We understand the dedication and effort required to study for and pass the ARE. Congratulations to the following member for passing their exams and gaining licensure. This is great news that thrills all of us and we are so proud to call you an architect!
Jeffrey R. Weiseman, AIA (Richmond)
Have you recently passed the ARE? Upgrade your membership to Architect using this AIA form. or send an email to your Member Services Director, Cathy Guske, cguske@aiava.org
We are always excited to welcome new members to Virginia. The following members recently joined the ranks of AIA Virginia.
New Architect Members
Kenneth Black, AIA (Blue Ridge)
Myra Prabo, AIA (Hampton Roads)
Alex Shifflett, AIA (Northern Virginia)
John P. Trevor, AIA (Central Virginia)
New Associate Members
Khalil Abdelmoumen, Associate AIA (Northern Virginia)
Cedric Gilliam, Associate AIA (Northern Virginia)
Marcin Kasiak, Associate AIA (Hampton Roads)
Lisa Mayville, Associate AIA (Northern Virginia)
Ayse Elif Ozkan, Associate AIA (Northern Virginia)
Kevin Marcel Smith, Associate AIA (Richmond)
Transferred Into Virginia
Graydon Blakeslee, AIA (Northern Virginia) from AIA DC
Martin J. Hedrick, AIA (Richmond) from AIA DC
Magdy B. Ibrahim, AIA (Northern Virginia) from AIA DC
Rehanna B. Rojiani, AIA (Blue Ridge) from AIA Arizona
Hua Yang, AIA (Northern Virginia) from AIA DC
New/Renewed Allied Members
Dan Longenderfer, Director of Marketing, York Building Products
View all of the AIA Virginia Allied members
Are you an AIA Member interested in the issues confronting young architects? Would you like to help the Young Architects Forum (YAF) address these issues? Then, you may be just the person we’re looking for.
Every two years, AIA Virginia (formerly part of the Region of The Virginias) selects an AIA member licensed for less than 10 years to represent the state as YAF Young Architect Representative (YAR). Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 – 2023 YAR term.
This is a tremendous opportunity to take on a larger leadership role within the AIA. This rewarding experience will allow you to be actively engaged in shaping the future of the profession and to grow your network within the AIA locally, state-wide, and nationally.
If you are interested, here’s the full job description>>
Application Requirements
AIA Membership – Applicant must be an AIA member in good standing within AIA Virginia (AIA Blue Ridge, AIA Central Virginia, AIA Hampton Roads, AIA Northern Virginia, and AIA Richmond) and must be licensed not more than 10 years at the time of submission.
Letter of Interest – From Applicant. Indicate understanding of the position, qualifications/experience, and reasons for seeking election. Limit one-page.
Letter of Nomination – From an AIA local or state component Board Member. Indicate the connection between the YAR position and the Nominee’s leadership qualities. Limit one-page.
Letter of Recommendation – From an AIA member. Indicate Nominee’s qualifications for the YAR position. Limit one-page.
Letter of Support – From Employer. A Principal (or Officer) within the candidate’s firm must commit to supporting the candidate in fulfilling the role’s obligations. Limit one page on company letterhead.
Personal Resume – Indicate education, employment history, organizations, activities, honors, and awards. Limit two pages (It is NOT in the applicant’s best interest to simply submit a firm resume with project experience).
Deadline
Completed applications must be submitted by email as a single PDF to Donna Dunay, FAIA, Region of The Virginias Representative to AIA Strategic Council (ddunay@vt.edu) AND Corey Clayborne, FAIA, Executive Vice President of AIA Virginia NLT Thursday, December 30, 2021.
Selection Process
The AIA Board of Directors will elect the YAR during its Board retreat scheduled for January 7-8, 2022.
As 2021 comes to a close, I first want to express my gratitude to our members for the many unique contributions and excellent work you all have accomplished this year. Each of you makes a difference in improving the lives of people and communities we serve through your work. Thank you for being members of the American Institute of Architects, which now has over 95,000 members.
Shared Heritage
Thank you for believing in the AIA, the collective voice of our profession in our state, our country, and around the world. The AIA has come a long way from its humble, 1857 founding when 13 architects gathered in New York. The AIA in Virginia has come a long way too since 1914 when five men rode their horses to meet in Richmond and form an AIA chapter. Hard to imagine the challenges faced during their first two decades; impacted by World War I, the Spanish Flu, and the Great Depression. The Founders’ steadfastness may have had something to do with the conviction of their shared vision for what the profession could become; that the profession could have more impact united as a collective group. That, as a united group they could better promote the profession, advance the standards of architectural education, practice and in turn, be of ever-increasing value to society. Our shared heritage still unites our profession today.
