer to peer networking, GREAT come help us make that happen for you and the community.  Do you wish you could have a discussion around what the local market is like for designers and who is the real competition for what you want to achieve, GREAT, come to the AIA with that idea and we will help you facilitate that gathering.  If you need information on a particular topic, I would like your local section to be your go to source.  If you want to know how to become licensed, I would like your local section to foster, support, and help to provide the resources for you to be able to succeed in that.   

What this vision requires is participation.  In the coming months I will be looking towards Member Re-engagement.  Coming out of COVID and all remote worlds, what does the AIA look like in a way that will get you to come out and participate?  What events would you like to see?  What resources should we focus on making locally available.  These are items I would like to focus on so that coming out of a statewide reorganization followed by a Pandemic we can focus on what will get members to make their own value out of AIAO

Message from the AIAO Executive Vice President/CEO

Heather Wilson
AIAO EVP/CEO

As I am writing this message, I am listening to the Honorable Judge Ketanji Brown defend her stellar resume and exceptional personal work ethic before a confirmation panel for the Supreme Court, and I am struck by the poised, calm, peaceful woman I see prevailing in front of me. She reminds me of another poised and peaceful soul I have had the pleasure to meet, Elizabeth Smart.

When I met Elizabeth Smart, her story of abduction and return had long passed; here she was a grown woman, ethereally beautiful, literally almost glowing as she entered the Utah State Legislative chambers. She gave testimony regarding her experience, and made a pointed argument: proper sexual education in Utah public schools may have saved her at least some of her anguish, and she asked the body to consider how important it might be to educate young girls – without attempting to sway them toward premature activity – to genuinely know their bodies, and perhaps their own value.

She was politely listened to, and when her testimony was finished, the room erupted in applause.

Then, after she left the room, they voted. Her measure failed, nearly unanimously. It did so each year I saw her present it to that body. I thought I was struck by her strength, by her beauty and poise while persisting despite the known outcome. Then I realized there was a much better word for it: resilience.

We – AIA, its practitioners, its allied partners, employees and colleagues – have been using this term now to start to explore what it means to persist despite the challenges of your environment. As I watch Ketanji, and remember Elizabeth, I am also thinking of my graduating senior son, headed out into a post-pandemic world that has not yet set itself back on a normalized course. What he and his graduating class have endured will be unique to them, and they are the lucky ones. There are hundreds of thousands of children who were both left without a caregiver and without a chance to say a proper goodbye who are in every age from preschool to senior year, and we’d better start thinking about how we design for their well-being.

Because I am blessed to have my grandmothers’ journals, I know that she was one of these pandemic children, left by a father who died in the 1919 flu epidemic before she was born. My Nana, as a result, carried a trauma that I can tell you reverberated her entire life. It linked her every step to the next. In fact, without the trauma, she would not have become the resilient and resourceful grandmother I knew her to be, and she told me that many times. Her strength laid in her continued gratitude for her supports - her neighbors, her church, her siblings, her children. Her community.

We are a community. We have agreements that we honor to create safe spaces for all of our members, and I hope you’ll take them with you wherever we meet; indeed, wherever you go. As we re-enter in person settings and gather in (hopefully well designed) spaces, let us remember what resilience really means: the ability to absorb or avoid damage without suffering complete failure – and continue to grow back toward something we can call normal, but will hopefully cherish in extraordinary ways.

Yours in Design,

Heather Wilson

Message from the AIA Bend Section Director-Elect

Ian Schmidt, AIA
Section Director-Elect, AIA Bend

I am excited to be joining the AIA Bend chapter leadership group as the 2022 Director-Elect. I am looking forward to meeting more colleagues and providing design opportunities to colleagues at all levels of experience. The majority of my volunteering in the last 5 years has been with community organizations focused on housing; so, while this is my first official role with the AIA I’ve had many opportunities to be a voice for architects within our business community. I believe that architects and designers have an important role to play in shaping our communities through activism as well as our professional work.

I see myself as a pretty average resident of Bend Oregon, which is another way of saying “I like being outside, and I didn’t start out here.” I grew up in a mid-sized city in the northern Andes mountains of Peru and then a few miles away from the Pacific Ocean in the southern border city of Peru and Chile. My parents moved back to central Kansas in the mid-90s, and I lived there until going to the college of architecture at Kansas State University. While in architecture school I was heavily influenced by the social housing models of pioneered in Scandinavia in the 1970s and was fortunate to study for parts of my last two years of undergrad in Denmark and Norway. The centrality of modern design and support for community-based approaches to caring for our neighbors made a deep impression on me, and I’ve been pursuing those two things ever since.

