Blogs

RUDC Letter from the Chair (November, 2025)

By Alison Karfeld posted 3 days ago
RUDC Letter from the Chair (November 2025) For those who joined us in Dallas for the 2025 RUDC Symposium, a two-day event filled with fast-paced presentations and tours, I hope you left as energized as I did by the enthusiasm, optimism, and problem-solving spirit that defined this year’s symposium. We explored a remarkable range of ideas, leaving both inspired and invigorated by the collective energy brought from cities across the United States and into Canada—looking at you, Toronto contingent! We owe immense gratitude to our speakers and tour leaders for curating such compelling content. Across scales and contexts, discussions spanned community-led ...

Traditional Building Raphael Awards

By Alison Karfeld posted 7 days ago
In August 2025, Traditional Building held its third annual Raphael Awards. Named in honor of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbina (1483-1520), a leading painter of the Italian Renaissance who was a renowned draftsman as well, the Raphael Awards are an architectural drawing competition. The Raphael Awards seek to encourage the study of classical and neoclassical architecture through the practice of drawing and painting by hand. The inaugural Raphael Awards took place in 2023. This year’s entries were judged by designer Christie Franck, architect Steve Rugo of Rugo Raff, and Traditional Building art director Mary Connolly. Nine entries were chosen as winners—see illustrations ...

Peterson Prize Winners Announced

By Alison Karfeld posted 8 days ago
The AIA Historic Resources Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Charles E. Peterson Prize Competition. A student competition of measured drawings, the Charles E. Peterson Prize is presented jointly by the Heritage Documentation Programs (Historic American Buildings Survey / Historic American Engineering Record / Historic American Landscapes Survey), a division of the National Park Service, by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, by the American Institute of Architects, and by the Association for Preservation Technology. The annual competition, currently in its 42nd year, honors Charles E. Peterson, FAIA (1906-2004), a founder of the HABS program, ...

Q4 COTE Network Reminder

By Sean Costello, AIA posted 14 days ago
Dear COTE Chapter Leaders, Happy Friday! This is a friendly reminder that our Q4 AIA COTE Network Call is scheduled for Tuesday, November 18th at 2:00 PM ET . We’re looking forward to connecting and hearing updates from your chapter! Action Required: Please update your chapter’s slide in the shared Google Slides deck with the following: Highlights from 2025 : Key accomplishments, initiatives, or events. Goals for 2026 : What your chapter is planning or aiming to achieve. Google slide Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OB5zhFl2_fo5MdPLadWR6M1nUB919RqO/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117172739344110297076&rtpof=true&sd=true ...

November Member Spotlight: Kitty Yuen, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 17 days ago
Kitty Yuen, AIA, NCIDQ, NCARB Denver Office Director | Cuningham Born in Hong Kong and shaped by a lifetime of global travel, Kitty Yuen’s passion for architecture is deeply rooted in her curiosity about cultures and people. Guided by the belief that design is a form of cultural anthropology, Kitty approaches each project as a journey of exploration—deeply engaging with her clients’ business, work styles, and environments to craft spaces that resonate. With over 30 years of experience, Kitty brings a visionary approach to concept design for corporate campuses, headquarters, academic institutions, and civic spaces. Her leadership has helped ...

November 2025 AIA Corporate Partners COTE Newsletter Article: ROCKWOOL

By Ellie Falcon posted 18 days ago
A systemic approach to retrofits: The benefits of incorporating stone wool How to choose the right approach and materials for retrofits, from AIA partner Rockwool. ROCKWOOL North America Each retrofit project is a unique and complex undertaking with its own history, conditions, and performance challenges. Taking a holistic approach that accounts for not only the project's goals, but also how all building systems will work together over the long term, will ensure it meets and exceeds modern energy efficiency and fire performance standards, and offers durability for decades. And choosing the right materials, like stone wool insulation, is a critical ...

AIA Practice Management Digest - October 2025

By Rebecca Edmunds, AIA posted 22 days ago
Notes from the field Perhaps you’ve noticed that despite market uncertainties, everyone is busy. Pulling together the latest issue of PM Digest relied on tried and true writers who shared insights from the field on the value of client feedback, establishing a hub of process resources, growth through giving, and lagging adoption of AI in small- and medium-size firms. Letter from the editor By Rebecca W.E. Edmunds, AIA, MFA What aspects of practice management haven’t we touched in the last few issues? Many, I’m sure. This issue provides insight into a few ‘odd ball’ topics. But first, my brain was swimming with information after AIA25 ...

