IAKC AIA25 Recap
By Kitty Yuen, AIA
Cheers to another successful AIA Conference on Architecture! AIA25 kicked off with an exciting lineup of sessions and fun architectural tours in historic Boston. Those who attended the IAKC Open Forum Thursday came to celebrate with two of our 2024 Interior Architecture Award winners - Jennifer Luce, FAIA from Luce et Studio and Steven White, FAIA from Fentress Studio (a Populus Company).
It was a privilege to host Jennifer and Steven, who in the session, shared their stories on their winning projects: Mingei International Museum in San Diego and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC.
Jennifer Luce’s integrative project began with the story behind the meaning of Mingei, the Japanese concept of discovering and preserving the craft and art of the people. The building featured craft in all aspects of design:
- Enhancements were done to a historic 1915 Panama-California Exposition Building with a Spanish Colonial Revival aesthetic set in Balboa Park.
- New Addition added 10,000 SF to activate the park setting and allowed new programs such as a performance space that can open to the exterior.
- Collaboration with six female artists of diverse domains to feature and integrate their art in the architecture
- Building trust with clients working with an open mind. Doing deep dive research on history and the goals of the program.
We hope The Mingei International Museum will be a tour stop next year for AIA26 in San Diego.
Steven White followed Jennifer Luce with a presentation on his project the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC in 2024. Some of you may have joined him on the tour last year. This is another complex project within an existing high security site, next to the residence of the ambassador. The main theme of maintaining diplomatic relations while representing Norwegian culture is throughout the design.
- New addition of 3500 SF to contrast with the neoclassical buildings adjacent and remodeled 30,000 SF for work place.
- Using mass timber expression to evoke ancient Viking ship hulls, spans allow a clever open space named the Atlantic ocean hall.
- Restoring the limestone, copper, and resolving some of the architectural forms in the addition presents a more defined and modern facade.
- The new accessible gardens and views are featured so that events can spill outside.
We are so honored that Steven and Jennifer can share their work with openness to our requests and questions. The session was so valuable to learn more about winning projects and celebrating the rich cultural influences that can bolster our designs. We are looking forward to 2026 in San Diego, we hope to feature more 2025 Interior Architecture Award winners.