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Architects as Translators, not Evangelists: Sustainability in the Texas Hill Country

By Ellen Mitchell, AIA posted 2 days ago
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Located deep in the heart of Texas where prairies begin to give way to rugged limestone cliffs and clear rivers cut through dry land, the Texas Hill Country is easy to romanticize. But practicing architecture here means respecting limits – water is not guaranteed and heat is not theoretical. Often, the gap between what a client wants and what a project can afford can be as expansive as the wide-open sky. When sustainability leaders like me talk about opportunities in the built environment, we often start with things like EUI targets, decarbonization strategies and building performance metrics. But in the Texas Hill Country, sustainability doesn’t show up ...
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Leadership, Representation, and the Future of Small Firms within AIA

By Darguin Fortuna, AIA posted 5 days ago
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February 2026 Letter from the Chair AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx) Darguin Fortuna, AIA, NCARB February has been a meaningful and energizing month as I had the privilege of attending the AIA Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., representing the Small Firm Exchange and the many voices of small firm architects across the country. I want to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to our State Representatives and Board members for electing me as Chair and entrusting me with the responsibility of advocating on your behalf at Capitol Hill. The Leadership Summit was both an inspiring and humbling experience. It provided an opportunity to develop skills that ...
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RUDC Letter from the Chair (February, 2026)

By Alison Karfeld posted 11 days ago
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I am honored and excited to serve as your 2026 Chair of the AIA Regional & Urban Design Committee (RUDC). Our knowledge community represents a dynamic national network of architects, urban designers, planners, and allied professionals committed to advancing the dialogue around cities, regions, and the future of urban life. First, I want to thank Scott Archer for his leadership in 2025 and acknowledge the many past leaders who have shaped RUDC within AIA over the years. RUDC has established a strong platform for collaboration, education, and advocacy around urban design—one we will continue to build upon in 2026, with the help of the current RUDC ...
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COTE Book Series: Upcoming & Past Reviews & Talks (including recording links)

By Kira Gould, Hon. AIA posted 11 days ago
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COTE Books: A Series of Reviews & Talks we typically review & host talks about 3-4 books per year virtual events are hosted by local or state COTE groups interested in being a host or suggesting a book? email Kira Gould at kiragould@kiragould.com 24 February 2026 / 12-1pm ET - upcoming Climate Adaptation for Architects: A Design Toolkit (Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2025) links to join: AIA members / non AIA members Author: Allison Anderson, FAIA Reviewer: Megan Recher Campos, AIA, in COTE news Jan/Feb 2026: post Host: AIA North Carolina COTE + AIA Triangle ...
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IAKC February Letter from the co-chairs: Candice Rabovsky, AIA & Bob Dillon, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 11 days ago
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It is our first IAKC newsletter of the year and we hope this finds you well. The start of this new year has been difficult and there is a lot to process as we navigate these challenging times. Our thoughts are with our colleagues who have been directly affected. We are grateful to each of you and the commitment we have collectively made to creating spaces that foster equity, safety, and community. Last year, IAKC experienced great growth in the content we created, resources provided, and engagement fostered around interior architecture. We focused our efforts on a framework of education, engagement, and mentorship that we plan to continue into 2026. ...
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City Opens New Health and Wellness Center for Homeless Youth

By Alison Karfeld posted 12 days ago
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The new health and wellness center for unhoused, young adults features a large communal space City Opens New Health and Wellness Center for Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness As part of San Francisco’s push to serve and support young adults experiencing homelessness, a newly opened center in the Lower Nob Hill neighborhood, on the edge of the Tenderloin, aims to provide critical health and wellness services, from showers to laundry facilities and even a hair salon. Designed and managed by the Public Works Bureau of Architecture, which also provided construction administration services, the new Transitional Age ...
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New Behavioral Health Center for People in Crisis

By Alison Karfeld posted 12 days ago
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Content provided by Julia Laue, FAIA, SF Public Works City Architect & Bureau Manager Public Works staff gather during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Stabilization Unit. City Opens a New Behavioral Health Center to Help People in Crisis Living on the Street As San Francisco continues to bolster its resources for people in urgent need of behavioral health care, a new emergency hub for those in crisis aims to provide rapid access to life-saving services, alleviate suffering on the City’s streets and free up local hospital emergency rooms. Located near the northern edge of the ...
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Q1 Cote Network Reminder

