Message from the AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

 

Heather Wilson
AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

You Don’t Have to Take My Word For It

I’m a child of the 80s and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I was raised in a way that most parents now (including myself) might find feral – drinking from water hoses, taking back alleys and hidden creek trails to friends’ houses and buying candy from the gas station up the street whenever I wanted. Both of my parents worked 12-14 hour days. During the school year that meant I was a latch-key kid; over the summer that meant I was in charge of myself (and my little brother). Most days were filled getting rides to the pool with other kids’ moms who stayed at home. I paid $1.50 of my allowance every summer for a token I would carefully sew into my bathing suit strap so wouldn’t lose it. It entitled me to a (dry) bologna and cheese sandwich, a capri sun, and a bag of plain chips (shoutout to Cincinnati Parks and Rec); but more importantly, it allowed me admission to the neighborhood pool for the entire summer. Similarly, I would march myself to the Madisonville Public Library and load up on all the fiction my arms could bear, not only because I loved to read, but because my adult sister worked there, she let me go over the checkout limit with an eye roll and a quick “Now go home!” hissed through her clenched librarian smile.

On the days you didn’t find me out running the streets like one of the Goonies, I was at home, trying to beat the insufferable Cincinnati heat index watching TV. The local PBS station had a lineup that I loved: 4 episodes of “Great Chefs of America” followed by 2 episodes of Reading Rainbow. That show had my rapt attention, even after I had CLEARLY outgrown the materials they were reading. There was something about hearing the conversation around reading that I was transfixed to. My favorite segment: kids’ book reviews. LeVar (Burton) would always start the segment by talking about a great book he was finishing up, mention that the library was FULL of great books like these, then say  “…but…you don’t have to take my word for it!” and 4 or 5 kids would review their last favorite read. It reminded me that reading wasn’t just a thing to do for grownups – it was meant to be enjoyed, and really is an act of self -care to carry your whole life.

I’m grown up now, and finding time to read is so difficult – but I still believe it’s an act of self-care, just as important as brushing your teeth or keeping a good sleep schedule, so I make time for it. You don’t have to take my word for it: Business Insider has a list of 14 reasons why you should read everyday with the article 14 Reasons Why Reading Is Good for Your Health. It helps our brains stay pliable as we age, and provides us with a sense of calm almost immediately. It provides an outlet for emotion and honestly just communicates to the rest of the world that you’re taking a little time for yourself.

I hope you have a fabulous summer full of activity, time off, and sunshine. If you’re inclined, take the time to investigate these finds that I’m already enjoying as the summer heat unfolds. I selected these books because they all spoke to some element of change or triumph, questioning our way of understanding each. But you don’t have to take my word for it! Check out the reviews. Enjoy!

Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
(Doubleday, 386 pp., $29)

 The Color of Law
Richard Rothstein
(Illustrated. Liveright Publishing, 345 pp., $28)

The Pearl District
Bruce Johnson
(Illustrated. Pearl Light Publishing, 331pp., $19)

Dog On It
Spencer Quinn
(Atria, 312pp., $12)

Message From AIA Oregon Emerging Professional and Young Architect Leadership

(standing, l to r - Nicole Becker, Mohamed Fakhry, and Evon Calebrese)

 

Please enjoy this week's Message From our AIA Oregon Emerging Professional Committee (EPC) leaders as they reflect on their A'23 experience.

Mohamed Fakhry, Associate AIA
AIA Oregon Portland EP Co-Chair, CoEDI Chair

This year AIA Conference in San Francisco was a thrill! It was my first but it most definitely won’t be my last! 

I had fun meeting, engaging, and networking with some of the industry most talented and inspiring architects, designers, sustainability leaders, environmental, and Design Justice advocates!

The keynotes, expo booths, happy hours, seminars, workshops, city tours, and firms visits I attended were each full of learning, uplifting, and hope carry!

Making the world a better place for us all to shelter and dance and aspire and celebrate who we are as community members from all creeds and shades and genders but humans beings firsthand, is hard work, it is exhausting but it can be done, one building clay, one street block at a time.

Attending A’23 reminded me of all those beautiful and important things we all endear as practicing and aspiring architects. However, the conference foremost, made me believe in the power of design to positively impact lives and to keep breaking the boundaries beyond what architects can wholeheartedly contribute, when it comes to rebuilding our broken and divided communities and pushing the layers of innovation, accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion a little farther within the profession.

Thank you to AIA Oregon for giving me the opportunity to attend and to my firm ZGF for accommodating my presence! 

Excited for A’24!

 

Evon Calabrese, Associate AIA
AIA Oregon, Portland EP Co-Chair

This was my second time attending AIA National but an entirely different experience. My first attendance was in 2016 as a fledgling designer with no clear direction. This time, with more knowledge, experience, and drive under my belt, I attended with a clear focus. 

