O F F I C I A L A N N UA L P U B L I C AT I O N A N D D I R E C T O R Y O F A I A N O R T H E R N N E VA DA ARCHITECTURE .21 Fallon Youth Center UNR Chemistry/Physics Building Renovations South Reno Department of Motor Vehicles TMCC Eastview, Truckee Meadows Community College
www.clarksullivan.com Clark/Sullivan Construction proudly supports AIA Northern Nevada and the incredible work of our regional Architects and Designers! .clarksullivan.com lark/Sullivan onstruction r udly su ports I rthern Nevada t i credible work of r r i nal Architects and Designers!
4 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org AD INDEX Editor: Angela Bigotti-Chavez, AIA Board Members: Audrey De La Cruz, AIA Bradley Carlson, AIA Clare Christensen, CCMP Paul Vanderbyl Maggie Will, Assoc. AIA Marshall Cowan, AIA Kevin Merkling, AIA Matt Ronhaar, AIA Nate Hudson, AIA Rob Fabri, AIA Danielle Fabri, AIA Mandy Holback, PE Jaime Villarino, LEED AP Kreg Mebust, ASLA Alejandra Salas, AIAS Angela Bigotti-Chavez, AIA David Gurak, Assoc. AIA Office Manager: Donna Koepp The Northern Nevada Architect is a publication of the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. aiann.org AIA Northern Nevada 3495 Lakeside Dr., PMB 15 Reno, NV 89509 ©2022 AIA NN | The newsLINK Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Northern Nevada Architecture is published annually by The newsLINK Group, LLC for the AIA Northern Nevada and is the official publication for this association. The information contained in this publication is intended to provide general information for review, consideration and education. The contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If you need legal advice or assistance, it is strongly recommended that you contact an attorney as to your circumstances. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the AIA NN, its board of directors, or the publisher. Likewise, the appearance of advertisements within this publication does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any product or service advertised. Northern Nevada Architecture is a collective work, and as such, some articles are submitted by authors who are independent of the AIA NN. While Northern Nevada Architecture encourages a first-print policy, in cases where this is not possible, every effort has been made to comply with any known reprint guidelines or restrictions. Content may not be reproduced or reprinted without prior written permission. For further information, please contact the publisher at 855.747.4003. CONTENTS President’s Message..............................................................7 D.I.C.E Reno...................................................................8 2021 Board of Directors........................................................9 Membership Message...............................................................10 AlliedMember Spotlights...............................................................11 2021 Golf Tournament: The 31st Annual Denny Askew Memorial Golf Tournament.........................................................12 Canstruction 2021..........................................................................14 Moving Forward..........................................................................16 Advocacy.......................................................................................18 AIA NN 2021-23 Strategic Plan......................................................19 Improving Racial Equity Through Greener Design.............................................................................20 2021 AIA Northern Nevada Design Awards...............................24 Membership Directory..............................................................40 Calendar of Events...................................................................44 Clark/Sullivan Construction...........................................Page 2 Plenium Builders..................................................................Page 3 Foundation Design................................................................Page 5 Lumos & Associates..........................................................Page 11 Etchemendy Engineering................................................Page 11 NevadaBlue LTD.....................................................................Page18 American Insurance.............................................................Page 39 CORE Construction..............................................................Page 42 Ashley & Vance..............................................................Page 43 JP Engineering......................................................................Page 43 PKElectrical, Inc.....................................................................Page 43
