AIA YAF CONNECTION 17.03 - Practice Innovation in Architecture

CONNECTION THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

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PURPOSE Emerging Professionals are exploring innovative practice models, alternative project delivery methods, and unconventional career paths. Discover how their resilient business frameworks respond to changing economical, technological, environmental, and social contexts.

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VOL 17 ISSUE 03

CONNECTION

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

2019 CONNECTION EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Editor-In-Chief, Graphic Editor John J. Clark, AIA Senior Editor Andrea Hardy, AIA Senior Editor Beth Mosenthal, AIA Journalist Arash Alborzi Journalist Jennifer Hardy, AIA Journalist

Katie Kangas, AIA International Correspondent

Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA 2019 Q1 CONTRIBUTORS Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist Contributing Journalist

Abigail Brown, AIA Nicholas Caravella, AIA Allison Dvorak, AIA Tom Erickson, Assoc. AIA Daniel Horn, Assoc. AIA David Horner Desmond Johnson AIA Michelle Mantegna, AIA Marie McCauley, AIA Jason Takeuchi, AIA Benjamin Ward, AIA Ellie Ziaie, Assoc. AIA

2019 YAF ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chair Vice Chair Past Chair

Advocacy Director Communications Director Community Director Knowledge Director Public Relations Director

Lora Teagarden, AIA Ryan McEnroe, AIA Lawrence Fabbronni, AIA Jennie West, AIA John J. Clark, AIA Abigail Brown, AIA Jessica O'Donnell, AIA A.J. Sustaita, AIA

AIA National Strategic Council Representative College of Fellows Representative AIA Staff Liaison

Laura Lesniewski, AIA Roger Schluntz, FAIA Milan Durham, Assoc. AIA

THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS 1735 New York Ave, NW Washington, DC 20006-5292

P: 800-AIA-3837

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CONNECTION is a the official quarterly publication of the Young Architects Forum of the AIA. This publication is created through the volunteer efforts of dedicated Young Architect Forum members.

Copyright 2019 by The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

Views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and not those of the American Institute of Architects. Copyright © of individual articles belongs to the Author. All image permissions are obtained by or copyright of the Author.

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PRESIDENT'S NOTE William J. Bates, FAIA

STRATEGIC COUNCIL MESSAGE Laura Lesniewski, AIA

YAF CHAIR'S MESSAGE Lora Teagarden, AIA

EDITOR'S NOTE John J. Clark, AIA

JAMB COLLECTIVE

Abi Brown, AIA and Desmond Johnson, AIA

SOUTH ATLANTIC PRACTICE INNOVATION LAB Benjamin Ward, AIA

ORLI+

Daniel Horn, Assoc. AIA

AT THE CROSSROADS OF TECH AND PRACTICE Nicholas Caravella, AIA

THE BIG ROOM

Michelle Mantegna, AIA

AGRITECTURE: THE BUSINESS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE An Interview by Arash Alborzi

BKV WORKSHOP

Ellie Ziaie, Assoc. AIA; Tom Erickson, Assoc. AIA; and David Horner

FROM ARCHITECT TO OWNER'S REP

Allison Dvorak, AIA

ADDRESSING A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE An Interview with Latrobe Prize Winners by Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA

A'19

YAF SESSIONS

NAVIGATING YOUR FIRM'S CULTURE

Katie Kangas, AIA

MINI-MBA: THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE

Marie McCauley, AIA

AN ARCHITECT IN DEVELOPMENT

An Interview with Leanna Libourel, AIA by John J. Clark, AIA

ARCHITECT &

Interviews by Katie Kangas, AIA and Jason Takeuchi, AIA

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PRACTICE INNOVATION LABS: 2017 Follow-up, Regional PIL, and A'19 PIL Team Spotlight Photo - Jeremy Bitterman

ON THE COVER: A young architect sees the benefits of co-location during the design and construction of the Banner — University Medical Center Tucson.

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EDITORIAL TEAM JOHN J. CLARK, AIA, NCARB EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

John is an architect with RMKM Architecture in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, John has served on the AIA Albuquerque Board of Directors and is the 2019-20 Communications Director for the AIA National Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee.

ANDREA E. HARDY, AIA, EDAC SENIOR EDITOR

Andrea holds a MArch from Arizona State University (2012) and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology (2007). She is a registered architect in the State of Arizona and works at Shepley Bulfinch's Phoenix office. Her recent publications include: Building Performance Evaluation: From Delivery Process to Life Cycle Phases (2018) and Adaptive Architecture: Changing Parameters and Practice (2017).

BETH MOSENTHAL, AIA, LEED AP

ARASH ALBORZI

Beth is a Denver-based architect, writer, editor, and advocate for equitable and accessible design. As a Senior Editor for YAF Connection, she is interested in featuring stories that highlight voices and work that are creating meaningful change, posing questions, and leading to tangible advancements in both the profession and the nature of practice.

Arash is a PhD student at the University of Florida School of Architecture in Gainesville, Florida. Alborzi’s thesis focuses on urban agriculture, sustainable urbanism, and architecture. Prior to studying his PhD in architecture, he practiced and studied architecture in Tehran, Iran.

JENNIFER HARDY, AIA

KATIE KANGAS, AIA, NCARB

Jennifer is an architect at Payette in Boston, MA. Hardy is an active member at the Boston Society of Architects and serves on the membership committee, co-chairs the women in design and is the founding chair of the women in design emerging leaders group.

Katie is an architect at Kodet Architectural Group in Minneapolis, MN. As the North Central States Region YARD, Kangas connects emerging professionals with resources to position them for success.

SENIOR EDITOR

CONTRIBUTOR

YU-NGOK LO, AIA

INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT Yu-Ngok is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the past Communications Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee and is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architect Award.

CONTRIBUTOR

CONTRIBUTOR

PRESIDENT'S NOTE

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THE FUTURE OF INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE

BY WILLIAM J. BATES, FAIA

The rate of change in our professional practice environment is steadily accelerating. What we describe as “innovative practice” today will no doubt have a very different meaning to those graduating from architectural school in five to six years. Changes are spiraling around architecture like professional tornadoes threatening to uproot the status quo. Disruptors include climate change, social change, political change and technological change.

Climate change demands immediate attention due to the increased frequency of natural disasters. These events challenge our profession to rethink the resilience of our built environment and the growing vulnerability of our communities. The urgency of the architect’s involvement in helping communities around the world is unparalleled in our profession’s history. The AIA has prioritized its climate advocacy and is working with all domestic levels of government and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to leverage design thinking in addressing the climate threats confronting cities. This is where innovative practices focused on sustainability and resilience can make a huge difference in the future viability of our urban and rural communities.

Evolving health, safety and welfare needs and complexities of society also demand new innovations in the built environment, as well as our profession’s educational and practice cultures.

Historically architects focused their attention on goals of the 2% who have the capital to take on new projects. However, many of these projects were created for profit at the expense of our professional talents and aspirations of disenfranchised communities. AIA is collaborating with academia to support research that will help

By engaging in local decisionand policy-making processes, the architect can open new doors of innovative practice, which will enhance the public’s perception and understanding of design thinking."

inform the innovative practitioner about the value of design in shaping more equitable communities. The future will require that we leverage the creative advantages of more diverse professional teams in solving societal issues. AIA’s Communities by Design is a program created to enable communities to define their own development needs with architectural support. Research has proven that equitable multicultural practices with a healthy worklife balance are more innovative by nature and better equipped to empathize with increasingly diverse clients and synthesize their needs. The Institute’s recently published Guides for Equitable Practice provide a framework for a more inclusive profession.

The country has seen political changes over recent years that provide new opportunities for architects to expand their services. The federal government has delegated more authority and responsibility to state and local authorities. Therefore, the AIA is cultivating new relationships with groups like the United States Conference of Mayors and encouraging them to call on local architectural professionals for advice and creative thinking in addressing the challenges of infrastructure projects and redevelopment strategies. By engaging in local decision- and policy-making processes, the architect can open new doors of innovative practice, which will enhance the public’s perception and understanding of design thinking.

Technology is a quickly moving disruptor that demands our attention. Architectural practice has always been responsive to new technology, but historically, it has involved new construction materials or methods. Our tools of the trade have seen changes as we’ve experienced the evolution of CAD to BIM, but the new advances on the horizon portend seismic changes as construction robots and digital printers promise to speed up the erection of future buildings. More concerning is the prospect of artificial intelligence and AI generated design which could dramatically change the future of our profession. The innovative practitioner will have to respond to the pressure to deliver designs faster to keep up with the robots that will be more rapidly printing buildings. The AIA is exploring ways for future architects to provide creative value by analyzing data and research, ensuring that the client’s evolving needs and expectations are met. The future architect may have to embrace the inevitably of AI serving not merely as a design tool but as a design partner! ■

William Bates, AIA, NOMA Bates recently retired from Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, where as Vice President of Real Estate he was responsible for the restaurant growth division. His many leadership and volunteer positions demonstrate the importance of connecting the built environment, communities, and culture. He has led AIA chapters and the AIA Diversity Council, and founded NOMA's Pittsburgh chapter.

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STRATEGIC COUNCIL MESSAGE

THE BIG MOVE

ELEVATING THE PROFESSION THROUGH ENERGY, ECONOMY, AND EQUITY LAURA LESNIEWSKI, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

KNOWLEDGE IS OUR CURRENCY Dan Hart, AIA, National Board Member and Chair of this year’s Board Knowledge Committee, likes to remind us all that “knowledge is our currency.”

Since earlier this year, there has been talk of “The Big Move” within the Board and Strategic Council of AIA. While it’s possible that the messaging and/or branding of this movement may change over the coming months, it is worth understanding the term, what’s behind it, and where it’s going. As Dan likes to suggest, the current language of The Big Move is instructional. “The” indicates that it is singular and intentional (not “a” or “some kind of”); “Big” suggests it is meaningful and consequential; “Move” means it is going somewhere and has momentum. So as a starting point, even if the name changes all of these characteristics will remain intact.

THE BIG MOVE The Big Move was first described in a letter from AIA President Bill Bates to the Board of Directors and Strategic Council. His message is summarized here: • AIA is undertaking a major, long-term commitment to regenerative design, sustainability, and resilience through 2030.

• Our priorities are focused on three areas over the next two to three years: Design for Economy, Design for Energy, and Design for Equitable Communities: • Design for Economy is about building the business case for regenerative design. There is growing evidence that “nextgeneration green” buildings are more costly than traditional or even “light-green” buildings, especially when factoring in opportunities for incentives and return on investment outcomes. It is critical that existing and future building owners are educated on this point, and it is our responsibility to give voice to this knowledge. As President Bates notes, “increasing client demand for regenerative design is paramount for success.”

