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There has been much discussion raised about "Why are women leaving Architecture? and more broadly, Why is the profession losing key talent?"  Both women and men practitioners are disillusioned by the myth of work/life balance: Women are grappling with "have it all" expectations of juggling family time with the demands of full-time work.  Men are struggling to support their families solely on an architect's salary and fall back on asking spouses to maintain their jobs. The lack of affordable childcare and high cost of living only magnifies the challenges.  How did we end up in this modern family dilemma? What can we do to improve the situation?

Architecture in the City: Resilience UX

by Lilian Asperin, AIA

Snap
In January of 2014, my father passed away unexpectedly. It was the first time in my career that my professional and personal trajectories massively collided. Congruent with that timeline was the birth of Equity by Design and my involvement in this transformative group dedicated to equitable practice, advancing architecture, and sustaining talent.

Being part of Equity by Design was meaningful during this time of personal grieving and upheaval because I was experiencing a particularly difficult pinch point. I was curious about how to go about considering a new set of pairings, which would shed light into what truly means the world to me.  To that extent, I took the summer off - to unsubscribe. During this interlude dedicated to purposefulness, the “process leader” in me wanted to ask for many details and sequences, but I learned to resist the need to know what, when and how much and instead focus on why, where and who with. 

When I re-engaged with work and Equity by Design, I found myself delving into the survey we had conducted and finding the data to support what I’d previously only been able to feel, and what I’d assumed I was feeling in a vacuum. The survey helped me contextualize and articulate my experience as the kind of pinch point during which our profession often loses some of its talent, and it helped me join a conversation about how to turn that trend around.

Equity in Architecture Survey
We have designed two surveys, the most recent of which has resulted in over 8,000 responses nationally. The results of the first survey, published in 2014, were sobering, while the trends have been evident in many of our experiences:

  • Gender-based pay and promotion inequities
  • There is a dearth of mentoring
  • Many professionals experience burn out
  • Respondents report a compromised home life

According to the 2014 survey, the respondents measure success as the following: working with the “A” team (those who are talented, aspirational, and seeking bold outcomes), engaging in projects of significance (impactful work that aligns with values) and leveraging flexibility for optimal creativity and productivity (work and life are integrated, with respect for personal space and time).

Life of an Architect
When we analyzed the data, respondents shed light on specific career pinch points:

  • Studio: academia
  • Paying Dues: on-ramping
  • Licensure: earning credentials
  • Caregiving: balancing families
  • Glass Ceiling: furthering advancement

Data is messy.
Here we are, as architects, with really important information that transforms anecdotes to facts. Yet, there comes a point when some of the data can be numbing rather than empowering. Is there a way to visualize it? Is there a way to experience it? This inspired our process for designing the fourth Symposium and an interactive piece as part of AIASF’s Architecture in the City Program.

Make stuff.
Architects love to make stuff, primarily because we are introverts. But also because we like to tinker and patterns start to emerge when we work with our hands. Tools give us voice. And, through our iterative process, we create combinations of things that go beyond words. We see adjacencies, disparities, and so on.

Prototype #1.
We have the opportunity to explore the topic of resilience. First, elasticity. Growth is experienced through stretching (setting aspirational goals) or when we are stretched (the first time planned or that circumstance perhaps not planned).

Prototype #2.
We then layered a vertical spectrum (levels of satisfaction) and a horizontal spectrum (duration in terms of years). What are the influences? Do gender and years of experience play a role? When are there drop offs from the field?

Prototype #3.
And again, ask: What are we mapping? Against what baseline? Is there something about that intensity that can be informative? In the context of Equity by Design, what new conversations have emerged? As in, what about leadership is recognized? Is leadership measured by power and control or perhaps, more importantly, by meaning and influence?

Prototype #4.
A typical detail in Architecture is the slotted connection. Our details account for an imperfect fit but allow for the convergence of movement, flexibility, yet connection.  We wondered if the installation could help us bring a hyper focus to the exactness of what actually happened during the points of inflection in your career. When you soared, what exactly contributed to that positivity? What can firms do to continually lift up their talent? 

Zahner!
We experience great joy in building relationships that are partnerships. Zahner, a collaborator on previous projects, was tickled by our mock-ups of studies on the topic of resilience.  So they offered to help us with scale and craft, but also in helping us clarify and strengthen our design intent.  We trusted them. And when the crate arrived, they indeed had amplified our concept 10 fold.

Pecha Kucha.
In times of stimulus overload in our world, the challenge of telling a story in 20 images, 20 seconds each is both welcomed and terrifying. It’s a whole other design exercise when compounded by the vulnerability of your story. So, there goes pen to paper and the sketches tell this journey. I would be remiss to not express my gratitude for those who have helped me in my journey of resilience. You know who you are and I thank you.