Collecting, recording and integrating systems and standards into your firm’s culture

By Matthew Szymanski, AIA posted 22 days ago
By Matthew Szymanski, AIA AIA North Carolina Small Firm Exchange Representative AIA North Carolina Advanced Leadership Program, Steering Committee “Get things in writing” is classic advice for dealing with customers. Our firm recently learned this advice can be just as helpful regarding the firm’s internal systems and standards. At Arx Design Collaborative/Armature Design Build, a 20-person design-build partnership, we invested time into documenting our processes for new team members. Our initial goal was simple: improve our onboarding experience and for onboarding materials to be “clear and effective enough that new team members could contribute ...

The undeniable value of client feedback

By Rebecca Edmunds, AIA posted 22 days ago
By Richard Friedman, Founder & President at Friedman & Partners Client feedback is one of the most important and underutilized tools an AEC firm can employ. At my March 2025 presentation to AIA’s Large Firm Round Table Marketing Forum , I shared how a good client feedback process benefits most practice management areas. When done sincerely and strategically, client feedback can reshape a firm’s internal practices, reinforce long-term relationships, drive smart growth and inform strategic planning. The value of the ask A critical takeaway is simply asking for feedback is itself an act of value. It tells your client: “Your opinion ...

Why AI adoption remains a work in progress

By Rebecca Edmunds, AIA posted 22 days ago
By Rebecca W.E. Edmunds, AIA, MFA, 2026 PMKC Chair, with Google Gemini “ AI is less about automation and more about amplification. Done well, AI does not replace people, it empowers them to do their best work .” – Evelyn Lee, FAIA, NOMA, 2025 AIA President, "Amplification, not automation," AIA Architect, September 4, 2025 Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries worldwide. News of unprecedented efficiencies and innovation are everywhere. Many AIA25 sessions highlighted AI’s uses and value. Yet, in architecture, full AI adoption in business functions--I’ll leave the project design side to others--like finance, human resources, ...

My experience in CCA: An interview with Diane Bragoni

By Emma Tucker posted 22 days ago
By Diane Bragoni, responding to questions shared by CCA leadership Name / Title / Years in the profession: Diane Bragoni / Founder & Principal Consultant, CPM Schedule Solutions LLC / 20 years What gets you up in the morning to go to work? What are you passionate about? What gets me up in the morning and fuels me is showing up fully and being present, whether it’s in work, my family, or personal life. I love the challenge of running my own business, learning new things and solving complex problems, and supporting our military clients on projects that really matter. But I also love the feeling after a hard workout, ...

Letter from the Chair: October 2025

By Alison Karfeld posted 25 days ago
By Craig D. Brandt, FAIA Human-Centered Modernism: Finnish Architecture of Culture, Craft, and Care AIA Knowledge Communities are an opportunity for you to experience learning in an immersive way – in place. When you explore a city or region in a deep and meaningful way, you find out there is a sense of tradition and cohesion as well as new ideas. This is what we try to find in our programs. Several of our committee members participated in a Design Study Group in Finland this August with Peter MacKeith, AIA and in collaboration with the University of Arkansas School of Architecture. Watch the video of the amazing projects. ...

In Memory of Ganesh Nayak, AIA

By Ellen Mitchell, AIA posted 25 days ago
If we’re lucky, we have people who come into our lives in big and small ways that leave deep and lasting imprints on who we are and how we view the world. Ganesh Nayak, AIA was one such person for me. I will be forever grateful for the time we spent together on the COTE Climate Action–Climate Justice working group, which was the force behind Climate Justice in Architecture . To this effort, Ganesh brought a spirit of generosity, a clarity of purpose, and an infectious joy. He could see the big picture, recognizing that good design must not only be sustainable but also equitable and just. Going into this, I thought I knew what terms like justice and equity ...