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• Design for Energy considers the role that buildings play as a major contributor of global greenhouse gas emissions, which drive climate change. As suggested by Architecture 2030, a primary focus of our design decisions should improve building performance until we achieve carbon neutrality while providing functional needs, comfort, and enjoyment.

Energy benchmarking is a critical focus area.

• Design for Equitable Communities is tied to the health of our communities. It is about creating walkable, human-scaled communities that are diverse, accessible, and welcoming.

Intentional and thoughtful community engagement is the first step down this path, which has housing affordability and vibrant public realms at its core.

These three focus points are not a mandate but an invitation for all AIA members to meet clients and communities where they are and to provide relevant information about the future of their organizations, the planet, and the community so that they are wellequipped to make resilient decisions. It is an invitation to engage where there is the greatest need within each context.

EARLY MOVEMENT There are already some early wins in this direction: • At A’19, Resolution 19-11 was resoundingly passed. The AIA Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action provides a framework for action to: • Declare an urgent climate imperative for carbon reduction; • Transform the day-to-day practice of architects to achieve a zero-carbon, equitable, resilient and healthy built environment; and • Leverage support of our peers, clients, policy makers, and the public at large.

• On the Strategic Council, the Forecast Knowledge Work Group recently redirected their efforts to develop a Climate

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Action Plan that incorporates clearer language and direction to support the Resolution, with hopes of adoption in the coming year via public review and comment.

• Within the AIA Knowledge Communities, the Committee on the Environment (COTE) has already been making great strides in this direction with the creation of the COTE Top Ten awards and their Super Spreadsheet for project data-tracking, and is in the early stages of launching the Common App. This online resource is intended to be a simple way of gathering and reporting basic project data focused on environmental, human, and economic metrics.

One of the most powerful aspects of the Common App is to gather consistent data points for each project. This is beneficial for multiple reasons. One simple outcome is that the Common App will standardize metrics for submission to award programs, instead of each program creating their own requirements. With consistent data requirements, the team can know in advance which metrics to track and then use this to submit to multiple award programs. Even without the award program applications, the dataset collected would benefit project teams and owners alike as they compare to target metrics and their competition. This tool is being piloted in 2019 in a few Knowledge Communities and within a few local components. All are encouraged to participate.

Economy, Wellness, Discovery and Ecology) and which will guide us over the next decade.

President Bates further noted that the Board has been “enthusiastic about coalescing around a powerful purpose that will change people, change communities, and change the world through architecture. The hope is to stay focused in a way that will bring more value to all AIA members and, by extension, our clients.

ELEVATING THE VOICE OF THE PROFESSION So, while AIA is now focused on resiliency and climate action in the foreseeable future, The Big Move is more broadly about elevating the voice of the profession. Everyone that I’ve spoken with about The Big Move is excited about this new direction for AIA and the many opportunities for having real and positive impact. ■

• Other Knowledge Communities will no doubt follow as their work is influenced by or continues to contribute to resilient design strategies. It is exciting to consider how each Knowledge Community will bring their knowledge to the conversation.

And, of course, the Board of Directors will continue to discuss, prioritize, and set goals that focus on 2020 and beyond. The Strategic Council’s Strategic Planning effort is already reflecting this direction in the 2021-2025 plan for the Institute. Both quickwins and long-term strategies will be targeted.

This began by embracing the AIA Design Excellence Framework that includes ten areas of ethical and responsible design (Energy, Equitable Communities, Water, Resources, Change, Integration,

Laura Lesniewski, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Laura is an architect and principal at BNIM in Kansas City, Missouri. She is the Senior Regional Representative from the Central States Region to the Strategic Council and is the Council's liason to the Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee.

This year she is also serving on the Board Knowledge Committee at AIA National.

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CHAIR'S MESSAGE

DESIGNING OUR FUTURE

BUILDING RESILIENT BUSINESS FRAMEWORKS LORA TEAGARDEN, AIA

Innovation. It's a word that gets tossed around a lot these days.

Everyone, every profession, seems to be working to innovate. To disrupt. But what does it really mean to innovate the practice of architecture?

Most of those in the AIA who fit within the "young architect" category (one to 10 years licensed) emerged into the profession from our various schools during a time of uncertainty. We graduated into a working world that was having trouble with the "work" side of things.

We hustled through a downturn that found architecture at the top of job lists, but not the right kinds of job lists. Our profession had the highest unemployment rate for a while, and for those trying to carve out space in an industry rooted in tradition and the idea of "putting in your time" … it was a hard world in which to find your place.

Some found jobs in the field, some in career-adjacent work like construction, art, or maintenance. Some found work in whatever field they could because student loans quickly came calling. Many made lives outside of architecture, never to return.

With these events so close in our memories, for those of us at the YAF, innovation means creating and building resilient business frameworks within the world of architecture that can thrive as economies change. Forget what you know. What does a firm truly need to look like to provide the services of an architect?

What services does an architect provide, exactly? Are there other services we can provide that we're missing opportunities to monetize? This quarter's Connection looks at the innovation of architecture and practice through the lenses of a variety of young architects who are out in the world testing their ideas and showing that thinking outside the box can be profitable. From the member network that allows small firms to "act big and do good," to the architect working to change what project delivery looks like, to the architect focused on the effects of innovation, to other initiatives like work/life balance, this quarter's Connection is full of ideas to help you start thinking about how you practice and what the future might look like.

For those of us at the YAF, innovation means creating and building resilient business frameworks within the world of architecture that can thrive as economies change."

These young architects are resilient. They are tenacious. They are thoughtful. And they are … innovative. I don't know what the future holds for our profession, but I know we're in good hands. Join us in reshaping today, for a better world tomorrow. ■

@L2DesignLLC Lora Teagarden, AIA Lora is a project architect at RATIO in Indianapolis, IN, a published author, and business owner.

She is a 2017 Young Architect Award winner and the 2019 Chair of the YAF. Her passion for the profession drives her to mentor young professionals and volunteer in her community.

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EDITOR'S NOTE

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ACCELERATORS OF THE PROFESSION JOHN J. CLARK, AIA

Innovation is difficult, especially in our risk-averse and slow -changing profession. The past several decades have seen architects take on a service provider role, relinquishing some control of the built environment to engineers, developers and construction managers, while hedging against risk due to influence from lawyers and insurance companies.

In order to avoid becoming further marginalized, or cut out of the process altogether, it is crucial for architects to begin thinking actively and opportunistically, versus passively and conservatively.

Architects can take back leadership of the industry and explore new markets, especially as our country faces problems related to housing affordability, sustainability, and social equity. We can play key roles in how projects are initially conceived, transition to new business models, augment our skills, and tap into new clients but, time is of the essence.

The YAF recognized the need for urgency when it facilitated the first Practice Innovation Lab and committed to Practice Innovation as its five-year Strategic Vision in 2017. Several iterations of the PIL have been planned or are in the works at various regions, continuing to provide a platform for discussion and collaboration toward new professional practice concepts. Our team catches up with the winning team from the original PIL, JAMB Collective; touches base with a team that emerged from PIL 2.0 in Las Vegas, ORLI+; and checks in with a regional PIL event in the AIA’s South Atlantic Region.

For those passionate about providing design for all and not only a select few, read how BKV Workshop embeds social impact design into a firm structure. If you are interested in alternative delivery methods, learn how co-location can benefit the young architect from Shepley Bulfinch. Our team even explores the business of urban agriculture through an interview with Agritecture’s Director of Business Development, Jeffrey Landau.

Finally, we hope to orient these topics back around practice management and the tools needed for entrepreneurial-minded innovators to develop a business plan or firm culture. Review our A’19 Young Architect Forum session reports on ‘Navigating Your Firm’s Culture’ and ‘Mastering the Business of Architecture for Emerging Professionals.’

Our editorial team hopes this issue of Connection will inspire you to be an accelerator for the profession. The YAF leadership looks forward to hearing from you at Practice Innovation Labs throughout the country and online at network.aia.org/yaf ■

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE CALL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ON THE TOPIC OF DESIGN TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICE INNOVATION Connection’s Editorial Committee is currently soliciting content.

CONNECTION welcomes the submission of ARTICLES, PROJECTS, PHOTOGRAPHY and other design content.

Submitted smaterials are subject to editorial review and selected for publication in eMagazine format based on relevance to the theme of a particular issue. If you are interested in contributing to CONNECTION, please contact the Editor In-Chief at johnclarknm@ gmail.com.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS; CONTRIBUTING WRITERS/ INTERVIEWERS/DESIGN CRITICS Connection’s Editorial Committee is currently seeking architects interested in building their writing portfolio by working with the editorial team to pursue targeted article topics and interviews that will be shared amongst CONNECTION’s largely-circulated eMagazine format. Responsibilities include contributing 1 or more articles per publication cycle (frequency of magazine is typically 3-4x per year.) If you are interested in building your resume and contributing to CONNECTION, please contact the Editor In-Chief at johnclarknm@gmail.com.

YAF RESOURCE GUIDE AIA’s Center for Emerging Professionals YAF's official website YAF KnowledgeNet A knowledge resource for awards, announcements, podcasts, blogs, YAF Connection and other valuable YAF legacy content.

AIA Trust A free-risk management resource for AIA members.

AIA College of Fellows Check out the College of Fellow's reciprocal newsletter.

/AIAYAFNational

@aiayaf @clarkjohnj John J.Clark, AIA, NCARB John is an architect with RMKM Architecture in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, John has served on the AIA Albuquerque Board of Directors and is the 2019-20 Communications Director for the AIA National Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee.

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INTERVIEW

JAMB COLLECTIVE

2017 PRACTICE INNOVATION LAB FOLLOW UP JOHN J. CLARK, AIA, NCARB

Abigail Brown, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Desmond Johnson, AIA

Abigail is an architect at Hickok Cole in Washington, DC, where she works on urban multifamily residential projects at a variety of scales. She received her Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. She is the current Community Director for AIA National’s Young Architects Forum where she uses her passion for building networks to better connect the country's emerging professionals.

Desmond is a registered architect, currently practicing at the Atlanta-based firm of Rule Joy Trammell Rubio (RJTR). He is a 2013 alum of Florida A&M University, where he received his B.S. in Architectural Studies; and a 2015 alum of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his Master of Architecture degree.

John Clark: JAMB is one of several success stories to emerge from the 2017 PIL. What was the problem your team discovered in architectural practice, and how does your business model address it?

Desmond Johnson and Abi Brown: The first big problem that JAMB identified n is the disparity between the resources — and therefore the ability to compete — of smaller architectural practices compared to their larger counterparts. The vast majority of architecture firms in this country have between one and nine employees, yet that majority is only responsible for a minority of all architectural billings. This is concerning because the practice and profession of architecture should encourage entrepreneurship and support business development and growth opportunities for architects at all sized firms.

The second big problem that JAMB feels passionately about is the realization that most architects, regardless of their firm size, have a strong interest in social justice or community-oriented design work.

