Message from the 2020 AIA NW+PR Strategic Council Representative

Roderick Ashley, FAIA
NW&PR Representative to the AIA Strategic Council

Having joined the American Institute of Architects in 1983, I was not always the most active member. I became involved with the AIA Portland Design Awards program several years later but continued to stay on the periphery. I always seemed to find time to attend events but never stepped up get totally involved. As a sole practitioner I always felt there was never time for AIA. But that began to change and once the Oregon Design Conference began – I was hooked. I was a member of the AIA Oregon Council Board of Directors from 2005 until 2016, and after holding every executive committee position, I became President in 2014 and 2015. Prior to that I was the liaison from the Architecture Foundation of Oregon to the Center for Architecture and became Treasurer after several years on that Board. The Architecture Foundation of Oregon was started by five firms in Portland and I was fortunate enough to be invited to serve on their Board, eventually becoming President in 2016 and 2017. Each opportunity became a rich experience with a group of peers and friends that will never be forgotten. I guess I simply found some time…

Now as one of two Regional Representatives for the Northwest and Pacific Region, I am also a member of the AIA Strategic Council, Class of 2018-2020. My dual role is to both help lead the NW&PR and participate in the numerous activities of the Council. This is my last year in this position and I can say without a doubt that it has been one of the most rewarding opportunities I have had in connection with the AIA and during my professional career.

I am often asked what the Strategic Council is about and what it does. When Repositioning began in 2012, the governance model for the AIA was challenged and the National Board of Directors, consisting of over 60 members, was eventually reduced to 16 officers. Most members of the previous Board were Region Directors elected by members of their Regions. In reducing the size of the Board, part of the repositioning plan was to create the Strategic Council comprised of members that would become the strategic thinkers for the Institute.  The new Board of Directors would have the fiduciary responsibility to the Institute’s members and the Council Representatives would be responsible for leading the strategic planning effort.

Tasked with creating the AIA’s Strategic Plan, the Council also became referred to as the “Think Tank”.  Looking ahead to the future for changes, disruptors, opportunities, and how to assure success for its members and the profession, the Council is charged with researching and reporting to the Board on various conditions the Institute and staff might need clarification on, or topics they may not be aware of at all. A maximum of 60 elected Councilors (including 36 Region Representatives) meet four face-to-face times a year, hold monthly virtual assemblies, numerous study-group meetings, and conference calls to achieve their goals.

During my first two years on the Council I worked with the Transforming Architectural Education Study Group (TAE). We were looking far into the future to better understand both the needs of students and emerging professionals entering the profession, and of the profession and how practitioners were relying upon academia to provide the appropriate education for future architects. As circumstances quickly evolve students and practitioners need to be ready and trained for rapid transitions. Our work looked at trends in higher education in general and other professions that were also transforming their educational programs. This work led to our reviewing all of the documentation for assisting the AIA Board in their role at the National Architectural Accrediting Board’s ARForum 19, a collection of five collaterals (AIA, AIAS, ACSA, NCARB, and NAAB) in a progressive conference designed to transform the accreditation process for architecture schools. (Portland’s Barbara Sestak, FAIA, and former Dean at PSU is this year’s NAAB President)

Last year my Study Group encouraged the AIA Board to create a permanent staff position to continue our work as it was of utmost importance to both our current and future practitioners. This year I am working on the Technology’s Impact on Practice Study Group (TIP) in conjunction with the Technology in Architectural Practice Knowledge Community. We are interested in what technologies are available, how they impact our practice, how our services are valued, and how technology in general is continuing to change how we practice. These study groups consist of Strategic Council Representatives and invited members from all AIA regions.

Presently there are 19 AIA regions; 11 multi-state regions like the NW&PR, 7 single-state regions, and the International Region. Approximately 43 percent of members are assigned to the single-state regions and the International Region has approximately 2,600 members. The NW&PR is the fourth largest Region and the largest multi-state Region with over 6,000 members.

