Jan/Feb 2013
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
8
Tracings
What’s in Store for 2013 As this is my first article as the President of the
Santa Clara Valley Chapter, I wanted to thank everyone who was involved in the success we had last year. 2012 was a big year for our Chapter. So, for all those who attended program meetings, volunteered time on a committee, submitted to the Design Awards, ran the bases at the softball tournament, sunk putts at the golf tournament and shared in the learning events, thank you! A special thanks goes out to the entire Board, our Executive Director and our Membership and Communications Associate. I cannot possibly mention everyone who shared in our success by name, but you are appreciated. I also wanted to share, quickly, the Board’s mission for the coming year. Besides continuing the great foundation of 2012, it is really our desire to identify the needs of our membership and design community. We want to make our Chapter, our members and the amazing resources we can offer more visible, and in turn, more vital to the shaping of our valley. As architects, we should be the organization the general public, and both public and private organizations, look to for design expertise. We hope to spend the next year expanding our connections with and educating related organizations to the value we add and the importance of our organization. This includes expanding our Architecture 101 program, partnering with the new SPUR San Jose, joining with the Downtown Business Association in shaping the urban fabric and, simply, exposing our involvement in the design of major projects. It is also our goal to identify the needs of our members better, address them and, hopefully, expand our membership, provide better value and see a few new faces.
Steve Sowa, AIA AIA SCV Chapter President Photo: Bernardo Grijalva Photography
With that said, and in keeping with the theme of this month’s Tracings, I just wanted to leave everyone with my two cents. As with everything, when asked to draw our attention to a specific sector of our Chapter, (this month is women in architecture), we immediately conjure up images of the trailblazers such as Zaha Hadid, Kazuyo Sejima and Julia Morgan who overcame obstacles, established highly successful architecture careers, and designed landmark buildings. I do not want to overlook the role women continue to play in our own Chapter. We appreciate the efforts of women in administrative positions, interns, emerging professionals, architects, engineers, urban designers and all who contribute in both big and small ways. So I wish everyone a great year.