Message from an AIAO Fellow

Paddy Tillett
AIA Fellow

My name is Paddy Tillett. FAIA and I’m a principal at ZGF Architects LLP, past-president of the Portland Chapter AIA, and founding chair of the Urban Design Panel – an advisory group co-chaired by AIA, APA and AICP local chapters. I’m also active on a number of civic boards and panels including the Portland Parks Board, Willamette Light Brigade, and I am a former president of the Portland City Club. I’m writing this message on behalf of the AIA Oregon Fellows Committee, which include the 57 AIA Fellows residing in Oregon.

With the largest concentration of AIA members in the state, the Portland Chapter has in the past been very active.  Fellows have met regularly.  Aware that we have focused on issues around those of us who meet regularly, we are now seeking an opportunity to become much more inclusive of practitioners across Oregon.

As a first step, we recently published in T@3 an article encouraging members to consider nominating themselves or others as candidates for fellowship.  This will be a great improvement on the traditional ‘who do we know who might be a viable candidate’ approach.  Another initiative that Fellows have taken is to revive the notion of a ‘Fellows Special Design Award’.  The intention is to recognize a person and their work that has contributed significantly to design and appreciation of good architecture that falls outside the parameters of the Design Awards program.  This award was not made every year; only when an especially deserving subject was found.  Prior recipients include Nohad Toulan, founder of the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at PSU; LeRoy Setziol, famed wood carver; and the McMenamin brothers.  Fellows are exploring with the Awards Committee how the special award might be reinstituted on a statewide basis.

Other topics on which Fellows are actively engaged include mentoring students and emerging professionals, establishment of an Urban Design Collaborative at PSU, improving the supply and quality of affordable housing, back-casting scenarios affecting design from year 2050, and open conversations about other ways in which Fellows can help to advance the profession, its practitioners, and the quality of the built environment.  All of these would benefit from wider engagement of present and future Fellows throughout the state, and through them, engagement of other AIAO members.

Fellowship is a recognition of exceptional contributions to the practice and theory of architecture, so collectively, AIAO’s Fellows present a valuable repository of knowledge and experience that can be drawn on for the benefit of all architects.  The intention is to share these assets among architects everywhere in Oregon.  Currently, Fellows hold virtual meetings each month, so these ideas are already being developed and shared – but our goal of member equity regardless of location has yet to be achieved.  So please let a Fellow near you know how she and her colleagues can help.

-       Paddy Tillett, written at the request of AIA Fellows at the June 2020 meeting.

For more discussion on what the AIA Oregon Fellows Committee is doing, and what it means to be a Fellow, be sure to check out our Virtual Happy Hour this Friday, July 17, at 4pm - where we will address the question, “What is a Fellow of the AIA Fellowship program?” with various AIA Oregon Fellows. Learn More and Register Here

Message from the AIA Oregon Executive Vice President

Curt Wilson, AIA
AIAO Executive Vice President/CEO

The summer is in full swing, 2020 is more than half over, and we’re in month four of limited physical interactions due to COVID 19.  Personally, I’ve been in the role of AIA Oregon Executive VP/CEO for a year now, so I want to take this opportunity to mention what we are working on.

Website Update

Communication has been a priority over the past year, including a more comprehensive use of the Thursdays@Three (T@3), introduction of the Message From feature, expansion of the website, and a more active approach to social media. We recently completed the first of two phases of our communication plan, and hope to start phase 2 in the Fall.

The upgrades to the home page as described in the newsletter reflect some of the recent planning. Up next is the addition of a Find an Architect feature and I expect to announce the roll out schedule soon.

Social Justice Plan

Society’s response to the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer was a wake up call for many of us to the systemic racism that we’ve already allowed to fester for too long.  AIA, AIA Oregon, many firms, and many individuals vowed to no longer remain silent, and to commit to doing more and doing better.  AIA Oregon held a Social Justice Listening session on June 5, which was attended by more than 130 people.  In response to the listening session, we developed a Social Justice Action Plan.  Check out the update on the SJAC from the 7/1 T@3.