However, once again, most smaller firms don't inherently have the

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time, resources, or capital to invest in these sorts of projects. At our core, the JAMB team does not think architects should have to choose between doing 'well' and doing 'good'. As creative problem solvers, the architecture community should have the freedom and support to use their talents and skills to positively impact their communities in hyper-local, transformative ways, even if there is no design fee attached to that initiative.

Our business model addresses these two issues by leveraging decentralization and technology to connect firms with both local and non-local resources that will help them perform, and compete, at more efficient and profitable levels. A monthly JAMB subscription gives a firm access to our digital platform that connects small to medium-sized architecture firms to each other, as well as to other professional resources.

The JAMB business model allows smaller firms the flexibility and freedom of operating culturally like a smaller firm, while realizing the resources and efficiencies of a larger one. JAMB then reinvests a direct percentage of revenue into the JAMB Grants program,

ARCHITECTURE AND JOURNAL DESIGN OF JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM CONNECTIONTHETHE CONNECTION

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VS.

VS.

JAMB makes it easier to act big.

It’s not easy being small.

which funds social justice or philanthropic design efforts for the JAMB member firms. That is what really makes us unique.

JJC: What roles did the individual experiences and backgrounds of your diverse team play in the development of JAMB? DJ and AB: The diversity of our team continues to be our greatest asset. We have geographic and regional diversity, ethnic diversity, gender diversity, and career diversity, all of which contribute to our big idea: the strength of collaboration. Since all of JAMB's cofounders live and work in different places across the country, we can attest to the importance of and possibilities that exist when we leverage decentralization and technology. Another wonderful thing about the JAMB team is that all of the co-founders come from a background working at different-sized architecture firms. Those experiences directly inform our commitment to empowering smaller and mid-sized firms to compete more effectively.

JJC: How has your team begun to put the ideas and business plan from the PIL into motion?

DJ and AB: Since the Practice Innovation Lab (where we won People's Choice Award), we have continued to test and validate the concept. In 2018, we won Charrette Venture Group's Business Plan Competition, which is an annual competition that promotes important business fundamentals in architectural practices. In LINKEDIN

BRICK & WONDER

ENTRE ARCHITECT

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING BUILDING INDUSTRY SPECIFIC FOCUS ON SMALL & MID-SIZED FIRMS OFFERS RESOURCES AND TRAINING FACILITATES PARTNERSHIPS CURATED NETWORK OF VETTED FIRMS REINVESTS PROFITS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

2019, we went on to present our concept at the Practice Innovation Lab Shark Tank in Las Vegas. Through these competitions and presentations — and others unmentioned — we have listened to critical and exciting feedback and have tailored our business plan to respond to the concerns of our target market. A pilot program for the JAMB network is now open for interested firms to get involved and engage with us directly about the issues within their practices they find valuable and/or challenging.

Since the Practice Innovation Lab, we've been getting the word out and have been doing a lot of talking. In the past few months, however, we've been doing a lot of listening and are excited about the things we're hearing.

JJC: Currently, how can small firms get in contact to begin to use your services?

DJ and AB: JAMB is currently looking for a core group of interested firms to join our network in our pilot program. These firms will be known as JAMB Groundbreakers and will enjoy exclusive lifetime benefits for their initial involvement at this early stage. Those interested can go to www.jambcollective.com/apply.

Firms can also reach out or follow us on all social media platforms, @JAMBCollective.

JJC: What's next for JAMB, and what can we expect five years from now?

DJ and AB: JAMB is building the network! We're currently experiencing what is known as the snowball effect. As the snowball begins to roll, it starts off quite small and slow. However, as it continues to roll, it picks up more mass, speed, and momentum.

We are building up momentum as more and more firms become familiar with JAMB's mission and offerings. In five years, the network will be solid, the partnerships will be nurtured, and the first round of JAMB Grants will be issued. In five years, we will have made good on our promise of "connecting, supporting, and opening new doors, while giving small firms the chance to act big, stay small, and do good." ■

There’s nothing quite like JAMB in the profession today.

@clarkjohnj LEFT: JAMB team members at the 2017 Practice Innovation Lab in Washington, D.C. Left to right: Desmond Johnson, AIA; Katie Johnson, AIA; Christian Jordan, AIA; Abi Brown, AIA; Mike Anglin, AIA; Jared McKnight, Assoc. AIA.

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John J.Clark, AIA, NCARB John is an architect with RMKM Architecture in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, John has served on the AIA Albuquerque Board of Directors and is the 2019-20 Communications Director for the AIA National Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee.

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PRACTICE INNOVATION LAB SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION BENJAMIN WARD, AIA

Following the first AIA Practice Innovation Lab hosted by the YAF in Washington, D.C., in October 2017, several participants began meeting afterward with the goal of expanding the concept to the various regions. With such an amazing experience put together by then-YAF Chair Evelyn Lee, AIA, and her committee, participants wanted to take this energy and excitement back to their home states. The newly rebranded Aspire Conference for the South Atlantic Region was the perfect opportunity to try a mini Practice Innovation Lab. The Practice Innovation Lab was developed to explore new practice models and engage participants in thoughtful debate that could lead to an evolution in the profession. The analysis of the D.C. PIL revealed several common characteristics among the 10 teams’ proposals. These were building networks, data-driven architecture, philanthropic design, and out-of-the-box innovation. One of the key goals with subsequent Practice Innovation Labs is to see whether these common themes hold true and whether this indicates a shift in the professional values we hold. Capturing these new values could provide guidance for disruptions in the traditional practice model.

As Lee said in her PIL final report, “The future of the architectural practice will ultimately look different. We can either react to the change that is already happening around us or shape what we want our profession to look like in the future.”

The Practice Innovation Lab is an intense level of consensus building in a short timeframe. The D.C. PIL took place over two days, but for the Aspire PIL, we were limited by the conference organizers to a three-hour morning slot. Initially, I was hesitant to accept this time challenge, knowing the amount of work our team put into our presentation in D.C. After some consideration, the concept of developing an idea in a short time is something our architecture training has taught us, and it would be an intriguing exercise to show that we as a profession can quickly develop ideas and adapt. The format used for the Aspire PIL was like the D.C. PIL’s. Three weeks out from the event, participants were divided into six teams of six and given a basic get-to-know-each-other exercise. Each week, as

the event got closer, teams were given reading assignments and questions to discuss among themselves. Because this PIL was a conference session, we did not have an application process to select participants, meaning participation in the pre-conference readings and discussions was sporadic at best. Future PIL events should consider an application process that gives participants a better understanding of the PIL upfront.

We had an opening keynote speaker, Oz Ozburn from Design Ecology, who spoke about her innovative practice model. After the keynote, brief directions were given to the teams, and marker board materials were provided. With two hours to develop a concept, the teams began working quickly, and most were able to develop some initial ideas. We had four moderators circling the room to answer questions, provide a sounding board, and keep teams from wandering off topic. Each team gave a four-minute presentation on their practice model concept.

Much like the D.C. PIL, the practice concepts tended to fall into some common themes. The themes that emerged in this Practice Innovation Lab were building community networks, data-driven design, and architect as developer.

TOP RIGHT: Young Architects Forum Annual Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2019.

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Team Sherpa developed the following mission statement: “Passionate citizens seeking to connect a variety of public/private organizations. We seek to cross pollinate a broad spectrum of traditional marketplace sectors locked in separate silos.” They saw the architects’ role in practice as facilitators who bring various parties to the table to create and fund projects.

Along a similar track, MOOG Machine’s mission was to be “proactive community synthesizers who start small and trust big.” This team wanted to create a practice that started small and worked to give the community a voice and the tools to effect change. One team member aptly called it “tactical urbanism.” As they build trust in the community and become a conduit for their goals, they would scale up to larger and larger projects.

Taking on a similar community theme, team MAC Truck had a more out-of-the-box way of reaching the community. MAC, short for Mobile Architecture Collaborative, would use a mobile food truck to make design accessible to the masses. The truck would become a mobile platform for community awareness, collaboration, and fun.

The pop-up nature of the food truck would provide great publicity and could be used as a marketing tool to draw attention to and raise money for projects.

Team E sought to create more business opportunities for architects by selling the experience of design to the community. Their mission statement was to “build the framework that cultivates a community of design experiences.” By having more people learn the value of design through experiences, they sought to elevate the business of

FAR LEFT: Team MAC Truck presenting their concept.

LEFT: Team F utilized a hand drawn presentation format.

ABOVE: Team F presenting their Architect Effect concept.

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architecture beyond document creation. This is very much in line with the Starbucks experience model.

One team explored the idea of big data and how that could create practice opportunities for architects. The Architect Effect had a simple mission: to “app-ify your building.” They viewed the construction process as just the beginning of the architect’s relationship with the client and the building. By using smart technology and the Internet of Things, their practice would continually monitor the building’s performance, and they could quickly troubleshoot any issues that arise. With this data, they would also track how people are using the space and proactively create new projects to adapt the built environment to users’ behavior.

The final team took an approach that is often discussed but rarely used by many architects. Team DABO (Developer, Architect, Builder, Owner/Operator) decided that by controlling the whole life cycle of the building, they could maximize their return and create long-term profit that would fund future projects.

With such a compressed time frame, the event certainly pushed teams into producing an idea quickly. The participants rose to the occasion and were all able to develop reasonable ideas that could become real practice models. Perhaps with a longer session, some of the teams may have developed their ideas even further and left feeling they could start a new firm that day. If nothing else, most participants agreed that they left thinking about the profession and asking more questions about the future of practice. ■

Benjamin Ward, AIA

Living by the mantra that architecture matters, and architects should be leaders in their communities, Ben actively serves his local community and advocates for resilient design. He was the 2016-17 South Atlantic Young Architect Regional Director and currently serves on the AIA South Carolina Resilience Committee.

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ORLI+

AN EDUCATIONAL, PRACTICAL DISRUPTION DANIEL HORN, ASSOC. AIA, SEED

In response to superstorm Sandy in 2012, a group of students led

by Alex Alaimo and myself founded Operation Resilient Long Island (ORLI) at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). ORLI grew as a grassroots effort that provided easy-to-understand informational pamphlets to affected homeowners, gathered ideas through a global idea accelerator called 3C: Comprehensive Coastal Communities, and brought together people who had previously not been collaborating to rethink how to approach reconstruction. The greatest lesson we learned was that strong community networks exist everywhere — and communities form the backbone of resilience.

Since then, based on the lessons learned from Sandy, ORLI rebranded as Operation Resilient Living and Innovation Plus LLC (ORLI+).Our efforts have since focused on interactive workshops to empower communities and rethink the role of the architect and designer and how we can contribute more holistically and comprehensively after a natural disaster strikes. The “+” underscores our highly collaborative methodology — we don't approach a project single-handedly.

