Colorado Architecture News | 07.09.25

In this Newsletter:

• Practice + Design Conference Call for Presentations is now open 
• AAH/ACHA Summer Leadership Summit 
• Catch up with Committee on the Environment’s four-part event series
• Meridian 105 Architecture featured in Hotels ByDesign episode
• July 17 Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN) in Boulder
• July 23 Virtual Connect: City of Denver’s New Permitting Process
• July 24 Emerging Professionals and Young Architects (EP/YA) happy hour
• July 30 Fox Park tour
• Member news
• National news
• Premier Partner spotlight: K3 Technology

Call for Presentations

Submissions for the 2025 AIA Colorado Design and Honor Awards close Friday, June 20, at 5pm. The Practice + Design Conference brings together Colorado’s architecture community for inspiring insights from global design leaders, advanced practice management strategies, and practical innovations from industry partners. 

We’re seeking members of our community who are ready to contribute their expertise and lead a session this fall in Keystone. If you have a session in mind, visit the link below and start your submission today. Or, if you know someone who would be a great fit, encourage them to apply. The submission window closes Thursday, July 31st.

Learn more about this year’s conference theme, THE POWER OF, and submission instructions for this year’s Call for Presentations here. 

Catch up with Committee on the Environment’s four-part event series, including the most recent session “Beyond the Surface: Vetting Materials for Health, Carbon, & Impact” on sustainable design and construction, criteria and resources, industry trends, occupant health, and Material Pledge guidelines. The sessions are all available to watch on the committee’s webpage here.

AAH/ACHA Summer Leadership Summit 

With the growing impacts of climate change on our communities, how can health care organizations prepare for stability during environmental disasters? How do facilities build resilient infrastructure, maintain supply chains, and provide everyday health care needs while also addressing emergency demands during unforeseen events? What are the ?scal challenges and realities for health care facilities as part of the emergency response network in communities both large and small?

The Summer Leadership Summit (SLS) is co-organized by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) and the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA). Taking place in Denver, July 18-20, join AIA architects and earn up to 13.5 LU|HSW. Learn more and register here.

The Berkeley Hotel, designed Meridian 105 Architecture, was recently featured on an episode of Hotels ByDesign. Watch the segment here.

Yesterday, Members in the North enjoyed a sketching session through Old Town, Fort Collins, followed by a happy hour.

July 17 • Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN) in Boulder

Thursday, July 17, at 5pm, join the Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN) in Boulder, meet other Colorado CRAN members, and impact how this committee will engage with Colorado in the coming years. Meet at 5pm on the patio at Rodwin Architecture’s offices (929 Pearl St #250). At 6pm, we’ll head to Rosetta Hall (1109 Walnut St) for networking, conversation, and happy hour libations. More information and RSVP here.

July 23 • Virtual Connect: City of Denver’s New Permitting Process

This past April, the City of Denver announced the creation of a new Denver Permitting Office, aimed at overhauling the City’s permitting and development approval processes to make building easier, fast, and more predictable. Wednesday, July 23, at Noon, virtually join Jill Jennings Golich, Director of the Denver Permitting Office, and Robert Peek, Director of Development Systems Performance for the City and County of Denver, as they share about the arrangement and the processes the City of Denver is employing to build an easier, faster, and more predictable permitting and development approval process. They will be joined by AIA Colorado CEO Mike Waldinger, Hon. AIA, who be facilitating member questions during a Q+A portion of the virtual session. More information and RSVP here.

July 24 • Emerging Professionals and Young Architects (EP/YA) Happy Hour

Thursday, July 24, at 4pm, join AIA Colorado’s new Emerging Professionals and Young Architects (EP/YA) Leadership Council members for a happy hour at Schoolyard Beer Garden, in Denver. Meet other EP/YA’s, network, and share your ideas on programming or resources that you would be interested in, or simply chat.

AIA Colorado is proud to support the next generation of architects through Emerging Professional (EP) and Young Architect (YA) programming, leadership development, and national representation. This Council has been created to better connect and coordinate these efforts, to serve as a central hub for EP/YA leaders across the state and national levels to collaborate, share resources, and shape strategic programming for Colorado’s architecture community. More information and RSVP here.

July 30 • Fox Park Tour

Wednesday, July 30th, join AIA members for a tour of Fox Park, a 41-acre masterplan set to transform Denver’s Globeville neighborhood. Denver’s $600M infrastructure investment has expanded the downtown core, with Fox Park being next master planned community to be re-imagined and developed by VITA. The 41-acre redevelopment area blends cityscape and nature, featuring cultural, retail, hotel, office, and residential spaces connected by 14 acres of urban park. Parking and service areas are discreetly placed below grade in a terraced design. At the center is Fox Square, a modern cultural hub with workspaces, a boutique hotel, event venues, retail, and urban agriculture. This tour has been approved for 1 LU|HSW. More information and RSVP here.