Meet the #EQxDM3 Thought Leaders and Keynote Speaker!

AIASF Equity by Design is excited to present our diverse group of Thought Leaders who will be contributing their expertise and experience to the Equity conversation on October 28 + 29th . We had an incredible list of talented professionals submit for the program and it was a difficult decision to come up with the final list. Regardless, we encourage everyone to join us for our 4th Symposium -  Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices. Find out more about each of them and the sessions they will be participating for October 28 + 29, 2016.

 

Featured Keynote Speaker

In her tenure as the founder of the 3% Conference, Kat Gordon is well versed and experiences at how to be an agent of change in Advertising, where only 3% of creative directors were women. Launched on September 27, 2012 in San Francisco, the 3% Conference has exploded into a 2-day, 800-person event in New York City, multi-city road shows throughout the year, a vibrant online community on multiple social platforms, a student scholarship fund, a creative award, and a business blog to support the crusade.

Kat Gordon's presentation is timely as a launchpad for our next chapter. By recalling her personal journey as an agent for change, Kat will share the key aspects of change leadership - transforming key discussions into strategic actions to affect the lasting outcomes that we desire for Equity in Architecture movement.

Featured
Kat Gordon
Kat Gordon

Founder of The 3% Conference, Advertising Creative Director

Kat Gordon has been called the “triple threat” of an entrepreneur, ad woman + marketing to women expert and was named one of "30 Most Creative Women in Advertising" by BusinessInsider in 2016 and one of “Forty Over 40” women disrupting the world in 2014. She is the visionary behind The 3% Conference. Started as a passion project to spotlight a huge business opportunity in advertising -- the lack of female creative leadership and its impact on connecting with an overwhelmingly female marketplace -- the 3% Conference has grown exponentially since its 2012 launch and has hosted events in 15 cities globally. Kat's team also offers consulting and certification to help agencies up their accountability around gender equality

Introducing our #EQxDM3 Though Leaders

Joining our Keynote Speaker, Equity by Design Core Team, and AIASF Leadership, is a group of talented leaders, academics, and practitioners in the Equity movement both locally, nationally and abroad. We welcome you to join them in what promises to be an interactive and motivating day. Click here to find out more our Thought Leaders and their sessions on October 28 and 29th.

#EQxDChats to Kick Off #EQxDM3 Symposium on 10/29!

We are launching the first ever #EQxDChats in the next 2 months to celebrate the upcoming AIASF Symposium 4 - Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning, + Metrics on October 29th. Each of the Twitter Live #EQxDChats will be framed around each of the the 3 Symposium Themes. So please mark your calendar and join us for all 3! Not on Twitter? It's easy to get an account and start connecting.

Follow @EquityxDesign or use #EQxDChats to follow the discussion on each of the Mondays.

#EQxDChats #1: Metrics -  August 15th  - 12n-1pm PST

#EQxDChats #2: Meaning – September 12th  - 12n-1pm PST

#EQxDChats #3: Matrices – October 10th - 12n-1pm PST

 

Early Bird Registration is now open from 8/1 - 8/31 for #EQxDM3 and we welcome everyone to join us - All architects at all levels for this much awaited event!

This year’s symposium theme: "Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter.

“Equity - Just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all can participate and prosper. The goals of equity must be to create conditions that allow all to reach their full potential. In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.”

Why Equity in Architecture Matters.

Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.

We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.  

We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.

We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.

At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 with a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Interspersed with these sessions we have designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops that encourage participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and applying matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.

 

THANKS TO #EQXDM3 SPONSORS FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!

Save the Date 10/29 - Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices

“Architecture has a serious problem today in that people who are not alike don’t communicate. I’m actually more interested in communicating with people I disagree with than people I agree with. To have a certain virtuosity of interpretation of every phenomenon is crucial. We’re working in a world where so many different cultures are operating at the same time each with their own value system. If you want to be relevant, you need to be open to an enormous multiplicity of values, interpretations, and readings. The old-fashioned Western ‘this is’ ‘that is’ is no longer tenable. We need to be intellectual and rigorous, but at the same time relativist.”
— Rem Koolhaas
Photos from Equity by Design Symposium 2014 at SF Art Institute

Photos from Equity by Design Symposium 2014 at SF Art Institute

Please save the date for the 4th Symposium of AIA SF "Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" on October 29, 2016 at the San Francisco Art Institute. The conversation that began in 2011 of the “missing 32%” in regards to the lack of women leaders in architecture has become an international movement with much broader depth and farther reach. Equity by Design is dedicated to achieving equitable practice in architecture in order to retain talent, advance the profession, and engage the public in understanding architecture’s true value proposition in creating accessible and just communities. 