FORMATION INTO ORLI+ & YAF PRACTICE INNOVATION LAB 2.0 SHARK TANK AT A'19 Fast-forward to 2019, and ORLI+, now an LLC, has been developing this idea as a model of alternative practice that combines community engagement, resilient design, and research into a feasible business model giving architects and designers a new role in the communities they serve. ORLI+ was honored to participate in this year's Practice Innovation Lab 2.0 at the AIA Conference on Architecture in Las Vegas in June. We presented our past and current work, some of it including our prior workshops at AIA events. In our presentation, we outlined a project timeline showing the benefits of including community involvement in the design process, giving residents a

seat at the head of the table from the initial concept stage through completion.

We compared it to the design-build model in architecture and showed how bringing communities into the equation at an earlier stage means projects finish faster, collaboration and knowledge-sharing from all parties increases, and the community can replicate the model for any type of issue that needs to be tackled. ORLI+ envisions this model evolving and growing over time through the community groups and organizations we work with. Most importantly, the intersection of architecture, design, and addressing the climate crisis has come to the forefront of our dayto-day operations.

There were numerous positive takeaways from the PIL, and we are now seeing these translate into our next steps as a business.

The sharks agreed that our message was clear, but they were struggling to figure out what “product” we were marketing. We had never really thought of it as a product, but more of a service (workshops) that we host with communities. We had a discussion about “packaging” our workshop as a model that can be replicated and improved upon after every presentation and iteration.

BACKGROUND, BUSINESS CONCEPT & WORK Moving forward after a disaster, we need to foster the development of holistic resilience in communities that will continue to be vulnerable to environmental risk and disruption. As we consider the best options for capitalizing on existing assets to catalyze further community resilience, several critical strategies emerge as guiding principles for ORLI+: research, engagement, empowerment, and design. Researching and disseminating strategies for innovative approaches to achieve resilience in communities is crucial for creating a global network of grounded solutions. Reimagining the

BOTTOM LEFT: A Shore Corps student explains her strategy to locate outdoor programming on the site.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Student collage board and petition showing the reasons to oppose the pipeline.

ACROSS: Students pin up their site collages representing the existing and proposed conditions.

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Reimagining the role of design professionals and processes through engagement facilitates a more inclusive, integrated, and resilient dialogue between designers and the public." role of design professionals and processes through engagement facilitates a more inclusive, integrated, and resilient dialogue between designers and the public. Empowering communities to invest in their futures to pursue initiatives and projects based on their local situations and needs produces a consistent and sustained forward momentum toward resilient visions and plans. Designing resilient solutions for communities facing future disturbances and disasters, both natural and man-made, is paramount in catalyzing change and action. With these specific methodologies, we can help communities plan and rebuild for the uncertain future.

YOUTH DESIGN STUDIO IN THE ROCKAWAYS As part of our ongoing effort to cultivate new spaces and collaboration for inclusive climate-resilient design and planning, ORLI+ recently teamed up with our longtime partners GreenspaceNYC to enter a climate-change-focused protest design competition organized by Studio BLEAK, called Climate of Dissent. We were lucky enough to have won first place in the “Practical Disruption” category. Our proposal was originally conceived as a Community Resilience Expedition through the Rockaways in New York, targeted to bring together local residents, organizations, and partners working on climate-resilient design and planning solutions. The proposal also showcased alternatives and complementary projects to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “New York/New Jersey Harbor & Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study” and its proposed storm barriers.

There is a big difference between building and rehabilitating resilient coasts over time and installing massive, in-water storm barriers that threaten to change the Hudson River and New York Harbor ecosystem forever. Two of the Army Corps’ six proposed alternatives show huge barriers designed to entirely close off the harbor and river from the Atlantic. These barriers are marketed as

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protecting against “storm surge” — the above-normal, temporary rise of sea level produced by a coastal storm — and would have gates that allow for ship transit and for limited tidal movement in fair weather. From the moment these barriers are constructed, they would start to restrict tidal flow, contaminant and sediment transport, and migration of fish.

In the spirit of collaboration, co-learning, and integration into existing local initiatives, we proposed a collaboration between our organization and the Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE), specifically in partnership with the Shore Corps Program and the RISE Block Party Showcase to be held in August 2019.

It was an amazing experience, and we officially just finished our summer program with RISE and the Shore Corps. We engaged students in dialogue, hands-on activities, and site visits, exploring the design of climate-resilient and adaptive buildings, streets, cities, and shorelines. The classes and workshops ran in three main modules for a total of six weekly sessions. The first module explored the impact of climate change on our neighborhoods and in our city, specifically affecting building materials, systems, and infrastructure. The second module was a design workshop, where students learned about current design techniques to mitigate these impacts. The final module presented real-life case studies of these improved designs, in and around the Rockaways and Jamaica Bay, encouraging students to question related environmental, social, cultural, and financial impacts. Throughout the course, the students developed their own climate-resilient project, integrating streetscapes, urban-design ideas, and social-scale interventions.

As a service exercise, students joined instructors, local artists, designers, and other partners to organize and facilitate the Community Resilience Expedition, sharing their experiences with local residents and guests. In the culmination of this project, the

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students presented their climate-resilient designs as part of the RWA Summer Block Party Showcase, and ORLI+ plans to hold a workshop and exhibition inviting the students back to showcase their work in the fall.

The Shore Corps class and Community Resilience Expedition collaboratively engaged local youths in a well-informed and productive dialogue about an inclusive and resilient future for communities in the Rockaways and Jamaica Bay — through the lens of localized, sustainable, and holistic projects.

CONCLUSION

TOP: A diagrammatic site plan and photo board shows the conditions of each spot on their site.

LEFT: Students learn the basics of architectural plans and sections by sketching the elevated train line adjacent to their site.

Our ideas about new methods of engagement are at the core of our value proposition, and we are determined to create a successful business model to promote interactive participation and community empowerment.”

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We believe in the core principles that drive our business and in the possibility of an interactive model that can bring people together to improve their physical environment and create more resilient communities. We are already seeing the benefits of our local interactions — through youth and community engagement, design opportunities, and more. Our ideas about new methods of engagement are at the core of our value proposition. We believe it's within the responsibility of the architect/designer to lead these efforts, and we are determined to create a successful business model to promote interactive participation and community empowerment. ■

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

Daniel Horn, Assoc. AIA, SEED Daniel is an architectural designer on the path to licensure at Edelman Sultan Knox Wood/ Architects. He is also a co-founder of ORLI+ LLC, a resilient design and community engagement consultant group based in New York City.

ARTICLE

AT THE CROSSROADS OF TECH AND PRACTICE

REDEFINING PURPOSE

AN ARCHITECT IN A TECH STARTUP NICHOLAS CARAVELLA, AIA

Two years after passing my last exam, I quit architecture. I know what you're thinking: I'm a traitor, and you can go ahead and skip to the next article. Kidding aside, I now work for a technology company that serves the AEC industry. My day-to-day involves using my expertise to help connect our profession to tools I think can help us do our jobs better.

It's refreshing working for a tech company. Not only do we adopt crazy work-life practices like unlimited vacation and yoga Friday, but we also operate on a much faster pace than that of any architecture office I've been in. To move fast, we catalog all of our processes and challenge ourselves on how to make them more successful.

By setting goals and metrics and measuring them each week, we can identify what works and what doesn't. This process allows us to recognize an effective method, systematize it, and scale it for growth and rapid deployment.

This growth mindset is a lot of fun because we're always trying something new and improving on the painful tasks. I've seen far too many firms that justify their workflow by saying "this is the way we've always done it." They later wonder why the same problems crop up again and again. If what I'm writing is resonating with you, fantastic!

Standing here at the crossroads of tech and practice, I want to invite,

encourage, and challenge you to push architecture further. I read an article from McKinsey & Company that called the AEC world the second-least-innovative industry next to agriculture. Dumbfounded, I thought to myself, how can an industry that makes up 6 percent of U.S. GDP and contributes to nearly 40 percent of global CO2 emissions be so careless as to not optimize how buildings are delivered?

I'm not saying we're not doing our part, but I am saying we need to be better. We need to take the same growth mindset to architecture and challenge our process if we want to tackle the significant issues: sustainability, equity, homelessness, etc.

Consider this: Documents produced today by BIM still look very much like those made with ink and mylar. BIM is supposed to let us leverage data to make better decisions for our projects, but as design professionals, we lack many of the tools that would unlock its real power. Would it be possible to track the materials and specifications to calculate the environmental impact of a building?

Absolutely. Can we leverage technology to cut time on redundant tasks through automation and streamlining? Definitely.

Let's find a way to start a conversation in the AIA that can support collaboration and sharing of ideas that lets us do more with less.

Let's build a better world together using new tools we can create. â–

@nickcaravella Nicholas Caravella, AIA

Identify. Tinker. Evaluate. Nicholas is an explorer on an alternative career path. His interest in the design process and human experience has led him to work at IngeniousIO as a Customer Success Manager who focuses on helping firms understand their projects so they can extract more value.

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FEATURE

THE BIG ROOM

WHERE YOUNG ARCHITECTS GO TO GROW MICHELLE MANTEGNA, AIA, EDAC

After 177 round-trip car rides, spread over two and a half years, I came to know my team intimately. Every Tuesday morning, we would meet at a Starbucks, pile into a rental car, and make the twohour drive down to Banner — University Medical Center Tucson (BUMCT) from Phoenix to collaborate with the larger team on the design and construction of a 670,000-square-foot replacement hospital. Our client, Banner Health, a Phoenix-based nonprofit health system that operates 28 hospitals, had already seen the benefits of co-location, otherwise known as a “Big Room,” on two of its recent large-scale projects.

The ability to meet with clinical users, tour existing spaces, and point to and walk the site with a multidisciplinary team nearby offered clear advantages. Although our firm had not participated in a Big Room before, we were excited to work closely with an integrated team, in person and in real time. We committed to move team members from all levels of our firm to the Big Room to develop and complete a complex design on time and on budget by making decisions more quickly.

Rebecca Manhardt, a recent intern turned architectural designer who had joined our team in 2015, was one of these team members.

At first, she was hesitant to commit. “Stepping into the Big Room initially felt like an intimidating experience,” she said. “I was surrounded by professionals whose experience and knowledge far surpassed what I thought I could contribute to a project of this scale, but by the end of my first week of being embedded in the project, I recognized the learning opportunities ahead were far more significant than any project I’d worked on previously.” For the next two and a half years, Manhardt immersed herself in the Big Room, seeing the project go from schematic design to construction and having a career-changing experience of her own in the process.

REBECCA MANHARDT, JOB CAPTAIN - Shepley Bulfinch

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INITIATION INTO THE BIG ROOM The Big Room was situated in a shell space on the third floor of the Banner Women’s and Children’s Tower, overlooking the adjacent project site. The room had an open floor plan with aisles of desks, breakout spaces clustered around larger monitors, and white boards along the perimeter. The two conference rooms often swelled with people as we convened with the clinical staff to further envision and refine the patient tower.