Thank You, Allied Sponsors & Members! The AIA Northern Nevada Chapter would like to thank our Allied Professional and Allied Members (shown below) for their continued support of the Chapter. Without your involvement in our efforts, the northern Nevada design community would not be what it is today. To learn more about how to become an Allied Professional or Allied Member, visit www.aiann.org Brett McElhaney | McElhaney Structural Engineers Cheryl Chenault | Cheryl Chenault Interiors Douglas Gadow | Linchpin Structural Engineering Gretchen Graybar | Reno Business Interiors Karen Purcell | PK Electric Lea R. Wilson | Identity Design Lab Lonnie Johnson | JUB Luke Hendricks | PAE Engineers Mandy Holback | Gabbart and Woods Marie Wikoff | Wikoff Design Studio Michelle Foy | Michelle Foy Interiors Additional Sponsors & Allied Professionals 2021 Allied Sponsors , llie r rs! The AIA Northern Nevada Chapter would like to thank our Allied Professional and Allied Members (shown below) for their continued support of the Chapter. Without your involvement in our efforts, the northern Nevada design community would not be what it is today. To learn more about how to become an Allied Professional or Allied Member, visit www.aiann.org Brett McElhaney | Mc l y tr t r l i r Cheryl Chenault | heryl e lt I t ri rs Douglas Gadow | Linchpin Structural ngineering Gretchen Graybar | Reno Business Interiors Karen Purcell | PK Electric Lea R. Wilson | Identity Design Lab Lon ie Johnson | JUB Luke Hendricks | PAE Engineers andy Holback | Gabbart and Woods arie Wikoff | Wikoff Design Studio Michelle Foy | Michelle Foy Interiors l i r fes ionals 2021 Allied Sponsors
7 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE BY BRADLEY CARLSON, AIA, PRESIDENT 2021 has been a year of historical shifts in ways that two years ago we could not have imagined. We have seen our lives disrupted, affecting our families, businesses, jobs, clients, and communities. Just when we were looking forward to a 2021 “return to normal,” it quickly became clear that the year would be anything but. Yet, through this past year, we have learned to be flexible and adapt to the unexpected. The turmoil of 2021 has provided opportunities to look forward. Old ideas are being challenged, and no new ideas are “off the table.” We are experiencing shifts in society, work, and our architectural practices — but we’re also seeing opportunities to revisit and examine the role and impact of architects and architecture in our region. Fresh ideas are emerging regarding public health, social equity, housing, energy, and building sustainable communities, to name a few. Architects and the AIA have an opportunity now, more than ever, to play an important role. It is cliché (and true) to say that architects are “uniquely skilled to find creative solutions to problems.” Hence as professionals, we are also uniquely positioned to take on lead roles in solving challenging issues. Our chapter’s mission statement, “Communicating the value of great architecture to positively impact our community,” succinctly states the path ahead. The AIA Northern Nevada chapter is here to support its members. And it is to our members that we look: to be advocates and leaders making positive impacts. By taking on leadership and advocacy roles in the AIA and our region, we can be active participants in addressing current and future challenges. This high level of involvement and visibility is good for Nevada and good for our profession and businesses. With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect all facets of our lives, much has been said about how we will emerge and how our communities and practices will be changed. The same can be said for climate change and shifting climate patterns resulting from drought and fire in our region. These have all stressed our cities and neighborhoods like no other in our history. With this, our fourth annual issue of “Northern Nevada Architecture,” we would like to highlight opportunities for our chapter and members to actively participate in guiding the development of solutions to issues facing our communities and our profession. Many ideas that might have previously been dismissed or made a low priority need to be considered. “Old ideas are being challenged,” and solutions that might not have received attention previously are now “on the table.” Our chapter has a long history of members stepping up, supporting, and making a difference. With the unprecedented growth and stresses now facing our region, architects must have a significant voice influencing our decisions and the direction we go. As we begin 2022, Marshall Cowan will be stepping into the role of President, AIA Northern Nevada Chapter, and I am incoming President AIA Nevada. In the coming year, Marshall and I, along with our component boards, will continue supporting AIA initiatives already underway and some new ones to advance the roles the AIA plays in our state and local communities. Our communities need architects — the AIA members and architectural profession — to be advocates actively involved in guiding the decision makers and stakeholders shaping our region. This not only will have a positive impact on our communities but is also good for business. b Bradley Carlson, AIA 2021 President, AIA Northern Nevada With the unprecedented growth and stresses now facing our region, architects must have a significant voice influencing our decisions and the direction we go.
