Each November, at Architecture Exchange East, a community of nearly 1,000 professionals comes together to be inspired, make connections, and learn about the latest innovations in the industry. We believe community-driven content is the cornerstone of a great conference — which is why we want you to have a voice in the programming at ArchEx.
You don’t need to be a speaker or do a lot of heavy lifting
to help shape ArchEx. Simply let us know what you want to discover.
Is there a topic you’ve been wanting to explore or experts you want to hear from? Maybe you have a panel discussion idea that has been percolating in your head for a while. Or a project you’ve always want to tour. Or a workshop concept that just needs to become a reality.
The idea can be rough around the edges, but we’re looking for something a bit more refined than “sessions for emerging professionals” or “historic preservation.” (Don’t get us wrong. We’ll definitely be curating content on those topics.)
Suggest a session and we’ll help make your vision come alive. Plus, if your idea is selected, you’ll receive a discount code for 25% off your registration. Remember: Our theme this year is re: culture. Submit your ideas before May 31, 2019.
Architecture Exchange East is bringing together the brightest minds and most engaging speakers to explore the theme of culture. And, we think you should have a seat at the table (or lectern, as the case may be). We’re seeking polished presenters as well as fresh voices to share their research and expertise at ArchEx in Richmond on Nov. 6–8, 2019.
We’ll engage in
dynamic conversations around office culture. We’ll dig into redefining studio
culture. We might even get a little lofty and examine architecture’s role in
expressing humanity’s highest ideals.
If you’re an expert
in (re)designing firm culture — submit a proposal.
If you’re a
champion of participatory design — submit a proposal.
If you design
cultural institutions — submit a proposal.
If you’ve conducted
research into the socio-cultural impact of architecture — submit a proposal.
If you can speak to
Japanese influence on custom residential design in the U.S. — submit a
proposal.
You get the idea.
We really value sessions that encourage conversation, connections, and collaborative learning. Think workshops, roundtables, and interactive panels. Most of our session slots will be 60 minutes, but we’ll have a few longer time slots for more in-depth explorations. All confirmed speakers will receive a 50% discount on conference registration.
Help us design the best ArchEx experience yet — submit a proposal. Deadline is May 15. The proposal form is below.
Help curate the very best programming, tours, and courses
for Architecture Exchange East 2019.
AIA Virginia is looking for a diverse group of members from
a range of professional backgrounds to help shape the educational content for
Architecture Exchange East (ArchEx).
Members of the Program Advisory Group help identify
potential speakers, provide suggestions for content, and evaluate speaker
proposals.
Volunteers can expect to:
Brainstorm potential speakers, topics, and tours for ArchEx (about 30 minutes)
Participate in an organizational meeting (by conference call or online) and share suggestions (about 1 hour)
Evaluate a selection of proposed seminars and provide feedback (about 1-2 hours)
Enjoy discounted admission to ArchEx
If you’re interested in helping to create a cutting-edge
educational program by joining the Program Advisory Group, simply email Rhea
George at rgeorge@aiava.org by
March 1.
As we look back at ArchEx in the rear view mirror, here are a few highlights from the 3-day program where the profession came together to be inspired, learn and make connections.
AIA Central Virginia came out on top as the winner of the PAC trophy. Photo by Jay Paul.
Sheila Christian inspired us with her work on the unseen trauma of veterans which was supported by the Dreiling Fellowship. Photo by Jay Paul.
Nichiha sponsored our Grand Prize Drone Giveaway
President Keplinger raises a toast to the newly licensed architects. Photo by Olivia Jennings.
The Architectural Sketching session was a hit! Photo by Michael Carlos Abrams.
Badges. Photo by Jay Paul.
Making connections in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Photo by Jay Paul.
Making connections in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Photo by Jay Paul.
Products and services on display in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Photo by Jay Paul.
ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Photo by Jay Paul.
Corey Clayborne, AIA and Michael Ford, Assoc. AIA. Photo by Jay Paul.
The Blueprint for Better Housing Panel discussion kicked off an important discussion. Photo by Jay Paul.
Tiffany Jana blows us away with their talk on Erasing Institutional Bias. Photo by Jay Paul.
Would you believe Michael Ford led the audience in a Biz Markie sing-along? Photo by Jay Paul.
Francis Kere, Hon. FAIA inspired us all with his work. Photo by Jay Paul.
AIA Hampton Roads organized the first [yaf]CON micro-conference to bring together YAF chapters in Virginia. Photo by Yuzhu Zheng.
Housing plays such an incredibly important role in our lives, economies, and communities, making it a potential catalyst in the complex fight against systemic inequality.
Inspired by the Eviction Lab project out of Princeton University, whose research into eviction rates across the nation was released earlier this year, ArchEx is convening a panel of experts to discuss how housing projects, and the design processes behind them, can be interventions towards greater social and health equity.
Five of the top 10 evicting cities were located in Virginia – with #2 serving as our conference host city.
In the spirit of the American Institute of Architect’s national initiative entitled “Blueprint for Better Communities,” we’ll explore how architects, designers, and business leaders can empower their communities and work with elected officials and civic leaders to help begin solving the important issue of equitable, safe, affordable housing.
The Honorable Jennifer McClellan— Senator, Virginia General Assembly Senator Jennifer McClellan was elected to the Senate of Virginia in January 2017. She serves on the Agriculture, Conservation & Natural Resources, Local Government, and Transportation Committees. Jennifer chairs the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission, and serves on the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission and the Task Force on the Preservation of the History of Former Enslaved African Americans. She co-chairs the Capital Region Caucus, serves as Vice Chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, and is a member of the Rural Caucus, Women’s Health Care Caucus, and Fire and EMS Caucus. She also serves on the Southern Regional Education Board Legislative Advisory Council. In 2017, she was selected to be a Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow. Since 2008, she has served as a guest columnist for the Richmond Times Dispatch during the General Assembly Session.