2021 in Review: AIA Virginia Activities
We’ve all had our thirst quenched by a well we did not dig. AIA Virginia today is part of a continuum with core values and a vision that empowers its members to improve the quality of people’s lives and the built environment through their work. AIA Virginia’s Mission guides our organization’s work toward our vision. The heavy lifting of the mission is carried out by the Board of Directors and our four councils, which are populated with board members from around the Commonwealth and staff liaisons. The organization’s finances are healthy and recent governance changes will enable us to move forward with efficiency and inclusivity; presided over by the treasurer and secretary respectively. Here are a few highlights of 2021 AIA Virginia activities:
Advocacy Advisory Council
Education Council
Member Services Council
Outreach Council
Governance
It is good governance practice to evaluate Board structure and efficiency periodically in order to remain vital and relevant as a membership association. The Secretary’s Advisory Committee (SAC) engaged a series of charges in 2020 to make recommendations on moving forward. In June 2021, the membership voted to implement the first phase of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee’s recommendations, which decoupled service on the four advisory Councils from Board service. As a result, the Advisory Councils for Advocacy, Education, Outreach, and Members Services are open to all members as a service opportunity, of up to nine members in each. In November 2021, after extensive outreach and discussion with local chapters, the membership voted to implement the second and final phase of the SAC recommendations which streamlines the size of the Board to better align with non-profit best practices.
In summary, between the Board and Councils, there will now be 50 opportunities to serve and advance the mission of AIA Virginia.
AIA Virginia Staff
I am deeply grateful for AIA Virginia’s amazingly dedicated, hard-working staff who were collaborative partners in the work of the 2021 Board. They are incredible people and a joy to work with. AIA Virginia is very fortunate to have this group:
I can’t say enough about our EVP, Corey Clayborne, FAIA. He is a visionary, regularly looking toward the future and at the same time, able to focus on detailed tasks and their successful execution. He is passionate and driven about improving the AIA to better serve our members and is also a humble person and amazing team player. A true servant leader, we are very fortunate to have Corey as our EVP.
Moving Forward
Thank you to all AIA Virginia members for the incredible opportunity to serve as your 2021 president. It has been an honor and a privilege.
I will soon hand over the reins of leadership to my friend and colleague Robert Easter, FAIA. Robert is an accomplished architect and educator, running his Richmond-based practice and serving as Chair of the Architecture program at Hampton University. Robert has been serving on the board as Hampton University’s Director for many years and is a past president of NOMA National. Robert is also currently serving as chair of our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. AIA Virginia leadership will be in thoughtful and experienced hands in 2022.
AIA Virginia members come from varied backgrounds and have many different perspectives. Yet, we are united by a shared heritage and shared values. We are united by a shared vision to make a difference in the quality of the built environment and the lives of all people who experience our collective work, not just the 2% that are our clients. In this challenging era that we live and work in, one often marked by differences, we are called to work together with justice and understanding, to encourage and build each other up. It is our call within the call…. let us move forward with expectancy and hope to create the future of the profession we want to see.
Sean E. Reilly, AIA
AIA Virginia President
AIA Virginia 2021 Board
December: NOMAS Spotlight
Join VANOMA on December 16th at 7:00 p.m. for their next monthly spotlight event featuring the work of NOMAS Architecture students from across the state. https://www.vanoma.org/events
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85043451228?pwd=blF6RXBDVEdUeTNiUWZvWG9za2xSQT09
January & February: Upcoming Regional Open House Series
Save the Date! Coming in early 2022, VANOMA will be hosting (4) Regional Open House events across the state in Richmond, Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia, and Charlottesville. Stay tuned and visit www.vanoma.org for more information coming soon.
AIA Virginia | 2021 Board of Directors
October 1, 2021
University of Virginia School of Architecture
Motions Made and Approved:
The Board of Directors of AIA Virginia voted as follows:
Written reports were provided for the following consent agenda items:
Members may request a copy of these written reports by emailing AIA Virginia Executive Vice President, Corey Clayborne, FAIA at cclayborne@aiava.org.
