Colorado Real Estate Journal - February 18, 2015
It doesn’t require much distance to look back at 2014 and realize what a milestone year it was for The American Institute of Architects Colorado Chapter. After completely restructuring the organization and its governance model, the board of directors took several bold steps to refocus and reenergize the organization to better serve its members. A new strategic plan was adopted to emphasize access to quality educational programs and opportunities, strengthen advocacy efforts from municipalities all the way to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and to extend outreach efforts to not just other architects, but also to colleagues in allied professions and organizations, local community and government leaders and the general public. These efforts have helped to make AIA Colorado a model organization among other AIA components in the country. At the first board meeting of 2015, members agreed it was time to take another step forward and break from looking inward at our organization and profession, and instead look outward and take an active role highlighting the importance and value of architects and good design in our communities. Nearly every single building has an architect and a team of engineers and consultants who, together with their clients and the local community members, design the places that impact our daily lives and experiences. The work that architects do affects everything from social interaction to energy conservation to the economy. Developers can attest to the value of good design when it comes to their occupancy and lease rates. Teachers and parents can confirm that students learn better in schools designed to their scale, with thoughtful attention to spatial configurations and acoustics. Doctors can tell you how the design of their office or hospital impacts their patients’ health and healing. In my office, we often hear from clients that their patients get the most comfort from the simple touches of the space that help set them at ease and make them feel “at home”: a sunny spot in the waiting room, a view of the sky during a procedure, a comfortable chair. Clients tell us staff turnover decreases when their employees are working in efficient and well-designed spaces, saving significant staff training and orientation costs. Too often what makes the headlines is not the positive impacts architects have in their communities, but rather, how one or a few select professionals have hijacked design to serve their own purposes. Trading their desire to enhance the well-being of the public for their desire to be a name brand, they hurt others who work tirelessly to promote the basic tenets and ethics of the profession. I believe most architects strive to leave behind a legacy not of a glossy oeuvre, but rather a legacy that rests on the knowledge of having made a difference to the people who experienced their buildings and the spaces they helped create. This year, AIA Colorado looks forward to taking the opportunity to broaden the conversation and tell the stories of those who are having an impact in Colorado’s communities.