Summer Newsletter 2022

Letter from the president

This summer feels different. As the pandemic recedes and travel opens up, everyone I know is ready for change of scenery. Two years of fear and isolation left the people in my life feeling pretty burned out. Working with firm leaders, architects, and working parents as Chair of AIA Virginia’s new Mid-Career Professionals Roundtable, I’ve become very familiar with this refrain, and the prescription seems clear - it’s time for a break!

Summer in Virginia is great for recharging your batteries. You can listen to waves crash on the beach, hike and camp in lush mountains, paddle a hundred waterways, or just catch up with people you love, books you meant to read, or hobbies you neglected.

If you’re ready to relax, connect with friends, and enjoy the warm weather, AIA Central Virginia’s got you covered! Join our Emerging Professionals group for monthly tours of local architecture firms and creative businesses. Stop by the Ting Pavilion for Fridays After Five so we can buy you a drink and toast the season at our Summer Social. Learn from the BIM experts at a Cville Revit User Group meeting. Or catch up with friends on one of our (semi-regular) EP Happy Hours on the back porch of Dalgliesh Gilpin Paxton Architects.

Whatever you do this summer, I hope you can really enjoy a break - you deserve it. We look forward to seeing you in the fall for more EP tours, building tours, and our bi-annual Honors + Design Awards!

- Shawn Mulligan, AIA NCARB

aia cv hosts EMERGING LEADERS IN ARCHITECTURe

This year’s Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) class visited Charlottesville in April to connect with architects and educators in our region. AIA Central Virginia board members and Emerging Professionals were excited to host a Happy Hour celebration at UVA to welcome them to our town and celebrate their work.

The group spent the day meeting with local community leaders, UVA A-School professors - including our own Phoebe Crisman AIA - and learning from architects like Bruce Wardell AIA (Principal, BRW Architects) about the incredible community-led design work his firm is doing in our community. Noah Bolton AIA (VMDO Architects), this year’s ELA coordinator, was on hand to lead the session and celebrate with current ELA participant Alex Woletz (Alloy Workshop) and AIA CV Emerging Professionals.

ELA is AIA Virginia’s premier professional development and leadership training program for young architects. Applications are due FRI OCT 28th to AIA Central Virginia, and FRI NOV 11th to AIA Virginia. If you’re interested in ELA you can learn more here.

- shawn mulligan, AIA

Reflections on AEC Conference

Having a rather quiet start to 2022, and being an eager newcomer on the AIA Virginia board, I packed my bag and headed east for the two-day inaugural AEC Conference in Virginia Beach. Jointly sponsored by the Virginia chapters of the AIA, the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), and the Association of General Contractors (AGC), the conference aims to promote building-industry connections and to foster vital cross-disciplinary conversations relevant to our industry.

AIA Virginia kindly distributed the attendee list ahead of the conference, so I scouted out the demographics. And yes, I color-coded the list to identify the A’s, the E’s, and the C’s that I might connect with. (Hey, architects are visual learners, right?!) Architects and engineers made up almost 75%, with owners and contractors making up the final 25%. I also noted that men would outnumber women by 3 to 1.

As we gathered for breakfast on Thursday in a waterfront room overlooking a foggy coast, the level of experience and influence in the room was palpable. Nearly everyone in attendance held the title of Principal, Director, or Vice President. And although an early morning storm triggered a power outage, water leaks, and last-minute room shifts, our AIA, ACEC & AGC hosts were remarkably focused, jovial, and calm.

I put on my networking cross-training shoes and engaged in the breakout sessions on risk management, leadership, business development & economic development through an architect’s lens. But my peripheral vision was keenly aware of the diverse perspectives in the room. And rather than lecture, facilitators with a wealth of knowledge on their subject matter crowd-sourced topics and moderated roundtable discussions on emerging issues in the building industry. It was so refreshing to hear the candid (and well-seasoned) experiences and objectives of owners, contractors, and other designers on issues like delivery methods, succession planning, and motivating young professionals – all in the same room! Leaders from VCU, UVA, ODU, Norfolk, Suffolk, Henrico & Fairfax shared future CIP opportunities, how they’re dealing with current cost escalations, and their preferences on building materials, procurement methods, and project teams. (Who’d have thought a higher-ed client would want to eliminate the use of acoustic ceiling panels?!) Hearing this information firsthand in a small group setting, I gained unique insights into some rather large bureaucracies.

Whole group mealtimes and Thursday evening’s reception gave us opportunities to continue conversations begun in breakout sessions, share future opportunities, and make plans to follow up and connect. On Friday, I had the privilege of sharing a morning run along the boardwalk with Corey Clayborne. I gained a new understanding of pandemic life with two working parents, a preschooler, and an infant, but more so, I recognized the humility and fortitude of this admirable leader, motivator, and mentor.