The next meeting of the 2021 AIA Virginia Board of Directors will occur on December 17, 2021.
Executive Vice President, Corey Clayborne, has pledged to travel around the state and visit firms, components, partner organizations, and universities.
Here’s his recent travel schedule:
AIA Local, Regional, and National Engagement
Safety Assessment Program Training
Virtual
November 12
AIA Young Architect Award Jury Deliberation
Virtual
November 17
AIA College of Fellows Investiture
Washington, D.C.
December 8
AIA Strategic Council Assembly
Washington, D.C.
December 9
AIA Presidential Inauguration
Washington, D.C.
December 10
AIA Virginia Board of Directors Meeting
Richmond
December 17
Ambassador Engagement
Lead Virginia
Richmond
November 18-20
Legislative Event with Del. Carr
Richmond
November 30
Virginia NOMA Board of Directors Meeting
Virtual
December 1
Virginia Society of Association Executives Board of Directors Meeting
Virtual
December 10
I am fascinated by unfinished things and infuriated by them too. The potent imagination of kids’ drawings, chunky with crayon dust but also just a little bit off-center (or a lot). Out-of-scale pen sketches scattered on the conference table, next to the napkin and two plastic cups from lunch. The drawings of Julie Mehretu and Sol DeWitt, the cut-short excellence of Chadwick Boseman and Virgil Abloh, the drips of Jackson Pollack, that idea you had in design school that was SO GOOD if only you could just sit down and work on it again—maybe next weekend? The list from that coordination meeting last week with the engineers, that will have to wait for this phone call after you get back from your dentist appointment. The world we inhabit is always being done and undone, and architecture is perpetually the business of unfinished things—of phases, substantial completions, deferred maintenance, term contracts, weathering, kickoff meetings.
When I began my term as Associate Director in December 2019, my world was moving between major chapters. Our first board meeting coincided with my last day at a previous job before I moved to a new city a month later to start a new job. Our conference chairs were much closer together too. In my role representing unlicensed professionals across the Commonwealth, I expected far too much of my own capacity (what else is new?). Over my two years, I would meet with student leaders at each of our accredited schools—Hampton, VA Tech, UVA, WAAC—and connect these fascinatingly talented young academic leaders. I would convene quarterly conference calls with emerging professionals from each of our five regions, and the magic dust of synergy would ensue. I would finish my exams, and help others finish theirs. I would chat at happy hours, email everyone about site tours and study groups, celebrate at ArchEX and Art of Practice and Design Forum, and so many other things.
Some of those things happened, sort of, a little bit. March 2020 saw the earth move under us, and most of us headed home for far longer than planned. Our projects and firms stayed afloat, mostly, but fractured the idea of how and where architecture gets done. We reimagined our programs. We all floundered, we all adjusted, and we mostly finished a great many things, in this confounding, evolving (design) world. All my expectations shattered, in the board work of virtual programming, digital meets, budget analyses, and resource allocation, and keeping the flame alive for young professionals caught in a world of architecture they did not sign up for. We had to pause when our careers were just beginning, with little security as the bulk of our professional lives was mostly unfinished.
And yet, I am inspired by the persistence and skill of our emerging professionals, leading the way through the fog of change over the last two years. I am inspired by my mentee (who was connected to me through the Reach Retain Develop program), a student at Virginia Tech, who inspired me with his imaginative and excellent projects, mostly executed from a dorm room. I am inspired by our AIA VA staff, who turned the backpack burden of virtual programming into a jetpack, getting us to glimpse what our new world will be as an organization. I am inspired by protests, by marches, by expanding my understanding of what an architect can be. I am inspired by John Spencer, Robert Easter, Pascale Sablan, NOMA. I am inspired by the increasing visibility of LGBT designers, of powerhouse women principals, of working-class architects in rural areas, of architecture in service to the least of these. I am inspired by the unfinished work of making our profession more diverse, more inclusive, more impactful.
Like so many things, when we come to the formal end of them, I wish my term of service would have looked different. I wish I could have met many more of you–our membership–and see your smiling faces and learn about your hard-won projects, your dreams for how architecture in Virginia can be more equitable and beautiful. I wish I had done more, but celebrate the wins–the successful virtual programs, the reinvention of YAFCon, the tremendous pivots of design students and educators, the reinvigorated mentoring networks–as well as the opportunity of unfinished things. As I look at my growing to-do list today—which grows faster than I can yellow things out—I am grateful for the optimism of Caitlin Morgan (our next Associate Director) and the experience and voice she brings to serve our members. We are in good hands.