This year’s symposium theme: "Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter.

“Equity - Just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all can participate and prosper. The goals of equity must be to create conditions that allow all to reach their full potential. In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.”

Why Equity in Architecture Matters.

Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.

We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.  

We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.

We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.

At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 with a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Interspersed with these sessions we have designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops that encourage participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and applying matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.

Call for Symposium Thought Leaders - 

We seek Thought Leaders on equitable practice to participate in the Symposium sessions which range from panel discussions of key findings from the Equity in Architecture survey to interactive break-out sessions geared toward action-oriented outcomes. We are looking for dynamic, collaborative, articulate thinkers with a unique perspective on the spectrum of topics involved with achieving equitable practice. We will begin accepting submissions starting May 31, 2016. Please look for the next blog post which will provide the link to the Thought Leader application.

 

 

EQxD Hackathon 2016 Jurors: Our “Venture Capitalists”

By Lilian Asperin Clyman

The situation is: we love our profession but it stands the risk of losing talent, compromises our ability to integrate work with passion and family, and at times feels like a throwback in time. The solution: we are re-designing our design profession. This year at the AIA National Convention, AIA San Francisco’s Equity by Design Committee will be hacking for good. We are gathering as a group to work with the mindset of entrepreneurs; to encourage one another to explore wild and exaggerated ideas, to ask better questions, iterate, self edit, and move quickly. This is all so we can have a spark of curiosity towards what our lives as architects could look like as soon as the first Monday after the Convention. To explore the viability, relevance, and emotional resonance of each idea pitched by teams participating in the Hackathon, our team of jurors will be adopting the mindset of venture capitalists.  Which is the idea we think we can get fully behind because we are convinced it’s a game changer?

“How do we disrupt? Where do we focus attention to identify a universal knot to untangle in our industry? What are the lessons we can gain from others outside Architecture or those who are collaborators? Are we able to propose a whole new business case?”

Each one of my fellow Jurors lives by the mantras of “Why Not?”, “Because” and “Together”. Ours are the stories of following intuition first and then pausing to augment that gut feeling with data and discourse, which when sparked by curiosity, lead us to delight.  We love to play along the edges of things. We share a passion for working on “firsts” and not being afraid to find the path (or the connections and support network) to move from idea to realization.  Our team of Jurors is diverse by design - representing three realms: a practicing Architect, a leader in our allied field of Construction, and an entrepreneur working in a field unrelated to Architecture. Together, we  represent a collective and multivalent triad informed by gender, cultural background, and the points of view that emerge from the environments we work in and  the work we each do.

Lilian Asperin-Clyman, AIA,LEED AP BD+C

Lilian is an Associate and Project Director at WRNS Studio and Co-Chair of Equity by Design. She is a licensed Architect interested in being part of a multidisciplinary design environment that embodies a culture of collaboration, is connected to the community, takes risks and fosters talent. On March 2013, Lilian attended her first Hackathon. A year later, she organized a Hackathon for MOOCs as part of the SCUP Pacific Regional Conference and the third for last year’s AIA Convention in Atlanta. As Co-Chair of Equity by Design, she is tinkering yet again, this time helping to design the experience for the upcoming 4th Symposium on October 29, 2016.

 

Anthony Gold

Anthony Gold is a serial entrepreneur, investor, author, advisor, and board member for several companies in the Philadelphia region - both for-profit and non-profit. He began his career designing supercomputers for Unisys, then created an open-source software and services startup that was recognized by the industry as the “largest open source systems integrator in the world.” Anthony was honored to be named one of the Top Leaders in Open Source Business by LinuxWorld magazine. As the co-founder, COO and CTO of ROAR for Good, Anthony is recombining skill with passion in service of social good through the design of ATHENA, a discrete accessory envisioned to protect women from threats to their safety.

 

Frances Choun

Frances is an established and trusted leader as Vice- President of McCarthy’s Northern Pacific Division. Her visionary leadership has propelled the company forward as one of the largest commercial contracting firms in California. Frances launched her career in Architecture, where she developed an interest in the construction side of the business. As an industry expert, Frances is regularly called upon by local, trade and national media to address new and projected trends, and is considered a pioneer in advancing women in the construction field. Last year, Frances was in the pioneering class of the Equity by Design Hackathon at the AIA Convention in Atlanta. This year, her fervor for hacking continues and she will help us select a winner.

Staying true to the Hackathon format, there will be a winner! To evaluate each team and their proposition of what the Architecture Firm of the future looks like, jurors will be looking through the lenses of: User Experience (human-centered insight), Impact (innovation and relevance), Metrics (plan for action, deployment and evaluation), and Pitch (quality and uniqueness of message). Much like venture capitalists, we will be looking for teams who arrive at new modalities, create emotional resonance, and have a plan that garners our vote.


