AIA Virginia bring together leaders from Local Chapters

AIA Virginia gathered Presidents and President-Elects from the state’s 5 local chapters at Twin Hickory Library in Henrico County to discuss ways to synergize our efforts to better serve Virginia’s AIA members. The 6-hour meeting was extremely fruitful, filling 10 poster-sized sheets with ideas on how to do more together to increase AIA’s value to our members. Look for upcoming announcements for collaborative events with our neighboring chapters and visits from AIA Virginia representatives as they tour around the state!

Leadership representatives from AIA Virginia and the 5 local AIA chapters: AIA Blue Ridge, AIA Central Virginia, AIA Hampton Roads, AIA Northern Virginia, and AIA Richmond.

AIA Central Virginia President speaks with students at Walker Upper Elementary

by Sidney Griffin, AIA Central Virginia President

I had the honor of sharing a stage with a TON of talent at Walker Upper Elementary for their Black History Month presentation. I and a few dozen other Black business leaders were invited to talk to 5th and 6th grade students about what we do in our professions. Our panel included artists, doctors, educators, entrepreneurs, musicians and administrators like Charlottesville’s Mayor Juandiego Wade, Chief Academic Officer Katina Otey, and Dr. Royal A Gurley, Jr, Charlottesville Superintendent of Schools!

The participants and I could feel the excitement upon coming into the school during a lively lunch period where students greeted us with smiles and waves. Before making our way to the stage, we enjoyed warm welcomes from a few special education classrooms we stepped into. The Walker Jazz Band gave us an awesome soundtrack to our arrival on the auditorium stage, accompanied by John D’earth who is a frequent volunteer at Walker. It was certainly a special treat for us jazz enthusiasts!

After the assembly, I visited two classes to talk about the role of architects in our communities, my personal path to architecture, and gave live drawing sessions to show how architects think and work through problems visually. The students had amazing questions - I think there were a few future architects in those classrooms! Thank you, Walker Upper Elementary for a most rewarding afternoon!

Saving Historic Black Schools

Forward by Sidney Griffin, AIA

We uplift AIA Central Virginia Fellow member, Jody Lahendro, FAIA, for playing a key role in the State Department of Historic Resources receiving a grant through the National Park Service Underrepresented Communities Grant Program. Here, Jody recounts what this grant means for the recognition and historic preservation for Virginia’s historic African American schools.

DHR press release: https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/press-release-posts/nps-awards-virginia-75k-for-historic-context-document-for-african-american-schools/

Report by Jody Lahendro, FAIA

The recent announcement of a $75,000 grant to the state Department of Historic Resources (DHR) represents a major first step in gaining recognition for all of Virginia’s historic African American schools.  This grant will fund the preparation of a Multiple Property Document (MPD), a cover form that will define the physical and cultural characteristics of Progressive Era schools constructed for rural African Americans.  Once accepted by the National Park Service, this MPD will greatly facilitate the listing of historic Black schools on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.  Obtaining eligibility for these listings is often a requirement for obtaining grants for preservation of these schools. 

 

A similar MPD was approved in 2004 for Rosenwald schools in Virginia, African American schools of this same period but constructed with the financial assistance and administrative oversight of the Rosenwald Fund.  This new MPD will, for the first time, recognize the significance of historic Black schoolhouses built because of other, no less important, Progressive Era initiatives. 

 

An example of the cultural richness that can accompany non-Rosenwald schools is Cuckoo Colored School in Louisa County, which will be nominated for listing with the MPD cover document.  This unimpressive, 990 GSF abandoned schoolhouse was constructed about 1925.  In helping school alumni and community to document and preserve this school, I learned that a Black school was founded in this location before 1880 by the inheritor of Cuckoo Plantation for children of his family’s formerly enslaved people.  This small, unremarkable building is a surviving artifact of several intersecting cultural patterns of Virginia history, and will hopefully, because of this grant, join our record of listed historic landmarks while facilitating its preservation.

Congratulations to our newest AIA Fellows!

We are honored to have 3 (wow!) new members of AIA Central Virginia elevate to the AIA College of Fellows! Michelle Amt, Ed Ford, and Bruce Wardell are recognized for their exception contributions to the profession and society and for exemplifying architectural excellence in their respective fields. Only 3% of the AIA members have this distinction. Congratulations!

Michelle Amt, FAIA

VMDO Architects, P.C.

Object Two: To advance the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of practice.

Ed Ford, FAIA

University of Virginia School of Architecture

Object Six: To advance the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of architectural education and training.

Bruce Wardell, FAIA

BRW Architects, P.C.

Object Five: To make the profession of ever-increasing service to society.

Calling all Citizen Architects! Albemarle County's Historic Preservation Committee Needs You!

Hello, Citizen Architect! The Historic Preservation Committee for Albemarle County is looking for people willing to serve in identifying and documenting cultural resources of importance to the community and providing assistance and advice concerning the County’s historic preservation program. The Historic Preservation Committee is a public body appointed by the Board of Supervisors and is charged with protecting the County's historic and cultural resources.

According to Planning Commissioner and Historic Preservation Committee Liaison, Karen Firehock, now is a very exciting time to join as the committee develops strategies for preservation and restoration to tell the story of our past and chart our future. An update to the Comprehensive Plan is currently underway and the committee wants to ensure we have a rich diversity of perspectives while setting our county's goals and strengthening the committee’s commitment to telling the diverse and sometimes yet untold story of Albemarle.

