Colorado Architecture News | 09.18.24


News from the Colorado Chapter of The American Institute of Architects | 09.18.24

In this Newsletter:

MEMBER NEWS

Announcing the 2024 Design + Honor Recipients!

Last week Thursday night, at Mile High Station in Denver, we celebrated 15 Design Award recipients and 8 Honor Awards recipients.

Let’s congratulate the 2024 AIA Colorado Design + Honor Award recipients!

Watch the Design Awards video to see the recipients of the Awards of Excellence, Awards of Merit, and Honorable Mentions. Read the press release, view photos from the event, and learn more about each of the award winners at aiacolorado.org/awards.

Modern In Denver

Pick up a copy of the current issue of Modern in Denver to see the 8-page awards spread, celebrating the 2024 Design Award recipients! The issue is also available online here.

AIA COLORADO NEWS

Health Horizons 2024

This October 15th, join the Academy of Architecture for Health and Women in Healthcare for an engaging half-day symposium on the future of healthcare. We will explore emerging industry-wide issues including challenges faced by nurses and clinicians, increasing costs and construction schedules, and technological advancements like Artificial Intelligence. Together, we will discuss both the challenges and opportunities ahead, seeking to navigate these changes while prioritizing the human experience.

This event, held at the CSU Spur facility in Denver, is tailored for those in care delivery and healthcare facility design and construction, with continuing education credits provided for a variety of disciplines. The day starts with networking and a light breakfast, followed by guest presentations and a lively panel discussion. After a brief break, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a design thinking workshop and envision the future of healthcare together. More info and register here.

J.E.D.I. seeking neurodiversity member profiles

The J.E.D.I. Committee invites neurodivergent members to share their unique perspectives for an upcoming profile. If you’re neurodivergent experiences have influenced your work in architecture and design, we want to hear your story. Help us raise awareness and inspire positive change within our community! To get involved, please contact AIA Colorado Communications Director, Jon Bell.

AIA membership dues auto-renewal program

Introduced in October 2023, the auto-renewal program offers AIA members a streamlined renewal process and ensures a member will always have an active membership. New and renewing members can enroll in the autorenewal option online before checkout. Members enrolled in autorenewal will have their dues automatically debited on December 31, 2024. The cutoff date for 2025 auto-renewal enrollments is September 30, 2024. Program enrollments occurring between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, will apply to the 2026 renewal year.

Conference registration open

Join us at Keystone Resort for Tech Connect November 13th and GENERATE 2024 Practice + Design Conference November 14 – 15. Stay tuned for upcoming keynote speaker announcements, breakout session details, and Tech Connect event info. Regularly priced registration is open through October 31st.

AIA Colorado Events

Emerging Professional AE Happy Hour with SEAC

October 17th, from 5 – 7pm, join emerging professional members from AIA Colorado and Structural Engineers Association of Colorado (SEAC) for a happy hour at Wynkoop Brewery.

RSVP here

Affordable Housing in Denver: Tour and Panel Discussion

Tuesday, October 22nd, from 4 – 5:45pm, the AIA Colorado Denver Local Advisors will be hosting a tour and panel discussion on the topic of affordable housing in Denver. The event will offer three 30-minute simultaneous site tours of projects in the Sun Valley neighborhood and be followed by a panel discussion highlighting the opportunities and challenges our community has in setting up affordable projects as we all aim to solve the housing issues in Denver. The panel will focus on how affordable projects come to life and the challenges of making them a reality. A reception and Q&A with the panel and tour hosts will follow. This will be an exclusive event for AIAColorado members and reservations are limited! Event has been approved for 1.5 LU|HSW.

RSVP here

Historic Preservation Tour – Larimer Square

Thursday, October 24, at 4pm, join Denver Local Advisors for a tour of the historic preservation and restoration to Denver’s Larimer Square. The tour will look at the $20 million-dollar exterior restoration and preservation improvements of the downtown historic 1400 block of Larimer Street between 14th and 15th Streets. Constructed between 1860 and 1880, the block includes 18 historic building facades, containing over 50,000 sq ft of interior space, and pedestrian streetscape. This tour has been approved for 1 LU|HSW.

RSVP here

Code Class: 2021 IBC Multi-Family Construction

Friday, October 25, at 8am, attend an overview of the requirements for multi-family dwellings in the International Building Code. Type V-A construction may be the most difficult type of construction to build a structure by. This seminar discusses the design, construction and inspection of Group R-2 occupancies including, building planning, fire-resistive rated construction, fire protection requirements and means of egress requirements. This full-day program includes lunch. This class has been for approval for 7.0 AIA CES Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) learning unit hours.

RSVP here

AIA 2030 Commitment: Breaking Boundaries with Embodied Carbon

Monday, October 28th, 5 – 6:30pm, at The Alliance Center, join the AIA Colorado Committee on the Environment (COTE) for the third member education session. 

A few of the topics discussed will include:

A Q+A session will follow the presentation. 

RSVP here.

Watch Session #2: Implementation & Case Studies here.

Partner News

Listen & Learn: Free Mountain Region Net Zero Codes Listen & Learn

Join Walking Mountains, CORE, and CLEER for a series of community discussions on building a sustainable future in Eagle, Pitkin, and Garfield counties. These sessions will explore how our rural Colorado mountain communities can achieve net zero buildings, focusing on the future of energy codes, workforce development, and the resources needed to make it happen. At each session, you’ll discover the innovative work underway to:

Following a brief presentation, the floor will open to hear from attendees. Organizers want to hear what you need to help our region meet its climate goals and how to work together over the next decade. The full “Listen and Learn” session will be 1 hour, with an optional half hour of networking after. Be part of the conversation that will shape the future of our mountain communities! Here are the remaining events to be held:

Learn more and RSVP here.