My first foray into community involvement as an architect came in 2015 with a healthy push from the director of Bend 2030 who -fortuitously for me- shared a space with the architectural office I worked at. I loved being part of the Middle Market Housing Workgroup and helping shape the community dialogue around housing. I am proud to have served for 4 years on the Affordable Housing Advisory Council in Bend and love the opportunity to bring an AEC perspective to local policy deliberations. There are more organizations that have shaped me than I can name here, but I will say that my appreciation for our Central Oregon community easily doubled during my time in Leadership Bend.

My current role in the industry is as a Partner and Architect at COLE Architects, and I love getting to work a wide range of projects across central & eastern Oregon and Idaho. Easily the most fun part of my position is getting to indulge my joint passions for mentoring and writing good contracts.

In my year as Director-Elect I am going to try to meet all our local members, reach out to every firm in Bend to understand what each of you are passionate about, and ask how I can open doors for the opportunities each of you dream about. Our local AIA chapter is a collaborative democracy – and my role in that democracy is to provide opportunities for growth, self-expression, and supporting the current and future leaders in our profession.

I believe that our local community and region will be its best when a diverse range of buildings are available to meet our diverse population. Historically Central Oregon has had a high percentage of single-family homes, but as housing continues to soar in price and our state land use laws both require further densification and constrain the buildable land supply, other approaches can help address those challenges. As more people move the American West each year, a critical mass is growing to consider options including but not limited to the traditional model of single-family detached homes, walk-up apartments, and car-centric business areas. I am excited to find local opportunities for advocacy in the built environment and even more excited to do it with colleagues and friends.

Message From the AIA Portland Section Director

Ben Arico, AIA
AIA Portland Section Director

Dear Members,

 In Portland in 1972, the leadership community in charge of shaping the future of the built environment banded together to produce the 1972 Downtown Plan.  This leadership community was comprised of civic leaders, elected officials, city employees, architects, private sector participants, and public participants.  The plan was aspirational and laid the groundwork for some of the most beloved characteristics of Downtown Portland and its active downtown core, including light rail, a strong urban university, Pioneer Courthouse Square, pedestrian and traffic improvements, and urban residential infill - among many others.

For many, Portland thrived with the guidance of the 1972 Downtown Plan.  Flash forward 50 years.  Welcome to 2022.  The pandemic has highlighted problems that perhaps have always been – to a far lesser extent – plaguing Portland.  Now the Downtown core shows physical symptoms of its social ailments and is far removed from its previous role as the vibrant and active center of the city.  So much has changed over 50 years.  The timing appears right for visioning a new and better future for Portland’s Downtown Core.

I believe that the values expressed at the heart of the city are the spatial messages broadcasted with the loudest volume.  In 2022, what are our values?  What would make the Downtown Core an inclusive, safe space that both takes advantage of the benefits of downtown location while realizing the real issues of displacement, houselessness, and truly attainable – not just affordable - housing?  What must be different about the physical form so that it reflects these more inclusive and welcoming values for people?  How can the downtown core link us together and help communities thrive?

My hope is that architects and planners will participate in a community outreach effort.  As the profession of architecture acknowledges its role in systemic injustices built into our cultural fabric, our process must include measures to ensure all voices are able to be heard and amplify voices that are often pushed to the margins.  Prioritizing an equitable process would help to create a more equitable result.  To that end, the AIA Portland section would like to revisit the 1972 Downtown Plan with an active lens for equity, justice, inclusivity, and belonging.  We believe this reflective effort will help us consider new opportunities to design a more just built environment.

Revisiting the 1972 Downtown Plan does not mean creating a zoning map with regulations or compiling a list of projects & requirements.  The purpose of this exercise would be to imagine what the future Downtown Portland could be, and how design can play a part in it.  This will help us be prepared for local discussions about elements of current city plans, which will help us extend theories and topics for discussion and education to the broader AEC community.

If you are interested in contributing to this discussion, or would like more information, I welcome you to join us at our next Portland Section Steering Committee Meeting on March 3rd from 12:00-1:00PM.  We will be discussing this item along with other exciting and interesting agenda items.  If you have never been to a Portland Section Steering Committee Meeting, please don’t be intimidated.  The past few meetings have had 5 or 6 people in them.  As your Director, I would love to see more Portland members at our monthly meetings, and it would be a nice way for you all to get to know each other better.  You can also email me if you are interested in the Portland plan revisit.  We will want people to have the opportunity for robust conversation.

