Blogs

Letter from the Chair: October 2025

By Alison Karfeld posted 10-27-2025
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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. ...
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Letter from the COD Chair: June 2025

By Alison Karfeld posted 06-27-2025
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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 ...
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Meet the COD Miami: Design at the intersection of Climate, Culture, and Beauty Speakers!

By Alison Karfeld posted 03-20-2025
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Jeffrey Huber, FAIA Principal, Director of Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Planning, BROOKS + SCARPA, and Professor, School of Architecture, Florida Atlantic University Jeff’s talk at the Kampong National Tropical Botanic Garden will illuminate the struggle to find strategies to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate on planning and architecture in the South Florida region and how a regional approach to climate has shaped the architecture, communities and culture of the region. He is a principal, manages the South Florida studio, and serves as Director of Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Planning at Brooks + Scarpa. A distinguished architect ...
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2024 Wrap-Up Message from Susan Chin, FAIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 01-16-2025
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We had an epic year of design exploration--learning from a broad range of architects, designers and civic leaders across the nation and the globe--in Northwest Arkansas, Washington D.C, and Brazil! What a tremendous honor and privilege for me to share with AIA COD the many talented friends and colleagues who generously revealed their approach to creating great architecture, landscape and institutions that foster social engagement, entrepreneurship, and empathy. My heartfelt thanks to all of them, and COD Advisory Group and especially AIA staff Susan Parrish, Kanisha Williams, Robin Preston, and Angel Ward for their support and organization. I wish COD 2025 Chair ...
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2025 COD Chair Craig Brandt, FAIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 01-14-2025
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Dear Committee on Design Community, It is my great pleasure to serve as the chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Design for 2025. Our work weaves the threads of design through various activities to support the Institute’s ambitions for excellence in architecture, urbanism, and landscape. In addition to the ongoing work supporting and promoting several of the Institutes award programs, we have a full programmatic spectrum from virtual learning on AIAU, to programs and tours for AIA 25’ to be held in Boston, and finally, our own domestic conference planned May 1-3 in Miami and Coconut Grove Florida. One might see 2025 as a pivotal time ...
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COD AIAU Courses

By Alexander Chaconas posted 04-27-2023
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The Committee on Design (COD) was founded to promote design excellence among members of the AIA and the public. COD programs celebrate exemplary models of architecture, highlighting parameters of AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence while promoting a greater understanding of the built environment’s role in communities at a local and international scale. 2024 Design Across Boundaries: Materiality and Place Brazil and Beyond Recorded live September 18, 2024 | 90 minutes | 1.5 LU Learn more and register > 2023 Design Across Boundaries Recorded December 13 | 90 minutes | 1.5 LU/HSW Learn ...
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Design Competition Recipients

By Johanna Roche posted 05-26-2022
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2021 Design Competition Recipients Visit Skid Row 2021 to see project details. 1st Place Neil McLean Atkins Architects | Glasgow, Scotland 2nd Place Tannia Aurellia, Aurelia Audrey, Rifki Fauzan Universitas Indonesia | Jakarta, Indonesia 3rd Place Purnima Patil McCutcheon, Robert Macdonald, Lewis Darnton MMIAC | Honolulu, Hawaii Honorable Mention Kartika Rachmawati Denver, Colorado Cody Begay, Jennifer Dominguez Hernandez, Aayushi Patel, Irfan Gillani, Stephen Quintana University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, New Mexico 2019 Design Competition recipients 1st Place Ryan & Yanina Allord RAD Studio, Las Vegas, NV, USA 2nd Place ...
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COD: Travels to Chile

By Alexander Chaconas posted 09-28-2020
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COD: Travels to Chile Relive the COD Conference Tour in Chile The Committee on Design held its 2018 international conference in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile, from October 20-27, 2018. Now is an excellent time to reminisce and/or imagine what a conference could have looked like this year. Watch it here > AIA Miami's Travel into Chile: A Travelogue of Chilean Architecture MCAD and Copperbridge Foundation present an evening with Chilean Architects. This panel discussion is an in-depth conversation about Chilean architecture. Watch it here >
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Update from 2020 chair

By Curtis Fentress, FAIA posted 07-01-2020
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Update from 2020 Chair Fellow Committee on Design Members, I hope you are safe and healthy and finding some sense of normalcy in your lives and in your practices. As the country continues to fight the pandemic and work towards stabilizing the economy in the very present moment, it is also important to look ahead. In my last communication to you, I announced the new dates for the 2021 spring conference in Denver—May 13-16, 2021. I am happy to report that we have now finalized dates for the fall international conference. I hope you will be able to join us October 9-17, 2021, for a fabulous tour of Singapore’s architecture. We will jump across the equator ...
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Update from 2020 Chair

By Curtis Fentress, FAIA posted 05-13-2020
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Update from 2020 Chair Fellow Committee on Design Members, Amazing changes have occurred over the course of two months! We are living in unprecedented times with the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the safety and wellness of our members is of utmost importance. We hope you and your families are staying healthy and that your architectural practices have not been impacted too much. In January, I shared with you the COD’s plans for two exciting 2020 conferences—summer in Denver and fall in Singapore. Following national AIA’s lead to postpone A’20 in Los Angeles, the Advisory Board of the COD met (virtually) and voted to postpone Denver, which was scheduled ...
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Letter from 2020 Chair

By Curtis Fentress, FAIA posted 01-16-2020
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Letter from 2020 chair Welcome to the beginning of a new decade. It is an honor to serve as the 2020 chair of the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on Design (COD). The theme for the 2020 AIA Committee on Design is Trading Posts: The Architecture of Confluence . For this year's two COD conferences, I have selected two cities that share a history as trading posts—Denver by land, and Singapore by sea—to tell a story of the architecture of confluence. They both have continuously reinvented themselves to adapt to the ever-changing future. Each city has experienced significant economic and population growth over the past decades and continues ...
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2019 Climate Symposium November 7-8