Month of Modern 

During the month of September, Boulder will be alive with Month of Modern (MoM). Founded in 2014 as a celebration of architecture, design, lifestyle, art and culture—MoM’s mission is to cultivate a conversation about Colorado modern, and present the Boulder region as one of the nation’s most vibrant hubs of modern design. This year’s MoM kicks off Friday, September 6th, with “Architecture after AI” at Bus Stop Gallery. See all of this month’s MoM events here.

Upcoming CAP Fall lecture series

  • Monday, September 23, 4pm – M. Elen Deming, North Carolina State University Professor, Director of Doctor of Design Program 
  • Thursday, October 3, 12pm – Brittany Utting and Daniel “DJ” Jacobs, Rice University, Assistant Professor and University of Houston, Instructional Assistant Professor HOME-Office, Founders 
  • Thursday, October 10, 12pm – Kate Yeh Chiu, Materials and Applications, Executive Director yyyy-mm-dd, Co-Founder

Lectures are held at the Second Floor Gallery, CU Denver. More info and RSVP here.

Doors open Denver

Denver Architecture Foundation’s signature event is exactly as it sounds – an opportunity to open the doors to the places and spaces that make the Mile High City such a special city in which to live, work, study and play. This year, we will explore Denver’s past, present, and future with our theme Denver Through Time September 26-29. Learn more here.

Doors Open Denver Keynote Lecture: Vishaan Chakrabarti

Thursday Sept 26th, at 2pm, author, urban planner, thought leader, and keynote speaker Vishaan Chakrabarti will present on his newest work “Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy”. Tickets include the keynote, and cocktail reception at the DAM to follow where he will sign books. This is the first stop in the US on his new book tour! Tickets available here.

Doors Open Denver Gala

Saturday Sept 28th, at 6pm, join Denver Architecture Foundation for their first ever gala, held at Populus Hotel. Tickets and information here.

Where is Denver’s Chinatown? 

From October 9, 2024 – August 9, 2025History Colorado Center invites visitors to uncover the history of the neighborhood, discover what happened to it, and help imagine what it might become. Once located in the area known today as Lower Downtown (LoDo), Denver’s Chinatown was one of the largest in the American West during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It provided a welcoming space for Chinese people in Colorado who built a community and celebrated their culture against a backdrop of frequent ignorance, hostility, and violence. The exhibition will invite visitors into this thriving cultural community through historic personal family photographs and objects, artifacts from the museum collection, a portrayal of a typical home, and artistic reimaginings of the neighborhood. More info here.

Mindful Materials Denver Event

October 23rd, come discover new materials, learn about the power of collaboration to scale our individual work to reduce the embodied impacts of the built environment, and learn about Gensler’s Product Sustainability Standards. Event is in-person at Gensler’s Denver office and offers 1 LU|HSW. Register here.

Nominations now open for 2025 Mayor’s Design Awards!

Since 2005, the Mayor’s Design Awards have honored projects throughout the city for excellence in architecture, urban design, and place-making. The awards are presented to Denver homeowners, business owners, nonprofits, artists, and others for their creative contributions to Denver’s built environment through excellence and innovation. Many different types of projects are eligible. Mayor Mike Johnston and the Department of Community Planning and Development are seeking nominations for the Mayor’s Design Awards to be handed out in early 2025. Nominations are due Friday, November 1, 2024. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony early next year. Nominate a project here.

Career Corner

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:

NEWS AT NATIONAL

AIA Trust Week 2024

Back by popular demand, AIA Trust Week is back, September 23 – 27! With a free full week of two daily webinars, take advantage of a total of 10 sessions and 15 learning units!
 

Join AIA to explore what you need in order to start your firm, run your firm, and also – when the time comes – transition your firm to new ownership. This informative week will not only follow information we provide to you for every stage of your career in our guides, but also will feature informative sessions on all of the amazing benefits that are such a great member value you have as an AIA member. Learn from former trustees, plan providers including Victor/CNA, Equitable, Gallagher, LegaLine, and even some guest sessions by our friends at the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) and well known firm Lee/Shoemaker. 10 learning sessions, each offering 1.5 AIA CEU, all in one great week. See course descriptions and register here.

Women’s Leadership Summit 2024: Building Resilience

This October 8–10, 2024, held in Chicago, Illinois, experience the industry’s premier event dedicated to accelerating women into leadership positions in architecture, design, and the allied building industries. WLS 2024 is three days of networking, education, community, and inspiration designed to change the workplace experience and help create gender equity for women in AEC. Learn more and register here.



Business Conditions Remain Soft at Architecture Firms, ABI data shows

August marked the nineteenth consecutive month of declining billings for architecture firms, according to the latest data from the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI). The pace of decline during August accelerated, posting an ABI score of 45.7, a decrease from 48.2 in July. Read at AIA.

Premier Partner at AIA24

We’re proud to highlight one of AIA Colorado’s Premier Partners, The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and look forward to their ongoing support and involvement serving Colorado’s architecture community.

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), headquartered in Chicago, is a non-partisan, not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry in the United States. AISC’s mission is to make structural steel the material of choice by being the leader in structural-steel-related technical and market-building activities, including specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, market development, and advocacy. AISC has a long tradition of service to the steel construction industry providing timely and reliable information. View AISC website.

The 2025 Forge Prize

This competition, established by The American Institute of Steel Construction in 2018, recognizes visionary emerging architects, architecture faculty, and graduate students for design concepts that embrace innovations in steel as a primary structural component. 

In short: We’re looking for your version of the future. What will people build with, live in, work in, or play in?

The Forge Prize is a unique opportunity to experiment with a conceptual design without limit to scope or complexity–the sky really is the limit here, and the industry is paying attention.

Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. Central on November 22, 2024. Enter here

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.


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