Sincerely, 

Ben Arico

Portland Section Director

Message from the AIA Eugene Section Director

Rex Prater, AIA
AIA Eugene Section Director

Volunteers Build a Better Us

Thanks for Volunteering, Everyone! Now that I am solidly one month into 2022, as Section Director for the Eugene area, I find myself saying this every chance I have a moment with membership. Having participated in this organization for awhile, always a volunteer, I’ve found it a very rewarding experience. I know we pay dues, which in part affords us a professional staff that assist us and manage this professional organization, but so much of what we want to do requires volunteer support. It takes a team and I’ve found it a true privilege to be a part of and participate in this organization - this includes a big show of appreciation to Colin Dean for all his service having just concluded his Directorship for the Eugene Section.

If you are searching for the most important take-away in this message, it would be in recognizing and celebrating all the volunteers within our AIA Oregon community. You all are awesome! Sometimes it feels to me that we don’t celebrate you enough. That’s probably why I was inspired to make it my topic today. So how about this idea… let’s celebrate our volunteers more like we celebrate our design awards. I think we do really well at this because there are sure a lot of design awards out there! Volunteers? - not so much.

So, as I wrap up this message and rush off to fulfill another task which I’ve just delayed in order to try and craft this crafty message, please recognize and celebrate volunteering. Thank you for volunteering. There are only so many tomorrows and if you have talent to give, or have an interest you think is worth supporting, please do it! Again, thank you everyone for volunteering!

Message from the incoming AIAO President

Kaley Fought, AIA
AIA Oregon President

Hello, and Happy New Year! I’m so thrilled to be starting the year as your 2022-24 AIAO President.

For those of you who don’t know me, a brief introduction. Originally from Northern California, I came to Oregon to attend the University of Oregon, where I received my Bachelor of Architecture. I moved to Salem to join CBTWO Architects in 2012, where I am currently an Associate. I have been involved with AIA almost as long, starting out as an Associate Director for the Salem Chapter at the encouragement of my firm and colleagues. My background is in commercial architecture, with a focus on community non-profit and healthcare.

Within AIA, I have been actively involved at both the local and state level, always with a focus on increasing engagement and elevating the voice of architects in our communities. As President of AIA Salem, I led our chapter through the transition to a single AIA Oregon, collaborating with the other chapter leaders around the state to organize a framework for equitable and meaningful programming, a unified legislative voice, and camaraderie. This merged seamlessly with my role as Chair of the Oregon Design Conference: Shift19, where we aimed to center the conversation around increasing diversity in architecture, and embracing the benefits of expanding our network to allied professions. We heard from speakers such as Nkenge Harmon-Johnson, CEO of the Urban League of Portland; Barbara Bouza, then Managing Director with Gensler; Built by Civilization; and Alan Tse, an emerging talent based in San Francisco. Following this I served as AIAO Treasurer for two years prior to moving into the role of President-Elect.

As we begin yet another year of strange conditions with the pandemic, restructured work/life balance, and near constant volatility in the construction market, I am struck by the adaptability and open-mindedness of our profession and our organization. Under Amy’s leadership during the last two years, AIAO has drastically expanded our digital content, facilitating our reach across the sections to provide programming and opportunities for social engagement. Although we began discussions of how to implement state-wide programming several years ago, the rapid shift of our interaction to a digital platform expedited the effort in an incredible way. I’m inspired by the guidance and logistical acumen of Heather and our amazing staff that has kept AIAO running successfully through the challenges, and eager to continue the effort with our new board!

I hope each of you will find a way to get involved this year, whether by mentoring an emerging professional, attending ODC next Spring, participating in a committee, or joining a section happy hour to connect with colleagues. Strengthening and maintaining links with each other and our communities will facilitate our participation in conversations around resiliency, houselessness, and equity and diversity within the built environment. We have some exciting programming planned for the year, and planning for the Design Conference is in full swing. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime, and I look forward to seeing all of you in the next year! Thank you!

Message From the Outgoing AIAO President

Amy Vohs, AIA
Outgoing AIAO President

“What a long, strange trip it’s been.” 