By Sean Costello, AIA posted 23 days ago
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COTE Chapter Leaders, Happy Friday! This is a friendly reminder that our Q1 AIA COTE Network Call is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3rd at 2:00 PM ET . We’re looking forward to connecting and hearing updates from your chapter! Action Required: Please update your chapter’s slide in the shared Google Slides deck with the following: Highlights from 2025 : Key accomplishments, initiatives, or events. Goals for 2026 : What your chapter is planning or aiming to achieve. Google slide Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OB5zhFl2_fo5MdPLadWR6M1nUB919RqO/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117172739344110297076&rtpof=true&sd=true ...
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Letter from the CRAN chair, January 2026 - Ellen Perko, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 24 days ago
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My Journey with CRAN® It has been more than a dozen years since I attended my first Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN) Symposium in Newport, RI. At the time, I was leading a single-family residential group within a large Boston architectural firm. That symposium left a lasting impression on me with its inspiring home tours, which ranged from a grand Newport mansion to a “hard hat” tour of a house under construction. The event offered a variety of talks, including in-depth explorations of the design foundations of New England architecture and practical discussions on the benefits of collaborating with real estate and marketing professionals ...
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Letter from the chair, February 2026 - Mahbuba Khan, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 24 days ago
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As we begin this new year, I'm honored to serve as Chair of the Public Architects Committee and bring my federal, local, and public sector experience to this role. I will be working alongside 2025 Award for Excellence in Public Architecture winner Kelly Hayes-McAlonie, FAIA, as vice chair, and AIA staff liaison, Lisa Berretta. I am energized by the momentum we gained in our 1st meeting of the year and humbled by the expertise and dedication within our committee. With over 6,500 members, the Public Architects Committee represents one of the most diverse groups of architects from federal, state, local, institutional, and private sectors. Your collective ...
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Missed It Live? Watch the 2025 AIA COTE Top Ten Showcase On-Demand!

By bruce boul posted 24 days ago
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If you weren’t able to join us live, we’ve got you covered. Yesterday’s AIA COTE Top Ten 2025 Showcase brought together project teams from across the country to share the thinking, rigor, and outcomes behind last year’s Top Ten Award–winning projects—each demonstrating what’s possible when sustainability, equity, and performance are treated as foundational design drivers, not add-ons. Hosted by HMC Architects on behalf of the AIA COTE Communications Committee, the webinar offered a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how these projects respond to climate action, community needs, and real-world constraints—while still delivering inspiring architecture. ...
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Voices of Advocacy: Chris Hellstern

By Lisa Richmond, Hon. AIA posted 29 days ago
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An interview with Chris Hellstern, AIA, about Washington’s Buy Clean Buy Fair, the importance of alliances, and why architects make great advocates. Lisa Richmond and Joyce Raybuck A Career Built Around Sustainability “I’ve been working in sustainability for about 20 years. I’m a licensed architect, but my role at Miller Hull is primarily as our Living Building Challenge and Sustainability Director, which lets me touch many projects. To make broader change, I also serve on AIA CCADE, AIA COTE , AIA Washington and other committees, with a strong policy focus on embodied carbon.” Washington’s Policy ...
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Current NAC State Representatives (STARS)

By Kathleen McCormick posted 01-20-2026
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State++ Representative Alabama Melissa Sheffield, Assoc. AIA Alaska OPEN Arizona Sara Ghaemi, Assoc. AIA Arkansas Justice Barnes, Assoc. AIA California Michael Cintron, Assoc. AIA Colorado Mo Zaina, Assoc. AIA Connecticut Ersa Llakmani, Assoc. AIA Delaware Christine Olshan, Assoc. AIA District of Columbia Danielle McCormick, Assoc. AIA Florida Alyssa Scherger, Assoc. AIA Georgia Chris Tromp, Assoc. AIA Hawaii Erin Wong, Assoc. AIA Idaho Beniya Shakya, Assoc. AIA Illinois Nese Altintas, Assoc. AIA Indiana Tyler Kennedy, Assoc. AIA ...
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Current NAC Advisory Committee

