By Craig D. Brandt, FAIA
The AIA Committee on Design is delighted to have recently convened a series of thoughtful and diverse programs that explored architecture’s capacity to shape institutions, honor legacy, and serve communities through design excellence. From tropical gardens to campus transformations to an intimate conversation with the AIA Gold Medalist, these events offered rich opportunities for learning, reflection, and dialogue among practitioners and educators alike.
2025 Spring Conference—Design at the Intersection of Climate, Culture, and Beauty
We explored some of South Florida’s most distinctive places that are catalysts for shaping a truly regional identity, one that is vibrant, layered, and still evolving. We booked one of the highest number of new timers and the largest amount of tropical landscape. Highlights included private tours by Raymond Jungles FASLA, Max Strang FAIA, Brooks+Scarpa, Allan Shulman FAIA, Robin Z Parker, son of famed local architect Alfred Browning Parker FAIA, and Atelier Mey. We had talks by Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk FAIA on regional typologies, and Jeffrey Huber, FAIA and Elizabth Starr AIA on coastal sea rise. The conference started in a Tropical Botanic Garden and concluded with a torrential rain shower in the open atrium in the Mayfair Hotel and Garden.
Images: Left: Woodsong Residence by Alfred Browning Parker; Right: Kiaora Residence by STRANG Design, photos by Craig Brandt
COD Forum: In Perspective with Deborah Berke
This session brought together over 200 architects for a rich and intimate conversation celebrating Berke’s AIA Gold Medal. Opening with a poetic and personal visual presentation, Deborah traced her trajectory from early influences to her current practice, emphasizing architecture’s social purpose, craft, and transformative potential. The discussion that followed, moderated by Craig Brandt, FAIA (COD) Chair) and joined by Kim Yao, FAIA (COD), and 2020 Gold Medal recipient Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, expanded on these themes—touching on adaptive reuse, and the relationship between buildings and the communities they serve. The dialogue was thoughtful, generous, and inspiring, offering a rare perspective into the values shaping contemporary practice and the role of design in one’s personal journey.
Image: Left: AIA Committee on Design Gold Medal Forum; Right: Deborah Berke, FAIA. Photos by Susan Chin
COD program: A Conversation with the Architecture Firm Award Winner
In a candid, long-form dialogue, this session honored the AIA Architecture Firm Award winner LPS Design Studio with a reflective and forward-looking conversation on practice. Moderated by Noah Marble AIA (COD) Jonathan Moody FAIA (COD), and Michele Amt (COTE) our discussion delved into the firm’s design ethos, mentorship models, and community impact. The exchange bro ught to light the values driving today’s most influential practices and underscored architecture’s evolving role in equity, sustainability, and public engagement.
The COD conducted two sold out tours in Boston which helped engage our members with the legacy of educational design excellence. Past, Present & Future at Harvard University’s Allston Campus: This in-depth tour offered participants a rare look into the evolving urban design and planning vision for Harvard's 358-acre Allston campus. The program offered a dynamic mix of landscape, architectural, and construction site tours, prompting broader reflection on multidisciplinary collaboration, long-range planning, and institutional transformation at scale. Transformative Reuse on Harvard’s Main Campus: Through a walking tour of four major adaptive reuse projects, this session highlighted how Harvard is reimagining its historic campus for contemporary use. The tour illustrated how thoughtful renovation can strengthen institutional identity while enhancing daily life for users.
Image: AIA Committee on Design Firm Award CEU Session, Photo by Noah Marble
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, and we will continue with our AIA Committee on Design Study Group in Finland this August with Peter MacKeith and in collaboration with the University of Arkansas School of Architecture. This study tour will be highlighted in our up-and-coming AIAU programming. Keep checking our website for future updates.