Breakout Series 4

Friday, November 14, 1:15 – 2:15pm

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Practice Simulation Lab

Colorado’s 2025 Single-Stair Bill Spurs Code Reform Movement

The Generous Middle: Amplifying Equity in Unexpected Places

Simulate the fun, complexity, and responsibility of being a firm owner in this collaborative workshop. Participants will work in diverse teams to explore the many challenges—and opportunities—involved in running a successful architecture practice.

The Practice Simulation Lab (PSL) is a collaborative, hands-on workshop that challenges participants to imagine, design, and test speculative models of future architectural practice. Rooted in the Young Architects Forum’s Practice Innovation Lab and reimagined by AIA Ohio, the PSL brings together emerging professionals, Fellows, educators, and firm leaders in a dynamic learning environment that simulates the real-world pressures, decisions, and opportunities faced by practice owners.

Originally launched in 2023 with support from the AIA College of Fellows, the PSL has grown to reach audiences beyond Ohio at AIA Aspire, AIA24, and North Carolina. Past sessions have led to the creation of speculative firms tackling developer-architect partnerships, owner advocacy, and equity-centered cooperative studios. The program fosters cross-generational mentorship, deepens participants’ understanding of practice operations, and gives voice to early professionals envisioning change in the profession. Multiple attendees have cited the experience as the first time they felt truly empowered to shape the structure and values of their workplace.

Participants work in interdisciplinary teams to build their “firm of the future,” crafting everything from a mission statement to a business model, firm structure, and first project. As the simulation unfolds, teams encounter dynamic challenges—from climate disasters to leadership transitions—that push them to test their ideas under real-world pressure. By merging mentorship, design thinking, business planning, and scenario-based learning, the PSL provides early professionals a rare opportunity to explore the complexities of firm leadership in a supportive, low-risk setting. Meanwhile, seasoned practitioners are invited to share wisdom, shift perspectives, and reflect on evolving definitions of success in the profession. The process is playful and open-ended, but grounded in urgent questions about equity, sustainability, labor, and longevity.

To adapt this model for the Colorado context, teams may consider climate scenarios specific to the Mountain West, including wildfires, water scarcity, and rapid urban expansion. Simulated projects may respond to the housing needs of resort towns, rural design-build models, or disaster recovery frameworks—all with the aim of testing how resilient and responsive a firm must be to thrive in a changing region.

The simulation is playful in tone but serious in its aim: to foster critical conversations about the conditions of contemporary practice and empower the next generation of firm leaders.

Alexandra Oetzel, AIA, is a licensed architect at Moody Nolan with a broad portfolio spanning community recreation centers, public libraries, and student-focused academic facilities. Her professional practice is rooted in equity, environmental responsibility, and the belief that architecture must serve the communities it inhabits. Alexandra has held teaching positions at Rice University and currently teaches at The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School, where she contributes to shaping the next generation of architects through critical and practice-based pedagogy.

An energetic leader and advocate within the architecture community, Alexandra currently chairs the AIA?Ohio Design Conference, guiding statewide programming that advances dialogue around design excellence. She has fostered national conversations on architectural labor and education through her involvement with The Architecture Lobby’s ABC School and plays a vital role in supporting emerging professionals as a leader within AIA?Columbus. Alexandra also serves as the 2024–2026 Ohio Representative to the AIA Young Architects Forum, where she champions mentorship, advocacy, and professional development initiatives both statewide and nationally.

Seth Duke, AIA, is an associate and architect at Bialosky in Cleveland, Ohio. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a Master of Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Seth’s portfolio spans various project types, but he has worked primarily on adaptive reuse and urban infill projects, transforming vacant lots and abandoned historic buildings into new uses for local communities.

Seth has been a member of the AIA National Young Architects Forum since 2020, serving first as a representative to the forum and now as its 2024-2025 Community Director where he leads the YAF Community focus group. This group leads efforts focused on mentorship, collegiality, and camaraderie for young architects by fostering open dialogues with young architect leaders across the country and providing resources to assist them on their career development now that they are licensed.

This session highlights how architects are driving building code reform—focusing on Colorado’s new single-stair law—to unlock affordable, sustainable, and inclusive housing. Learn policy details, design benefits, and advocacy strategies change.

The architectural community is increasingly engaging in advocacy to reform restrictive building codes, concerning housing equity and affordability, with recent momentum around single-stair legislation gaining increasing interest from policymakers and the media from coast to coast. In many cities, well-intentioned building regulations constrain the ability to delivering missing middle housing in communities urgently facing a housing crisis. This session explores how architects, urbanists, and policymakers are reshaping that landscape—beginning with the single-stair apartment building.