8 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org D.I.C.E. RENO In the autumn of 2011, a group of local designers organized our first Design Matters event, which was rebranded to D.I.C.E. the following year. We had just come out of the “Great Recession,” one of the first downturns for many young designers, and for some young graduates, the atmosphere in which they found themselves starting their careers. Personally, many of us were trying to find some inspiration in the world around us, and the “getting by” types of jobs we found ourselves doing were not providing for us. As an organization, the AIA Northern Nevada has always struggled to foster engagement in our design community. A group of local AIANN members — believing inspiration from great design was in short supply during this time — decided to create a design event to foster that design inspiration, and in turn, engage our local design community. We discussed and bounced around our lofty ideas amongst a handful of Northern Nevada architects and decided we needed to widen our reach. In the design of a building, architects deal with the physical creation of a building; however, being a designer is not just about creating a building. In our everyday jobs, we 1) create marketing materials to get projects; 2) help our clients clarify and manifest the vision of their companies in the spaces they use; and 3) often help with marketing and branding efforts. We needed to reach out to other designers: graphic designers, urban planners, industrial designers, lighting designers, and landscape architects. We realized design impacts all aspects of our lives, and we needed to allow ourselves to be inspired by many different minds and ideas. In our inaugural year, we invited Steve Frykholm to share his experiences as design director at Herman Miller. Also, as the local component, we held a chair design competition. This event cemented for our group how important this was for Reno. And as our event has ebbed and flowed over the past decade, we have been repeatedly elated at the great designers we have been able to bring to our little city. Designers that help challenge our design processes and inspire us to think bigger. We have also been able to keep a local design component as part of the event every year. Whether it was a design competition or a group workshop, it felt important for local designers to have an outlet for their creativity. Although we have been on hiatus during the pandemic, we look forward to holding this event again and continuing to elevate the design conversation in our community. D.I.C.E. celebrates and advocates the value of good design. Well-designed objects, images, and spaces can empower individuals, inspire the masses, and enrich an entire community. b
9 AIA NORTHERN NEVADA A Chapter of the American Institute of Architects THANK YOU TO OUR 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
10 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org Membership is a critical way to connect because it invites us to not just participate but also to create. Each member has a unique role to bring their own vision and light generate a movement of innovation and solutions for positive change. AIANN is a group that provides leadership within our design community while creating a place for stewardship. We’re continuously creating and improving partnerships with local design jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations while spreading our knowledge and expertise on smart design and development throughout Northern Nevada. With nearly 100 Architects and Associate architects and over two dozen Allied Professional members we make a sizable contribution to philanthropic partners such as the Washoe County School District, Truckee Meadows Community College, and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada by providing volunteer support, scholarships, and education. AIANN hosts learning opportunities, fundraising events and creates spaces and organized committees for collaboration and impact. Come connect with us! b THINKING OF BECOMING A MEMBER? VISIT OUR WEBSITE AIANN.ORG FOR APPLICATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION. MEMBERSHIP MESSAGE
11 GARY INDIANO Structural Sales Manager, Basalite AIANN member since 1989 As a leader in building and landscape manufacturing, Gary finds his long-term partnership with AIANN to be both significant and beneficial for his business industry and the design community. Innovation within building design practice requires manufacturers to be current with codes and trends. AIANN provides opportunities for networking and education within the design professional community and encourages collaboration. Being a liaison between manufacturing, codes and design is an important job in a small community. “I love the design community and always see the value of supporting them. I respect all of design community unique talents and as a native of Northern Nevada am excited to see the young professionals bring their fresh perspectives and expertise to the field.” b ALLIED MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS TRAVIS COOMBS Vice President, CORE Construction/West AIANN member since 2013 Construction industry leader and native Northern Nevadan Travis Coombs emphasizes the importance of supporting AIANN’s mission to create design awareness and provide philanthropic partnerships within the community. Travis finds it rewarding to sponsor many AIANN events which both give back to the community and connect people and industries outside the building design sector. “I find the most joy in my career through partnering with our clients, design professionals and trade partners to successfully deliver projects that make a tangible impact in the communities we live in. I appreciate that AIANN provides a platform to engage in community projects and I look forward to creating enriching partnerships encompassing design and education.” b ETCHEMENDY ENGINEERING INC. 10597 DOUBLE R BLVD., RENO, NV 89521 P: 775.853.1131 I F: 775.852.2352 BETCHEMENDY@EEI-NV.COM I WWW.EEI-NV.COM E.I Wiegand Fitness Center University of Nevada, Reno Landscape Architecture Services Carson City • Fallon • Lake Tahoe • Reno www.LumosInc.com Lumos & Associates Services fCivil Engineering fStructural Engineering fGeotechnical Engineering fConstruction Services fLandscape Architecture fSurveying Marc Chapelle , PLA Landscape Architect