Every year the NW&PR holds our Annual Meeting and Leadership Summit in conjunction with one of our component’s annual conferences. This year was to be hosted by AIA Idaho in Sun Valley, but for obvious reasons we have recently decided that we will convene a virtual event in September. It is at this gathering that leaders from the NW&PR’s components have the opportunity to discuss issues and opportunities affecting their members and operations. Several work sessions are held during this daylong event, and these sessions provide topics from our members that are delivered back to the Strategic Council to help assemble the next year’s study groups. The Annual Meeting is open to all members in the Region. However, to facilitate more in-depth and interactive conversation and collaboration, the Leadership Summit is reserved for component leadership only.

As President of AIA Oregon, I was very involved in and privy to the early conversations regarding restructuring the four Oregon Chapters into the single Chapter it is today, and was involved in many discussions and Board meetings regarding Repositioning. Assuring all members would have access to the same opportunities, strengthening member services, and streamlining governance were the main priorities. The local, state, and national tiers of the Institute were studied in detail. However, during the repositioning years, the study of Regions was overlooked due to the fact that Regions are not components of the Institute.

As you may be aware, AIA Portland and AIA Oregon introduced a resolution to study the region structure at the Conference on Architecture, A’18 in Las Vegas. Approved at the September 2018 Board meeting, a Task Force was appointed to study the issues raised in the resolution and prepare a final report to the Board.  Han-Mei Chiang, 2018 AIA Portland Chapter President, and myself were selected to be on the twelve-person Task Force along with three national staff members and moderated by McKinley and Associates, a consulting firm that has been associated with many of AIA’s initiatives and knows the Institute well.                   .

At this year’s April AIA Board meeting, the Board voted unanimously to adopt a new model that will bring region responsibilities to the State Council and State Chapter level.  Dissolving the regions and moving to the single-state model for selecting representatives to the Strategic Council is a move that is intended to provide more direct representation for members. A Task Force has just been assembled that will study the ramifications of this decision and help to prepare an operational plan that will be presented at next year’s Annual Business Meeting in Philadelphia during the A’21 Conference on Architecture. If the Board action is passed by delegates at that event, it is anticipated these changes will not occur until 2022. There is little other information available at this time as the Task Force is just beginning their work.

The College of Fellows (COF), Small Firm Exchange (SFx), Young Architects Forum (YAF), and the National Associates Committee (NAC) all have representation coming from the Regions. The NW&PR has five members from these organizations on the Region Board of Delegates. How this change impacts these organizations within the Institute will be studied and should be a critical component of the study.

There are five At-Large Representative to the AIA Strategic Council positions open annually on the Council, and are voted on by the Council in late July. I strongly urge any of you to look into this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the future of our profession and the Institute. Nominations are due June 19 at 5:00 EDT - instructions are available HERE.  If you have any questions regarding this rewarding opportunity, please email me at roderickashleyarchitect@gmail.com or call 503 522 5558.

Message from the AIA Oregon Executive Vice President

Curt Wilson, AIA
Executive Vice President/CEO, AIA Oregon

As look forward to the Memorial Day weekend, I’m reflecting on the impact COVID-19 has had on our chapter, our firms, and our members.  Now, more than ever, it is important for us to be mindful of each other, and to make opportunities for engagement for those who have become isolated.  With this in mind, I want to highlight our current activities and opportunities to get involved.

Digital Design Series

We started the AIA Oregon Digital Design Series on April 22 with teams from DLR Group and Hacker sharing how they are engaging with their internal project teams, clients, and user groups to collaborate in the design of their projects virtually.  This was followed the next week by friends at the Architecture Department at U of O discussing how they are designing and collaborating from a distance.  On May 13, Scott Mooney of SRG Partnership and Kyle Keck of Affiliated Engineers presented their work in the OSU Cascades Academic Building 2 in a virtual In-Process Lecture session, and yesterday, May 20, three members shared projects in the first of many AIA Oregon Presents! sessions.  See the article in the Newsletter for a recap and upcoming sessions.

