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...

December:  Members will vote at the Annual Meeting and President’s Holiday Party to approve the slate of AIA Pittsburgh Board members. The slate is determined by a candidate process overseen by the Governance Committee that includes outreach, an open call to members, submission of written statements and bios, and in-person interviews.  There is also a Bylaws amendment to be approved that can be viewed here.

November: Design Pittsburgh was just the kick off for your architecture awards season.  On November 15 join your colleagues in Pittsburgh at the offices of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson from 5:30 – 9pm to celebrate architectural excellence with AIA Pennsylvania’s 2nd annual digital design awards reveal.

Photo credit Rob Larson. October: Design Pittsburgh month has dropped.  Make sure you are voting with a purpose for the People’s Choice Award. Voting will end on October 18th, so cast your votes now. You can vote 1x in each category.  Then, make sure to get your tickets to help us celebrate the winners at Design Awards on October 25th at Nova Place.

September: back-to-school and the promise of cooler temps in the air.  Many young architects are just starting out their studies (read about 2018 AIA/YAF Liaison for AIAS at CMU Chitika Vasudeva right here).  

Name: Chitika Vasudeva, AIAS Family: Parents and a younger brother in Kuwait Years in practice: -2 Education: Carnegie Mellon University (B’Arch ’20) Your first job: Research assistant at CMU for professors Francesca Torello and Joshua Bard on the Plaster ReCast project. Whats the most annoying thing architecture students do?  Overuse the word ‘juxtaposition’ and compare notes on who slept the least and/or is the most overworked. Favorite tool: Analog tools all the way, whether its Micron pens and Copic markers on trace, or quick and messy conceptual models Favorite building: Schindler House Favorite outdoor space: The Erasmus Bridge The architectural personality you’d like to have a drink with: Ada Louise Huxtable Best gift to give an architect: An all-expenses-paid trip to see...

It’s that time of year – if you’ve been around here for any length of time you know that the deadline to submit for Design Pittsburgh 2018 is coming up on August 24th, but we MUST receive your Submission Request Form by August 17th.  And then, of course, be sure to save-the-date of October 25th for the Design Pittsburgh 2018 Awards Ceremony and Gala at Nova Place.

Can you believe it’s July?  This month offers some nice opportunities to beat the heat and stay connected.  Also, be sure to save-the-date of October 25th for the Design Pittsburgh 2018 Awards Ceremony and Gala at Nova Place.  Look for the new Awards Criteria to be posted shortly.

On June 14th and 15th, AIA Pittsburgh hosted AIA PA President Scott Compton, AIA, and AIA PA Executive Director Stephen Swarney for two days of advocacy events. Compton and Swarney brought their Harrisburg expertise to Pittsburgh to provide a training on how to be an advocate to AIA Pittsburgh architects as well as contractors and engineers and other members of the design/build community.   Following the Advocacy 101 event and happy hour, a Roundtable breakfast was held the next day where updates were provided on current legislation AIA PA has sponsored. Read more about AIA Pittsburgh advocacy in this coverage of AIA Pittsburgh’s participation in AIA PA’s Architects Action Day and this legislative update from the Construction Legislative Council on PAS Infrastructure.

Got Advocacy?  This month affords several opportunities to learn more about how the AIA advocates for you AND how to get more involved.  AIA Pittsburgh is hosting AIA PA President Scott Compton, AIA and AIA PA Executive Director Stephen Swarney for two days of events.  You can also see AIA Pittsburgh by the numbers as our 2017 AIA PGH Annual Report has just been released.  And finally, be sure to save-the-date of October 25th for the Design Pittsburgh Awards Ceremony and Gala.  More details coming soon.