Join us for the reveal of the EQxD Hackathon: Architecture and the Era of Connections Winner during Happy Hour at Smokin' Betty's (116 South 11th Street) near the Philadelphia Convention Center from 5:30-7:30pm.

Join us for the EQxD Hackathon - WE315 May 18, 1-5pm (Happy Hour Included) or come to EQxD Happy Hour Only - May 18, 5:30-7:30pm 

Join us for the EQxD Happy Hour Only - May 18, 5:30-7:30pm 

 

THANKS TO OUR EQxD HACKATHON SPONSORS!

We greatly appreciate our EQxD Hackathon and Happy Hour sponsors for their generous support!

Where are the Women Architects? An interview with Despina Stratigakos

This interview was published March 16, 2016 on Princeton University Press' blog, see original post here.

Next Wednesday, April 27, from 6-8pm  AIASF Equity by Design will host Despina Stratigakos (DS) in the launch of her newest book WHERE ARE THE WOMEN ARCHITECTS? Join us for a special evening at AIA San Francisco to meet the author, discover highlights from the book and participate in a discussion with panelists Nancy Levinson, Deanna Van Buren, and Rosa T. Sheng on featured topics.

Why do we need to talk about women in architecture? Can’t we just focus on the work of architects, regardless of their gender?

DS: It’s easy to say that gender issues are a thing of the past, but a young woman entering architecture today still confronts an unequal playing field. She can expect to make less than her male peers at every stage of her career, to see fewer career-building opportunities come her way, and to struggle to make it to the top ranks of the profession, which remain overwhelmingly male. Discrimination lies behind these hurdles and is the reason we continue to see such disturbingly high dropout rates for women. So, yes, we do have to talk about women in architecture. And hopefully do more than just talk.

But aren’t more women than ever studying architecture? Won’t that influx resolve these issues as more women integrate into the profession?

DS: Numbers alone aren’t a fix. For the last fifteen years, women have been a strong presence in architecture schools, making up nearly half of the student body. But far too many of them eventually leave architecture. As a result, the number of women in practice has flatlined, with women today representing less than one in five licensed practitioners. Beyond the human tragedy of so many women abandoning their dreams, this loss of talent and energy undermines the health of the profession.

Why do so many women leave architecture?

DS: This phenomenon has been so little studied, that’s it hard to give conclusive answers, but new research suggests that women leave for complex and varied reasons, including salary gaps, fewer opportunities for career advancement, a lack of mentoring and role models, and routine sexism in the workplace. The simplistic explanation, trotted out for decades, that women leave practice to have babies doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. It’s true that architecture’s deadline-driven culture makes it difficult to balance raising a family with the expected long work hours. But not all mothers choose to leave architecture, and women without children are also struggling in the profession, so the issue can’t be reduced to biology.

In your book, you point out that journalists and other observers have been asking about architecture’s missing women for over a century. If this phenomenon isn’t new, why write the book now?

DS: Something new is afoot in architecture. While there have been questions and protests about the lack of women in architecture for a long time, gender equity issues today are attracting attention across a broader span of the profession and are also garnering public support. A new generation of advocates are speaking out about issues of diversity in architecture and organizing at a grassroots’ level to make their voices heard. I identify this as architecture’s third wave of feminism, and hope the book helps to define a movement that may, at last, bring about deep change.

Architect Barbie’s inclusion in this book may come as a surprise to some readers. You write candidly about your reasons for partnering with Mattel to create the doll and the responses, some of them critical, she received when launched in 2011. Why did you decide to include her story in this book?

DS: I am very interested in how popular culture shapes professional images and the role gender plays in such ideals. For an earlier generation, Howard Roark, the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s hugely influential novel, The Fountainhead, embodied the ideal image of the architect—especially as portrayed by Gary Cooper in the 1949 film version. Barbie is a cultural icon who is both loved and hated, and casting her in the role of an architect galvanized people into talking about professional stereotypes, such as whether architects can wear pink. Her story is relevant to the challenges that women architects face in the real world, especially because she lets us look at gender issues from unexpected angles.

The ideal image of the architect also comes up in your chapter on architecture prizes as a boys’ club. You write about how Zaha Hadid, after becoming the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, endured humiliating press stories that focused on her appearance rather than on her achievements. Some of these accounts are quite shocking to read today. What do you want readers to take away from this account?

