Blogs

IAKC Member Spotlight: Kristina Jardis, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted yesterday
For Kristina Jardis, architecture has never been defined by a single building type, project scale, or specialty. Throughout her career, she has worked across residential, high-rise commercial, civic, K-12, and historic preservation projects. While each project offered a unique design challenge, they all reinforced her appreciation for the discipline that connects them: interior architecture. Today, Kristina serves as a Project Manager and Architect in SmithGroup's Government Studio in Washington, DC, where she supports federal clients including the Smithsonian Institution, the Architect of the Capitol, and the General Services Administration. Her ...

Synagogue in the Suburbs: Changing Demographics and Evolving Typology

By Alison Karfeld posted 5 days ago
Synagogue in the Suburbs: Changing Demographics and Evolving Typology Jonathan Rollins, AIA, Principal, GFF Design In 1954, America was booming. Like much of the US population Jews were moving to the suburbs, shifting from insular neighborhoods to more diverse communities where not everyone was Jewish. Seeking room to grow and develop new facilities to serve an expanding mission, and following Dallas’ changing demographics, the congregation of Temple Emanu-El secured a previously undeveloped site at the corner of Northwest Highway and Hillcrest Road. After consideration of local and national firms, some with several synagogues already to their ...

September Letter from the Chair - Jeremy Miller, AIA,

By Alison Karfeld posted 7 days ago
As we enter the Second Half of 2026, We are reflecting on our work as a Knowledge Community, where we have been, and what is next. We began the year navigating structural changes within the AIA, and are pleased that we have been able to continue the work in support of Small Community based Non-Profits through our Small Project Design Grant. This unique grant provides a source of critical early stage funds for preliminary Schematic and Design Development stages of projects. We believe the focus of this grant on the design stage helps get projects off the ground, the grant ensures Architects are compensated to provide design drawings and renderings necessary ...

Beyond the Recognition: Design Awards as a Tool for Small Firms

By Alison Karfeld posted 7 days ago
Summary: Design awards can mean more than recognition --- they can become a valuable tool for reflection, storytelling and strengthening a small practice. Here' s how your firm can benefit from the process of preparing and submitting for design awards: • Choose thoughtfully: Consider which projects and award programs best align with your work and story. • Start early: Build documentation, photography, sketches, and project narratives into your design and close-out process. • Tell the story: Use compelling photography, clear diagrams, focused narratives, and feedback to communicate the project's impact. • Think beyond the award: Use the process ...

AIA Announces Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Partnership

By LaTriece Pleasant posted 28 days ago
AIA is proud to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Partnership with the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) , strengthening collaboration on resilience, emergency preparedness, and disaster response. IAEM is an international association representing over 6,000 emergency management professionals across the United States and nearly 30 countries . AIA and IAEM have long-standing connections through the work of architects in disaster preparedness and recovery. This new partnership is timely given National Emergency Management Awareness Month in August. Components may be interested in ...

AIA Takes the Global Stage

By LaTriece Pleasant posted 28 days ago
By: Christopher Pumford AIA’s Government Affairs & Public Policy (GAPP) team continue s to expand the Institute’s international advocacy efforts by participating in policy dialogues, strengthening strategic partnerships, and ensuring that the perspectives of AIA members are represented in key global conversations shaping the future of the built environment. To advance international collaboration on climate resilience and sustainable construction, AIA engaged global leaders at the Global Alliance for Buildings & Construction Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland. President Illya Azaroff , ...

IAKC August Letter from the chair: Candice Rabovsky, AIA & Bob Dillon, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 08-11-2026
Dear AIA IAKC Members and Colleagues, As we all move through this last part of summer, we’re excited to look ahead to the conversations, connections, and opportunities for learning coming up within the Interior Architecture Knowledge Community. One of these opportunities is our monthly Knowledge Sharing Salons. These online salons are informal opportunities to gather, exchange ideas, and learn from one another. These sessions are a great way to share work, perspectives, questions, and experiences across our community. We have some great content planned for the remainder of our 2026 salons and hope you’ll join us for these engaging conversations. We’re ...

COTE Top Ten Awards - DDx Demo and Open Office Hours!

