Mount Angel Abbey Library in Saint Benedict, Oregon.  Alvar Aalto, 1970 There have been many definitions of ‘architecture’; mostly written by and for architects. What matters to me is what non-architects think of architecture. Over my nearly five decades in architecture (education plus practice), I’ve recognized five fundamental definitions or meanings of architecture held by non-architects. Architecture as consumer product; about style, fashion, and entertainment (embraced by most media, and most media influenced public, and I suspect most of the public are deeply media influenced). Architecture as real estate; an investment product (embraced by real estate brokers, developers, investors, business media and most building owners). Architecture as useful tool; minimal functional shelter (embraced by many builders, engineers, and facility managers)....

Image courtesy Macmillan Several biographies of Louis Kahn have been written in the 21st century, but Wendy Lesser’s may be the most compelling. Lesser, a writer, critic and editor in the arts, founded the literary magazine The Threepenny Review, and has published both fiction and nonfiction. Lesser authored Music for Silenced Voices: Shostakovich and His Fifteen Quartets, a narrative in which the quartets guide the reader through the composer’s life The Life of Louis Kahn is her first book with an architectural subject. Kahn’s story is interspersed with chapters describing what it’s like to visit five of his greatest buildings: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Kimbell Art Museum, Phillips Exeter Library, National Assembly Building of Bangladesh, and Indian Institute of...

Dear AIA Members and Friends, While participating this month in the annual AIA Grassroots 2018 Conference – where chapters across the country gather with AIA National – we saw strong alignment between the conversations here in Pittsburgh and conversations across the profession. The way we all live and work is transforming at a rapid pace. In response, architects throughout the US are creatively addressing issues of climate resiliency, affordable housing, equity, diversity, evolving technology, and generational shifts within the profession. Now more than ever an architect’s skills, systems-thinking and visionary planning can make a positive impact on society and the world. One speaker at the conference called architects’ super-power “the ability to vision what isn’t there yet”. Another said architects...

Reposted in its entirety from Ray Bowman’s blog RMB-Design: Architecture Made Accessible. As I mentioned last year, I’m doing more and more with the American Institute of Architects (the AIA), both locally, regionally and nationally. It’s part of the reason that I don’t blog about things until months after I do them anymore. One important role of the AIA is to advocate for all architects and support legislation that is supportive for the profession. That’s why the organization moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C. from New York City 50 years ago, to have a louder voice in influencing national legislation. But all politics is local, which is why regional and local chapters of the AIA organize their own lobbying days. Pennsylvania’s...

Technology has fundamentally changed the way we work and think within the architectural world. I have spoken with many architects at different levels in their career to understand how technology, hand drawing, and other conventions play a role in the design process and the effective communication of architectural ideas. Through these conversations with principals, directors, and collaborators at Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, I have learned that there should be a constant dialogue between all creative conventions of design such as hand drawing, physical modeling or computer programs to enhance the architectural design process rather than allowing creative tools to shape us. The approach to architectural education teaches us to problem solve using creative tools. Drawing from my experience, the first year...

Here at AIA Pittsburgh we are ringing in the new year with a new editor at Columns (you may have read that Becky Spevack signed off to devote herself full-time to her bacon-making business).  I’m Maya Henry and I worked here from 2001-2006 when I left to pursue my degree in Historic Preservation Planning. It was working at AIA Pittsburgh and meeting so many passionate architects and designers that got me excited about historic preservation, and I was proud to have the support and mentorship of many of you as I made the decision to attend Cornell. While pursuing my degree I had many opportunities, including leading a trip to Pittsburgh for the whole Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell,...

Just about twelve years ago, my husband and I moved to Pittsburgh knowing no one, with no plan. I know I’ve mentioned it before, being a transplant, but I may not have mentioned that we were young, perhaps a bit dumb, looking to start our life together somewhere new, somewhere we could call our own. After a few months here, a mix of pieced-together nannying jobs and long bouts of Golden Girls rerun marathons, I lucked into an interview at a small non-profit Downtown, and the rest, as they say, is history. Soon, I was an employee at AIA Pittsburgh, and it has been my home ever since. Working for AIA Pittsburgh has been a gift. As my life has...

I want you to know, I’ve avoided this for years. Time’s up. There’s something in the air these days. There seems to be a belief growing that becoming licensed as an architect is optional or even unnecessary. A thought exists that there needs to be irrefutable value clearly demonstrated in bullet points on a highway billboard for candidates to consider pursuing it after they’ve completed their education. If this is you, you are asking the wrong question. It’s axiomatic. Why is getting a license even a question? Every time this issue arises, I try to listen and be empathetic. I helped start AIA Pittsburgh’s YAF in 1996 for goodness sake – I’m an advocate for emerging professionals. I’ve taught hundreds...

It’s a new year. Again. It happens every 12 months, but it still gives us a feeling of hope and possibility. A chance to start anew, to look back and think about what’s been working and what hasn’t – in our lives, in our work, in our play – and to maybe make some adjustments to increase the chances of a better, more productive, more fun year ahead. With this new year, I’d like to think about giving Columns a fresh start, a renewed focus on filling its hypothetical ‘pages’ with articles that our members will find interesting and intriguing. I’d like to propose a year-long focus on Pittsburgh. Well, sure, duh, that’s where we live and work. But we...

This was originally presented as a lecture hosted by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and subsequently posted to Fisher BLOGitecture. This has been edited and reposted with the author’s permission.  I’ve been thinking about the following idea I presented in a previous post, Reimagining Pittsburgh: Only by carefully studying Pittsburgh’s existing context may an architect design new forms for it.  I’m now of the opinion that that not only is context important when you are coming up with the project ideas, it is also important as you design and build the project. There are different ways to take action. There’s the kind of person who (carefully or not) studies a situation where change needs to occur, forms a strong opinion...