Thanks for your time, your commitment, and your investment in the AIA. May we be grateful for the gift of expecting big things, of working hard at work worth doing.
In solidarity and action,
Michael Spory, Associate AIA
spory@vmdo-dc.com
AIA Virginia has been raising money to support scholarships for students at Virginia’s only HBCU with an accredited architecture program.
As of December 6, 2021, you have donated $4,150 to Hampton University. The campaign will stay open through the end of the year.
If you’d like to donate, please visit this secure donation page>>
Kathy is a founding member of Frazier Associates and is the Principal-in-Charge of architecture, urban design, and wayfinding projects. She is a certified Historical Architect with the U. S. Department of the Interior. Kathy’s extensive experience in historic preservation and community redevelopment projects includes adaptive reuse, facade rehabilitation, new construction in historic districts, design guidelines, streetscape, and corridor design, as well as town-wide signage and wayfinding programs.
Kathy has overseen the design services for the Virginia Main Street Program since its inception in 1986; it is an affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center. She also has extensive experience with historic tax credit and Community Development Block Grant funding mechanisms. Kathy’s experience and collaborative approach extend to the firm’s numerous local government clients as well as various private and state institutional, and educational clients.
Through the firm, her projects have won numerous awards, including those from the American Institute of Architects, Preservation Virginia, and previously the Preservation Alliance of Virginia, as well as numerous regional and local organizations. Her projects have also been featured in publications such as Traditional Building, Southern Living, Virginia Living and Urban Land Magazine and she has written various articles on downtown revitalization for the National Main Street Center publications. Kathy was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia Main Street Program. She also served two terms on the governor-appointed Virginia Art and Architectural Review Board.
Where did you go to college?
I started at Mary Baldwin College because I thought that I wanted to be an artist. They had a terrific small art department but in the process of taking many art history classes, I realized that architecture was my calling. I then transferred to The University of Virginia where I received my degree in architecture.
What does it take to be an architect?
I think it begins with a love for buildings and places as well as a dedication to learning and serving. Of course, one needs to be able to think three-dimensionally too! After graduating from college, I worked as a designer for the Historic Staunton Foundation as they started their effort to preserve and revitalize downtown Staunton. That experience started me on the path of working with property owners and helping them understand the unique history of their building, how to bring it back to life, and at the same time, boost their business and visibility in the community.
Was there an architect that particularly inspired you?
When at Mary Baldwin, I learned about a Washington D.C. architect, T. J. Collins who moved to Staunton in the late 19th century. The firm was still in operation until about 15 years ago and I did an internship there in 1976 and also worked there after graduating from the University of Virginia. At that time, the firm was run by T.J. Collins’ grandson, the sixth generation of builders/architects in the family.
Collins and his sons designed hundreds of buildings in Staunton and other communities in the Valley in every conceivable style of the period from Romanesque to Classical Revival. All the drawings still exist in Historic Staunton Foundation’s archives and many of the buildings survive as well. That experience really gave me an interest in historic preservation, and also I met my future husband, Bill Frazier, at the office in 1976 as he was doing his architectural history master’s thesis on T. J. Collins.
I also want to acknowledge Bruce Abbey, one of my professors at UVa. I had him for studio as well as lecture classes. He is the one who really sparked my thinking about contextualism and it guided my thinking on design in historic areas.
What are you currently reading?
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson. A fascinating moment in our history when so much happened!
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
Every meal my husband, Bill cooks! That said, the most amazing surprise meal/restaurant was La Bernadin in New York City back in the late 1990s. It is still there today and is one of the best restaurants in the country. We found it simply by luck and oh my, what a meal.
Why do you volunteer with AIA?
Because it is important for the general public to understand what and how architects contribute to our communities. Everyone knows about the need to go to a lawyer or a doctor, but going to an architect somehow seems optional. It is always an interesting experience to work with communities and individuals who have never used an architect and see their understanding and appreciation grow for the profession. So, volunteering with AIA as well as with local non-profit organizations helps foster that link to society, and it helps to encourage more young people to join the profession! While it has been a long journey, it is so worthwhile and rewarding!
