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.