DS: This rather shameful moment in architectural journalism speaks to the discrimination that even the most successful women architects face. Denise Scott Brown’s exclusion from the 1991 Pritzker Architecture Prize awarded to her partner Robert Venturi, which I also discuss, is another instance of how even prominent female practitioners can be dismissed. But 2004 is not that long ago, and the sexist reaction to Hadid’s win reminds us that attitudes about women being lesser architects and unworthy of the highest laurels are not part of a long-dead past.

But has that changed now? This year, the AIA Gold Medal is being awarded jointly to Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, and Zaha Hadid has won the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Royal Gold Medal, the first woman to be offered the honor in her own right. Are women architects finally getting their due?

DS: These awards are highly deserved and long overdue, but have come about only after sustained pressure on professional organizations to better align their rewards systems with today’s architectural realities. Scott Brown is the first living woman to win the AIA Gold Medal ever; Hadid is the first sole female practitioner to win the RIBA Gold Medal ever. These are important milestones, but we don’t yet know whether they are part of a larger pattern. In the book, I discuss how the paucity of female laureates has led to the recent and rapid proliferation of new prizes solely for women architects. Time will tell whether such women-only honors continue to multiply or whether they will come to seem anachronistic.

In the book, you also express concern about a more mundane vehicle for recognition: inclusion in Wikipedia. You write about the invisibility of women architects on this hugely popular and influential website, and the bias of male editors against entries on women’s history. Why is it important to close that visibility gap?

DS: In the last twenty years, histories of women in architecture have flourished and have come to challenge our understanding of the people and forces that have shaped our built environment. But for these discoveries to reach a broad audience and to become widely known, they need to appear in the places where people look today for information on the past, and that is increasingly to free online resources such as Wikipedia. Content on Wikipedia is controlled by its editors, who are overwhelmingly male and resistant to the inclusion of women’s histories. This absence threatens to perpetuate the belief among a younger generation that women architects have made no meaningful contributions to the profession. I explore the campaigns launched by tech-savvy activists to write women architects into Wikipedia.

Despina Stratigakos is associate professor and interim chair of architecture at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. She is the author of Hitler at Home and A Woman’s Berlin: Building the Modern City. Her most recent book is Where are the Women Architects?

This interview was published March 16, 2016 on Princeton University Press' blog, see original post here.

EQxD's TEDxPhiladelphia Video - Why does Equity in Architecture Matter?

by Rosa T. Sheng, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

TEDxPhiladelphia 2015 - Why does Equity in Architecture Matter?

TEDxPhiladelphia 2015 - Why does Equity in Architecture Matter?

On June 11, 2013, I made one of the most important life changing decisions, ever. While I was having a pre-midlife crisis and could have easily chose to give up out of hopelessness, fear, and self-doubt, I was asked to present as a panelist at a conference called "The Missing 32%".  There, I met my future champions, who assured me that my career, life and achievements had value worth sharing with others. We collectively agreed to take action in the name of equity in architecture. On that fateful day, I asked many to come to the table to form what would become "The Missing 32% Project" and later evolved into Equity by Design, a committee of AIA SF. On June 11, 2015, I shared the amazing story with an audience of 1200 at TEDxPhiladelphia of what came about during the 2 years since I made the decision to stay in the profession and take action for positive change. There is a lot of work still to be done, and plenty more bites of the whale to go around. But the sight of more people coming to the table with forks in hand is very encouraging and we have a lot more in store for 2016! So grab your fork, watch the video, share with all the architects and non-architects you know. We can make a difference, one bite at a time.

This week, TEDxPhiladelphia is releasing all 14 talks to the public via Youtube. I am honored and humbled to be in the presence of so many amazing people, their work and causes, and their message to the world. Please visit the official website to view them all and please consider supporting future talks produced by this amazing group.

AIASF NEXT Conference Recap: Design "Thinkering"

by Rosa Sheng, AIA

Last week, AIASF kicked-off its inaugural NEXT Conference on Thursday and Friday. MoMa Curator Paola Antonelli gave an invigorating and provocative keynote about the increasing ambiguity and ambivalence of design in the next frontier. She suggested that Design is expanding beyond problem solving to complex critical thinking: challenging what we know and stretching out of our comfort zone in a truly disruptive way. Paola asked us to think of Design as Activism out of necessity as we ultimately will be approaching extinction given the way we are operating today. She introduced the concept of "Thinkering", which could be interpreted as a marriage of Design Thinking and Tinkering; merging strategic disruption with real world application and maker experimentation in an iterative dialogue.

In reference to more effective sustainable design, she promoted examples combining biomimetic inspirations with adaptation of new technologies such as 3D and 4D printing Kinematic. And in the case of MIT's MediaLab, The Silk Pavilion explores the relationship between digital and biological fabrication on product and architectural scales. Silkworms were deployed as a biological printer in concert with an algorithmically generated pavilion using a single thread. You can view the project video below to get a sense of the "Thinkering" that Paola references.

