Trends and Takeaways from AIA Mississippi Convention
Several CDFL architects attended last month’s AIA Mississippi Convention in Destin, Florida. Below are their takeaways.
From Jody Coleman
Like us, the AIA has been working to promote their brand through the redevelopment of the AIA website and an increased presence on Facebook and Twitter. They are reaching out to all members of the institute and profession to keep them informed as to what is going on within architecture and the AIA. Once the transition and website redevelopment are complete, members will have new ways to access the AIA and promote the profession.
Additionally, AIA leadership has been exploring different ways to involve all its members such as including them in the decision-making processes of the institute. In the past, voting and awards have all happened at the Convention; those events have now been moved to coincide with Mississippi Celebrates Architecture here in Jackson this fall. This event will attract members who may not normally attend Convention as well as allow for more participation in the awards selection process and in selecting the future leadership of our state chapter.
From Greg Narlock
I found the session by Andrew Wells, one of the principals of Dake/Wells Architecture in Springfield, Missouri, very interesting. He spoke on tying their design solutions to their surroundings and how that provided more meaning to the design – and how those factors coincided with working on a very challenging budget.
Michael Lingerfelt of Lingerfelt International, Orlando, gave a session on how a large team was able to coordinate the construction of Expedition Everest, a project at Disney. As Lead Architect on the project, he and his team were tasked with wrapping a roller coaster around a mountain – certainly no easy feat, especially when also charged with other complexities, including working with different structural systems and the coordination of components from suppliers worldwide.
David Lake’s session featured an interesting array of projects that integrated nature into living spaces. He also spoke about rehabbing formerly deserted large developments and how those projects were to able to bring life back to his community. David Lake is the principal owner of Lake/Flato Architects in San Antonio, TX
From Varuni Kern
The most inspiring seminar for me was “Nature, Place, Craft, and Restraint” by David Lake. I was reminded how important it is that the built environment be designed to communicate, interact, and coexist with the natural environment.
From Matthew Buchanan
The 2013 AIA Mississippi Convention was one of the best in recent memory. Not only did the convention provide needed CEUs and face time with manufacturers, it provided a great social atmosphere for the architecture community of Mississippi aided in part by the picture perfect setting of the San Destin Hilton Resort.
From Jackie Smithers
One of the prevailing trends I noticed at Convention was the coordination and collaboration between all disciplines using BIM* to help solve problems in the design phase rather than later on in the field.
Many speakers touched on designing sustainably while integrating design into the built environment with inspiration and meaning that was created from the site and culture of the project.
*architect-speak translation
BIM stands for Building Information Modeling and is designing with a model that incorporates information that can be used in various ways (quantities, material takeoffs, etc.). Designing with a model helps to solve many issues that would otherwise be dealt with later on in the project. Using BIM can help save money and time early in the project. We use Revit and Microstation here at CDFL as our modeling programs.