In Virginia, it seems that the month of March always brings about the annual battle between Spring and Winter, with the first tease of warmth inevitably interrupted by a few final blasts of chill. And as I look outside at the unexpected mid-March covering of snowfall here in Hampton Roads, at least I can rest assured that Mother Nature is in charge, the season will change and the flowers will emerge.
Our national economy seems to also have an ebb and flow, albeit much less regular and without nature’s divine rhyme and reason. Following one of the harshest economic winters most anyone can remember, the last few years have had spurts of optimism and activity followed by periods of doubt and stalled progress. Recent signs might point to the potential of a sustained uptick and prolonged period of growth, with the AIA’s Architectural Billings Index (ABI) reaching its highest January score since 2007. January’s score not only represented an atypical busy start to the year but was also the 11th month of growth in the previous year. Now let’s hope that construction and financing can keep pace!
At AIA Virginia, Corey and the staff have been hard at work on a number of events in 2018, both new and repeat, that will make this year an exciting time to be a part of the organization. New to the AIA Virginia calendar this year was an event that occurred in Richmond on Tuesday, February 20 at the Omni Hotel. As a collaboration of allied professions with similar goals and objectives, ACE Virginia has been formed, a joint venture of AIA Virginia, Associated General Contractors of Virginia (AGC), and American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia (ACEC). As the legislative session ramped up in Richmond, ACE offered a unique educational and networking event featuring leadership representatives from the Virginia Department of General Services. Panel discussions and breakout sessions featured a wide variety of topics important to all the various ACE constituents. This was followed by a networking happy hour with invitations sent out to key legislators from throughout the Commonwealth. (Read Corey’s wrap up here.) I attended this inaugural event and can personally attest to its success on a variety of levels and I look forward to future opportunities.
While the ACE event focused on areas of practice and government affairs, AIA Virginia is equally dedicated to promoting the design and creative components of professional endeavors. Design Forum XIII will be held on April 6-7 at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke. This year’s event is entitled Blur, and will focus on the shifting boundaries between art, technology and architecture and how technologies are creating new links between artists and architects and enabling the exchange of ideas and techniques in new ways. The two-day conference will showcase presentations by dynamic figures in art and architecture who have embraced the blurring lines between the disciplines, including Eric Howeler, Doris Kim Sung, Nathan King, David Freeland and Refik Anadol. Learn more about the event and register for DFXIII here.
Continuing our efforts to reach out across the Commonwealth to our membership and local components, AIAVA will use this opportunity to host our March Board of Directors meeting at Virginia Tech and we look forward to interacting with our AIA Blue Ridge colleagues.
As I said in the January newsletter and strongly believe, this organization belongs to the membership, advocates and works on behalf of the membership, and is dependent on vital contributions of time and energy from the membership. Just as AIA Virginia is looking at new ways to reach out across geographical and professional boundaries to serve its members, I encourage each of you to look for ways to participate, by sponsoring and attending events, volunteering, and contributing to our vitally important AIA Virginia PAC.
Eric Keplinger, AIA
President
AIA Virginia