No statement can do justice to the despair, grief, and anger inflicted on so many by recent acts of racism and brutality against the Black community. That said, our profession should not be defined by its silence on this issue. We know longstanding inequities and discrimination against many groups will continue to harm members of our profession, our region, and our society. As a community of architects and allied professionals we can take action by asking: What can architects and architecture offer in the way of change for the better? How can we live up to our professional commitment to support the health, safety and wellbeing of the public in its entirety? How can we continue to take steps to...

Bill Bates, FAIA in South Korea during his tenure as AIA National President in 2019 AIA Pittsburgh’s William “Bill” Bates, FAIA served as President of AIA National in 2019 after being elected to the Board of Directors in 2011.  Bates served as AIA’s 2018 President-Elect and was also vice president and chair of the AIA Board Community Committee from 2015-2016. In 1991 and again in 2010, Bill served as president of AIA Pennsylvania and was also president of AIA Pittsburgh in 1987. He has chaired boards for the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and the Green Building Alliance. After talking to Bill about his role in the recent PBS documentary on Paul Williams, FAIA, I wanted...

Courtesy Learn to Play at Home There are a lot of suggestions out there for how to entertain kids while they are staying home during the COVID-19 crisis. Here we’ve rounded up some of our favorites that have an architecture focus. While it doesn’t mean your kids will leave you alone entirely while you attempt to work from home, our hope is that these ideas will provide some new entertainment and help you share your craft with your children. PRESCHOOL Create a box city and practice cutting, painting and building with this activity from Learn With Play at Home. Learn the concepts behind design thinking with this activity from Left Brain, Craft Brain. Craft an Egyptian pyramid with The Pinterested...

Name: Gunnar Hubbard, FAIA Firm: Thornton Tomasetti Family: Married with two children – TJ (18), Abby (16) Years in practice: 27+ Education: BS in Environmental Studies, UVM. MARCH, University of Oregon     Your first job: Camp Counselor, Camp Killooleet, Hancock, VT Union of Concerned Scientists, Renewable Energy Campaign Manager Executive Director, Yestermorrow Design/Build School Research Scholar, Green Building Services, Rocky Mountain Institute Project you’re proudest of: Village Centre, 48 Unit Affordable Housing, Passive House Certified Bosarage Family Education Center, Net Positive Energy & LEED Platinum, Boothbay, Maine. Block C, CityCenter in Las Vegas – for the scale of the project… getting it to LEED Gold was an amazing success story 150+ LEED for Existing Building Certifications for Vasakronan in Sweden What have you always wanted...

Name: Ronald Joseph Chaffin, AIA Firm: Michael Baker International Family: Wife, Victoria + Sons, Pierce (21) & Noah (18), both Computer Science majors at Penn State University Years in practice: 30 years Education: University of Cincinnati + Ecole d’Art Americaines, Ecole des Beaux Arts in Fontainebleau, France Your first job: Significantly influencing my decision to attend architecture school, I was fortunate to have a summer job with Zando, Martin, & Milstead (ZMM) Architects/Engineers in Charleston, WV. Although the “job,” not internship, primarily consisted of running blue line prints, errands, and even weeding the parking lot, I was able to experience some hand-drafting and drawing skills. While still in high school, my relationship with ZMM was developed through a Boy Scouts of...

Paul R. Williams, AIA in front of the LAX terminal. Before diving into the Oscar’s broadcast this Sunday, if that’s your thing, consider taking a gander at a new documentary airing on WQED-TV at 4 pm.  This one-hour special explores the journey of iconic Los Angeles architect Paul Revere Williams, AIA, and his professionalism and determination in the face of discrimination. From the early 1920s until his retirement 50 years later, Williams was one of the most prolific architects in America. His list of celebrity clients included Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. He is noted for his mastery of various iconic architectural styles that include the Beverly Hills Hotel, the original MCA Headquarters Building...

Name: Patricia Culley, AIA Firm: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Family: Husband Peter and three children Years in practice: 15 years Education: Carnegie Mellon University Your first job: Muralist – during school I worked as a teaching assistant for CMU drawing professor and muralist Douglas Cooper. After graduation, I continued work with Cooper on a series of panoramic mural projects, including for the Seattle King County Courthouse and the University of Rome. Cooper’s work manipulates techniques of perspectival drawing to create visual stories from history and memory. Project you’re proudest of: Eighth-grade classroom.  I am currently working on a small classroom project for the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh. Modest in its budget, yet ambitious in its performance requirements, this project will be one of...

Attendees at the 2019 AIA Pittsburgh Annual Meeting and Holiday Party congratulated the 14 young professionals who have successfully completed the A.R.E. and AXP hours to become registered architects in 2019. At the end of each year, members of the AIA Pittsburgh community gather together to celebrate at the President’s Holiday Party. This year, the party was held at RM Creative. The Annual Meeting portion of the evening kicked off with the election of four AIA members to serve on the AIA Pittsburgh Board of Directors – Larry Fabbroni, AIA; Amanda Markovic, AIA; Catherine Adams, AIA, and Nickie Cheung, Assoc. AIA were all elected unanimously.  Joseph Chaffin, AIA  and Dina Snider, AIA had their terms renewed and Lisa Carver, AIA was elected for...

Name: Chuck Parker Firm: Stantec Architecture and Engineering LLC (Philadelphia office) Family: Wife – Paula; 2 daughters – Dulcinea (28) and Kendra (25) Years in practice: 44 Education: BArch from CMU (Went back for my Doctorate a few years ago but it didn’t work out) Your first job: Cutting neighborhood lawns (age 9). Project you’re proudest of: Magee-Womens Hospital 4800 / 5800 ICU / Med Surg Expansion. It was a 2-story addition in a very difficult area to expand vertically and was a collaborative project delivery between Stantec, AES, FMRW, PJ Dick, and UPMC which was also LEED Silver and won the 2013 MBA Building Excellence Award in its category. What have you always wanted to tell your clients? Good, Fast, Cheap: You Can Only Pick Two! What’s the...

There is growing recognition of the importance of good design in the region and the important effects of the built environment in society.  This was a record-breaking year for Design Pittsburgh and there is only more to come. Design Pittsburgh Numbers: 470 Attendees (most ever!) 93 Project Submissions 23 Awards Given 4,139 People’s Choice Award Votes (512 more than last year and most ever!) Media Coverage: (We’ll post more here as it is published) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Presley’s Place wins People’s Choice Award at architects’ gala” NEXTpittsburgh “Check out the winners of this year’s AIA Design Pittsburgh Awards”