The Historic Preservation Committee meets the 4th Monday of every month from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Members needs to commit to attending the majority of monthly meetings and do some reading and thinking in between to generate new strategies in conservation and to re-interpret our shared stories.  Currently, there are 6 members in the committee and 6 open seats. Ideal candidates are people with background or interest in historic preservation, real estate, construction, restoration of historic structures or landscapes, architecture. architectural history, preservation planning or other related fields (That’s you!). For more information, check out the Historic Preservation Committee’s website. Interested in applying? Use this link to send your application to the Board of Supervisors:

https://albemarle.granicus.com/boards/forms/536/apply/3853479?code=4aaf28d7-523b-40bd-a7a7-2517294b9183#Profile

If you has questions, contact us or the Committee Chair Ross Stevens. 

Va. Governor Need Architects' Insights

Virginia’s Secretary of the Commonwealth, Kelly Gee, encourages us to consider applying to be a Gubernatorial appointment to one of 320 boards that serve specific roles for the state. Three boards have openings reserved specifically for architects to start July 1, 2024!

The Art and Architectural Review Board is looking for a general public member to help fill out it’s 6 member roster, but there are obvious benefits to that member also being an architect. “The Art and Architectural Review Board is established as an advisory board to review the acquisition and the design of buildings and structures by the Commonwealth and advise the Governor of the artistic and architectural property thereof.”

https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/va-government/boards-and-commissions/comprehensive-board-listing/detail/?id=f3102c64-b375-ed11-81ab-001dd80724a2

The Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers & Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA) is asking for architects and a number of related disciplines to serve starting in July. The APELSCIDLA Board manages licensing, licensing requirements, and disciplinary actions for the eponymous professions. The board consists of of fifteen members as follows: three architects, three professional engineers, three land surveyors, two landscape architects, two certified interior designers, and two non legislative citizen members all of which meet monthly.

https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/va-government/boards-and-commissions/comprehensive-board-listing/detail/?id=e6102c64-b375-ed11-81ab-001dd80724a2

The State Building Code Technical Review Board needs an architect to fill an open board position. “The purpose of the State Building Code Technical Review Board is to hear appeals from decisions arising under applications of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, the Virginia Amusement Device Regulations, the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, and the Virginia Industrialized Building Safety Regulations, and to render decisions on any such appeals; and to interpret the provisions of the Virginia Statewide Building Code and the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code and to make recommendations to the Board of Housing and Community Development for modification, amendment, or repeal of any such provisions.”

https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/va-government/boards-and-commissions/comprehensive-board-listing/detail/?id=ab0cf099-b375-ed11-81ab-001dd80724a2

Board positions are for 4 years with staggered starting dates. Every appointment will need two documents: a resume, or nearly any document that identifies your experience; and a financial disclosure form to identify potential conflicts of interest. The number of meetings vary between boards, but most boards follow the requirement of 50% of all meeting being virtual.

In addition to the three boards mentioned above for architects, a few additional boards may be of interest to you.

To submit your application follow the buttons at the link below.

https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/va-government/boards-and-commissions/

Valley Firm Crawl

AIA Central Virginia hosted a firm crawl in Harrisonburg on January 24th for JMU Architectural students. The tour started at the JMU Architectural school, where Jori Erdman, AIA gave a short presentation about the program at James Madison. Hannah Ahmad, NOMAS and Meghan McNeil, AIAS joined us to talk about specific projects that students are working on followed by a tour of the studio space and woodshop. 

The tour continued at the  Gaines Group Architects office a block away from the school. Charles Hendricks, AIA, CSI, CDT, CGP, CAPS, LEED AP BD & C and Deborah Smith, MBA, AIA, CSI, CDT discussed small firm life with those in attendance. The tour concluded at  LDDBlueline where Welby Layman, AIA spoke about working for a large firm with offices in multiple states. Boyang Li and Lydia Schwab, ASID, NCIDQ spoke about working at LDDBlueline and their experiences transitioning into their career after recently graduating. 

After the firm crawl several of the group joined other local designers and AIA Board members, Sid Griffin, AIA NOMA, Deborah Smith, Charles Hendricks, and Jonathan Moore, AIA for a happy hour at Pale Fire Brewing. There was discussion of design in Harrisonburg, running a firm, BIM, and recent design successes. Future meetings will be planned in Harrisonburg to continue to build community among valley designers.

Launch: Mid-Career Professionals!

AIA CV launches a new program!

This month, mid-career professionals from our Chapter met in a daylit gallery at Jbird Supply Coffee Roaster in Studio IX to kick-off our newest program, the ‘Mid-Career Professionals’ group. This ‘pilot program’ builds on the work of the AIA Virginia Mid-Career Taskforce and Mid-Career Roundtables, to give members a venue to discuss the joys and challenges of balancing work and life in one of its most demanding seasons. Our goal is to build a thriving community for Mid-Career members and try out different meeting formats to help inform program development at AIA Virginia.

The group’s far-reaching and engaging conversation about our paths in the profession, successes and challenges, and what a group like this can provide yielded a number of themes and take-aways we’ll explore in our next few meetings:

  • Comparison is the thief of joy - especially if you’re always ‘looking up’.

  • Who can you look to for advice, or a model - especially when you’re unfulfilled, overwhelmed, or stuck?

  • There are many paths to a good destination - but we have fewer choices ahead than behind.

  • How do you get ‘back in the game’ if you’ve been in ‘the safe lane’?

  • Community is what you make it!

After we met, almost half the attendees emailed me with ideas for future meetings and excitement about the possibilities of the group. It’s also encouraging that this group wants to keep ‘finding and celebrating joy’ at the center of our work together. I couldn’t agree more!
Thanks to all who attended, especially Allied Member Jeremy Boynton with Lighting Virginia, who donated the space!

-SHAWN MULLIGAN, AIA

AIA Central Virginia Mid-Career Professionals meet bi-monthly to learn from each other and local experts about the best ways to grow and thrive - in life and work. If you, or someone you know, wants to get involved, contact Shawn at: shawn@designclarity.co.