Another exploration that Paola suggests is that of Design as a political vehicle to engage and build empathy. In her book release earlier this year "Design and Violence", Paola suggests that Design has a history of violence while the professional discourse has largely trumpeted its successes. Violence - defined as the manifestation of power to alter circumstances against the will of others to their detriment, while ubiquitous and ambivalent, has introduced new threats with the rapid advancement of technology. How can we be responsible stewards of design to leverage the ambiguity of design for positive impact while mitigating the negative effects from moving too quickly forward without understanding the power and consequence of design?

Following the inspiring keynote, the remainder of the conference content addressed some of these themes in 4 sessions within 3 tracks: Business, Technology & Design.  I attended the following sessions and found the content to be of high quality and relevant information (with no bias of my co-presentation on Negotiation of course!)

Nexus: Water Recycling for a Resilient Future

  • Ellen Fuson, HOK
  • Rowan Roderick-Jones, ARUP
  • Tracy Quinn, Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Scott Bryan, ImagineH2O
  • John Scarpulla, SFPUC

With California's current water crisis, Design professionals have an unprecedented opportunity to drive change. The technologies, practices and policies we use to tackle water scarcity has the potential to set a national precedent. While the panel presented cutting-edge water technologies, we still face challenges related to policy, funding, and social norms, particularly for solutions that step beyond drilling new wells or basic conservation measures.  

Business Skills Sprint Session

SPRINT 1: The Future of Business for Architects, Richard Pollack, Pollack Consulting

One of the most important aspects of our profession receives minimal focus during our years in architectural school, yet its the key component of having a viable, appropriately compensated, enjoyable career - and that component is BUSINESS. 

SPRINT 2: Lean (Financial) Management for Architectural Firms, Steven Burns, BQE Software

Lean management is the long-term approach where you seek small, systematic, incremental changes in your process in order to improve your efficiency and quality. While most successful manufacturers have been following a Lean approach for decades, only recently have architects begun to explore Lean management.  Successful implementation is achieved not by the management team but instead from the workers themselves. The front-line staff, those who actually perform the work are the ones charged with innovating ways to speed the process, minimize risk and provide higher client satisfaction. This seminar explores how a Lean approach to financial management can be implemented in an architectural firm.

SPRINT 3: Developing the "Practice of Innovation in Architecture", Mark Miller, MK Think

As principal of the Innovation Studio at MKThink, Mark depends on big data to inform designs so that the outcome is the appropriate solution for the problem. Sometimes the issue at hand is not clear and the use of key analytics can provide answers to undefined problems. By discovering the means to transcend systemic inefficiencies of traditional building, the alignment with today’s post-industrial economy can occur. Innovative solutions correct and capitalize on these inefficiencies by applying successful analytic and technological precedents from parallel industries.

Innovative Negotiation: The Art and Science of Making the Deal

  • Rosa Sheng, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
  • Elizabeth Tippin, Elizabeth Tippin Law
  • Joan Williams, UC Hastings School of Law
Joan Williams, UC Hastings gives strategies for better negotiation. 

Joan Williams, UC Hastings gives strategies for better negotiation. 

Innovative Negotiation was a newly developed seminar that leverages the science and art of successful deal making to become a more effective negotiator on behalf of yourself, your practice, and for the profession-at-large. In the session, attendees learned tactical skills to build confidence by understanding default negotiation styles and discussed ways to increase effective outcomes for various situations; performance review, salary raise negotiation, contracts and additional services with your clients. There are many situations and types of negotiation — and ultimately it breaks down to communication styles and the choices we make when we engage in these situations. Understanding the various styles of negotiation while learning when to apply these skills based on the situation is critical to successful outcomes. 

Equity in Action: Co-Creating Space for Social Change

  • Mallory Cusenbery, RossDrulisCusenbery Architecture, Inc.
  • Tomas Alvarez, Beats Rhymes & Life, Inc.
Engaging "At Promise" Oakland Youth in design process.

Engaging "At Promise" Oakland Youth in design process.