The overall objective, to “Dismantle Systematic Racism within the Architecture Profession” is a daunting task, and will require a coordinated effort from all members, and future members, of our profession.  This is overwhelming, and will remain overwhelming until we develop an incremental plan to address tasks.  This is the current effort of the steering committee that is leading the action plan, and we plan to update our progress in early August.  Please let me know if you would like to be involved.

Design Awards Task Force

AIA Oregon created a task force to evaluate the various design recognition programs we have, including the Portland Architecture Awards and the Eugene People’s Choice Awards programs, and to recommend refinements or changes.  This includes developing purpose statements to clarify why we have these programs and what we are trying to achieve.  The task force’s work will be complete soon, and they will provide an overview in the July 23 T@3.

The task force and board are in agreement that we should implement the changes we want to see through improvements to our existing programs, and those programs will occur in 2020 in a virtual format.  Look for more information about the schedule for the Portland Architecture Awards and Eugene People’s Choice program in the July 23 T@3.  We also hope to have an update on the status of people’s choice programs in other sections at that time. 

I want to comment on the name “Portland Architecture Awards”.  This is an established program by the former AIA Portland Chapter and is one of, if not THE best awards program within AIA.  The board and task force agree this program will transition to the chapter-wide awards program, however we have not yet defined the transition schedule, including the change to the title.  All agree that eligibility to participate is available across the chapter.

AIA National Business Meeting

An impact of the pandemic was the cancellation of the AIA Conference on Architecture in Los Angeles in May.  The AIA Annual Meeting is typically held during the Conference on Architecture, and this is when national board officers are elected and resolutions authorized by delegates from all chapters.  The 2020 AIA Annual Meeting has been rescheduled to September 1 as a virtual meeting, and all members are welcome to participate.  The AIA Oregon board will identify the candidates we support at the August 21 board meeting, and your input is welcome.  We will schedule a discussion in early August open to all members to review the candidates.  Check the event page on the AIA Oregon website in the next few weeks for the date.  Information on the candidates, including videos, are available here, and in the News from National section of the AIA Oregon’s Website.

Event Planning for 2020

In response to the pandemic, we significantly scaled back our events and programs.  Since April, we’ve focused on the Digital Design Series (see the listing of upcoming presentations in this week’s T@3 newsletter), Virtual Happy Hours, luncheon learns, and monthly committee meetings.  The Digital Design Series has been a delightful addition to our programming line up and I expect we’ll continue the series as part of our regular programming.  We record all of the presentations, and you can check them out here.

Moving forward, we intend to expand our event and program offerings in 2020.  We expect this will include virtual versions of the following programs:

·       Future Vision (by CoEDI)

·       Green Champion Summit (by CoTE)

·       PATH to Leadership and the Business of Architecture Series

·       Portland Architecture Awards

·       Eugene People’s Choice

Most of these programs will be implemented through multi-session series, and all will be virtual.  The staff team is researching digital platforms and video production options to deliver quality beyond a typical Zoom session.  Please note that we expect these events will occur between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, so it will be a busy fall for AIA Oregon.  Please let me know if you are interested in assisting in the planning effort for any of these programs.

You will notice the Chris White Golf Tournament is not included above.  I don’t anticipate we’ll hold the event in 2020 in a manner we’ve done recently, but we continue to hold the reservation at Langdon Farms for the afternoon of September 25, and the need to fundraise for emerging professional scholarships remains a critical need.  What do you think?  How should we move forward here?

Curt Wilson, AIA
cwilson@aiaoregon.org

Message from a Former AIA Portland Board Director/Officer

from the soul... from the heart…

william hart
former aia portland board director/officer

Recently I was honored and given the opportunity to share my thoughts on the current crisis underway that is threatening our communities.  After some reflection, I recognized an opportunity where my sharing may assist our colleagues to cope with today's challenging and disorienting times. First off, I don't have the answers, but I may have some options for you to consider.

