The 2020 President’s Party & Annual Meeting is sponsored by:     We look forward to mixing up a few fun cocktails & mocktails with AIA CoTE Co-Chair, Christian Pegher, AIA; hosting interactive games, yes with prizes!;  voting on new board members at the local and state level, celebrating newly registered architects, AIA member accomplishments throughout the year, and introducing the 2021 Board President! Are you or someone you know retiring?  Let us know here!  Share with the community one interesting/fun thing you did this year!  Tell us about it here!  Register for the Celebration at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsdu6opjMtHNKZTQ_cWsP9-1egzssGWidX  

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...

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...

Dear Fellow AIA Members, 2018 has been a great year to be President of AIA Pittsburgh and be part of the many changes and accomplishments of the last 12 months. Our chapter is in a moment of significant growth and has been creating opportunities to design with purpose in our practice, communities and society. We even applied this year’s theme – Design with Purpose – to our internal discussions about how we want to design our organization with a view to the future. This year, we advanced our strategic goals and mission to serve the regional membership in three key areas: Building community among members and beyond to enhance our professional lives and our ability to contribute to the greater...

At the recent 2016 AIA Pittsburgh President’s Holiday Party Jeff Murray, FAIA took the reins as President of the Board of Directors. Ray Bowman, Assoc. AIA received the AIA Pittsburgh President’s Award for his dedication and many contributions to the AIA and has now taken over as Chair of the Young Architects Forum (YAF). Revisit their dossiers and read what they have to say about their vision for the coming year: Jeff Murray, FAIA, President, AIA Pittsburgh Board of Directors I’m looking forward to getting to know more within the PGH architectural community.  My goal this year is to help in some small ways to better prove to the rest of the building industry [and to a lesser extent the general public]...

At the end of each year, members of the architectural community gather together to celebrate at AIA Pittsburgh’s President’s Holiday Party. This year, the party was held at the Alloy 26 designed by Desmone Architects. Early in the evening some business was announced. Four AIA members were voted on to be part of the AIA Pittsburgh Board of Directors – Eric Booth, AIA; Mike Gwin, AIA; Jeff Murray, FAIA; Dina Snider, AIA- as well as two Associate AIA Board representatives – Ray Bowman, Assoc. AIA; Bea Spolidoro, Assoc. AIA. The traditional passing of the wig took place, as 2016 president Michael McDonnell, AIA welcomed 2017 president Jeff Murray, FAIA. Next, Ray Bowman, Assoc. AIA was awarded the AIA Pittsburgh President’s Award for his...

Name: Michael P. McDonnell, AIA Firm: IKM Incorporated Family: Son Luke – 14 years old in 8th grade Years in practice: 25 years Education: Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Your first job: Lifeguard for the Recreation Department in Davenport, Iowa Project you’re proudest of: The Ice Rink & Fountain at PPG Place. It transformed an otherwise unused public space. What’s the best part of your job? The best part of my job is that every day presents something new. New design challenges, new technology, new clients.  I never really know what the day will hold until I am in the middle of it. It drives me forward with excitement. What would you change about your job? I wish I could change the timeline projects typically have today. There...

At the end of each year, members of the architectural community gather together to celebrate at AIA Pittsburgh’s President’s Holiday Party, sponsored by SOTA Construction Services, Inc. This year, the party was held at the 4moms headquarters, an office downtown that was entered in the Design Pittsburgh Awards competition. Early in the evening some business was announced. Four AIA members were voted on to be part of the AIA Pittsburgh Board of Directors – Marc Mondor, AIA; Julie Polletta, AIA; George Rieke, AIA; and Stephen Winikoff, AIA – as well as two Associate AIA Board representatives – Ray Bowman, Assoc. AIA and Arthur Notaro, Assoc. AIA. The traditional passing of the wig took place, as 2015 president Alan Schlossberg, AIA...

Danielle Jones, AIAS is the Midwest Quadrant Director for the American Institute of Architecture Students who originally hails from Western Pennsylvania. She has also been selected as the AIAS representative for the 2016 AIA National Honor Awards jury. Columns caught up with Jones over the summer to ask her about her experiences, both as a student and as an active member of AIAS.  How did you get involved with AIAS? How would you describe your experiences with the organization? Any surprises? I became involved with AIAS my freshman year of Undergraduate at Kent State University. A very influential classmate named Belana Antar came to me the second week of school and encouraged me to attend meetings and become a member. After...