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 AIA Virginia Board of Directors Meeting Virtual August 13
Council for Architectural Component Executives Annual Meeting Virtual August 30 – September 2
Ambassador Engagement Resilient Virginia Conference Virtual August 25-27
Legislative Reception with Senator Bell Richmond August 26
Virginia NOMA Board Meeting Virtual September 1
Virginia Society of Association Executives Board Meeting Richmond September 2
Legislative Reception with House Democratic Caucus Richmond September 9
April C. Drake, AIA of Alexandria, Senior Project Architect, HDR Inc. has been appointed by the governor to the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects.
It is August. Families are returning from vacation or tucking it in before the children return to school. Offices are celebrating those who participated in an internship and now heading back to their respective universities.
For AIA Virginia, we just concluded our biennial Art of Practice. Held on August 4th, we brought together over 70 architects to sharpen their business skills with a focus on What’s Next in the industry. We welcomed the 2020 AIA Edward C. Kemper Award winner and Shepley Bulfinch CEO, Carole Wedge, FAIA as our opening keynote.
R. Corey Clayborne, FAIA
Wedge’s story is quite amazing. Starting in the mailroom at Shepley Bulfinch, she worked her way to the top executive position. During the presentation, Wedge shared the importance of noticing how you lead in the profession: from within, from in front, beside others, behind others, and in the field.
It is my hope that you see AIA Virginia as leading beside you. Leaning in 100% into the various aspects of your professional journey.
While you are elevating the voice of architects and architecture in your respective communities, we provide you the requisite tools to facilitate those efforts. In September, you can find AIA Virginia in Norfolk hosting a “Blueprint for Better Community Dinner” that will allow local architects to forge important relationships with their local leaders. As I bring this to a close, please mark your calendars for our annual conference, Architecture Exchange East. It will be held Nov. 1-5 with the last day consisting of in-person programming at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
We exist to make you better. Get engaged. Come see what we are doing. I promise that you will not be disappointed.
In service,
R. Corey Clayborne, FAIA, NOMA, MBA, CAE Executive Vice President
I first learned how to swim from my cousin Jill, who was a lifeguard. She was visiting from Idaho for a few weeks and decided to give me lessons at a neighbor’s pool. In the shallow end, she taught my gangly 8-year-old self how to breathe so I didn’t get water up my nose, how to float, how to kick and move my arms, how to trust the water when my tippee toes could no longer reach the bottom. I was never a great swimmer, but her lessons helped me let go of the wall, go under the floating rope, and explore the foreboding and exhilarating world of the Deep End.
Michael Spory, Assoc. AIA
In design education, our architectural training begins in the abstract, working on theoretical building programs, undeveloped sites, imagined clients. And our studio work, thankfully, lives mostly unbuilt lives as we begin stumbling through the complexity, wonder, and gravity of architectural design while (mostly) shielded from the harsher realities of crafting buildings that will outlive us. We graduate and begin our first jobs, learning how to be professionals for the first time, entering the shallow end of our working lives. We pick up redlines on a to-be-stamped project, listen in (blankly) as our manager chats with an engineer about an uncoordinated ceiling mishap, call product reps to discuss material dimensions, track our reimbursables. It can be a great place, the shallow end, as a practice area for testing our knowledge, for soaking up advice, for having someone check your work, for throwing out ideas to push the envelope. But it is also a stepping stone, a learning opportunity, a temporary place.
Because at some point, we start treading in deeper water. Sometimes it’s a gentle foray; other times, it’s a big toss into the Olympic pool. You present directly to a client. You do code review without backup. You somehow end up leading a coordination meeting. You talk to your attorney and review a contract. You have an answer when a younger coworker asks a technical question about ceiling grids. You look down in the metaphoric pool, and you are swimming, and the bottom of the pool is far beneath you. I wonder how this happens, this gradual transformation from young professional to (semi) confident architect, and I continue to be inspired by young professionals who have stepped up over the last 18 months, and how firms and managers can proactively nurture emerging folks to swim in deeper waters to keep us from floundering. From freshest new grad to veteran partner, I wonder if that process never ends, as we all find gaps in our knowledge, create space for mentorship, and walk the fine line between confidence and humility. Learning to swim in the deep end is a never-ending process.