Prior to her election to the Senate, Jennifer was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for 11 years, serving on the House Education, Commerce and Labor, and Courts of Justice Committees, the Virginia Crime Commission (Executive Committee) and the Virginia Conflicts of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council.
Housing has been a key issue for the senator.
Roy Decker — Principal, Duvall Decker
Roy Decker once taught architecture alongside Samuel Mockbee at Mississippi State. Roy and his wife, Ann Marie Decker, own a diverse practice in Jackson, Mississippi and are practicing nationwide. Since the founding of Duvall Decker nearly 20 years ago, Roy and Ann Marie Decker have focused mostly on neglected corners in and around Jackson, Mississippi’s capital. To pay the bills, the two have redefined for themselves the ambit of a small architectural practice. They have become developers and even branched into building maintenance.
In 2017, Duvall Decker Architects won the New York Architecture League’s Emerging Voices competition, which recognizes North American designers with distinct voices and significant bodies of realized work.
Bernard Rogers ― VP Real Estate Development, Better Housing Coalition
Bernard Rogers leads Better Housing Coalition’s multi-family, single family and general contracting efforts. Prior to joining BHC, Bernard was a project manager with Brailsford & Dunlavey, a Washington, DC facility planning consulting firm, and specialized in facility programming, market analysis and financial feasibility. During his tenure with B&D, he worked with university, municipal, and private sector clients, nationwide, to develop student housing, recreation facilities, and professional/amateur sports facilities.
Bernard served the Town of Siler City, NC, for six years as its Director of Planning and Community Development, during a time of unprecedented housing and commercial growth. He is a graduate of VCU’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program, and earned his B.S. in Public Administration and Political Science from James Madison University.
Christine E. (Christie) Marra, Esq. — Director ACES, Virginia Poverty Law Center
Christie Marra, Esq., is a family and housing law attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center and a member of the steering committee of the Campaign to Reduce Evictions. Marra began her legal career working with a legal aid program in the coalfields of southwest Virginia. She was hired by the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society in Richmond, where she worked for thirteen years as a family and housing law attorney for the urban poor in the Richmond area. In 2004 she joined the Virginia Poverty Law Center, which provides legal aid training and public policy advocacy.
Marra graduated from the University of Virginia in 1988 and earned her law degree from the University of Richmond in 1991.
Moderator:
Kathryn Howell, Ph.D. — Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
Kathryn Howell, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Urban and Regional Studies and Planning program of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, is an expert on affordable housing, community development and gentrification.
Dr. Howell investigates ways to interrupt ongoing patterns of migration, displacement and segregation in cities. Her work focuses on affordable housing and public spaces to explore redevelopment, displacement and governance. She has specifically looked at the preservation of affordable housing in Washington, D.C., examining the intersection between policies, governance and the built environment. She was previously a practitioner in local government developing housing and community development policy in Washington, DC and Maryland agencies.
Born and raised in Detroit, Ford is the designer of The Universal Hip Hop Museum. He has dedicated his professional career to stimulating cross-disciplinary discourse on the sociological and cultural implications of architecture and urban planning on its inhabitants. Focusing on the intersection of the built environment and hip hop culture, through three interconnected realms; academia, media and practice, Ford’s national Hip Hop Architecture lecture tour has included keynotes at The American Institute of Architects National Convention, South by Southwest Eco Conference and academic lectures at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University, and his alma mater the University of Detroit Mercy, where he received his master’s degree in architecture.
This year’s conference features countless educational sessions, spectacular behind-the-scenes architectural tours, engaging special events, and more than 60+ vendors in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Francis Kéré, Hon. FAIA, is this year’s Keynote Speaker. You won’t want to miss it.
The Architecture Exchange East Early Bird registration deadline has been extended until Wednesday, September 19 to accommodate those who have been under mandatory evacuation orders or have been caught up in hurricane prep or response.
We still encourage attendees to sign up before popular tours, dinners and seminars fill up, but we wanted to make sure that everyone has a chance to save the most money on their ticket.
This year’s conference features countless educational sessions, spectacular behind-the-scenes architectural tours, engaging special events, and more than 60+ vendors in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Francis Kéré, Hon. FAIA, is this year’s Keynote Speaker. You won’t want to miss it.
The wait is over. Registration is now open for Architecture Exchange East 2018, one of the largest and most exciting annual gatherings of architects and design professionals in the mid-Atlantic.
This year’s conference features countless educational sessions, spectacular behind-the-scenes architectural tours, engaging special events, and more than 60+ vendors in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall. Francis Kéré, Hon. FAIA, is this year’s Keynote Speaker.
AIA Virginia is excited to announce that Francis Kere, Hon. FAIA, will be our 2018 Architecture Exchange East Keynote Speaker. Known for deftly balancing the tension between traditional building practices and innovation,Kere is an award-winning architect based in Berlin. He’s a well-known TED presenter and was a keynote speaker at the national convention in 2017, earning rave reviews.
He’s founder and principal of Kéré Architecture. Born in the village of Gando in Burkina Faso, he was the first child in his village to be sent to school. Since becoming an architect, he has designed internationally recognized projects in Burkina Faso, Mali, and China, including the widely celebrated 2017 Serpentine Pavilion. He is a tenured professor at Harvard University and founder of the Kéré Foundation.
From the physical tension, to spatial tension, to the tension between creative vision and practical restrictions, design is about finding the ideal balance between opposing forces. At Architecture Exchange East 2018, we’ll be exploring how tension can make – or break – design.
Registration opens in September for ArchEx 2018, Nov. 7-9 in Richmond.