Reflections & Speculations

YAF Summit 2130

August 27th, 2022:

It’s Saturday evening in the humid summer air of Whiskey City. My wife somehow convinced me to join her at the Peoria Irish Festival after she picked me up from the airport at 8:45pm, and here I am - clapping to some playful fiddle tunes, reflecting on the previous 3 days I spent with a generous bunch of architects & other professionals at the Mission 2130 Summit in Pittsburgh.

We all met that Thursday, shook off our jet lag during the ice breaker event with some cocktails and conversation, and commenced the nerdery with bright eyes and open minds. The pre-assigned crews had been working together virtually in the weeks leading up to the Summit, and meeting each other for the first time in person was refreshing and energizing.

Afterwards we dispersed for dinner. My crew – the Futurespectives – walked a few blocks to Scarpino at the corner of 10th St and Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a memorable evening, indeed. The food was delicious, of course… but it also just happened to be the third Thursday of the month, which was, naturally – the evening of Pittsburg’s monthly Underwear Bike Ride. A multitude of cyclists in naught but their underwear made their way around the fully glazed restaurant. Certainly none of us were expecting this fantastic introduction to Pittsburg culture.

Friday was the big day of guest speakers, panelists, and prep work, and it came at us full-force. Luckily the YAF was fully prepared to fuel us up with a good dose of carbs and protein to get our gears turning.

That morning was reserved for an inspiring introduction by Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA (then First Vice-President now President of the AIA). We took a deep dive into presentations by Dr. Chris Luebkeman of ETH, and Christian Benimana of MASS Design Group. The presentations were dynamic & posed the necessary questions & challenges for us as listeners. Personally, I gravitated towards Christian’s presentation as I am particularly fond of MASS Design Group’s work in healthcare design.

While in grad school at University of Illinois, I conducted a precedent study on MASS Design Group’s Butaro District Hospital in Rwanda. Admittedly, I was somewhat star-struck. His presentation showed the level of meaning, intention, and contextuality that every project should strive for. When Christian had finished, we gathered separately with our crew members to continue refining the ideas we had formulated in the weeks leading up to the summit.

There were break periods designated throughout the day –whether small intermittent breaks or a lunch break. During one such period my crew temporarily disbanded to shed some nervous energy from a long working session, and I may or may not have gently disrupted some deep conversations to see if anyone might be interested in tossing a Frisbee around at some point during the weekend. I am that person who tries to add a little levity to those long working sessions. More on this later.

After a couple of hours, the crews rejoined in the main room for an impactful panel discussion with Kendra Wiley – Environmental Strategist and Consultant, Janki Vyas of KARMA co/lab, and Elizabeth Resenic of Gensler. The panelists leaned hard into topics surrounding what the future might look like if we don’t change our behaviors, and what current technologies and approaches exist that could help us ensure a better future.

Following the panel discussion, each crew had the opportunity to choose one of the speakers or panelists to be their mentor. As luck would have it, we were able to secure Christian as our mentor. So, we reconvened with our group and met with Christian, who gave us valuable feedback on what we had prepared so far. The hours progressed. Our creativity was packed into our efforts.

We were Petri dishes meant to grow ideas, spread across the open & ample second floor spaces of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. Consigned to our corners, though divided by competition, we were united through cause & meaning - threaded together in a forward fold across time and space, and co-facilitated through creative collaboration with Artificial Intelligence.

We capped the intensity of the day with a needed walk through Pittsburgh to dinner at Bar Marco, where we mingled with the larger group. At dinner, we got the opportunity to sit with people from other crews. Conversations within earshot of where I sat circled around nanobots, Futurama, inclusion & acceptance, and Ellen Ripley. I was in the proper company to let my nerd flag fly.

Dinner ended, and I walked back with some folks from other crews. I distinctly remember walking & talking with Randa (from the RE/ACTIVE crew) about the importance of empathy & compassion in architectural design. This would be a general theme for those I connected with during the summit.

After we all returned to the hotel, Weston (Futurespectives), Elise (Futurespectives) & I walked a few blocks and threw a Frisbee around for a bit in the US Steel Tower Plaza. We also got the chance to explore the lobby of a glorious gilded age cave

- also known as the Omni William Penn Hotel (completed in 1916)a couple of blocks away.

The next day we were given much of the morning to finalize our presentations before it was time to share them with the larger group. The competitive spirit was alive among us, but it was well balanced by the collaborative spirit as we cheered each other on. Every crew had a valuable approach, every crew had dynamic solutions, and every crew presented their ideas from diverse perspectives & with passionate intention.

Throughout the Mission 2130 Summit, people were generous with themselves: excited to share thoughts, experiences, frustrations, foresights, speculations, and prophecies. Diversity of contexts made the week one of collective embrace, generosity of self made the week one of collaboration, and rigorous application of experience made the week one of success.

My time in Pittsburg ended in perfection, or something like it. A group of us: Shona, Elysia, Obed, Weston, Wendy & I found an excellent sunny, grassy knoll to throw a Frisbee around and talk about our summit experience among other things. What I hope is to contribute to building a 2130 wherein play & nature are valued as they were in this moment.

In retrospect, something I have come to accept is that architects and designers must be prophets who have empathy for past, present, and future humans, and there must be an understanding that if the impact of space on the human condition is not benign, then neither is design. I don’t mean this from a perspective of hubris, because I suspect that architecture will not always belong to architects.