In Oakland where youth face daily challenges to their well being, "placemaking" and "personal growth" may seem like indulgences. Communities of young people are busy coping with impacts from gun violence, teen pregnancy, high drop-out rates, inadequate healthcare and incarceration. Yet, it is in this very area where a set of important community innovations are emerging. Through concurrent initiatives in programming, mental health facilitation and collaborative placemaking design, East Bay youth are redefining themselves and the places where they live. At the heart of this are grassroots, hands-on engagement processes—using culturally relevant tools—offering a generation of young people means to build their world in their image. This is about co-creating efficacy through guided collaboration. In architecture, youth-focused participatory design is engaging young people in a generative creative process to co-design their built environment, with exciting results. In social work, hip hop therapy is offering a model for culturally-responsive approaches to adolescent mental health, healing and empowerment. Both approaches embrace the notion that youth labeled "at risk" are capable of creating, transforming and shaping their communities; both leverage similar tools to achieve this: collaborative activity groups, exercises to extract youth stories, improvisation, structures for youth creative input, documentation. The role of the "expert”—architect, therapist—is redefined, replacing top-down approaches with porous, non-hierarchical facilitator/collaborator roles. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to attend Thursday's Placemaking Deep Dive. But judging from the live tweet activity (Captured in Storify Summary) there were some very active discussions about the need for Placemaking to authentically engage with communities to inspire a new activism for "Citizen Planners".

Winning the lottery, requires buying a ticket

““You can’t win the lottery, if you don’t buy a ticket”. ”
— Julia Donoho, AIA, Esq.

At the AIA Women's Leadership Summit in Seattle, there was advocacy; taking action to drive positive change for equitable practice and representation. Julia Donoho, AIA, Esq., in her presentation about leading the campaign to nominate Julia Morgan for the AIA Gold Medal summed it up pretty well; "You can't win the lottery, if you don't buy a ticket". 

That message was already on our minds prior to the summit and in early discussions with the WIA/Equity Alliance Group of the AIA Diversity & Inclusion Council.  There was the discussion that AIA National Convention in the past has been lacking educational programs that addressed equitable practice and overall diverse representation on the panels groups. Applying the theory that you have to "Be in it, to win it", we asked everyone to submit an AIA Convention seminar or workshop program during the call for proposals earlier this summer. There were 10 proposals submitted with 2 phases of peer review. At each phase, there was great collaboration and strategic thinking about panelists for each program to increase the strength of the individual submissions. We are happy to report that 7 out of the 10 have been accepted as AIA convention programs for 2016 in Philadelphia!

Here are the 7 and their respective abstracts of each program for your reference:

  1. EQxD Hackathon : Architecture And...The Era of Connections
  2. EQxD What's Flex Got to Do with Success
  3. EQxD Negotiation is your Power Tool
  4. Establishing the Business Case for Women in architecture
  5. Moving the Needle: Achieving Equity starts with Architecture Schools
  6. Attract, Engage, Retain, Promote: Recommendations for Equitable Practices in Architecture
  7. Future Firm Culture: Defining a Path to Success

Here are the abstracts of each program for your reference:

EQxD Hackathon : Architecture And...The Era of Connections

One of the most unique and talked about ½ Day Pre-Convention Workshops is back! Join us for a new EQxD Hackathon this year. In Architecture AND the Era of Connection, we will explore the intersection of Design and Tech with a diverse panel of industry leaders and entrepreneurs to explore the practice innovations and future opportunities related to the business of Architecture in the new digital economy. The second half of the workshop will feature the popular "mini-Hackathon" format for groups to explore and develop a real plan of action that will have positive impact on the profession. (What is a Hackathon?) Very similar in format to a design charrette, this rapid prototyping format will leverage your Design Thinking skills to propose actionable initiatives and best practices for innovating equitable practice and exploring future business models for the profession. (Submitted by Rosa Sheng, AIA)

 

Equity by Design: Win-Win Strategies for Work/Life Flexibility

Establishing a healthy integration between work and life positively impacts business bottom lines by: providing access to a wider talent pool; increasing employee satisfaction, engagement and productivity; and reducing costly employee turnover. Meanwhile, the architectural profession commonly demands long, and often unpredictable, hours spent in the office. In this panel discussion, we will explore successful strategies for both firm leaders and employees to develop infrastructure that promotes and rewards results over the “Culture of Busy”. (Submitted by Lilian Asperin-Clyman, AIA)

 

Equity by Design: Negotiation is your Power Tool

According to the 2014 Equity in Architecture Survey, negotiation skills are sorely lacking in our profession. The survey found that less than 35% of all respondents, regardless of gender, negotiated their current salaries. Those who had negotiated salary increases experienced similar rates of self-reported success, and successful negotiators of both genders made more money on average than their non-negotiating counterparts. Successful negotiation is a well-honed skill that requires a deep understanding of all the potential factors that influence positive outcomes. At this session, we will discuss and learn strategies for achieving success in negotiations. (Submitted by Lilian Asperin-Clyman, AIA)

 