Sometimes I look around (either the office or the virtual attendee list) in awe at the skills and knowledge of my coworkers–the masters of code recall, the detailing experts, the meticulous managers, the boundless designers, the savvy leaders. Amidst these folks, I wonder how it looks when I ask for help or acknowledge something I don’t know. But I also am inspired when students and emerging professionals speak up and shoulder the responsibility that architecture demands. Hopefully, we can keep welcoming our forays into the deep end.
In solidarity and action, Michael Spory, Associate AIA spory@vmdo.com
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!
Reagan T. Terrill, AIA (Blue Ridge)
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
As an architect and leader, Allison Ewing, FAIA has advanced sustainability through design, implementation and advocacy – both within and beyond the architectural profession — by modeling change in the building industry with solutions both visionary and practicable. Working on commercial, institutional, residential, and mixed-use projects at both large- and small-scale, Allison Ewing’s architectural experience spans twenty-five years and three continents. Ms. Ewing’s work seeks transformation – of site, of workplace, of living environment. She pursues design excellence at all scales, from site to building to detail – an approach which encompasses meeting client’s goals while arriving at elegant solutions that embody sustainable best practices.
Prior to forming her own firm HEDS with partner Chris Hays, Ms. Ewing was Partner at William McDonough + Partners, and design associate at the Italian firm of Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Her work experience also includes the offices of Cesar Pelli & Associates and Mitchell Giurgola Architects.
Ms Ewing has been a speaker at a number of national and international events related to sustainable design and her work has been published in EcoHome, USA Weekend, Dwell, Custom and the Washington Post Home. She has received many design awards, including “Custom Home of the Year Award” from Custom Home Magazine. The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center of Virginia received the top Virginia AIA award in 2018.
Ms. Ewing received her Master’s in Architecture from Yale University Graduate School of Architecture. She was the recipient of a Monbusho Fellowship to Japan where she studied Japanese housing.
Where did you go to college? Yale School of Architecture (MArch), Tokyo Institute of Technology (Monbusho Fellowship), University of Vermont (BA), L’Ecole du Louvre (DEUG)
What does it take to be an architect? Architecture bridges art and building. It’s not pure creation, nor is it pure engineering. I enjoy the range of skills that span between art and engineering — the creative aspects, the problem solving, the attention to detail, the bringing together of many consultants toward a (hopefully) beautifully conceived and executed design. Each project is a new exploration of that ideal marriage of a building with its site to enrich people’s lives and advance sustainability.
Was there an architect that particularly inspired you? I first met Tadao Ando in 1989 through a Yale internship at the construction company Takenaka in Osaka, Japan. Mr. Ando taught a studio at Yale the following year. Mr. Ando invited a few of us to travel in Japan at the end of his studio. During my fellowship in Tokyo in 1992, I was able to visit some of his projects. Through these experiences, I was able to study his use of light with concrete as his canvas. The buttery quality of his concrete makes the material dematerialize when hit with light — you see the light, not the concrete. It reminds me of what a friend said about the pianist Maurizio Pollini. You hear the music, not the pianist’s technique. This idea applies to Ando’s work – the architect’s technique is not what you see, it is light as it hits surfaces, water as it reflects the sky. In this sense, Ando is the most modest of architects.
What are you currently reading? I am reading Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World. The novel takes place in Istanbul. I enjoy foreign authors – their perspective takes me to new cultures in distant places.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had? I was doing a summer internship in Osaka, Japan, through Yale, with the construction company Takenaka. One of the Takanaka’s clients invited my colleague and me for dinner. We were told to arrive before sunset. The dinner was on a deck perched over the Kamo River. It was a hot day but we were cooled by the cool breeze from the river below our deck. The waitress wore the traditional Geisha kimono. The meal started with a broth over a burner. Over the course of the meal, the waitress brought out food that was added to the broth, vegetables, quail egg, shellfish, and on and on. It was many courses… As the evening progressed, the broth grew richer with every addition. The combination of the setting and dinner progression was astonishing.
Why do you volunteer with AIA? I inherited a strong sense of civic duty from my father who was raised a Quaker. Volunteering with the AIA expands my engagement in the profession beyond that of building projects. The VSAIA Political Action Committee is a great opportunity to help to advance sustainability through legislation. I feel I am giving something back to my community with the skills I have acquired in the course of my career.
