Colorado Architecture News | 11.01.23


News from the Colorado Chapter of The American Institute of Architects | 11.01.23

THE WEEK IN WORDS

“AIA has been a wonderful part of my career.”

— Cheri Gerou, FAIA, 2023 AIA Colorado Distinguished Achievement Award

AIA COLORADO NEWS

Late Registration Now Available

We get it. Sometimes you miss a deadline, but you don’t want to miss out on the architectural event of the year. Late Registration for both the Pre-Conference Technology Deep Dive and ENGAGE 2023 Practice + Design Conference is now available through November 8th!

In just 2 weeks, we’ll be at Keystone Resort enjoying presentations about Artificial Intelligence’s role in our workplace, hearing keynotes from Tom Kundig, FAIA, Dave Goldberg, FAIA, Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, and Laura Britton, AIA, Dean Maltz, AIA, and Greg Kingsley, Ph D, PE, and learning from 12 separate Innovation Labs. Register today for one of the last spots available!

2024 AIA Colorado Call for Volunteers 

AIA Colorado seeks member volunteers to serve on committees that embody the mission, vision, and values of the organization. Deeper involvement with AIA Colorado is a great way to build your leadership skills, gain experience outside your workplace, network with peers, and even meet clients. We encourage candidates from a variety of perspectives and backgrounds including career stage, firm size, practice type, location, and personal demographics. Included is the opportunity to share your suggestion for a new proposed member group. Learn more about each committee’s responsibilities, goals, and anticipated time commitments for this upcoming year. The call for committee volunteers is open now until November 30th.

Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program

For those looking to level up their leadership skills, this is it. Each year, the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program accepts 16 future firm leaders to collaborate, learn together, and develop in their careers. Applications are now open until December 11th.

ASCEND Mentoring Program

The Ascend Program connects emerging architecture professionals with mid-career architects through mentorship as an intentional first step into the profession. These connections will support EP’s in the early stage of their careers, guiding through challenges, setting goals, and developing the skill set to succeed. Ascend groups are organized locally. Mentors and Mentees are invited to apply no later than December 11, 2023.

2023 Compensation & Benefits Report

We have printed and bound copies of this year’s report at the AIA Colorado office. Current members are welcome to view the report and will need to make an appointment with staff in order to view the report at the AIA Colorado offices. Please email membership@aiacolorado.org to make an appointment.

AIA COLORADO EVENTS

Trojan Arena Tour – School District Eight

November 21st, join AIA Colorado South members and CRP Architects for a tour of the newly constructed Trojan Arena. This tour has been approved for 1.5 LU|HSW.

AIA Colorado Member News

CCY Architects announces the promotion of Simon Elliot and Matt Smith to Principal.

Read More

PARTNER NEWS AND EVENTS

ARE Trivia Night

Thursday November 2nd, join NOMA Colorado for a Jeopardy style question game where participants will team up in groups or work independently to choose from a board of available questions. The game will be broken into 6 categories to reflect the six ARE exams with questions ranging in difficulty (100-500) for a total of 30 questions per game. Sign Up Here

Heat Pump Happy Hour 

Tuesday November 7th, join Denver Climate Action, Sustainability, & Resiliency for a happy hour dedicated to building electrification technology. The evening will feature an industry panel discussion on how heat pump installation makes dollars and cents for contractors and building owners. You’ll also get an overview of equipment rebates currently available in the Denver-Boulder market. Sign Up Here.

