Category: News
Remote Work Webinar: Takeaways of Benefits and Challenges
Seismic change necessitates innovation. This pandemic has been a forcing function for architects and the American workforce overall. Fortunately, most in the design profession have been able to continue work in some capacity. The questions now are, “How have we as architects and our firms changed and adapted?” And, “Is the new paradigm here to stay?”
Several architects shared their personal and firm experiences during the recent webinar hosted by AIA Colorado, “Remote Work: Here to Stay?” Hosted by the Business of Architecture Knowledge Community, Chair Amanda Christianson, AIA, moderated a panel of four architects: 1) Mary Morissette, FAIA, 2) Mike Piche, AIA, 3) Brenna Costello, AIA and 4) Liz Hallas, AIA.
If you missed the webinar, you can view it on YouTube or read on for highlights from the event.
First, the challenges of remote work.
Mentorship, onboarding new employees, and work/home balance were mentioned by the panel members as the most difficult aspects during this pandemic. Here is this event’s participant poll question breakdown for what is missed most from not working in the office: 44 percent collaboration and learning, 38 percent social interactions, 13 percent mentorship, and 2 percent regularly scheduled days.
Mentorship is at its best when in-person and conducted in an interactive, team environment with drawings or walking the job site. While video calls can connect statewide, it simply falls short to provide a meaningful conduit for mentorship. Mary Morissette, FAIA said, “The lack of mentoring, learning management principles, or technology applications is missing in our profession now. We need to gain back what was lost during COVID.”
When it comes to onboarding, a handshake and guided tour are not necessarily options for new employees. Liz Hallas, AIA, said, “We hired four new people in the last year, and it is has been challenging for them to get to know the team remotely.” Even during video calls, introverts and extroverts may communicate differently, which could make it difficult for people to connect. Yes, technology connects. However, technology may disconnect, as well.
Finally, empathy is the keyword of the work/home balancing act. Working parents have become homeschool parents or perhaps provided around-the-clock toddler care. And even still, medical safety for ourselves and others becomes a critical factor in decisions. Should one go? Should one stay? Of the webinar attendees, 64 percent enjoyed the work/life flexibility. Brenna Costello, AIA, said, “We have a ‘no judgment’ policy on working from either home or the office. No questions asked.” But even so, kids, dogs, and doorbell deliveries are now noticeable in our work meetings. Embrace empathy for others.
Now, here are the benefits.
The conference room and meeting space have suddenly expanded—by a lot. Technology can actually connect those individuals who typically don’t have a seat at the traditional table. Mike Piché, AIA said, “I have talked with some clients I never met before, because they are not the lead person in a project.”
While virtual meetings can be draining, the upside for statewide, regional, or national offices is substantial. The carbon footprint and non-travel benefits reinforce our industry’s pursuit of enriching our environment, and 11 percent of polled respondents liked the lack of a commute. Surely, lessons can be carried forward with this approach.
Regardless of the pros and cons, architects are in the middle of a new reality from a working and designing viewpoint. Three-quarters of participants polled believed a hybrid work model would be continued in six months, with 16 citing in-studio, and 8 percent remote. AIA Colorado CEO Mike Waldinger, Hon. AIA, reminded participants that either way, we should maintain a healthy life balance.
2021 Travel Scholarship Recipients
Each year, the Architectural Education Foundation offers a variety of travel scholarships, intended to broaden architectural horizons. These awards allow AIA Colorado members to grow as professionals to better serve our communities and clients.
The 2021 award recipients have been named. We congratulate them on their awards, allowing them to grow their crafts and careers.
Florence G. and Arthur A. Fisher, FAIA, Traveling Scholarship – $5,000
This travel scholarship has been awarded to Sean Jursnick, AIA, for the project: Studying Smart Cities in Japan and South Korea to contribute to carbon reduction efforts of the AIA and designers in Colorado.
Virginia E. and Robert K. Fuller, AIA, Traveling Scholarship – $7,500
This travel scholarship has been awarded to Ignacio Correa-Ortiz, AIA, for the project: Lessons from Troglodyte Architecture.
James M. Hunter, FAIA, Traveling Scholarship – $2,500
This travel scholarship has been awarded to Sheva Willoughby, AIA, for the project: observation of educational environments in Scandinavia.
Vivian and Hobart D. Wagener, FAIA, Traveling Scholarship – $6,000
This travel scholarship has been jointly awarded to Adam Wagoner, AIA, and Rebekah Wagoner, AIA, for the project: studying eight Norwegian projects by the architectural firm Snøhetta through the lens of five architectural aspects.