I hope  you are all well and are able to spend some time away for the holidays. As I wrap up my term as AIA Oregon president I look back on what we were able to do in such unusual times. 2020 started out innocent enough with some good momentum behind our strategic plan for the next few years.  We were looking forward to a lot of change as well as knowing we needed to hire a replacement Executive Vice President and work through our lease on the Center For Architecture ending December 2021. We were getting ready with the different task forces for these major events along with rolling out new educational programs for the year. The chapter was still merging into a single state chapter. We were debating on the best course of action to roll out long distance learning for equitable access across the state, with a plan to expand our technology with cameras and good streaming services to upgrade the existing capabilities for broadcasting programming.  

Then COVID hit. 

We took a month to regroup and understand what our mission was as a professional organization. What our members are paying for is quality education and activism in issues regarding our profession so our attention focused on how to move big events to the virtual world. We learned a lot from members on how they were making the transition, shared tips and were back up with a limited amount of programs as we also realized that our personal lives needed much more attention as well. 

Memorial Day 2020 seemed to have it all.  It was the start of the wildfire season that turned our skies red and our air quality toxic, forcing large evacuations and creating devastation that came to a head in September, devastation that communities are still working hard to rebuild. The Eugene and Southern Sections worked with other organizations to discuss better ways to build, landscape and protect communities from wildfires in the future. This will be an ongoing discussion with jurisdictions on code adoption as well as with the construction industry. 

Also on Memorial Day, George Floyd was murdered, triggering an awakening to the many injustices facing people of color throughout the country and most notably to us, in Portland. It has changed how we look at our cities, how we collaborate with each other, how projects are planned, how we talk to our kids, and - I hope - how we govern our communities. As an organization, AIA Oregon changed our strategic initiatives by reviewing and improving programs to discuss equity in the built environment, community engagement and how we work better within our communities so that the past does not repeat itself. We created our Social Justice Action Plan focusing our efforts on six different areas to help us focus our efforts where we can be most effective. 

•           Access to the Profession

•           Expand and Enhance Community Relationships

•           Advocacy

•           Continuing Education Training

•           Equity Within the Organization

•           Celebration of Architecture and Architects 

We issued an update to where we were in our Action Plan earlier this year.  We will continue to use this as a guide to continue to make progress. Social change is a continued effort that needs to constantly be reviewed and course corrected throughout our lives.

In 2021, as our communities started to rebuild, we have been slowly getting back on our feet with a new Executive Vice President, Heather Wilson, who brings such a strong background of working with AIA National and other chapters.  She has already brought some amazing speakers to us and a different approach to facilities management.

With our Portland CFA lease ending at the end of 2021, we opted for signing a three year lease at the MODA center to allow us time to look for a new final home, to allow us outside opportunities for revenue generation and to provide a benefit to members and allied partners for a little different venue to socialize and network. 

Future Vision 2021 brought some great discussions on equity from multiple voices. Room For More’s presentation on Equi-Districts pushing the discussion on how we can bring equity to the center of our design profession.

As Steven Lewis, FAIA mentioned in his keynote conversation with Chandra Robinson for 2021 Future Vision, we need to learn about the communities we work with and engage with them to let them guide what is needed for their own community. “If it is not with us, then it is not for us”. If you missed this conversation, please see the Vimeo recording linked above. The discussion was open and honest and I find myself revisiting it often. 

The Keynote Speaker for Sustainable Building Week Hop Hopkins, Climate Justice Fellow with the Sierra Club, brought up discussions on disposable land and our relationship with people, land and pollution affects larger percentages of communities of color. This was a three part program with discussions on energy use, bringing sustainability to our homes and how to expand that to other communities.

These are just a few of the events AIA Oregon presented through the tireless efforts of our committee members. We are also working on coordinating efforts for organizing opportunities for high school internships or job shadows to provide students of color or students without access to the AE professions. This is continuing our efforts to expand access to the profession working with several other organizations NOMA PDX, Room for More, ACE, and others for a more equitable approach to working with firms and students. 

This is just a fraction of the discussions we’ve had over the last two years.  I look forward to 2022 with more opportunities to get back together with the Oregon Design Conference, Business of Architecture series, Tour of Homes, and others. I look forward to what the next board will bring to the table. Kaley Fought, AIA has been a part of this board for several years and has some amazing ideas to expand upon over the next two years. I look forward to what is to come. I feel blessed to have been your president for the last two years and thank you all for being a part of AIA Oregon. I wish you all a Happy New Year. 

Peace out and I’ll leave you with one more Grateful Dead quote:

“If we had any nerve at all, if we had any real guts as a society, or whatever you need, whatever quality you need, real character, we would make an effort to really address the wrongs in this society, righteously.” ~ Jerry Garcia