Jocelyn Parlapiano, Assoc. AIA, of Rodwin Architecture was recently interviewed by Voyage Denver and shared about her career in architecture, work with the Colorado Green Building Guild and ACE Mentorship Program. Read the interview here.

Dana Ellis, AIA, shares why she enjoys collaborating with her SFx colleagues on the SFx instagram account. Watch it here.

Rowland + Broughton’s Sarah Broughton, FAIA, has designed the first “conceptual design room” as part of the curated ArtCrush Auction Exhibition at the Aspen Art Museum. Titled In the Garden, the Design Room is an experiential tableau vivant, meticulously composed with sculptural furnishings, lighting, and artworks selected in collaboration with the Aspen Art Museum curatorial team. The Design Room offers a quiet invitation into the personal rituals of collecting, hosting, and living with art. 

“This project offered a rare opportunity to fuse narrative, architecture, and art into a single immersive environment,” Sarah Broughton, FAIA, shared recently in a Rowland+Broughton newsletter. “In the garden, we gather to break bread, pause in the solitude, enjoy life’s beauty, and are thankful.”

Unfolding as an intimate portrait in space, the Design Room will be on view at the museum from July 15 through August 2, 2025, in the lead-up to the ArtCrush Gala on August 1.

Elizabeth Hallas, FAIA, Anderson Hallas Architects was recently elevated to the College of Fellows along with Thom Walsh, FAIA, Fentress Architects, and 91 others. Colorado has been fortunate since 1886 to witness 110 of our members elevated to Fellowship.

The AIA Colorado Job Board is updated daily. Job hunting? Take a peek to discover new opportunities. Hiring? Post your single job for 30 days. Connect with qualified candidates. Here are a few featured job openings:

• Architect or Architectural Staff Level I / Project Manager at TDSi – The Design Studio, inc.
• 100102 Associate / Architecture at RATIO Architects, LLC
• Architect | Project Manager at Bilo Buck Architects

Young Architects Forum June Newsletter

A newsletter from the AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF). Look out for important news, AIA updates, and ways to engage, no biggie. Find the newsletter here. 

Connection Q3 + AIA Architect: Steering the Future of the Profession is looking for submissions of articles, editorials, project profiles, interviews/spotlights and the call for submissions is open until August 1st. Submission info also found in YAF June newsletterhere.

2026 AIA Awards

Several award application windows are open with August 7 deadlines, including awards for Architecture Firm, Gold Medal, and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, among others. Opening July 18th are awards for Young Architect and Honorary AIA Membership. Learn more about AIA Awards submission dates and access application links here.

Next to Lead

Next to Lead is a leadership development training program for racially and ethnically diverse women in architecture who aspire to be AIA leaders. The cohort will engage in a ten-month program aimed at enhancing their association leadership acumen, tackling challenges faced by women in the workplace and the architecture profession, and refining their leadership skills. Participants benefit from monthly virtual learning opportunities and in-person workshops, led by expert speakers and AIA staff. Learn more and apply at AIA.

AIA President Evelyn Lee Leads National Conversation on America’s Housing Crisis

AIA President, Evelyn Lee, FAIA, joined Florida Congresswoman Kathy Castor and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria to discuss the urgent need for cities to adopt forward-looking housing policies and build more safe, affordable housing. Read at AIA here.

We’re proud to highlight one of AIA Colorado’s Premier Partners, K3 Technology, and look forward to their ongoing support and involvement serving Colorado’s architecture community. 

K3 Technology, a Denver based Information Technology Solutions Provider (ITSP/MSP) that was recently named a Colorado Company to Watch and recognized as one of Americas Fastest Growing Companies on the Inc. 5000 list. While many technology providers have a “come one, come all’ approach, they have a dedicated focus on the AECO and Creative industries. Why? Because they don’t think technology should be a bolt-on item to your business, it should be integrated into making you a better, more efficient, more profitable company. 

Visit K3 Technology’s website

Looking for Additional Resources?

Allied Members are better known as trusted industry colleagues and members of AIA Colorado—they’re the interior designers, the kitchen specialists, the engineering partners, and more who make up our AEC community in Colorado.
View AIA Colorado’s Allied Member Directory.

Helpful Links:

• Contact AIA Colorado Staff
• AIA Colorado Calendar
• AIA Colorado News and Articles

AIA Colorado Firm Directory

• Add your firm to the directory here.

Save the Dates:

• 2025 Design + Honor Awards
  • Celebration Event: September 18th, at Tivoli Turnhalle in Denver, CO.
  • Sponsorship
• 2025 AIA Colorado Practice + Design Conference
  • Expo Hall is open
  • July 1 – July 31: Call for Presentations
  • August 1: Early Attendee Registration opens
  • November 12-14, 2025 at Keystone Conference Center, Keystone, CO.
  • Sponsorship