Keep an eye on the AIA Colorado website for future travel scholarship opportunities, and special thanks to the Architectural Education Foundation for their financial support.
Access Matters: What You Need to Know About ICC Accessibility Updates
Together We Stand: A Letter from the AIA Colorado President
Members of the Architecture Community:
Yet again, we feel the urgent need to come together. In the face of violence and such great loss in our own community—on the heels of the frightening shooting in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday, March 22—we reiterate that AIA Colorado is here for you as a safe space.
This horrific act comes just days after the violent actions against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Atlanta. And although we are far from Georgia, it hit rather close to home. In just the last year, we’ve witnessed louder racist voices drowning out those of humanity, diversity, and hope; we’ve seen innocent Black and Brown Americans beaten, bloodied, and murdered by those too ignorant or afraid of the idealistic melting pot America had promised to be for us all; we’ve watched as abuse and attack of human differences was normalized at the highest level of leadership in our country.
On behalf of AIA Colorado, I want to stoke the embers of justice and equity in light of recent extremist, biased, and discriminatory rhetoric we’ve been witness or even victim to this last year. We stand passionately alongside our national AIA partners, our allied professionals, and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) in their recent statements. We denounce all acts of hate against the AAPI community.
Our hearts sit heavy—for our neighbors in Boulder, for our AAPI community, those whose lives were taken, who mourn loved ones, whose stories did not gain national media attention but who still deserve to be protected and supported and welcomed, and for those who have felt the last year drastically and extremely. And still we fight, at AIA Colorado, for a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive world here at home and wherever our work and generally humanity might reach.
While letters such as these are becoming more and more urgent and necessary, they can often feel lonely and hollow. Please know your AIA Colorado community is here for you. Know that we continue to prioritize our contribution to the brightness and positivity in our small part of the world. We stand in solidarity with our minority communities. We pledge to always be a safe place for those who need one, and we condemn any hint of hate, discrimination, and abuse. We urge our members, firms, and community allies to stand up and be vocal and committed in combatting racism.
Our board of directors, committees, staff, and members must be there for one another, and we must also hold ourselves, each other, and our communities accountable. In the words of our National NOMA President Jason Pugh, we must stay B.R.A.V.E.:
- Banish racism.
- Reach out to those who are grieving.
- Advocate for the disinherited.
- Vote in every American election.
- Engage each human as you’d have them engage you.
Do this for your fellow AIA Colorado members, your fellow community members, and your fellow humans.
Rachael Johnson, AIA
AIA Colorado President
Remote Work—Here to Stay?
And the Winners Are…
AIA Colorado’s Bill to Streamline Continuing Education Moves to House Vote
Newly proposed legislation aims to ease continuing education reporting requirements for Colorado architects.
Architects who have completed their Colorado continuing education requirements will be familiar with the state’s rules regarding documentation. Specific language in the Architects Section of the Practice Act directs the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to adopt rules establishing regulations for continuing education and requiring an architect to demonstrate retention of the material presented in a continuing education course. That particular point about demonstrating retention of the material has proven especially onerous for architects throughout the state. While it might sound quite reasonable at first blush, the requirement actually ends up serving no meaningful purpose for the public or the profession.
Architects either pass a test provided by the continuing education course presenter and retain a copy for their records, or they use a DORA Structured Report form to write up a few paragraphs about the course that they then retain for their records. Nothing is done with this paperwork unless an architect is audited, and it serves no other meaningful purpose. In other words, it’s unnecessary bureaucracy. Moreover, it has made regulatory compliance uniquely burdensome for architects. The requirement to demonstrate course material retention is not typical among other licensed professions in Colorado, nor is it common for architects in other states either.
In 2008, AIA Colorado worked with state legislators to introduce SB08-029: Continuing Education Architects, which established continuing education requirements for architects as licensed professionals charged with protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public. This was part of an AIA push to promote nationwide continuing education standards, which now exist in 47 of the 54 jurisdictions that license architects. In the final version of SB08-029, however, DORA successfully lobbied to include language requiring architects to maintain “professional competency” and prove they retained the knowledge presented in continuing education courses. As there is no legal standard regarding “professional competency,” that language was removed two years later in HB10-1148 Architect License Renew Professional Competency.
In 2020, as the DORA Architects/Engineers/Land Surveyors (AES) Board updated its rules, AIA Colorado formally recommended that the material retention requirement be simplified. The AES Board determined the current arrangement was indeed the best solution they could develop to comply with the law as written. As a result, AIA Colorado has been working with lawmakers to introduce legislation removing the material retention requirement altogether, allowing the DORA AES Board to simplify their continuing education rules. Removing this language promotes consistency across professions and reduces unnecessary regulatory requirements.