By Lisa Ferretto, AIA posted 08-05-2026
COTE Top Ten Awards - DDx Demo and Open Office Hours! Last year, the COTE Top Ten Framework metrics were integrated into AIA's Design Data Exchange (DDx). This year, improvements were made to streamline data collection, further align with 2030 Commitment fields, and overall improve user experience! Whether you are a previous submitter, or a first-time applicant, please join us for an upcoming demo and open office hour to see how the online platform helps architects calculate performance metrics across the AIA Framework for Design Excellence Principles for the COTE Top Ten Award submission (opens 8/28!) and as a tool in your design process. Wed, ...

COTE Top Ten Awards - DDx Demo and Open Office Hours!

By Lisa Ferretto, AIA posted 08-04-2026
COTE Top Ten Awards Open 8/28 - DDx Demo and Open Office Hours! Last year, the COTE Top Ten Framework metrics were integrated into AIA's Design Data Exchange (DDx). This year, improvements were made to streamline data collection, further align with 2030 Commitment fields, and overall improve user experience! Whether you are a previous submitter, or a first-time applicant, please join us for an upcoming demo and open office hour to see how the online platform helps architects calculate performance metrics across the AIA Framework for Design Excellence Principles for the COTE Top Ten Award submission and as a tool in your design process. ...

"Outside the box" employee engagement

By Emma Tucker posted 07-31-2026
By Richard Friedman, Founder & President at Friedman & Partners In an era defined by persistent labor shortages, generational change and heightened employee expectations, employee engagement has quietly become one of the most powerful drivers of retention, recruitment and long-term firm stability. In this article, we explore how some AEC firms are moving beyond generic engagement strategies and instead building distinctive, firm-specific programs that give employees a voice, reinforce shared values and create real emotional connection to the organization. Recognition as Culture: Bergmeyer’s Unicorn Awards At Bergmeyer, employee ...

The Better Materials Toolkit & Resource Share Out

By Michelle Carroll-Barr, AIA posted 07-24-2026
At EskewDumezRipple, we have been committed to sustainability in architecture and design for decades, and that commitment is woven into our practice today. We were the first firm in Louisiana to become a member of the U.S. Green Building Council in 2002, and we signed the AIA 2030 Commitment in 2009. Our focus on more intentional materials selection, however, is a newer area of study. Because South Louisiana’s petrochemical corridor is right in the backyard of our New Orleans studio, the health and equity impacts of material production hits close to home. So, a couple years ago, staff members began exploring materials selection more seriously. They ...

Circular material case studies and resources

By Melanie De Cola posted 07-22-2026
This 3rd of 3 articles celebrates two COTE® Top winning projects and includes an extensive list of AIA and external resources to help firms integrate circular materials practices into their workflows and generally learn more. Thanks to all who contributed stories. MASS Moca Building 6 2024 COTE ® Top Winner | Architect: Bruner/Cott Architects | Location: North Adams, Massachusetts Link to full project page > Photo © Michael Moran The removal of floors and walls is approached as an operation of architectural cut-and-fill. As material was removed through these sculptural edits, a careful ...

Summer 2026 AIA Corporate Partners COTE Newsletter Article: ROCKWOOL

By Ellie Falcon posted 07-21-2026
Wildfire-resilient design for WUI projects: Rockwool Technical Bulletin provides valuable guidance for architects This article draws from the two-part article "Enhancing Community Safety," co-authored by Antoine Habellion, P.Eng., M.Eng., Technical Director, ROCKWOOL North America, and Tony Crimi, P.Eng., MASc., published in Construction Specifier's December 2025 and January 2026 editions. It has been supplemented with additional material. Building in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) presents unique challenges, as these zones mark the boundary where developed areas meet or intermingle with vegetative fuels. In these environments, structures ...

COTE Network Corner: Q3 Call

By Roshni Krishnan, Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 07-15-2026
COTE Network Corner: Q3 Call How do we make conscious decisions towards decarbonization as an industry? Join the COTE Quarter 3 call on August 11th to hear about carbon tracking tools to support design. We can improve only what we can measure. Architecture 2030 founder Ed Mazria, FAIA, examined a 2022 U.S. Energy Information Administration study and highlighted promising decarbonization trends in the built environment, including the decoupling of emissions and building sector growth through data driven decarbonization decisions. What tools for tracking and sharing carbon data can help us make early decisions to reduce both embodied and operational ...