Establishing the Business Case for Women in architecture

This seminar begins with trends of women in architectural school, practice, and leadership positions. We will then identify root causes of what holds women back, or causes them to leave the profession; explore the business case for integrating women into leadership positions; and define actionable items firms can implement to raise women into leadership roles. Panelists will discuss personal experiences with attaining leadership roles, overcoming barriers, and views on the importance of women in a thriving practice.(Submitted by Amy Kalar, AIA)

 

Moving the Needle: Achieving Equity starts with Architecture Schools

The number of women and minorities attending architecture school has steadily increased, yet the comparable percentage of professors, department heads, heads of schools and deans of colleges that are women or minorities has not increased in years. Come hear from several Deans and Department Heads that have broken through this barrier as they describe what it means to their university, to their students and to the architectural profession. (Submitted by Nicole Dress, AIA)

 

Attract, Engage, Retain, Promote: Recommendations for Equitable Practices in Architecture

While women graduate with architecture degrees at a rate equal to men, they still make up only 20% of practicing architects; and today’s emerging professionals, regardless of gender, demand new approaches to work-life integration and career development. This session uses research-based recommendations and tools developed by Iowa Women in Architecture to help firms attract, retain, and nurture diverse talent pools, and to aid individuals as they move through their own career paths. (Submitted by Ann Sobiech Munson, AIA)

 

Future Firm Culture: Defining a Path to Success

Every architect is seeking a good firm culture that nurtures personal and professional success. But defining the necessary ingredients for a positive firm culture can be elusive. How do you as an individual influence the mood and energy of your firm? Your success and happiness as a professional may depend on your thoughtful decision to join a firm that best fits you culturally as well as your skills. ((Submitted by Nicole Martineau, AIA)

In the months to come prior to AIA National Convention, we will continue to engage, promote and advocate for attending these seminars and workshops to move the needle towards equitable practice. This will include documentation of the events and providing the best information to participants prior to and after events as we continue to build a network of champions for change.

If you have an approved program at AIA National Convention that is focused on the topic of equitable practice that is not represented here, please let us know and we will add you to the list of workshops and seminars.

   

Why you should attend AIA SF NEXT Conference Nov 12 + 13

by Rosa Sheng, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

In 3 weeks, AIA SF is hosting the "NEXT" Conference on November 12 & 13th in San Francisco. What is NEXT? And THAT is precisely the question the event will be addressing. 

“The word “revolution” is especially apt today. Now, more than ever, the world is changing. How people design and make things is not just evolving, but being completely disrupted again. We’re on the cusp of a new (and very real) revolution: It’s the “Era of Connection.”

How will people design and make things in the future? It’s helpful to take a look at the past in order to understand the major changes that are on the horizon.”
— Phil Bernstein, FAIA for "Line, Shape, Space" by Autodesk

Coming off of the last EQxD "U" Workshop: Architecture And... we had in-depth conversations about debunking the myths of traditional practice while exploring meaning and influence through the lens of 4 distinct multidisciplinary practitioners. 

The AIA SF NEXT Conference is a unique opportunity to extend and expand the conversation about how the professional practice of Architecture will need to adapt to the needs of our rapidly changing society that is affected by advancements in technology, transitions in commerce and availability of land and natural resources.

Day 1 will feature a Placemaking Deep Dive on November 12th at the Exploratorium, which is a continuation of the highly successful Placemaking Summit that occurred earlier this year.  The day includes interactive panel sessions and networking opportunities with leaders in the Placemaking movement; Urban planners, Professors, Government Agencies, and Activists.

  • Rethinking Space, Place, and Our Built Environment
  • PLACEMAKING / Stabilizing Neighborhoods
  • Urban Placemaking: Views from the Academy and Practice

Day 2 will begin with "The New Frontiers of Design", a keynote presentation from Paola Antonelli, curator of MOMA New York. The remainder of the day will feature 12 insightful seminar options within 3 tracks: Design, Business and Technology with 50+ diverse speakers including Architects, Engineers, Scientists, Urban Planners, City of SF Supervisor, Sustainability Experts, and Software Developers, and Entrepreneurs. For the full schedule of seminars, you can visit the website. Some noteworthy titles include: 

Based on Equity by Design's successful workshop Negotiation is your Power Tool,  I will be co-presenting a 60 minute workshop Innovative Negotiation: The Art and Science of Making the Deal at 2:30pm with Elizabeth Tippin, Esq., general counsel for design professional firms and Joan Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Hastings and author of several publications and journal articles on women's advancement in the workplace.

There will also be the AIA SF Annual Member's Business Meeting and Party on Friday Evening from 6-9pm (which is free for AIA SF Members). It will be a great opportunity to continue the conversation of how we can better engage, advocate, and promote the profession beyond Architects in the "Era of Connections". 

So in summary, here are the reasons why you should attend the AIASF Next Conference