I vividly remember one of the first design meetings. Manhardt had joined me to assist in the discussion of the new patient rooms. As I walked them through the schemes, I could sense that not all details were being understood. At my prompting, Manhardt pulled up the Enscape model and shared a fully rendered view of the room. This allowed the nursing staff to see their space to scale with materiality, light, and shadow, helping them understand the proposed room design.

When they inquired about how the handedness of the patient room would affect their workflow, Manhardt toggled back to the Revit floor plan to flip the orientation, while on the other screen, the virtual space updated instantaneously. From the live renderings, the physicians and nurses determined that the mirrored patient rooms with a charting station in between would best support their workflow.

“It was immediately evident to me that changes made in real time allowed for more effective design discussions. This short-circuited having to come back the following week with revised plans. With the aid of the Enscape model, I was also able to quickly register and capture the clinical requirements,” Manhardt said after participating in several of these sessions.

I was surrounded by professionals whose experience and knowledge far surpassed what I thought I could contribute to a project of this scale, but by the end of my first week, I recognized the learning opportunities ahead were far more significant than any project I’d worked on previously.”

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WORK SESSION IN THE BIG ROOM. - Shepley Bulfinch

VIEW OUT THE WINDOW OF THE BIG ROOM OF STEEL BEING ERECTED. - Shepley Bulfinch

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FEATURE

PARTIAL FRONT ELEVATION OF BANNER — UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER TUCSON - Jeremy Bitterman 20

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I would not be in this role if it wasn’t for the opportunity to learn in a 'Big Room' environment with exposure to technological tools that support constant knowledge sharing and collaboration across disciplines.”

INNOVATING DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

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CUTTING-EDGE

Over the course of the following year, Manhardt began to take on more responsibility at each user group meeting. Her competency for clinical design improved as she engaged with the team in the Big Room and readily applied programs like Revit, Bluebeam, Enscape, ProjectWise, Navisworks, and Box to collaborate and communicate.

To advance our design, we hosted weekly BIM coordination meetings and often used Navisworks, a BIM coordination tool to integrate all systems within the frame of the building. This allowed every system’s trade partner to easily pinpoint where they should install their components and identify where major clashes were occurring in the model prior to construction.

Anticipating these clashes before they happened on site prevented delays and additional expenses. “Seeing all the building components in one 3D space helped me understand the why behind each design element. Every stakeholder is looking at the 3D environment through a different lens, which allows me as a designer to collect more information from all the parties in a lean way and make an informed design decision while we’re all at the table,” said Manhardt, who honed her understanding of systems coordination through this process. Her drafting and detailing became more intentional and sensitive to all the other building assemblies.

CHARTING NEW HORIZONS As the tower began to rise in front of the windows of the Big Room, Banner revised its plan in favor of building out a new patient floor that had previously been shelled. We looked for ways to innovate and efficiently build out an additional floor, utilizing Microsoft Hololens, an augmented-reality tool that overlays the 3D model in real space. While this program is commonly applied in design, overlaying the model on the built space gave us valuable insight in constructing the new patient headwalls.

“It was revealing to have the model overlaid on the real building components in the field,” Manhardt said. “The modeling and install were extremely accurate in most cases. When they deviated, I YAFCONNECTION.COM

would track the shortcomings of the software by working with the trades in the field to understand how they had to be installed.”

Asking the right questions and anticipating issues transformed Manhardt into a thoughtful and fully fledged designer.

Angela Watson, Principal-in-Charge for the project, sums it up like this: “Rebecca has been amazing in her ability to take on new tools and find even more effective ways to use them. Through her experience, her communication and presentation skills have grown exponentially, and I absolutely rely on her ability to communicate with our clients at all levels.”

Upon completion of BUMCT, Shepley Bulfinch was awarded the expansion of the Mayo Clinic Arizona campus — a new Big Room project. It was only fitting that Manhardt be promoted to “job captain” to apply her newly acquired knowledge and expertise.

“I would not be in this role if it wasn’t for the opportunity to learn in a Big Room environment with exposure to technological tools that support constant knowledge sharing and collaboration across disciplines,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to work any other way.”

In April 2019, Manhardt and I attended the BUMCT grand opening to celebrate the end of a successful project and a new chapter for the Tucson community. After the event, Manhardt and I made our last drive back to Phoenix. As the project that seeded her career faded in the rear-view mirror, so much potential opened up on the horizon. ■ TOP LEFT: MANHARDT USING MICROSOFT HOLOLENS - Shepley Bulfinch TOP RIGHT: PATIENT ROOM AT BANNER — UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER TUCSON - Jeremy Bitterman

Michelle Mantegna, AIA, EDAC Michelle Mantegna, AIA, EDAC, Project Manager at Shepley Bulfinch in Phoenix, Ariz. Mantegna has health care experience ranging from large academic medical facilities to small ambulatory renovations.

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INTERVIEW

AGRITECTURE: THE BUSINESS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE AN INTERVIEW WITH JEFFREY LANDAU ARASH ALBORZI

Jeffrey Landau

Jeffrey Landau is a mechanical engineer and the Director of Business Development at Agritecture Consulting in Brooklyn, N.Y. He has done projects as a hydroponics specialist, researcher, and analyst since his graduation.

Landau holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Agritecture, Landau worked for Delta Air Lines in its liaison engineering department. Since then, he has focused on the fields of hydroponics, vertical farms, and urban agriculture. He manages Agritecture’s wide range of client engagements, from producing the AgLanta Conference to executing on client projects around the world.

Agrictecture is an interdisciplinary consulting firm and leader in the growing industry of urban agriculture. The term “Agritecture,” a portmanteau of architecture and agriculture, was coined by Henry Gordon-Smith, founder of Agritecture Consulting in 2011. Based on the Agritecture Philosophy, its mission and vision are to empower impact-driven organizations to develop feasible urban agriculture strategies, turning business ideas into practical and sustainable realities. The firm is pushing for a world where commercial urban agriculture is economically feasible, reduces the environmental impact of the food system, and improves food security.

Agritecture’s consulting team is composed of experienced growers, engineers, and sustainability managers. Agritecture’s consulting services include farm design, feasibility studies, recruiting, support and management, research and management, research and analysis, and local food system planning. In this interview, Landau, who has worked on research, consulting, and economic development in the urban agriculture market, discusses practice innovation and technology in the industry.

Arash Alborzi: Urban agriculture is a relatively new term and a recently developed field within architecture, urban planning, and urban design. The title of your company, Agritecture, definitely is a new concept and combination of your business scope. How has the Agritecture idea formed your business and philosophy?

Jeffrey Landau: What is interesting about urban agriculture is that it is not that new of a concept. Urban agriculture goes as far back as 1893, with the mayor of Detroit, Hazen Pingree, launching the “Potato Patch Plan” due to the Panic of 1893. The plan advocated for thousands of acres of vacant city land to be utilized for urban farming. Then in 1917, during World War I, we see President Woodrow Wilson calling for all Americans to utilize vacant space for Victory Gardens to support the war effort. Over 100 hundred

years later, urban agriculture is now going through another renaissance due in large part to technological advancements, urbanization, and climate change. The word “agritecture” blends the idea of agriculture into urban planning and the architecture of our built environment. As urban agriculture consultants, our job is to provide our clients with the endless ideas, models, and opportunities that agriculture has in our cities. If you have a rooftop space, a warehouse, a basement, or any vacant piece of land, you should be a part of our urban agriculture movement. We can teach you how to convert that conventional or unconventional space into a food-producing one.

AA: The primary target of urban agriculture is to cope with current and upcoming food insecurities. In your opinion, how serious or challenging is the worldwide food crisis for the U.S., as well as other developed and developing countries?

What is your pivotal strategy to face these challenges?

JL: A rapidly growing global population coupled with the environmental stresses of climate change is pushing our natural resources to the brink. This past month, major publications, including the New York Times, the Economist, L.A. Times, have covered the shortage of water farmers around the world are facing and the threat it poses to our food system. Clearly, this is an ongoing problem that is aggressively seeking solutions. In early August 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest special report, Climate Change and Land, stated “that better land management can contribute to tackling climate change.”

This means significantly overhauling our agricultural system and implementing resource-efficient technologies and practices into a new generation of farmers. At Agritecture, we work with our clients to determine the most cost-efficient strategies to develop these farms in urban and peri-urban environments. Whether it’s a rooftop, warehouse, or vacant plot of land, our goal is to consult our clients with the right information, providing a selection of options based on their criteria and mitigating risk in the planning

TOP RIGHT: Farm.One, Manhattan, New York City. Agritecture designed and installed Farm.One’s first facility, recruited its head grower, and researched rare crop species for production.

Source: Agritecture Consulting. www.agritecture.com BOTTOM RIGHT: Commercial Urban Farming Class.

Source: Agritecture Consulting. www.agritecture.com

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stages of their farming business. Our company’s mission is to empower entrepreneurs and organizations to develop practical and sustainable farming businesses. We want cities to rethink what agriculture is and how it can be integrated into the future of our cities.

AA: Working in a successful business in urban agriculture, a consultant needs to be updated in both research and practical aspects in architecture, agriculture, and urban planning, otherwise it cannot answer the clients’ needs. In my point of view, after following your projects for more than three years, you have properly concentrated on both the scientific and technological dimensions of your practice. How do you assess and balance the interdependence of science and technology in your projects?

JL: Agritecture is the art, science, and business of urban agriculture. As urban ag consultants, it is our responsibility to our clients that we are the subject-matter experts on the latest technologies, trends, and methods of controlled environment and urban agriculture. Our team does this through a mix of activities: traveling around the globe to learn firsthand what farmers are growing, how they are growing it, and the challenges they face, to participating in the industry and academic conferences and producing our own events to showcase these findings and create a constructive learning environment for attendees of all backgrounds to gain this knowledge. We are constantly learning

and pairing those key lessons with consumer trends and matching those findings with the right business cases for our clients.

AA: In your opinion, how familiar are citizens with the concept of urban agriculture, and what is your suggestion for municipalities in order to implement urban agriculture into cities?

JL: Most cities in the U.S. have at least a varying degree of urban agriculture initiatives. Usually, it tends to focus on low-capitalinvestment models such as community gardens that act as social settings for community engagement. Cities, however, are slowly understanding how significant a role urban agriculture will play for the current and future generations of residents. When cities take a more active stance in the development of their own urban food system, we see more engagement and activity from residents, which can lead to a myriad of positive effects and opportunities. For instance, the city of Atlanta’s dedicated Urban Agriculture Director developed the “Grow-A-Lot” initiative, a program that provides entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and residents the opportunity to obtain five-year leases on vacant city properties for urban farming. The city of Philadelphia recently hired an Urban Agriculture Director and is currently developing a citywide urban agriculture plan to match the pace of American “smart cities.” The city of Orlando has their Green Works Orlando initiative that aims to stimulate positive environmental change, which includes local food systems as a focus area. Cities all over the world need to take an active stance in the activation and development of their local food systems.