Recently signed into law in Colorado, HB25-1273 allows multifamily buildings of up to five stories to use a single-stair design and was supported by YIMBY Denver, AIA Colorado, and numerous other groups while breaking with the International Building Code (IBC), which typically requires two means of egress for buildings over three stories. Colorado is not alone: over 50% of the U.S. population now lives in jurisdictions that have adopted or are considering similar policies. Inspired by safe, efficient building traditions common across Europe and Asia, single-stair housing is gaining traction as a policy and design tool that meets the moment—especially for creating “missing middle” housing types.

In this session, experts will dissect the origins, benefits, and barriers of single-stair reform, positioning it as a case study in broader code modernization and architectural advocacy. Presenters will examine how architects are stepping into the role of policy advocates to push forward a more flexible, equitable, and climate-resilient built environment.

Sean Jursnick, AIA, serves as the co-chair of the AIA Colorado Housing Committee and has authored policy briefs on efforts to reform building code to improve housing options. Sean has presented at national conferences including AIA National and YIMBYtown and in the fall of 2025.

Jesse Adkins, AIA, passion, professionalism, and creative drive set the standard at SAR+. He is gifted in both design and the business of architecture, helping to lead SAR+ to become a national design firm. He is goal oriented and has a clear ability to direct a strong, process-oriented team; integrating all stakeholders, design collaborators, and builders seamlessly to achieve the most strategic project success.

Keaton Hodges is a designer at SAR+ Architects, where he contributes to a range of impactful projects spanning multifamily housing, urban planning efforts across Denver, and high-elevation developments in iconic mountain towns such as Vail, Winter Park, and Jackson Hole. With a keen interest in housing innovation, Keaton is an advocate for single-stair design—championing more sustainable, connected, and inclusive living environments that better serve diverse communities.

Exploring the power of architecture in underserved and unexpected communities, this session highlights equity, generosity, and design that amplifies. When one building serves many roles, thoughtful design fosters dignity, access, and civic pride.

Equity in architecture is often framed through the lens of cities—urban density, housing policy, and underrepresented populations in large metro areas. But what about the communities in between—the underserved and unexpected places where resources are limited but stories run deep? In these towns, counties, and regional cities, one public building might serve as town hall, library, community center, and cultural beacon. What does equity look like when architecture must do the work of many?
This session explores how design can act as a powerful gesture of generosity in communities frequently overlooked by traditional design discourse. In these contexts, architecture isn’t about spectacle—it’s about presence. It’s about showing up with care, listening with humility, and designing spaces that reflect and respect local values. We’ll share case studies from libraries, museums, and civic buildings across the Midwest that demonstrate how architecture can amplify identity, improve access, and affirm that all communities—regardless of size, budget, or visibility—deserve design that is beautiful, functional, and deeply responsive.

We propose that The Generous Middle is more than a geographic idea—it’s a mindset. It challenges us to consider how the power of architecture manifests not just in what we build, but in how we build—with empathy, intentionality, and respect. In this approach, the architect becomes less of an auteur and more of a steward—one who listens first, leads collaboratively, and redefines success through civic pride, cultural continuity, and community health.

Too often, the middle of America—geographically and culturally—is dismissed as a place of scarcity: of resources, of opportunity, of design value. But in these spaces, architecture can offer something quietly radical: presence. When we give our best thinking to places least expected to receive it, we don’t just change buildings—we change narratives. We create places that invite, include, and endure.

In a time of complexity and change, this session calls on designers to broaden their definitions of leadership, innovation, and equity. The middle is not a void—it is fertile ground. And practicing here may be one of the most powerful expressions of care and civic impact our field has to offer.

Mark Bacon, AIA, possesses a rare ability to discern latent excellence in both projects and people, a quality that defines his leadership within the studio and the broader architectural community. As Design Principal, he collaborates closely with design teams and clients, engaging in a rigorous exploration of ideas that seek clarity through resolution—an approach deeply informed by the specificity of place, the nuances of human experience, and the integration of performance-driven solutions. His process cultivates a spirit of pragmatic optimism, transforming the quotidian into moments of amplified significance.

Throughout his career, Mark has engaged with projects of varying scale, context, and complexity, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the craft of architecture and the continual elevation of BVH’s design practice. His recent contributions—including the Museum of Nebraska Art, the Columbus Library, City Hall and Children’s Museum, and the Nature Conservancy Visitor Center—exemplify this dedication. In recognition of his impact on architectural discourse, his community, and the built environment, he was honored with the 2021 AIA Young Architect Award, a testament to his enduring influence.

Before joining BVH, Mark earned a post-professional Master of Architecture from Kansas State University. His early professional years at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in Pennsylvania refined his architectural sensibilities, yet it was upon arriving at BVH that he recognized the profound opportunity to live, practice, and teach in the Midwest—a region rich with untapped potential.

Beyond practice, Mark is a dedicated educator, shaping the next generation of architects through his teaching. His award-winning design studios have been offered at Kansas State University, Marywood University in Scranton, PA, and currently, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he continues to inspire and challenge students in the pursuit of architectural excellence.