Mayor’s Design Awards

Mayor Mike Johnston and Community Planning and Development are seeking nominations for the Mayor’s Design Awards. The nominating period will be open through the Fall, and Mayor Johnston will present the first Mayor’s Design Awards of his administration in early 2024. Nominations must be submitted by Friday, November 17, 2023. Start a Nomination

Networking Event with Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade

November 8th, in Colorado Springs, join members from AGC, HBA, CFMA, El Paso County Contractors, ACEC, ULI, and AIA for a networking session with Mayor Yemi from 4pm-7pm at The Warehouse in Colorado Springs. As an AIA member, use discount code “SOCO Partner 2023” to lock in a $30 rate. Look forward to hearing Mayor Yemi’s vision for Colorado Springs and how the design and construction groups can support his vision in the areas of affordable housing, adaptive reuse, land use, and Colorado Springs’ use of Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act funding. Sign Up Here

Important Building Code Dates to Remember

January 1, 2024 – Any building permit plans submitted on or after this date must have partially electrified space and water heating systems for all commercial, industrial, and multi-family projects. For requirements, see Denver Energy Code C403.2.4 for space heating and C404.10 for water heating. Questions? Email mechplumb.review@denvergov.org

February 1, 2024 – Any building permit plans submitted on or after this date for all commercial, industrial, and multi-family projects must document compliance with both Accessible EV Installed spaces and Universal EV Installed spaces as required by Chapter 11 of the Denver Commercial Building Code. View a Summary of These Requirements

The City of Westminster Will Soon Be Considering Adoption of the 2021 International Building and Fire Codes.

 The city will be proposing adoption of the following codes:

The city will be proposing adoption of the NEC and the IPC as the minimum standards as adopted by the State of Colorado. The adoption of the IECC and the Colorado Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code are also required minimum standards of the state as mandated by the passing of HB22-1362 (Building Greenhouse Gas Emissions) in May of 2022.

The proposed adoption and amendments to these codes is available for your review on the city website. Comments or questions regarding the proposed changes can be submitted using this survey link. A digital version of the I-Codes is available here. The State of Colorado Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code is available to view here

The city will also be hosting live webinars on Thursday, November 2nd and Tuesday, December 5th to answer questions or take comments regarding the proposed amendments and adoption. Use this link to register for the webinars.

NEWS AT NATIONAL

AIA Align Mentorship Program

The YAF-COF Align Mentorship program is a long range initiative that connects young architects with AIA Fellows to facilitate professional and leadership development.

The application deadline has been extended to November 6th. More Info and Apply Here

Young Architects Forum October Newsletter

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

AIA Releases New ‘By the Numbers’ Publication

The American Institute of Architects’ annual report offers “a detailed analysis of the energy performance of architecture and design firm signatories of the 2030 Commitment.” Read More

The World Has a Concrete Problem. These Quirky Alternatives Want To Be a Solution

Concrete’s massive carbon footprint has fueled a slew of unusual material innovations, but only some of them will have the kind of impact needed to curb CO2 emissions. Read at FastCompany

Bad News for Commercial Real Estate: Architects Report a Big Drop in Business

Architecture firms reported a sharp drop in business in September, indicating that the commercial real estate market could experience more pain soon. Commercial real estate has been hit with a double whammy: Return to office is slow and interest rates are high. Read at CNBC

AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index Reports New Decline in Business Condition

Business conditions at architecture firms declined again in September, the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reports. The score of 44.8 for September is the lowest score reported since December 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Any score below 50.0 indicates decreasing business conditions and this score indicates a significant increase in firms reporting declining billings. Read More

Premier Partner Spotlight

We’re proud to highlight one of AIA Colorado’s Premier Partners, KL&A Engineers and Builders, and look forward to their ongoing support and involvement serving Colorado’s architecture community.

KL&A is a firm built around the idea that structural engineers should return to a master builder role by taking ownership of structural systems. A collaborative approach and project centric behaviors are our differentiators, facilitating a more engaging design and construction process. Our philosophy of personal responsibility has generated a corporate culture of problem solving and innovation. We are engineers first and foremost, which we leverage on our steel detailing and steel construction projects. We also take great pride in our sustainability efforts, utilizing mass timber to minimize embodied carbon in our structures, and providing Life Cycle Assessments on our committed projects.

Learn More About KL&A Engineers and Builders

Looking for Additional Resources?

View AIA Colorado’s Allied Member Directory.

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