All of these presentations share a focus on design, such as tools and techniques with the digital collaboration session, the design process with the In-Process series, or recently completed (or near completion) in the AIAO Presents! series.  We are scheduling these events on Wednesdays at 5:00 through Zoom and trying to keep them to an hour.  I encourage you to check one out in the next few weeks.

What excites me the most about the Digital Design Series is the opportunity for all of us to share what we are working on in a friendly and informal setting.  I want to thank Jim Satzinger, AIA, the Section Director from Bend, for his efforts to bring the AIA Oregon Presents! series to life.  Jim has created an opportunity for us to share his passion for design and celebrating the work we do.  Ben Arico, AIA, the Director-Elect from Portland, has been leading the In-Process Lecture group for a few years now, and he’s done a wonderful job creating an opportunity for a local architect and a trade partner to discuss something they are working together or in common.  We do things because of the efforts of members like Jim and Ben, so thank you!

Design Awards Task Force

The transition to a single-state chapter has forced us to evaluate what we do, and determine if it aligns, or supports what we want to be doing.  While we know we want to encourage and advocate for good design, we need to take the time to determine if our current design recognition programs are the best way for us to do it.  Please check out the article in the Newsletter and reach out to me if you want to be involved in the Task Force.  I want to point out that the task force should wrap up after a few meetings, and there will be more opportunities to organize the events we do this year.

Leadership Roles

I want to thank all of you that are leading our committees, sections, and board of directors.  As someone that has been involved as an active member for a long time, I know the effort that it takes to serve as a leader in a volunteer organization while working full time and focusing on family.  To honor that commitment, it is important that we support you when it is time to step back from your leadership role, and help support the next leaders. 

Many of our current committee leaders have been in those roles for multiple terms, and we need emerging leaders to step forward and step up.  My experience on the AIA Southwest Oregon board a few decades ago was excellent training for the role of firm principal I stepped into a few years later.  Committee and board leadership is leadership training, and your colleagues and employers not only benefit from it, but they see it first hand!

Please check out our committees on the website and get involved in the committee, or committees, that interest you.  We have openings for chair of the chapter Programs Committee and AIA Eugene Section Emerging Professional Committee, and a few other committee chairs are ready to step back when others are willing to step forward. 

Our board of director terms are two years; therefore we are also looking for new leaders at the board level at the beginning of next year. Please contact AIA Oregon President Amy Vohs (avohs@dlrgroup.com) or me (cwilson@aiaoregon.org) if you want to learn more about board openings in 2021.

Engagement

The economic impacts from the COVID-19 crisis have forced the Oregon Employment Department to better understand unemployment trends in almost real time so the state can best deliver their limited resources to do the most good.  They are updating unemployment data almost every week and breaking out by county and sectors.  This page will be updated regularly on their website.  From that page, you will find an article that tries to give context to the data. 

The chart above can be found within the article and shows that unemployment in the Architecture and Engineering sector is 4%, which is one of the lowest sectors in the economy.  4% is not 20%, so that’s good, but it still reflects that many in our community are out of work.  My understanding is that unemployment in our sector pre-COVID was less than 1%, so the increase to 4% is noteworthy.  If you’ve been unemployed, or recently unemployed, these are just numbers.  Your life is impacted in a way that can’t be described through metrics. 

The pandemic has forced us to ask what’s the purpose of a professional association and how can we best serve our members.  For many of our members, who continue to work and need to balance staying healthy, supporting their family, and working remotely, the best thing we can do it step back and let them focus on their priorities. For those that aren’t busy with work and family, I worry about isolation, and how we can help them stay engaged.  All our events are promoted on the website and open to everyone, and we’ve scheduled a weekly Virtual Happy Hour at 4:00 on Fridays.  We recognize that some in our communities need other avenues to engage, but we are struggling to connect with them and help.  If you know someone that is not currently working, please stay in touch with them.  Encourage them to get involved in AIA Oregon events and/or to reach out to me if you, or they have suggestions for how we can help.   