On March 3, 2021, HB21-1147: Simplify Architects Continuing Education Requirement was introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives and referred to the Business Affairs and Labor Committee for consideration. The bill has received bipartisan support from legislators interested in reducing unnecessary bureaucracy. Primary sponsors of the bill include Rep. Donald Valdez, Rep. Kevin Van Winkle, Sen. Chris Hansen, and Sen. Cleave Simpson, as well as 16 additional co-sponsors.
On March 17, 2021, our bill passed 13-0 in the house business committee and will move on to a full house vote. Thanks to the following members for testifying in support of this bill: Erin Braunstein, AIA; T J Carvis, AIA; Amy Graves, AIA; Chris Green, AIA; President Rachael Johnson, AIA; and Nikolaus Remus, AIA, Advocacy Engagement Director.
For questions about this initiative, contact Remus at nikolaus@aiacolorado.org.
The Fellowship Journey—by the Numbers
The AIA College of Fellows recognizes excellence in architecture and contributions to our society. Only two percent of AIA’s 95,000 members hold this distinction. But you may be asking yourself these questions… do I qualify for this journey? What is the process? Why should I pursue this journey? What can I do now to improve my Fellowship chances?
AIA Colorado tackled all those questions and more during the recent webinar, “Demystifying Fellowship,” with Phil Gerou, FAIA.
While this process may be lengthy, it is, indeed, achievable with the help of a great mentor and sponsor. The AIA Fellowship journey is worth every amount of effort for you and others, and as AIA Colorado CEO Mike Waldinger said, “AIA Colorado is your friend in this challenging, yet rewarding fellowship process. We want you to have the best chance possible to join the AIA College of Fellows.” Following are Fellowship facts and figures to help you in this journey.
10 years.
To qualify for a fellowship, an AIA member needs to be in good standing for at least 10 cumulative years prior to the nomination deadline. A nomination cannot be submitted by an individual AIA member without meeting one of these two requirements: 1) Support and signature from the AIA Colorado president or secretary, or 2) The signatures of any 10 architects or five Fellows in good standing. The is a non-refundable entry fee of $450 payable to AIA.
One year.
Expect to dedicate around a year to this process, which does not include any beforehand mentorship, planning, and strategizing. AIA Colorado begins its exploratory search and committee process at the beginning of each year. Submissions are due to AIA typically by October 1. Results are announced at the beginning of the following year.
One sponsor and letter.
It is critical to choose a good sponsor to help advocate on the behalf of your architectural career and influence to our industry and society. Your sponsor needs to be an AIA or FAIA member in good standing. Things to consider include: Will your sponsor clearly and concisely discuss your impact on architecture? Have others adopted your best practices? Do you have any national or regional published works, awards, lectures or AIA volunteering? Note: you can and it is recommended to assist your sponsor in writing the letter.
One of five objects (categories).
Working with your sponsor/mentor, you want to decide which object category is best for you. Here are your options: 1) Design, 2) Education, Literature, Research or Practice, 3) Led the Institute or Led a Related Organization 4) Public Service, Government, Industry Organizations, and 5) Alternative Career, Volunteer Work not Directly Connected with the Build Environment and Service to Society. Key to these categories are exceptional photographs and broad, ripple-effect works that span outside your region and have made a greater, lasting impact on architecture and our society.
Seven reference letters.
While there are no litmus tests during this process, these seven confidential reference letters are essential. Five of the references need to be AIA members. These letters are mailed directly from the reference to AIA. Note: only the sponsor can contact references for these letters.
Seven Jurors.
AIA selects seven jurors nationwide. The juror representing our region conducts a detailed reading of each submission in our region and provides a recommendation to the other jurors. Only six out of the seven jurors vote whether to elevate or not, wait a year, or determine that the applicant is not qualified. This discussion between all jurors is about 10 minutes per submission.
Three Consecutive Years.
An applicant can pursue this fellowship in three consecutive years but would need to wait a year if not elevated and resubmit the fifth year with additional reference letters. Again, AIA Colorado is here to help you with your fellowship application.
“The AIA College of Fellows recognizes exemplary architecture and contributions to our society,” said Gerou. “This is not an end-of-career award but recognizes the architectural ripple effects of our AIA Colorado members.” If you have questions about Fellowship, you can reach Gerou by email at phil@gerou.net.