City leaders need to obtain stakeholder engagement and create citywide policies and initiatives that educate their constituents, provide financial support to develop these farm systems, and maintain a line of communication and access for further growth and development. ■

Arash Alborzi Alborzi is a PhD student at the University of Florida School of Architecture in Gainesville, Florida.

Alborzi’s thesis focuses on urban agriculture, sustainable urbanism, and architecture. Prior to studying his PhD in architecture, he practiced and studied architecture in Tehran, Iran.

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BKV WORKSHOP - FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD

EMBEDDING PUBLIC INTEREST DESIGN IN FIRM STRUCTURES ELLIE ZIAIE, ASSOC. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, TOM ERICKSON, ASSOC. AIA, AND DAVID HORNER

Well-designed spaces and innovative design thinking should not be reserved for a select few, an idea that aligns with the architect’s ethos of enriching lives and strengthening communities.

Traditionally, architects carry out pro bono work “off the clock,” but BKV Group incorporates it into our weekly schedules. By embedding pro bono work within the structure of our current practice, our hope is that over time, this transforms the profession of architecture and whom we serve on a day-to-day basis.

BKV Workshop is an outreach program hosted within BKV Group whose specific focus lies in the unbridled research and exploration of all areas of design. As a multidisciplinary, collaborative, research-intensive, and evidence-based design collective, BKV Workshop examines issues and opportunities within our local, national, and global communities that benefit the greater good while simultaneously broadening our firm’s knowledge base, skill sets, and areas of expertise.

BKV Workshop structures its organization with an inverted diagram in which the principal impact is on global improvements, regional advancement, and helping local communities we serve. This process also has positive impacts for the design team involved.

It is rewarding for teams to pursue projects of interest in their communities and to apply professional knowledge to issues and broaden their expertise. Consequently, the firm has better talent retention with increased awareness and strengthened skill sets.

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Uniquely, BKV Workshop challenges the traditional methods of design by embedding and balancing equity, community needs, and contextual economics. To accomplish this, BKV Workshop emphasizes the architect’s role as facilitator, community influencer, and critical thinker to push forward innovative ideas.

BKV Workshop then harnesses the collective power of BKV Group’s multidisciplinary, holistic design practice, which merges architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, and construction administration services with footprints in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C., to allow the team to have a broader awareness and reach nationally.

BKV Group fully understands that the results of our work deeply affect human beings — whether they are full-time residents or users or just passersby on the street. As designers, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to address the issues facing our society, and BKV Group addresses them every day in the buildings and spaces we conceive. Our designers engage passionately with issues of equality, safety, community, sustainability, wellness, and many more, always working to make our projects part of the solution.

We believe in a friendly, upbeat, hopeful, and fun approach to our work, and we are dedicated to a never-ending quest to strengthen our communities.

BKV Workshop welcomes any of BKV’s employees to suggest new ideas and projects as well as contribute to Workshop efforts on a weekly basis. All full time employees are allowed to allocate 10% of their scheduled time to a chosen cause, including Workshop projects, attending conferences or continuing education.

We hope BKV Workshop can inspire other firms that seek to improve their communities and provide their services to those who usually do not have access. By doing so, we can create value through design thinking, provide professional development to the designers involved, and broaden the knowledge base of firms worldwide. ■

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THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

REDEFINING PURPOSE UPPER LEFT: BKV Workshop structures its organization with an inverted diagram in which the principal impact is on global improvements, regional advancement, and helping local communities we serve.

LOWER LEFT: BKV Workshop uses interdisciplinary charrettes to come up with creative ideas and problem solving.

LOCAL PROJECT

REGIONAL PROJECT

The Towhid community center project was brought to BKV Workshop by one of our Electrical engineer colleagues who is a member of the Oromo community. This immigrant community strives to improve their Community center to accommodate more members as well as flexible spaces for youth enrichment programs. BKV Workshop was able to assist with programming and concept to get rolling on the project, as well as continuing to help with engineering needs in the future phases of design.

Rochester, MN’s Central Fire Station was constructed in 1898 on the south side of downtown, on Broadway and 4th St. The building was demolished to make way to extend Broadway Ave to the south, but the clock and bell were saved. Over the years, the clock and bell were relocated in various downtown locations, most recently outside the Rochester Civic Center.

GLOBAL PROJECT Sketches from the Fueling Dignity project, a solution for addressing unsanitary and hazardous living conditions common in unplanned settlements. The project tackled issues like equity and access while creating economic opportunity for residents by turning waste into a resource.

The clock and bell have once again been mothballed, and BKV Workshop was called upon to design a new, final, tower to house these important pieces of Rochester history and pay homage to the original fire station.

Ellie Ziaie, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C Ellie is an architectural designer at BKV Group, Minneapolis, Minn. Ziaie is also a founding member of BKV Workshop, a pro bono design collective that seeks to give back to the communities in which BKV Group works.

David Horner

David is an architectural designer at BKV Group, Minneapolis, Minn. Horner is also a founding member of BKV Workshop. His passion for sustainability, resilience, natural environment, and public-interest design is evident in the creative, thoughtful work he produces.

Tom Erickson, Assoc. AIA

Tom is an architectural designer at BKV Group, Minneapolis, Minn. Erickson is also a founding member of BKV Workshop. He has a strong eye and hand for design and likes to be fully involved with all areas of exploration within Workshop projects.

YAFCONNECTION.COM

Q3 — 2019

25

FEATURE

FROM ARCHITECT TO OWNER'S REP

SHAPING PROJECTS FROM AN ALTERNATE CAREER PATH ALLISON DVORAK, AIA

My career as an architect, until recently, has been mostly typical.

I worked for several firms with the standard late nights, stressful deadlines, and drank more coffee than I could imagine. Through these experiences, I also tried to develop my passion for architecture – using my skills to advocate for an inclusive design. This was somewhat of a struggle for me while sitting behind a computer drawing details, coordinating with engineers and designing to meet tight deadlines. My desk often reflected how I felt.

Earlier this year, I made a career change by leaving the world of competing architectural firms and became the third on-staff architect for a regional healthcare facility. If keeping up with the changing trends of technology and processes of design did not make me uncomfortable enough, why not add the changing trends in technology, processes of delivering services, and funding that healthcare has to offer?

PROJECT CHANGES Throughout my career, I worked on any and every type of commercial project that would come through the office. In South Dakota, a firm needs to be flexible with its expertise, sometimes in order to survive (see recession of 2008). Now, with my ability to focus on one sector of the design field, healthcare, I plan to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how healthcare is designed to be delivered, and continue to push design in the healthcare industry to better the healing environments for our patients.

I have been able to work on about 60 projects in the last 6 months, instead of focusing on the complete design of one building within the same timeframe. Now, based on the size of project, my department provides oversight on budget, schedule, design direction based on the typical standards, as well as creation of construction documents and construction administration. If the project is large-scale new construction or a very detailed remodel, we hire an architectural firm to create the construction documents. I may not be in the crux of how to finesse the design layout with the demands of creating amazing design details, but I provide the direction and feedback

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THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

necessary to align each project with the vision and mission of my company.

In addition, each location provides an opportunity for discovery.

From the purple railings in a ramp staircase, to the beautiful ivy mysteriously planted 50 years ago creating a beautiful exterior meditation space, discovering the history of each location contextualizes each new project.

PERSONNEL CHANGES Working in a small office, I was worried I would not have enough group critiques as we created design solutions, however, those who were previously my clients have become my colleagues and design partners as we work together to create designs to fit my colleagues needs. Instead of creating interior elevations of casework that a client may see and never comment on again, I work side-by-side with those who will occupy the space to find the most efficient and cost-effective solutions.

We also partner closely with our construction companies to work through details of each project to keep projects within schedule and budget. The ability to be on-site to make immediate decisions speeds up the process of construction so disruptions in the construction schedule are minimized.

REDEFINING PURPOSE

TOP LEFT: Desk Inspiration.

BOTTOM LEFT: Avera Addiction Care Center by Perspective Inc. TOP RIGHT: Avera Specialty Hospital by BWBR Architects BOTTOM RIGHT: Exterior Meditation Garden, Avera McKennan Hospital.

With the numerous locations of our projects, I am also able to work with many different colleagues from the region which continues to help me develop an understanding of how each location works and give me a range of how processes can be different based on each location.

PASSION INTEGRATION As an Owner’s representative, I am able to further integrate my passion of inclusive design to many more projects. Consistent interaction with the end-user of each space allows me to ask specific questions that will best work with the processes of delivering care. Through these working sessions, I advocate for spaces to be designed as inclusive environments for those of all needs. As Alvar Aalto maintained we should “always design for man at his weakest,” and I am looking forward to continuing developing my passion throughout my career.

Overall, I am incredibly grateful for the experiences I have had at the architectural firms I worked for over the past years. Those lessons continue to shape my ability to advocate for not only the client, but for the value an architect brings to each project. ■

Allison Dvorak, AIA, CPHC

Allison is a facility architect for Avera Health in Sioux Falls, S.D. and member of the AIA South Dakota Board of Directors. Dvorak received her M.Arch from North Dakota State University in 2011 and continues to develop her Master’s thesis of researching and implementing design theories focused on human centered design through speaking engagements, design practice, and oneon-one client education.

YAFCONNECTION.COM

Q3 — 2019

27

INTERVIEW

ADDRESSING A MULTI-BILLION BOLLAR CHALLENGE AN INTERVIEW WITH 2019 LATROBE PRIZE RESEARCH TEAM YU-NGOK LO, AIA

Bruce A. Levine, J.D.

Sean O'Donnell, FAIA, LEED AP

Bruce Levine is an Associate Clinical Professor at Drexel University’s School of Education, where he serves as the Director of the Educational Policy and Global and International Education program, and the M.S. degree in Education Improvement and Transformation. He also serves as the University’s Director of its Washington DC Center. His current research includes exploration of community school models in US education.

Sean O’Donnell serves as the practice area leader for Perkins Eastman’s national and international K12 practice. During his 23 years of experience designing great learning environments, he has worked to ensure that the learning environment is fully supportive of all of the users’ physical, intellectual, social/emotional, organizational and technological needs.

The Latrobe Prize is the biennial $100,000 award from the AIA College of Fellows, supporting a two-year program of research that leads to significant advances in the architecture profession.

This year, the prize was awarded to a team from Drexel University and Perkins Eastman. Their winning submittal entitled “Addressing a Multi-Billion Dollar Challenge” will endeavor to advance the knowledge of how high-quality schools can positively impact educational outcomes. Partnering with the District of Columbia and Baltimore City Public Schools, their study will provide a set of design guidelines that will have a positive impact on the lives of millions of students and teachers in schools across the country and around the world.