Curt Wilson, AIA
Executive Vice President/CEO, AIA Oregon
cwilson@aiaoregon.org

Message from the AIA Oregon Architect License Advisor

Chris Lewis, Assoc. AIA
AIA Oregon Architect License Advisor

My name is Chris Lewis and I’m the AIA Oregon State License Advisor, as well as a Senior Associate at Ankrom Moisan Architects. I love architecture, and I love helping people find their path in the profession. Sometimes this path includes licensure, and sometimes it doesn’t, but the great thing about what we do is that there’s room for everyone.

You may be wondering what an “architect license advisor” does. I had the same question when I was offered the position. We are a group of local professionals, educators and students who volunteer our time to help others pursue licensure and reciprocity. Every National Architectural Accredited Board (NAAB) - accredited program has an educational advisor, and most AIA state chapters have an advisor. The Architect License Advisor role is defined by National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), however AIA makes the appointment in each state.  I was recently reappointed for another term by AIA Oregon.

To provide additional support to emerging professionals in our field, student advisors from AIAS chapters across the country have been added, as well as firm appointed advisors to act as resources for individual firms. The reason we need all of these resources is to support the 55 unique jurisdictions that issue a License to practice Architecture in the United States. Each of these jurisdictions has its own way of setting the standard for who can practice as and call themselves an Architect with defined requirements for Education, Experience and Examination. NCARB has worked with these jurisdictions to create a baseline qualification through model codes, which many states have adopted. However, distinction remain between jurisdictions, and in an effort to provide good advice to candidates, the license advisor position was created. NCARB and the AIA wanted to offer someone local to help candidates navigate the process. We aren’t the final answer to your questions, but we are good resources to point you in the right direction.

What advice can I give candidates on their path to their initial license that is timely? Right now, take care of yourself and your job - in that order. At the moment, things are rough, and it’s okay to admit that. I’m sitting here writing this to you at midnight, after putting in a full day of work trying to hit 3 deadlines on Friday, and I know not all of you have that privilege. I also spent another 8 hours helping my 6-year-old son with his distance learning and making sure my family is healthy. So, if you were on the path to licensure and the pandemic has slowed you down, it is completely understandable. Even if you have studied, the Prometric testing centers have been closed for over a month, and they aren’t planning on reopening until at LEAST May 31st. If you had an exam scheduled you will have to reschedule once Prometric opens again, and even then you might get bumped because they will only be running at 50 percent capacity.  If you have the capacity to take on studying, I’d say do it and be ready when the world opens back up. But if you don’t have the bandwidth, that’s okay, testing right now is going to be more difficult than it normally is. Give yourself some grace.

NCARB tips for AXP Candidates:

1)     Your AXP hours won’t expire. Once you’ve submitted your qualifying hours to your supervisor the reporting timeline is no longer a concern.

2)     Only submit reports when there is experience to report. You are not required to report if there are no experience hours to report. You can also look into the Setting O experiences for opportunities to get AXP hours.

3)     Work performed remotely that your AXP supervisor has direct knowledge of and control over counts for experience hours.

4)     Report in shorter time frames to avoid complications that could arise from a change of employment or illness for you or your supervisor.

5)      You may qualify for a reporting requirement extension if you are experiencing extenuating life circumstances. You will need to contact NCARB and provide documentation of the hardship.

NCARB tips for Testing Candidates:

1)     NCARB has added a 9 month extension to all valid passing scores as of March 1, 2020. This is an automatic extension that should be reflected in your NCARB record.

2)     All rescheduling fees have been waived until further notice.

3)     They are encouraging candidates to schedule or reschedule tests for the fall or winter to avoid conflicts or having to reschedule because of closure extensions into June and beyond.

ARE Study materials:

1)     The AIA Archiprep study program is being offered FREE through August

2)     Look for other ARE Prep material providers offering discounts or free access such as Amberbooks

I’m glad I got the chance to introduce myself to the larger architectural community, and to the broader sections of AIA Oregon. Please do not hesitate to reach out with your questions. I may not have the answer, but I’ll be able to help you navigate the path to getting to an answer. Stay safe out there, and do what you can to help each other out.