David grew up literally on the bank of the river, under the bluffs of Natchez, Mississippi. There he developed a lifelong interest in houses and photography and a lifelong respect for water moccasins and fast currents.
After college he returned to Mississippi to spend a year making a photo documentary of its places and people, and what he saw as a vanishing rural way of life. That led to an interest in vernacular architecture and preservation, and three years of architecture school.
Returning to Mississippi after an internship in large firms, he set up practice in Natchez in 1980. He focused primarily on preservation work while taking on all the projects that come with a small-town practice.
1n 1990, as his firm gained credibility and larger projects, he uprooted his wife and young children and moved to Alexandria to begin again. While the decision was complicated, a large part of it had to do with a desire to be in a large metropolitan area where he might specialize in what he had always wanted to do – houses.
In 2000, after building a small residential practice in the DC metro area, he began a long transition toward doing more sustainable buildings, a learning process that continues to this day as his firm explores the frontiers of high-performance buildings.
In January of this year, David partnered with Matt Fine, AIA, who had been doing similar Passive House work in the multi-family affordable housing world, and they created Peabody|Fine Architects. The firm’s goal is to create a collaborative environment for designers united by their focus on zero energy construction.
Where did you go to college? Yale
What does it take to be an architect? Tenacity.
Was there an architect that particularly inspired you? Wright
What are you currently reading?The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson and The Hours by Michael Cunningham.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had? The first time I had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
Although the pandemic is not over, folks are returning to restaurants, movie theaters, churches, and ballgames as Covid restrictions have loosened. We are transitioning to something different, still to be defined. Are we returning to a sense of normalcy that we are used to, the “way things were”, or moving toward something new? I think too much has changed to return to the way things were.
Sean Reilly, AIA
If we are moving forward, what are we moving forward towards? Moving towards something new is unique and personal. Consider the return to the office. Some of us are ready to return to the office and in-person meetings without any restrictions, others want to return only with certain restrictions, some aren’t ready to return and prefer to continue to work at home, while still others prefer a hybrid model that combines working at home with working at the office.
From the crisis, we have changed, for better, or worse. We can slide backward, or we can create something new. AIA Virginia is creating something new with Board Governance changes that will propel our organization forward to a more impactful future.
Through numerous outreach efforts with our local components, it was evident that there was clear support for Phase 1 of the Secretary Advisory Committee’s recommendations for creating a new, more efficient and inclusiveBoard Governance structure. A special meeting of the membership was held on June 3, 2021 and those recommendations were overwhelmingly approved with a 69-5 vote.
The key component of Phase 1 is the separation of the four Advisory Councils (Advocacy, Education, Outreach and Members Services) from the Board of Directors.
Advisory Councils will be populated by members who are passionate about that area of work through a self-nomination process, thus providing new opportunities for leadership.
Each Council will consist of up to nine members and select its own Chair.
It is very exciting to consider the potential impact the four Councils will have in shaping the future of our profession in Virginia. There are no limits to what we can accomplish through working together in the Councils that will begin work in January.
This period of transition out of the crisis to a better future is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new beginning. Individually, each of us can choose to move forward and create something new in our lives and careers. It is a journey that requires our imagination and persistence, one day at a time.
What we need is the opportunity to learn what takes us forward to create a positive impact on our families, friends, firms, and the communities we live in. Let’s move forward together with the courage to create a better-built environment and a healthier, more just world for all people.
At the Special Meeting of the Membership held on June 3rd, the membership voted overwhelmingly to support the governance change to open up service on the four advisory Councils of AIA Virginia to the membership!
This change will integrate diverse voices from all over the Commonwealth to move the organization forward in the areas of Advocacy, Education, Outreach, and Member Services. Though the Advocacy Council is at full capacity, we have additional space on the remaining three Councils. Click on the links to read more about the duties and experience you can expect on each Council.
Advocacy Advisory Council>> This council is full for 2022
If interested, you must self-nominate yourself. Simply send a brief letter of interest and resume to AIA Virginia Executive Vice President, Corey Clayborne, FAIA at cclayborne@aiava.org by October 29. If this service opportunity isn’t right for you at this time, please do share it with others. Fresh voices are welcome and encouraged to serve!
Fresh voices are enthusiastically encouraged to apply!