The COF Newsletter team, in collaboration with YAF Connection, spoke with the principal researchers, Sean O’Donnell, FAIA, Principal and K-12 Practice Leader at Perkins Eastman and Bruce Levine, J.D., Associate Clinical Professor at Drexel University to learn more about the project.

Yu-Ngok Lo (YL): What does being awarded the Latrobe Prize mean to the team? Why is this topic of research important to you personally?

Bruce Levine (BL): Speaking for the team, the award of the Latrobe Prize enables each of our team members to pursue the passion that they bring to enhancing education for children. These passions drew each of us to diverse disciplines and professions, but we are excited that we can all collaborate to create an interdisciplinary study that we believe will have meaningful impact on hundreds of thousands of children across the country.

From Drexel’s perspective, this project provides an opportunity to

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bring interdisciplinary faculty and students together to address realworld challenges in a way that builds off the expertise and research interests of our team members from across the university.

Sean O’Donnell (SO): For me personally, the Latrobe Prize is also exciting from several other perspectives. I began my architectural education with a desire to engage design and research in practice.

Over the course of my career, and increasingly after I became leader of Perkins Eastman’s school-design practice, I have been pursuing this idea, and the Latrobe is a major milestone in realizing this goal. Secondly, the study will help designers across the industry to better focus their efforts more on the aspects of the built environment that will have the most impact on learning outcomes.

As noted above, hundreds of thousands of children could benefit, and that’s really exciting. Finally, it’s also an honor to follow in the footsteps of Latrobe Prize awardees that have inspired me to take up these goals to begin with, like John Eberhard of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture and the firm Kieran Timberlake.

YL: There is already some research suggesting the belief that education is impacted by the learning environment. What is lacking? How will your research fill that gap?

BL and SO: There are some terrific studies that have been done, from the Heschong Mahone Group’s landmark studies on daylight, the University of Salford’s Clever Classroom study, and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s “Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function” study, to cite just three. We are hoping to build upon these and other studies to create a more holistic model of the learning environment that will engage indoor environmental quality, educational adequacy, and community connectivity factors.

We hope that this more comprehensive model will enable school districts and designers to make more informed decisions in funding and designing learning environments across the country.

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

REDEFINING PURPOSE

It has been extremely helpful for me, as an architect, to present myself as a “peer” to the private-sector architects we work with daily, instead of “just” another government bureaucrat."

YL: Can you tell us a bit about the methodology of the research and who the key partners are?

BL and SO: Our methodology will use a mixed-method approach, tapping qualitative and quantitative methods. These methods will include on-site measurement and visual assessment, interviews and questionnaires, and archival data analysis. We plan on working with approximately 40 schools across two urban school districts.

Our team includes architects, sustainable-design experts and environmental-design researchers from Perkins Eastman; faculty from Drexel University’s School of Education, Dornsife School of Public Health, and Westphal College of Media Arts & Design; a public health expert from the American Federation of Teachers; a statistician; and leadership from the District of Columbia and Baltimore City Public Schools. We also hope to work with students from the participating schools and colleges at Drexel.

ADDRESSING A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE Advancing Knowledge of How High-Quality School Buildings Can Positively Impact Educational Outcomes SECOND SUBMISSION: January 18, 2019

YL: What’s the next step? How do you see the research potentially being transformed into guidelines that will be adapted by the architecture profession?

BL and SO: The creation of “tools” and guidelines that will be directly useful to architects and school districts in evaluating their facilities and planning and designing for greater impact on learning are among the deliverables of our study. As in our previous research, we also expect that the study will inspire subsequent research projects that will elaborate on the findings of this study.

YL: Anything else you would like to add?

BL and SO: We’d like to thank the AIA College of Fellows for giving us this amazing opportunity! ■

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2019 LATROBE PRIZE JURY: Marilyn Taylor, FAIA (chairwoman) Gordon Chong, FAIA Marvin Malecha, FAIA Billie Faircloth, AIA Curtis Fentress, FAIA John Castellana, FAIA Edward Vance, FAIA.

This article also appeared in the AIA College of Fellows Newsletter

@yungoklo Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA Yu-Ngok is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the past Communications Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee and is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architect Award.

YAFCONNECTION.COM

Q3 — 2019

29

ARTICLE

NAVIGATING YOUR FIRM'S CULTURE A’19 CONFERENCE ON ARCHITECTURE REPORT KATIE KANGAS, AIA, NCARB

Nearly 300 people attended an 8 a.m. session at A’19 in Las Vegas led by the Minnesota Emerging Professionals Committee (MN EPC) and volunteer ‘navigators’ from the Young Architects Forum and The National Associates Committee. The MN EPC began researching this topic in 2017. We found it was difficult to discuss and compare culture between different architecture firms. Everyone feels culture, but how can you describe ‘good’ office culture when different environments work for different people?

Once you mark your preference and your firm’s policies, you can start to see how your ideal work environment aligns with your office’s culture. The scale provides a starting block for analyzing and discussing your firm’s culture in order to understand alignments and friction in your team’s environment. To capture the complexity of culture, we paired questions into the following cultural qualities: • Studio Environment: The physical environment that impacts your measurable outcomes

Through business articles, books, podcasts, and personal interviews, the MN EPC developed a series of 10 questions that captured a snapshot of influential factors of office culture. We asked attendees to answer these questions, first for themselves, and then for their team environment. Each question had a scale, not from good to bad, but of different office policies. For example:

• Team Tectonics: Team contributions to projects

member

responsibilities

and

Personally, what is the best measure of your work performance?

• Hierarchy: Team dynamics, coordination and collaboration

How does your office evaluate individual performance?

• Zeitgeist: The defining spirit or mood as shown by ideals and beliefs

• Hours Spent Working Only • Slightly More Time • Equally Time + Results • Slightly More Results • Results Only

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• Entourage: Your personal expectations and needs from the office

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We tried to capture cultural qualities currently being disputed by many industries. Technology has created more options for how we interact with others, when we work, and how collaboration fits into practice. We no longer distribute drawing sheets to personal mylar tables. We accommodate five generations in architectural practice. The traditional hierarchy of age equaling experience is challenged by the innovation brought by emerging professionals to professional practice. And yet, certain aspects of traditional

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Q3 тАФ 2019

31

ARTICLE

MINI MBA: MASTERING THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE A’19 CONFERENCE ON ARCHITECTURE REPORT MARIE MCCAULEY, AIA

If somebody asked you when you graduated college what aspect of architecture you felt most knowledgeable in, what would you have said? Would any of you have answered, “The business side. For sure.” Probably not.

Whether you think business classes should be included in the architecture curriculum or not, many architecture schools do not include a business curriculum. The professional practice classes we take may get into contracts and fee structures, but topics like firm culture and profitable practices usually go untouched. Emerging professionals are expected to learn these lessons on the job.

To help, the YAF has been offering a crash-course business workshop at the AIA Conference on Architecture titled “Mini-MBA: Mastering the Business of Architecture for Emerging Professionals.”

32

CONNECTION

The Mini-MBA was started in 2014 as an idea for how to regain traction coming out of the recession. Spearheaded by Nicole Martineau, AIA, the workshop has consistently been organized by YARDs (Young Architect Regional Directors). This year’s workshop was organized by New England YARD Katelyn Chapin, AIA. Ryan McEnroe, AIA, became involved in 2016 and says the format and content are the strongest aspects of the workshop.

“The format has remained the same over the years,” he said. “It provides a great opportunity for collaborative knowledge sharing in small groups, while also hearing from the larger audience and subject-matter experts directly. On the other hand, the content of the program changes every year and keeps relevant with where we are in the profession.”

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

REDEFINING PURPOSE

By partnering with AIA Large Firm Roundtable leaders, attendees learn key principles for developing a road map to success. The goal is for emerging professionals to explore the basics of business planning, including strategies for scaling an organization and nurturing a positive firm culture. As a YARD for The Virginias, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer as a group leader at this workshop during the 2019 Conference on Architecture in Las Vegas. This year, attendees learned about three topics: business planning, growing and scaling a practice, and developing a culture to drive success.

The workshop kicked off with a business planning crash course by Griff Davenport, FAIA, CEO of DLR Group. Davenport identified several elements that are essential in guiding the growth of your business. He reinforced the importance of creating a vision for the future of your business. When you’re defining your firm’s vision and mission, it is important to keep in mind that they will be nonnegotiable from that point forward. While other aspects of your business may change, the vision and mission should remain steady throughout.

He also spoke about BHAGs, or Big Hairy Audacious Goals. He encouraged us to think big toward a “lofty goal that embodies a desired end result.” Strategy and tactics are also essential for guiding your business. He taught us to think about strategies as the “what” your firm will strive to accomplish and tactics as the “how.”

Lastly, he spoke of defining the investment that each tactic will

need in terms of people, time, and capital. Small groups were then given a location and vision for an imaginary firm, and they identified strategies and tactics that would help reach a BHAG. The final results in this quick learning exercise were amazing!

The second segment of the workshop was led by Tricia Esser, CEO of KTGY Architecture + Planning. Esser spoke on organizational structure, processes, and culture. For structure, she noted the importance of ensuring that the right people are in the right place.

One example she gave is distinguishing experts from generalists and how their roles are different inside a company. Providing clear descriptions within your organizational chart, implementing an incentive plan, and providing opportunities for professional development were all mentioned as ways to strengthen your office’s organizational structure.

Standardizing workflow processes and communication was another topic Esser expanded upon. She suggested aligning your workflow in a way that reflects your structure. For example, does a principal review drawings before they leave the office? Ensure communication points — such as from the firm to clients, new hires, or contacts — are standardized and consistent.

The third aspect Esser focused on was office culture. Behavior within an office forms its culture, and an example must be set by top leadership. Small groups were then tasked with choosing a culture for their firm and creating an organizational chart and workflow process.

Keynote breakfast panelists (from left to right): Kristen Chin, Courtney Sharpe, Yanel de Angel, Jennie Stephens, and moderator Jennifer Hardy.

YAFCONNECTION.COM

Q3 — 2019

33

ARTICLE

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion by Davenport, Esser, Peter Smith, FAIA, President and CEO of BWBR, and Clymer Cease, FAIA, Principal and Chairman of Clark Nexsen. Attendees asked questions of the panelists, who all offered sage advice. One takeaway was the clear need for firms to create business plans, not only to provide clarity, but also to facilitate communication for your staff. This keeps employees on task and aligned with the business’s core values.

