Bill Hart, AIA
Former AIA Portland Board director/officer
Chair, AIAO Facilities Task Force
AIA Oregon Facilities Task Force
The Task: To determine the physical presence of AIA Oregon within our state-wide system.
Historically AIA in Oregon has had an organizational structure and governance which is very different than the one we have today. The new statewide structure of AIA Oregon being under one chapter with five local sections was a format intended to primarily improve and provide a better experience for AIA members. Our state served as one of the few states that moved in this innovative and transformative direction under guidance from AIA National. The secondary goal would be to support and enhance the improved and sustainable environments for our communities and neighborhoods through community outreach and engagement.
In the past the AIA has had two formal locations to serve the design community. The (CFA) Center for Architecture in Portland, a 5,000-sf space which has served as a multi-purpose center for AIA Portland offices, education space, conference room and community gathering space. In Eugene, we have had the Octagon, a 391 sf glass-wrapped space that serves as office, meeting, and display space.. Currently, the AIA Eugene PCA boards are on display and can be viewed from the exterior.
As we consider the transition of the state-wide AIA Oregon, we need to assess and review our facilities to determine if we are truly leveraging our resources. We would like to provide maximum effectiveness of our efforts and resources, but we need a few things. We need your voices and engagement along the way. With the assistance of our current EVP, Curt Wilson, we have identified several members to form a state-wide Task Force that represents each geographical section of the state. I have accepted the request from the AIA Oregon Board to chair the task force. Collectively, and along with your voices, we will consider our existing spaces in Eugene and Portland and see what the future holds in store. We will examine the programs and activities along with the expenses of providing these services to consider the financial feasibility and stability of our programs.
As we think about the future it is time to focus on a vision. What do we want the AIA Oregon to do for its members and the supporting community? What kind of services and programs do our members desire and require? What opportunities for support and engagement do we have with our associate partners in associated design fields, engineering, and construction? How do we systematicly work with our vendors to provide opportunity for social engagement and networking? These are just a few of the questions as we consider the future.
While we begin to consider our spatial needs let us focus on our vision of design integrity, support, education, and community engagement on our state-wide system. While the goal is to have a centralized operational system state-wide, we anticipate and continue to support each section so it is an authentic representation of the local community. Central to all this effort is your voice in describing and representing a variety of visions.
This is a difficult challenge but the advent of COVID has forced us to move faster than anticipated. Using technology our profession has been able adopt to virtual meetings and social distancing. We find ourselves in a temporary condition which has lasted far longer than expected, but it will provide us a memory of a lifetime. As we move ahead and consider distance learning and virtual meetings, we seek a blending of technology with human interaction. In the future, when COVID has receded away, we will not return to the old ways. I believe there will be a blending of many forms of communication and engagement. The comfort of working from home (WFH) will combine with an occasional visit to the office for collaboration and creativity which we all relish.
How does this all work? We do not have all the answers, but a few of us have some thoughts about solutions. Some things we would like to share with you to “get the conversation started”. To initiate discussion on how we all stimulate our colleagues to continue to promote quality design. To challenge us to mentor and encourage the next and future generations of architects and designer. To fully engage and participate in the education of our communities about their role in making our environments sustainable and healthy for all of us. We need you to get “out of the box” and explore how our industry can effectively leverage our resources to enhance our contribution to our entire communities.
An immediate goal of the task force is to develop recommendations to the AIA Oregon Board for our occupancy of the CFA. The original construction loan will be paid off in the middle of 2022 and our current lease expires at the end of 2021.
The topic of the 12/4 Virtual Happy Hour is an overview of the Facilities Task Force goals and process, and an open discussion about how we may use space in a post-Covid world, which will give any member the opportunity to comment on spatial needs. Register Here to participate.
If you would like to be a participant on this journey, please contact Curt Wilson, AIA at cwilson@aiaoregon.org with your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.
Join us. We welcome your voice.