Dear SPPers,
Good day and Happy New Year. I am hopeful this note finds you well. My name is Kurt Weaver, and I am an architect from Cleveland, Ohio, and will be your AIA SPP KC AG Chair for 2018. I will try to use as many AIA acronyms as possible. We joked about an entire presentation in AIA isms… Many of you are familiar with the activities of the SPP, for those of you who are not, we try to get as much done annually as possible. There are five of us along with Susan and Akanksha from The Institute KC Team. Our group has been referred to as “special personality people”. We took it as a compliment…
For me, the SPP has been that introduction to working with The Institute at the national level that serving the local component did ten years ago. In the end, it’s our AIA, so when we’re all charged up and have all those great ideas about what the AIA ought to be doing; it all translates back to, who’s going to champion what, take it on, and find the path to getting it done! SPPers are a unique collection of small firm practitioners and small project designers, neither of which might be doing or located where you might otherwise think. Large firms doing small houses. Small firms doing large projects, but of course having their small projects. The breadth of our SPP membership base spans our continent and includes our colleagues from all around the globe.
When I look to my immediate predecessors each one brought a unique facet to the SPP. In finding my way, though I don’t necessarily appear shy, I did not come to the SPP with an agenda other than to help. I have always thought that a part of my contribution to whatever was going on was to try to help make it better. My efforts to assist with the education delivery portion of the conversation leave something to be desired and implemented. We’ll keep trying. The team’s effort to put together an annual document the highlights the SPP accomplishments and shares those efforts has been tremendous. If you have not seen an edition of the REVIEW, you need to! My effort to help here will be manifested when each of you receives your copy of the REVIEW.
The Pop-up will return in 2019. The SPP Grant needs a champion. If you’re out there reach out, let us know what you have in mind. Activating our membership is the next agenda item!!!
The SPP Awards continue to highlight and acknowledge the great work done by small firms and small project designers of small projects across the spectrum. “Out of Scale”, the highlight of the SPP Awards in it’s first ten years 2005 – 2014 continues to be available and is an awesome collection of divergent small projects of interesting and excellent caliber presented in a book that continues to set precedence for layout and design.
SPP’s presence in recent years would not be what it is without the Short Film Series. Our past chair and colleague Marika Snider continues to lead this charge, and an assault on the fifteen second sound bit it is! Tubby Awards, New Urbanist Filmfestival appearances, the list in such a short time continues to grow! Thank you so very much for shining such a bright light on the SPP Marika!!!
Like all things AIA, if you’ve been around a while, perhaps even if you have not, ultimately it comes down to how are we going to pay for it? Whatever it is. SPP KC AG began working on the idea of sponsorship opportunities and a prospectus a couple of years ago, and this past year 2017 strides were made to get this effort over center. The REVIEW in your mailbox is the current goal.
Perhaps not the last item that should be mentioned, but the SPP KC AG team has continued to embrace the idea of collaboration. The SPP Grant functions best as a collaboration. The SPP Pop-up works best when in collaboration with the AIA Conference host city. The SPP and the Small Firm Exchange, SFx continually discuss opportunities to collaborate. The Institute has called for Topic A letters which the SPP KC AG transmitted to our fellow SPP past Award winners to collaborate.
Okay, one more item, the AIA Conference on Architecture. For those of you who have participated in the past, been a past award submitter or recipient, or attended the Conference (aka Convention) and attended an SPP event, you have some sense of what the SPP does, and know that the Conference, while it is our architecture annual trade show and education opportunity, it is in essence the SPP’s annual coming out party. We do host or co-host a reception usually that Wednesday evening. It has been a party of varying success over the years. Philadelphia was excellent. Orlando was good too. Atlanta, not so much… But at any rate, most of what the SPP does on an annual basis is focused to be presented at Conference. If you have not been to Conference, it is an interesting circumstance. I myself remain skeptical, but will freely admit, that there is no other way to connect at a national level with all of our piers. Sure, we still have our “old boy” baggage, but again, it is our AIA. Take ownership. If you have something at issue, or an agenda, it’s likely someone else does too. Find them, collaborate, help all of us help each other.
Thank you for taking time to receive my thoughts and welcome on opening our 2018 year, the SPP’s current status, and the annual SPP activities. Below this note you will find a call for submissions for contribution to the forthcoming edition of the REVIEW. Stay tuned for more SPP activity announcements as the year unfolds. Good luck everyone, and again, Happy New Year.
Kurt C. Weaver, AIA
2018 Chair
Showcase your firm in The SPP Review 2017!
SPP is publishing the third edition of The SPP Review, an annual publication by and for SPP's members. Submit noteworthy, professional accomplishments and firm news from 2017 to share with your 9,500+ SPP national peers, friends, and clients.
The SPP Review is slated for release in late Spring 2018.
Projects will be selected by the SPP Advisory Group based on merit and compatibility with the theme: Renewal. The total number of projects included will be based on quality of work submitted and space constraints.
Deadline for submissions is February 5.
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