AIA26 Design for Aging Open Forum Recap

By Alison Karfeld posted 07-14-2026
At AIA26, DFA’s Open Forum had representation from an array of disciplines connected to designing for aging…including a senior living resident! The contribution of this multidisciplinary group created an incredibly well-informed and rich open forum with critical perspectives. Buildings are the most obvious, enduring, and expensive reflections of our goals and priorities. Without a diverse group of stakeholders such as this, we could inadvertently exclude or underrepresent stakeholder groups within environments that are supposed to benefit everyone. Our lively and inspiring discussion yielded four key takeaways: Age-friendly design is ...

IAKC July Letter from the chair: Candice Rabovsky, AIA & Bob Dillon, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 07-14-2026
Happy July everyone! We hope you are enjoying your summer so far. We had a busy start to June at AIA26 in San Diego. We hope you were able to join one or more of our IAKC-sponsored events: IAKC Open Forum Tour of the Minge Museum at Balboa Park Award-winning Interiors: Designing Spaces That Inspire & Heal IAKC leaders at AIA26 during the tour of the Minge Museum at Balboa Park Image: Interior Architecture Knowledge Community We had a great time and had big turnouts at each event. Next year’s conference will be in Philadelphia in May 19th-22nd. We are hard at work planning some great ...

Strategies for embedding circular materials in your process

By Melanie De Cola posted 07-13-2026
Embedding circular materials article 2 of 3: This piece aims to equip architects with strategies and questions to increase circular materials usage in their projects. A uthors: Melanie De Cola, AIA Director of Climate Action Pledge Programs, LEED Green Associate; Brad Guy, AIA , of Material Reuse LLC ; and Rodolfo Perez, Ph.D. of IWBI, with special thanks to Shawn Wood of USGBC for his input on all things LEED v5. | All photos courtesy of Brad Guy. Firm strategies Creating an action plan: The first step is to develop an action plan. ISO ( ISO 59004 ) encodes six key principles for the establishment of ...

Voices of Advocacy – Interview with Arathi Gowda, FAIA

By Joyce Raybuck, AIA posted 07-09-2026
We continue our Voices of Advocacy series where we interview leaders from the COTE community who are advocating for important policy change. By sharing the stories of those doing substantive work, we hope to de-mystify the process. Throughout the series, you will hear stories from across the country that speak to varying advocacy issues and their local nuances. An interview with Arathi Gowda, Principal, FAIA, LEED BD+C, AICP, LFA about being a citizen architect, the importance of building coalitions, and why architects should lift and raise Joyce Raybuck and Hope Schmelzle Arathi Gowda leads Perkins & Will’s East Coast Regional ...

Interfaith Design Knowledge Community — AIA26 Conference Summary

By Alison Karfeld posted 07-07-2026
At AIA26, the Interfaith Design Knowledge Community (IDKC) advanced its mission to encourage and support excellence in the design of worship spaces and their accoutrements through a rich slate of programs that engaged architects, designers, students, and allied professionals. As an association committed to fostering an interfaith forum for the exchange of ideas relating to religion, art, and architecture, IDKC used the conference as an opportunity to broaden its reach and deepen conversations about the role of sacred space in contemporary practice. Collaborative Forum The Collaborative Forum served as a warm, open, and safe environment ...

Public Architects at AIA26: A Recap

By Alison Karfeld posted 07-07-2026
The AIA26 convention served as a perfect venue for the Public Architecture Knowledge Community (PAKC). Here are some of the events that the PAKC was involved in: The Joint PA-PD Open Forum: Designing for the Public Good The collaborative forum held with the Project Delivery Knowledge Community (PDKC), titled "Designing for the Public Good: Navigating Change in Project Delivery of Public Projects," was a major Public Architect highlight of the convention. The forum engaged discussion from 60+ professionals of diverse backgrounds, industries, and ages, who are involved in public architecture design and construction. The discussion ...