By Keri Dixon posted 10-16-2019
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Join AIA Asheville for the Climate Symposium - Where Building Science Meets Climate Science _____________________________ Climate Adaptive Design - where Building Science meets Climate Science November 7 - Public Lecture start at 5:00 pm November 8 - All day conference, starting at 8:15 At the Collider in Downtown Asheville The American Institute of Architects Asheville Section continues its series Climate Adaptive Design: Where Building Science Meets Climate Science, "one of the most important symposia in the country about where climate and architectural design interface." AIA ups the ante promoting sustainable design while aiming ...
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“The Innovators And Maintainers” Innovation In Architecture, Infrastructure & Technology

By Michael Ross, FAIA Member Emeritus posted 07-12-2019
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AIA Committee On Design Conference San Francisco + Silicon Valley April 4-7, 2019 Some people consider the act of innovating to be a disruption—doing things in new ways that have never been considered before. At the 2019 AIA Committee on Design conference, David Greenbaum, FAIA, designated the theme of Innovators and Maintainers: Innovation in Architecture, Infrastructure & Technology. “Maintainers”, according to Greenbaum, are essential to innovators in that they are the ones who figure out how to actually get things done. If innovators are inventors, then the maintainers are the implementers. The innovators invent the new engine, while the maintainers ...
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2019 COD Conference - Switzerland: Sponsors

By Johanna Roche posted 07-03-2019
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COD 19 Conference Switzerland - Menu Home Introduction Register Schedule Pricing Hotel + Travel + Special Needs Sponsors Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors! #Conferences #CommitteeonDesign
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2019 COD Conference - Switzerland: Hotel + Travel

By Johanna Roche posted 07-03-2019
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COD 19 Conference Switzerland - Menu Home Introduction Register Schedule Pricing Hotel + Travel + Special Needs Sponsors Hotel This chart is for information only, the hotel price is included in your registration. There is one room type for all of the hotels except Les Trois Rois in Basel. In Basel, the group is occupying three hotels. The 5-star Hotel Le Trois Rois is an upgrade that you can select during the registration process. The cost is the same for the other two hotels and included in the registration fee. If you choose not to upgrade, your options are the 4-star Hotel Basel and 4-star Hotel ...
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2019 COD Conference - Switzerland: Schedule

By Johanna Roche posted 07-03-2019
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COD 19 Conference Switzerland - Menu Home Introduction Register Schedule Pricing Hotel + Travel + Special Needs Sponsors Schedule Check the full conference agenda Conference: September 21-29, 2019 Add on Tour: September 29-October 2 The conference will tour Basel, Lausanne, Lucerne & Vals. Vals registration is full and we are unable to increase the capacity. Dates Location Hotel(s) September 21-24, 2019 Basel Les Trois Rois Hotel Basel Hotel D Basel September 24-27, 2019 Lausanne Royal Savoy September ...
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2019 COD Conference - Switzerland: Pricing

By Johanna Roche posted 07-03-2019
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COD 19 Conference Switzerland - Menu Home Introduction Register Schedule Pricing Hotel + Travel + Special Needs Sponsors Registration Dates Registration opens: Wednesday, July 3 Early Bird ends: Friday, August 2 Registration closes: Friday, August 30 Cancellation Fee: $150 No refunds issued after Friday, August 30 Registration is now closed. Pricing Hotel is included in registration rates excluding upgrades. Main Conference: Basel, Lausanne, Lucerne Conference registration fee includes: Hotel, excluding Les Trois Rois upgrade. Daily breakfast from 09/22 to 10/02 ...
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2019 COD Conference - Switzerland: The Innovators and Maintainers: Swiss Innovation in Architecture, Infrastructure, & Technology

By Johanna Roche posted 07-03-2019
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COD 19 Conference Switzerland - Menu Home Introduction Register Schedule Pricing Hotel + Travel + Special Needs Sponsors The Innovators and Maintainers: Swiss Innovation in Architecture, Infrastructure, & Technology Basel, Lausanne, Lucerne: 21st - 29th September 2019 Add on tour to Vals: 29th September - October 2nd The AIA Committee on Design International Conference in Switzerland is second in a two-part conference series about innovation in architecture, infrastructure, and technology, following the first in San Francisco and Silicon Valley this Spring. The Fall 2019 program will explore innovation ...
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Conference and Leadership History

By Johanna Roche posted 05-15-2019
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1969 Jean-Paul Carlhian, FAIA February: New York City National Design Issue: Grand Central Terminal March:Washington, DC Co-meeting with Urban Design Committee 1970 Ralph P. Youngran, FAIA January: Washington DC Historical Savannah Controversy: Program of Social Responsibility and Relevance May: Chicago National Design Issue: Illinois Central Air Rights June: Boston AIA Headquarters Building October: Washington, DC Nominations for Critics Medal/25-Year Award 1971 Henry N. Cobb, FAIA March: Washington, DC Design Review Boards Nominations June: New York City "The New Zoning": Design Review ...
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2019 AIA COD Conferences | The innovators and maintainers

By David Greenbaum, FAIA posted 12-13-2018
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2019 Conference Theme: “The innovators and maintainers” Innovation in Architecture, Infrastructure, & Technology Letter from the Chair It is my great pleasure to serve as the 51 st chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Design for 2019. In addition to the ongoing work of the Committee including a focus on Firm Award and Gold Medal recommendations, as well as recommendations for Honorary Fellows, we have been busy planning two conferences for this upcoming year. There are so many wonderful places and works of architecture to visit in this world. So how do we decide where to go that is meaningful to our work and practice? To ...
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