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.
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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: Where Building Science Meets Climate Science, reflected the chapter’s belief that effective climate action depends on active dialogue between architects and scientists. The chapter seized a unique opportunity to collaborate with climate scientists stationed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) headquarters in Asheville and invite leading architects from across the country to explore the intersection of climate change and the built environment.
This year’s symposium carried special weight: nearly a year after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, the theme, Recovery + Resilience, felt both urgent and deeply personal. Held in partnership with ASPIRE, the premier regional design conference hosted by the AIA state chapters of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the 2025 Climate Symposium convened more than 100 participants, including architects, engineers, scientists, students, and industry partners.
By joining forces with ASPIRE, AIA WNC COTE was able to expand its reach and impact, bringing the message of climate-adaptive design to a broader audience while maintaining the high-quality, science-based programming that has defined the event for more than a decade.
One of the symposium’s most memorable moments came during Phillip Prince’s presentation, which explored the science of landslides and how land physically shifts during such events. For many attendees, the topic was eye-opening.
“It’s not something architects tend to think about and not something I paid much attention to before Hurricane Helene,” AIA WNC COTE co-chair, Emily Coleman-Wolf, reflected. “Understanding how and why land moves changes how you look at the intersection of landscape and the built environment. One of my favorite things about this workshop is that it brings in experts from outside our field who expand our understanding of the world around us.”
This multidisciplinary approach: pairing architects with scientists, has become a hallmark of the Climate Symposium, reinforcing how interconnected the challenges of design, ecology, and community truly are.
Next Steps and Lessons Learned
Looking ahead, AIA WNC COTE plans to continue partnering with ASPIRE to grow the symposium’s audience while maintaining its signature focus on intentional, relevant, and science-based content. The chapter also hopes to deepen collaborations with local researchers to keep advancing regional understanding of climate science and resilience.
“The best advice we can offer other chapters,” AIA WNC COTE co-chair Jenny Heim noted, “is to look for the unique opportunities and partnerships in your city or region. Who do you want to learn from? What adjacent industry or profession has an impact on the built environment and how can you work together to collaborate, find synergies, and provide quality educational content for everyone to learn from and accelerate collective impact?”
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the ASPIRE Conference staff, AIA WNC COTE and Steering Committee, and the inspiring speakers who shared their time and expertise: Steven Bingler, Allison Anderson, Ned Gardiner, Matt Hutchins, Jon Gould and students from Kennesaw State University, Philip Prince, and 2025-26 AIA President-Elect Illya Azaroff.
AIA WNC COTE includes co-chairs: Emily Coleman-Wolf and Jenny Heim, and members: Cynthia Turner, Betsy del Monte, Devon Hutton, and Carrie Schulz.