But who am I?  I'm an African American from the east coast who grew up in a small town, and at an early age decided I wanted to become an architect. I have never regretted the decision for a second, but there have been some challenges along the way.  Education began as an undergrad at Dartmouth and then a graduate degree at U of Oregon before a career in Oregon.  I've traveled around the world working and conducting research on indigenous architecture and sustainable design/construction from a variety of distinct cultures and communities.

By now, you've been sent numerous messages about the peaceful protests and police violence, but I wanted to focus on a different message.  My focus is the network of institutional racism that has been the knee on the neck of people of color.  It's a trait that has defined this country.

 "Institutional racism: a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions.  It is reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power and education, among other factors."

Through this crisis we are witnessing the extent of the disparities in many aspects of our communities of color.   And while we struggle with COVID-19 and witness police killings on Black Americans across this country, climate change is ravishing our planet.  We find arctic poles and glaciers melting. We are destroying the foods we grow while people are starving across the world.  And plastics, plastics are everywhere, in the ocean, and in our fish.  Australia's fires haven't stopped burning yet.  What about the forced migration of communities, which encircles the globe?

When asked,  "What do I do in light of these challenges?"

My response is simple.

I dig deeper within myself in recognition that my voice and my actions need to be heard and acted upon.  As an architect I view my role to listen to people and provide design services to help shape our physical world while making our communities healthy and sustainable.  But my role is to serve and inspire black, indigenous, and people of color to get involved and participate in shaping the future.  I’m a mentor to assist young designers of color who seek a career in the design and construction industry or perhaps an innovative new role within the industry.  I support cultural diversity in leadership as a significant component of a healthy organization for a balanced leadership.

COVID-19 and the brutal, senseless killings of Black Americans are exposing and giving us a view of the divide.  Let's look at America's social systems and see whose needs are considered first.  It's time to change all that.  We need strong leadership to engage with communities to explore and create innovative and culturally sensitive solutions to our social issues.

Now is the time for new leadership to emerge, and for established leaders to find new ways to lead.  Use this time to reflect on your role in making the world a better place for somebody else, perhaps for someone less fortunate.  As we begin to gather using social distancing, now is the time to reach out and communicate with new people and new faces.  Get out of the box and be ready for change.

It's time for a shift but this one won't start at the top.  Leadership from the top is often needed to change or bring about a shift culture.  But when the leadership isn't there, new leadership needs to emerge. We will always have leaders, but it's the leadership that counts.

But I believe this time is unique, or at least I hope so.  A courageous, young, white America is stepping up as they see their future, society and democracy begin to crumble in front of them.  They join the frontline protesters who have been on the streets for decades.   They recognize that we are all in this and it's more powerful with all of our multi-cultural brothers and sisters together.  The rules are changing again, but in a way that supports these marginalized and underserved communities.

Consider on how you're going to get involved.  What is your passion? Find an issue, find a community, adopt a challenge and go for it.  There is plenty of stuff out there that needs some attention.  Dig in and get involved. Be a mentor for someone or make a connection between colleagues. Show us your leadership as you develop holistic, regenerative, sustainable designs, which promote health and wellbeing.  You've explored energy efficient systems and developed innovative modular building systems.  Using the IoT (internet of things) SMART cities and towns harvest real-time data to support the infrastructure of these revitalized and innovative communities.  Communities should be healthy, efficient, and provide shelter to all members of society. 

The response to COVID is forcing humanity to reset to accept new behaviors and lifestyle.  We will need leaders like you as we transition to a new vision.  We have many challenges in front of us and leadership is required.  There really is a surplus of resources; we just need to do better at balancing them.  The skills and talents we have, whether developed or emerging, are necessary for us to move ahead.  What could the future look like?  How will the physical landscape evolve as it interfaces with all aspects of our communities?

The challenges continue to come.  Leadership needs to emerge.  Perhaps now is your time. 

We need you.