RUDC Letter from the Chair (October 2025)

By Alison Karfeld posted 30 days ago
RUDC has long been one of AIA’s Knowledge Communities most deeply connected to our allied professions. We take pride in that — our events, and especially the annual RUDC Symposium, consistently draw more non-architects than architects. That’s exactly as it should be. Urban design is inherently interdisciplinary; it thrives on many voices. As I write this, just ahead of the RUDC Symposium in October (although you may be reading this after the symposium has wrapped), I’m looking at the registration list with real enthusiasm. It’s a vibrant mix of urban designers, architects, landscape architects, planners, academics, and city officials, among others — ...

Letter from the Chair: November / December 2025

By Robin Puttock, AIA posted 30 days ago
The 2025 COTE goals that we drafted back in January are strikingly similar to the goals I have for my students. Collaboration. Transformation. Excellence. It has been my distinct honor and privilege to lead this remarkable group of professionals this year and to amplify the voices at the local level and those in academia. As I look forward to the inspirational and astute leadership of COTE’s incoming chair, Ellen Mitchell, I would like to take a moment and reflect on what we all have achieved this season, which coincidentally, is also a practice that I try to instill in my students. At COTE , our mission is simple: to leverage design to improve life for current ...

Share Your Stories – COTE Network Spotlight Program

By Lindsey Falasca, AIA posted 10-16-2025
COTE is excited to launch a new COTE Network Spotlight Program and is seeking compelling examples of programs, initiatives, and advocacy efforts led by local, regional, or state COTE groups that have made a meaningful impact in advancing sustainable design excellence. We want to hear from you! Share your stories HERE . Submissions should highlight tangible results from programs implemented during calendar year 2025 and clearly demonstrate how these efforts align with one or more of the Framework for Design Excellence measures. This initiative aims to elevate and amplify the impactful work of local COTE groups. Submissions will be featured throughout ...

2026 AIA Policy Agenda Priorities Survey

By Lisa Ferretto, AIA posted 10-13-2025
The AIA Government Affairs and Public Policy department is currently prioritizing the key policy issues that impact the architecture profession at every level. As we look toward developing the 2026 AIA Policy Agenda, we specifically need to ensure that the vital topics of climate action, resilience, and sustainability are given the prominence and strategic focus they deserve. Your expertise in these areas is absolutely critical to this process. To gather this input, the AIA Policy Survey has been created. We strongly encourage you to use this platform to articulate the policy needs, regulatory challenges, and legislative opportunities you see related ...

Call to Action: Shape the future of Building Codes - Applications for 2027-2029 Code Cycle.

By Lisa Ferretto, AIA posted 10-13-2025
Subject: Call to Action: Shape the future of Building Codes - Applications for 2027-2029 Code Cycle. Good afternoon, The International Code Council (ICC) is currently seeking volunteers for its five Code Action Committees (CACs) and the Codes and Standards Council for the 2027-2029 code development cycle. This is a critical opportunity for AIA members to directly influence the future of building safety and performance. As architects, our expertise is fundamental to the codes and standards that ensure the safety, resilience, and sustainability of our built environment. It is crucial that our profession is at the table. Your insights are ...

Local COTE Spotlight: A Decade of Climate Dialogue in Western North Carolina

By Lindsey Falasca, AIA posted 10-13-2025
Across the country, AIA COTE state and local chapters are driving meaningful climate action through advocacy, public education, and community-centered engagement—advancing local resilience and sustainability. This spotlight series showcases specific initiatives designed to inspire and empower COTE groups nationwide to take action and lead climate solutions in their own communities. — When AIA Western North Carolina (WNC) Committee on the Environment (COTE) launched its first Climate Symposium in 2014, it set out to answer a timely question: How can architects design in harmony with a changing climate ? The event’s tagline, Climate Adaptive Design: ...

Local COTE Spotlight: Advancing Building Energy Leadership in New Orleans

By Lindsey Falasca, AIA posted 10-13-2025
Across the country, AIA COTE state and local chapters are driving meaningful climate action through advocacy, public education, and community-centered engagement—advancing local resilience and sustainability. This spotlight series showcases specific initiatives designed to inspire and empower COTE groups nationwide to take action and lead climate solutions in their own communities. — For more than a decade, the City of New Orleans has sought to strengthen its building energy policies, an effort long championed by members of the AIA New Orleans Committee on the Environment (COTE). In 2025, those efforts came to fruition with the passage of the city’s ...