By Kathleen McCormick posted 01-20-2026
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Chair Brett Wedding, AIA Vice Chair Katie Cherrier, Assoc. AIA Associate Representative to the AIA Board of Directors Saakshi Terway, Assoc. AIA Associate Representative to the AIA Strategic Council Heli Shah, Assoc. AIA Advocacy Director Ricardo Maga Rojas, Assoc. AIA Knowledge Director Abigail Korn, Assoc. AIA Climate Action Director Ayushi Suyash Toraskar, Assoc. AIA Value Director Rachel Wiesbrock, Assoc. AIA Strategic Partnerships Director Asa Santa Cruz, Assoc. AIA COF Liaison Bill Hercules, FAIA CACE Liaison Jensen Zack Staff Liaison Kathleen McCormick ...
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Letter from the chairs, January 2026

By Daniel Overbey, AIA posted 01-19-2026
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By: Daniel Overbey, AIA, and Jacob Werner, AIA As Co-Chairs of The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) 2030 Commitment Working Group, we are excited to highlight the growing success of the Commitment, as evidenced by our most recent reporting. We are looking ahead to 2026 with excitement and hope, while still acknowledging that there is still much work to be done if we are to realize the Commitment’s full potential. Many of the technologies required for deep carbon reduction are just coming to maturity, and the design tools for robust analysis and optimization are continually improving. We look forward to working with the hundreds of firms that lead ...
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Letter from the 2026 Small Firm Exchange Chair​ - Darguin Fortuna, AIA

By Darguin Fortuna, AIA posted 01-17-2026
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AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx) Darguin Fortuna, AIA, NCARB I am honored to serve as the 2026 Chair of the AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx). As one of AIA’s largest and most diverse Member Groups, SFx represents the majority of architectural practices across the country—firms that are deeply embedded in their communities and responsible for an outsized share of the profession’s built work. Small firms are often where innovation, experimentation, and leadership first emerge. They are also where the pressures of practice—financial risk, staffing, mental health, succession, and sustainability—are felt most acutely. SFx exists to ensure these firms are not ...
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AIA Practice Management Digest - January 2026

By Eva Read-Warden, AIA posted 01-15-2026
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Survival Skills: Income and Business Development in the Digital Age Exploring strategies to thrive—and not just survive—in an era of digital disruption and economic uncertainty Letter from the editor By Eva Read-Warden, AIA, Principal, Arkitex Studio I don’t know about you, but to me the times are a bit perplexing. How can we be so busy yet so concerned about getting the next job? I know this is not a new issue in our profession, but for me it seems this “phase” is lasting longer than usual. The aura that what lies ahead is unknown, politically and economically, is now the way of life and not something that will pass with an upcoming ...
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Passive income for architects

By Jennifer Kretschmer, FAIA posted 01-15-2026
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by Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA With the current architect billing index trending downward in some markets and inquiries and backlog decreasing, architects may consider other ways to earn an income. So, what are some possible ways for an architect and firms to diversify their income and build financial resilience? One promising avenue is passive income: revenue that continues to generate with minimal active involvement. Architects’ unique creativity, use of digital tools, and niche expertise present a real opportunity in the growing global market for design related content. Let’s look at a few products architects can create and the methods they can ...
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Breaking the mold: One firm's journey to becoming a "Design Collaborative" and why it matters

By Eva Read-Warden, AIA posted 01-15-2026
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By Richard Friedman, Founder & President at Friedman & Partners AEC firms often re-examine and refine their mission, vision, or core values. Many firms do this during annual strategic planning, making a tweak here, a readjustment there. Much less frequently do firms completely revamp their direction and brand in the way that Bergmeyer did in 2020, when the firm transitioned from a traditional architecture/interior design practice into a “design collaborative.” Let’s look at what drove this transformation, along with the process and ultimate benefits. The Value of Being a “Design Collaborative” A cynic might see Bergmeyer’s ...
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The new currency of brand trust: Why architecture firms must adapt in the digital age

By Eva Read-Warden, AIA posted 01-15-2026
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By Judy Sparks Walk into any design firm today, and you’ll hear a familiar refrain: “We’ve built our reputation on relationships and doing great work.” And it’s true. Architecture, at its best, has always been a relationship business built on trust, craft, and collaboration. But here’s what’s changing: trust now begins long before the first handshake. For years, firms have invested tremendous energy in curating the perfect image—the photograph that captures the light just right, the angle that makes the building sing. And while visual storytelling will always have a place, today’s decision-makers are no longer choosing partners based on a gallery ...
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