While it’s hard to convey the creativity and enthusiasm that was present at the workshop, I hope this gives you an idea of the useful content covered at the Mini-MBA. “With hands-on, smallgroup activities and group discussions, participants left the session ready to put these lessons learned into practice,” session facilitator Chapin said. “For me personally, it was an exciting workshop that was fueled by the engagement between the audience members and our presentation team. I hope to see you at A'20!” ■

Marie McCauley, AIA Marie is a Project Architect for Silling Architects in Charleston, WV. McCauley is also the Young Architect Regional Director (YARD) for the Region of the Virginias and an AIA representative for a NAAB Accreditation team. She holds a B.Arch from the University of Tennessee.

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CONNECTION

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

REDEFINING PURPOSE

AN ARCHITECT IN DEVELOPMENT AN INTERVIEW WITH LEANNA LIBOUREL JOHN J. CLARK, AIA

Leanna Libourel, AIA Ms. Libourel has been providing professional services to the Real Estate Development sector for nearly 10 years. During this time, she has provided planning, design, and development management consulting services to developers, corporations and municipalities. Ms. Libourel draws from her diverse commercial project experience to add value at each stage of development and is uniquely qualified to align a projects vision and goals across a multitude of stakeholders. Leanna graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Woodbury University and with a Master of Architecture degree from Cornell University. She is a licensed architect in the State of California and a Board Member for the American Institute of Architects California Council.

John Clark: Describe your background in architecture. What was appealing about working for a developer, and how did you make the jump?

Leanna Libourel: My first professional position in the building industry was with a sustainability consultancy. After surviving the recession, I joined a multidisciplinary architecture and planning firm.

With the most recent upswing in the market, I took the plunge into development.

During undergraduate, a professor of mine stressed the importance of finding ‘that thing’ you are good at and you like to do … and then aspiring to do whatever ‘that thing’ may be. This criteria has led me down a professionally fulfilling path, albeit different than most peers’.

JJC: What are some of your responsibilities, and how has your architectural background equipped you? How do you approach a project now, compared to your approach in a traditional firm?

LL: As an architect, my professional drive is to turn design constraints into value, and I have always believed the most successful designs are the most constrained. As a developer, I am empowered to use this methodology at any time in the development cycle and beyond the confines of professional normalcy.

JJC: What is the potential/future trajectory for your career having had this experience?

LL: My career focus has become more project based, free of firm culture and ranking. I want to be a part of highly successful projects in a capacity that best utilizes my assets. From that comes my professional growth and fulfillment.

JJC: Based on your experience, what are some opportunities for innovative practice models or project workflows between architecture, development, and construction.

LL: I am captivated by vertical integration. Whether it be programmatic, means and methods, venture-capital-backed development models, design/development as tech, etc.

JJC: With your career path in mind, what advice would you give young professionals starting a career in architecture? Any different advice for young architects looking to make a similar jump?

LL: I give all young professionals the advice that was given to me: “Find ‘that thing’ you are good at and you like to do … and then aspire to do whatever ‘that thing’ may be.” ■

@clarkjohnj John J.Clark, AIA, NCARB John is an architect with RMKM Architecture in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, John has served on the AIA Albuquerque Board of Directors and is the 2019-20 Communications Director for the AIA National Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee.

YAFCONNECTION.COM

Q3 — 2019

35

INTERVIEW

ARCHITECT AND...

QUOTES FROM ARCHITECTS IN ALTERNATIVE CAREERS KATIE KANGAS, AIA AND JASON TAKEUCHI, AIA

Leanna Libourel, AIA

Libourel Development LLC | Los Angeles, California

DEVELOPMENT

During undergraduate a professor of mine stressed the importance of finding ‘that thing’ you are good at and you like to do…and then aspiring to do whatever ‘that thing’ may be. This criteria has led me down a professionally fulfilling path, albeit different than most peers’.

I am captivated by vertical integration. Whether it be programmatic, means & methods, venture-capitalbacked development models, design/development as tech, etc.

FOR SALE

CONSTRUCTION

Vanessa Cameron, AIA, LEED BD+C

Nordic PCL Construction | Honolulu, Hawaii

I’m able to explain design intent in greater detail to my team on the builder’s side, while simultaneously conveying constructability principles and site specific challenges that may impact cost and schedule to the owner and design team.

The technical nature of the profession as well as being a conductor of several design disciplines are the things I love most about the architecture profession. This is a complementary skillset I am able to carry over to construction, now becoming a conductor of multiple trades on the jobsite.

David Pollard, AIA

Liv Companies | Burr Ridge, Illinois

DESIGN BUILD

The biggest challenge the architect will continue to face is the loss of control as a result of shedding of risk. As architects lose control of projects and become merely drafting consultants to builders, we will lose opportunity to truly shape the built world, be stewards for the environment, and apply our creative solutions to problems.

Architects need to think about their role in the world beyond what bots can perform, and re-think their business model, brand strategy, and deliverables around that thinking.

It’s another thing if an architect takes on that responsibility as a business decision and balances the value of a sustainable choice against the cost of a design decision. As more architects take more control, we have the opportunity to shape the market from our clients to the product manufacturers to the trades. We can provide tremendous value, and we need to leverage that beyond the consulting-firm model to stay relevant.

DEVELOPMENT

Robert ‘Sidney’ Aulds, III

Sidney Aulds Building Studio | Denver, Colorado

The graphic and communication skills from architecture school help me lead each project as the owner/ developer, architect, and builder. Organizing information and efficiently communicating unlock unlimited potential in what you can accomplish.

There is an ever-expanding conversation about the role of the architect. Architects have given away increasingly more risk to the builder, or general contractor. By iving away risks, we have given away our leadership role and our economic value for our work.

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CONNECTION

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

REDEFINING PURPOSE

&

RCHITECT

"Architect &” symbolizes the limitless possibilities for collaborating and expanding the influence of architects beyond traditional practice. These architects are contributing to their respective industries in innovative and exciting ways.

We asked them what their roles are, about the importance of licensure and what the future will be like. Here are some of the highlights of their responses.

Benika Kawarabayashi, AIA, NCARB, LEED BD+C Hawaiian Airlines | Honolulu, Hawaii

PROJECT MANAGER

I am involved in the project management of everything from pilot training simulator facilities, IT-critical special operation control center, opening up new routes/stations, and airport lobbies.

Unique to my position is combining traditional architectural knowledge with aviation critical operations requirements. I need to be a hybrid in order to be a specialist.

I believe that core values of architects will remain the same. What you create and why you create are always important. However, how you create will be affected by emerging technologies.

BUILDING PRODUCTS

Gregory Taylor, AIA, NCARB, MBA

Childress Engineering Services | Richardson, Texas

I think the profession faces struggles of sometimes being stereotyped into doing traditional work whereas we can offer so much more to clients in areas of planning and design.

I think architecture will change into more of a knowledge-based career where architects are consulted on more than just buildings. I believe we will have input on the climate, sustainability, flooding, autonomous car designs/city layouts, ride-sharing design and utilization.

Nick Caravella, AIA IngeniousIO | Denver, Colorado

TECHNOLOGY

One of the most exciting parts of my career with IngeniousIO is in serving architects. I get to work with my peers and figure out how to support the work they are doing in their offices by helping them automate and streamline their administrative processes.

Architects are going to need to find a variety of ways to put their creative skills to use and leverage technology to an ever-changing workforce. Design tools are going to let people do more with less, and we will need to use that time savings to focus on the value we can provide on projects in big ideas and value generation.

DANCE & EDUCATION

Ashlie Latiolais, AIA, NCARB ARCH&also llc | Lafayette, Louisiana

As both an educator and practitioner, I have to maintain relevancy in both realms to be successful. Therefore, seeking innovation whether that be through pedagogy or professional research allows - my label as ‘an architect’ to be questioned while redefining a new path within architecture.

I actively seek and operate at the fringes of architecture, expanding beyond the boundaries of buildings through work at a variety of scales, from the scale of a city in urban and master planning proposals rooted in community engagement to the scale of the hand and body in residential works and collaborative performance installations a scale - so often overlooked.

YAFCONNECTION.COM

Q3 — 2019

37

CONNECTION THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

2019 EDITORIAL CALENDAR CONNECTION welcomes the submission of ARTICLES, PROJECTS, PHOTOGRAPHY and other design content. Submitted materials are subject to editorial review and selected for publication in eMagazine format based on relevance to the theme of a particular issue.

CONNECTION content will also appear on AIA.org and submissions will be considered on a rolling basis. If you are interested in contributing to CONNECTION, please contact the Editor-In-Chief at johnclarknm@gmail.com

MARCH

REDEFINING IDENTITY

PUBLICATION Q1 2019

JUNE

REDEFINING VALUE

PUBLICATION Q2 2019

Since 2015, The Young Architects Forum has helped lead the national conversation on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives in architecture. Review the progress that has been made, discover emerging leaders in EDI programs and practices, and explore where the profession goes from here.

Emerging Professionals are filling critical gaps in our communities, using their architectural training to lead in unconventional ways. Discover innovators, civic leaders, and designers working to make our communities more socially and environmentally resilient.

SEPTEMBER

DECEMBER

REDEFINING PURPOSE

PUBLICATION Q3 2019

An update to the Young Architect's Forum practice innovation goals and initiatives, this issue will highlight the 2019 Practice Innovation Labs, alternative practice models, and emerging technologies impacting the profession.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

PUBLICATION Q4 2019

With a lot in store for 2019, this issue will highlight the Young Architects Forum's work connecting emerging professional communities, sharing knowledge that promotes progress within the profession, and advocating for isssues of relevance to recently licensed architects.

WHAT IS THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM? The Young Architects Forum is the voice of architects in the early stages of their career and the catalyst for change within the profession and our communities. Working closely with the AIA College of Fellows and the American Institute of Architects as a whole, the YAF is leading the future of the profession with a focus on architects licensed less than 10 years. The national YAF Advisory Committee is charged with encouraging the development of national and regional programs of interest to young architects and supporting the creation of YAF groups within local chapters. Approximately 10,000 AIA members are represented by the YAF. YAF programs, activities, and resources serve young architects by providing information and leadership; promoting excellence through fellowship with other professionals; and encouraging mentoring to enhance individual, community, and professional development.

GOALS OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM • To encourage professional growth and leadership development among recently licensed architects through interaction and collaboration within the AIA and allied groups.

• To build a national network and serve as a collective voice for young architects by working to ensure that issues of particular relevance to young architects are appropriately addressed by the Institute.

• To make AIA membership valuable to young architects and to develop the future leadership of the profession.

REDEFINING PURPOSE

A vibrant community AIA is a vibrant community of architecture and industry professionals that are transforming our profession. Members enjoy access to industry-best benefits, products and services that support practice and professional development.

Visit aia.org to learn more about how you can leverage all that we have to offer and become a member.

Join us.

YAF GET CONNECTED

1991

2019

YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

ADVANCING THE CAREERS OF YOUNG ARCHITECTS FOR 28 YEARS