Looking around the room as we came together on Friday for lunch and ‘Graphs and Laughs’ (a session on the state of the economy by manic presenter Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D.), I realized that connections were established over those two days that, quite frankly, have been missing from our virtual gatherings for nearly two years. I’m already pursuing new opportunities based on relationships made at the conference. And, as we all smiled for the inaugural conference photo, I was certain we were a catalyst for a more connected and compassionate industry. Thanks to all who had the vision and took the risk to bring us together, and let’s rally to broaden the table for the sequel!

- KELLY CALLAHAN, AIA

Callahan is a Principal at VMDO Architects, Past-President of AIA CV, and current AIA VA Board Member. This article was originally published at aiava.org

emerging professionals - Fine Woodwork at Gaston & Wyatt

This April, the Emerging Professionals group toured the shop of local woodworkers Gaston & Wyatt. Originally founded in 1979 in Charlottesville, Gaston & Wyatt has steadily grown in size and capability to become a nationally recognized provider of fine woodworking for some of the leading architects in the US. Lead by company president, John Deal, the tour covered their expansive 50,000 square foot facility and included numerous examples of beautifully crafted wood products at various stages of fabrication and assembly.

Also on the tour were stops by their finishing booth, materials storage, specialty equipment – including a 5-axis CNC actively milling door componentry – and a visit to Gaston & Wyatt’s new lofted design center – the nerve center of their comprehensive three-dimensional shop drawing process. All in all, a great opportunity for young designers to see the rubber meet the road and get a little saw dust under their finger nails.

A big thanks to John and the crew at Gaston & Wyatt for opening their doors to us!

- Blake Walker, AIA

AIA Central Virginia Emerging Professionals meet each month to learn from local creative businesses and non-profits while growing in the practice of architecture. If you, or someone you know, wants to get involved, contact me at: bwalker@dgparchitects.com.

news and upcoming events - see more on our calendar!

AIA Central Virginia

Emerging Professionals - Alloy Workshop. THU MAY 26th, 12:00-1:30pm. Join the Emerging Professionals as they tour Charlottesville design-build firm Alloy Workshop with founding owners Dan Zimmerman, Zach Snyder, and ELA 2022 Participant Alec Woletz. More on Alloy here.

AIA CV Summer Social - Fridays After Five! FRI JUN 17th, 5:30-7:00pm at the Ting Pavilion. Let's get together for Fridays after five! Meet us on the lawn at the Ting Pavilion to kick off the summer and enjoy Ebony Groove.

Emerging Professionals - Happy Hour. FRI JUN 30th, 5:30-7:00pm at DGP Architects. 206 5th ST NE, Charlottesville VA. Toast the warm days of summer with the Emerging Professionals as they continue their Friday Happy Hour series. Come for the free drinks + snacks, stay for the conversation.

APEX Building TOUR with SEGD. THU JUL 21st, 5:30-7:00pm. Join Society for Environmental Graphics (SEGD) Richmond and PWG for a tour of the new APEX building. The building, like APEX, is focused on sustainability - learn about CLT construction and the latest in sustainable graphics. Register here.

UVA Health + Wellness Center TOUR - earn 1 HSW LU!). WED SEPT 7th, 5:30-6:30pm. The Student Health and Wellness Center, designed by VMDO and Duda Paine Architects, showcases cutting-edge design around comprehensive and innovative student health services with an expanded emphasis on wellness and preventive healthcare as the signature of the new facility. The design team will discuss integrating student life and healthcare in one facility, a client-driven design process, and designing for wellness, biophilia, and healthy materials.

Honors + Design Awards Submissions - DUE FRI OCT 21st, 5:00pm. Central Virginia firms design incredible projects, and are powered by even better people - let us celebrate you and your team’s accomplishments! Nominate a colleague you’re proud to work with, or a project you were excited to work on. Visit our website for all requirements and to submit your entries.

Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) - applications DUE FRI OCT 28th. AIA Virginia’s premier architectural leadership program is accepting applications for the 2023 class. Submit your application to AIA CV by FRI OCT 28th. The component nominates one member to participate. Otherwise, submit your applications to AIA Virginia by FRI NOV 11th. Program info here.

AIA Virginia

Architecture Exchange East! NOV 2-4 in Richmond VA. Be the change you want to see in the world. Hear from designers who are (re)building their communities in innovative and impactful ways at Architecture Exchange East this Nov. 2-4, 2022. More here.

Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) - applications DUE FRI NOV 11th. AIA Virginia’s premier architectural leadership program is accepting applications for the 2023 class. Apply here.

Call for Mentors. AIA Virginia needs a few more mentors for Virginia architecture school students this year. Regular large group networking and training will be provided by AIA Virginia on topics like portfolio reviews (students and professionals), interviewing skills, life at a firm, and the path to licensure. Sign up to be a mentor.

AIA National

AIA National ’22 AIA National Convention is being hosted in person in Chicago this September 29 - October 2nd.  The architecture and design event of the year returns to Chicago, and President Barack Obama will be Keynote speaker. More here.

AIA YAF Connection AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF) has a new bi-monthly newsletter, check it out.