My experience at A’23 centered around three themes:  

  • Social Emotional Intelligence 

  • Women in Architecture 

  • Participatory Design 

In a session titled “Optimizing Team Collaboration” we learned about the neuroscience behind defensiveness and that our brain can process a defensive response much faster than a logical one, which is useful in survival situations, not so much for collaboration. By identifying the physical sensations, you experience when in a defensive state (for me it’s racing heart and sweaty palms), you can then find tools to help bring you out of that state: taking a deep breath or a sip of water or even admitting you’re feeling defensive. Another key tip from this session was how to make decisions efficiently on consensus. Rather than a “this is my choice” approach try thinking of things as “I can support this” / “I cannot support this” / “I need more information before giving an answer”. This type of dialog can move expedited decision making without getting stonewalled or conceding to the loudest voice in the room. 

Growing up my parents had a small architecture/landscape architecture practice. Not only was my mother a principal architect, at the time she was the ONLY licensed architect in our region of south/central Vermont. Her best friend from college was also a principal architect, so while I knew architecture was at one time a male dominated field, I thought since these two ladies are principals’ things have changed. The reality is, while architecture school is fairly even, as you move up the profession the disparity grows.  

Women make up:

46% architecture students

39% Associate members (this is the group I am in)

22% AIA members 

18% Firm Partners 

?% Managing Partners is unknown

I attended several sessions centered on participatory design and honoring lived experiences. 

In the session “Empowering Communities through Empathic Listening” we learned about the process of discovering and distilling ideas with a community using old-school tools like a disposable camera and the importance of creating an “experience map” for different personas. 

I also had the privilege of attending a workshop specific to behavioral health spaces that was led by two BH design specialist as well as a provider, and an architect who has experienced a psychotic break followed by psychiatric treatment. The presenter shared annotated sketches from her time in inpatient treatment which exemplified how undignified, confined, and sterile her experience was. A big takeaway from this session is as designers we often employ design strategies to promote dignity and autonomy, but if they do not align with the facility operations they will not work. This is not much different than handing over a NetZero building with no instruction manual or education for the building operators. 

Thank you to AIA Oregon and my employer Clark/Kjos Architects for sponsoring my attendance. I returned to Oregon with a bad cold but a ton of inspiration and motivation for tackling some of our states most pressing issues - mental health, substance use, and homelessness. I am also feeling extra motivated to obtain my architecture license and slowly move the needle on the percentage of licensed women.

Nicole Becker, AIA
AIAO Young Architect Representative to the Young Architect’s Fourm

As Oregon’s Young Architect Representative (YAR) on the National Young Architect’s Forum (YAF), I had the opportunity to help facilitate a table at the Mini MBA: Mastering the Business of Architecture session where there was exuberant discussion on what being a firm leader really means and the impacts of AI on the profession. The group discussed AI from the lens of excitement vs. fear and the ways AI can enhance our practice. Another takeaway of the conference for me was a session I attended, hosted by the Large Firm Round Table, as a panel of four large firm CEOs discussing EDI in their firms and taking a critical look at how we must take actionable steps now to improve the EDI in our firms. The 2023 Whitney M. Young Jr. Recipient, Robert Easter, FAIA, NOMAC was in attendance, and he reinforced his comment upon acceptance of his award that, “50 years ago, the percentage of architects who identify as Black or African American was 2%. Five years ago, it was 2%. Today is remains at 2%.” We have work to do. 

For me, one of the biggest joys of Conference is being surrounded by inspiring, talented, and innovative professionals that always leave me feeling engaged, re-fueled, and excited for the future of practice. I extend immense gratitude to ZGF for their support of my role as Oregon’s YAR and my attendance at Conference. Now let’s get to work creating positive change and impact in our communities!

Message from the AIAO EVP/CEO

 

Heather Wilson
AIA Oregon EVP/CEO

Honoring Juneteenth

On Monday, June 19, our AIA Oregon office (and many other AIA offices, including AIA National) will be closed in the observance of Juneteenth, a Federal Holiday created by the Juneteenth national Independence Day Act of 2021. This day commemorates the day that the last slaves were freed in the westernmost territory of the still forming United States of America. From the Juneteenth federal web page, https://www.govinfo.gov/features/juneteenth:

On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. This, however, was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January, 1863. This day, the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, has become a day for African Americans to celebrate not only their freedom, but their history, culture and achievements.

On this day, my family and I will remind ourselves of our own portion of that history. I like to take out the photos of Ernestine Amanda and Charles Abraham Moore, my great grandparents, who were a part of the Exoduster movement that followed Juneteenth. They became homesteaders along with other newly freed slaves in the Great Plains. They were able to build a barn (where they lived in the loft), purchase a horse, and try to carve out a life in the harsh conditions. As my family has told it, Ernestine Amanda eventually told Charles to take her back to Paris, Kentucky; where they knew the life would be just as harsh in other ways (as they returned to Jim Crow life); but she admonished that at least she’d be able to wash her clothes without being surrounded by rattlesnakes.

I don’t have too many more stories about them. I try to make connection with what I have left, as I also suppose many of us do to honor Juneteenth. Whatever you do, I hope it is educational, safe, and impactful, as the holiday is also a call to recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice our society. Enjoy, and I hope you connect with a story that resonates with you.