12 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org Although uncertainty is still with us, it was another amazing day at Montreux with our sold-out golf tournament comprised of local architects, engineers, contractors, materials suppliers and special guests. AIA Northern Nevada utilizes the proceeds from the tournament to support our scholarship programs for local students attending architecture school and various other educational programs. With generous support this year, we again topped $26,000. Montreux has graciously extended another date for our tournament next year. Mark your calendars for Aug. 15, 2022. b Sincerely, AIA Northern Nevada Golf Committee TITLE SPONSOR: Core Construction BALL SPONSOR: Basalite Concrete Products LUNCH SPONSOR: Gilbane DRINK SPONSOR: Plenium Builders SWAG SPONSOR: Neeser Construction BREAKFAST SPONSOR: Wikoff Design Studio COFFEE SPONSOR: The Human Bean HOLE-IN-ONE SPONSOR: AIA Northern Nevada ASSOCIATE SPONSORS: Clark/Sullivan Construction Henriksen Butler Reno Business Interiors Kahl Commercial Interiors Teknion Kodiak Roofing and Waterproofing Helix Electric Miyamoto Engineers D&D Roofing and Sheet Metal O’Hagin 31st Annual Denny Askew Memorial Golf Tournament August 16, 2021
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14 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org CANstruction 2021 There was a little concern that it would not happen this year, but with the determination of nine teams, the 18th annual Canstruction® Reno event went off without a hitch on May 19th. Five student and four professional teams stacked their way to teetering heights using cans of chili, spinach, roast beef hash, collard greens and more. Over 21,000 pounds (23,400 cans) of food were within the artistic displays at Meadowood Mall and provided a creative way to help bring awareness to growing food insecurities that families face in northern Nevada. Teams had 12 hours to build their structures within the confines of a 10’x10’x10’ cube. With AIANN members and associate members either assisting teams or participating as teams, the event was a hugely successful collaboration between AIANN and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN). The structures stood for four days, and once they came down, food from the event was donated to FBNN. It equated to over 17,500 meals that will be distributed to hungry neighbors in our community. The structures were judged and awarded in five different categories in addition to a People’s Choice award ($1 per vote) that capped off the event. This year’s structures included a flowering blossom, Minecraft’s Creeper, a Recipe for Disaster, Grogu (for Star Wars fans), a C140 dropping pallets of food, and the Up House, among others. Awards were given based on various factors related to how the teams used and assemble the cans. People’s Choice voting also resulted in an additional $1,418 from the Reno community, which will allow FBNN to purchase even more meals for those in need. CANstruction has been suspended in numerous cities worldwide due to restrictions set in place because of COVID-19, so the AIANN committee members and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada are grateful to all who participated and were able to make this year’s event a success. Thanks to all of you! This year’s winners: • Most Cans: ‘Rise Above Hunger,’ Marce Herz Middle School (5,712 cans) • Structural Ingenuity: ‘Blossom,’ AT&T Pioneers • Best Meal: ‘Recipe For Disaster,’ Collaborative Design Studio • Best Use of Labels: ‘Not Baby Yoda,’ Pack 46/Trivium Packaging • Best Original Design: ‘Mine-Can Creeper,’ Sky Ranch Middle School • People’s Choice Award: ‘Rise Above Hunger,’ Marce Herz Middle School International Competition Winners: • Best Use of Labels: ‘Spike the Scorpion,’ Sage Ridge School • Structural Integrity: ‘Melted Ice Cream Cone,’ C/S and OneStudio D+A Look for CANstruction in 2022; we hope to see you participating as part of a team or helping out a student team for the event. We want to encourage anyone to take on the challenge of building your own creative Can-structure to help fight hunger in the community. It’s a great experience and a fun way to be involved in our community. b Blossom: Winner for Structural Integrity Mine-Can Creeper: Winner for Best Original Design
15 Not Baby Yoda: Winner for Best Use of Labels Spike the Scorpion International Winner for Best Use of Labels Staff Carrots Recipe for Disaster: Winner for Best Meal Rise Above Hunger: Winner for Most Cans and the People’s Choice Award Melted Ice Cream Cone: International Winner for Structural Integrity Air Force Delivers Erase Hunger
16 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org As we look forward to 2022, we reflect on the journey we’ve all come through over these past couple of years. What was initially “optimism in the face of uncertainty” in February 2020 has now manifested a plethora of positive initiatives paving the road for our years ahead. The difficult decisions our national organization has made over these past two years has equipped and enabled us for a potential future more beautiful than the one we left pre-pandemic. However, now is the time to rise and capture the opportunities presented to us — to be more than we ever have — to lead and design the future organizational model of the AIA. 2022 and beyond will be monumental! As our national organization emerges from the grips of the pandemic, we’ve learned many lessons along the way as it relates to the potential and limitations of virtual work. In the virtual world, Zoom meetings are cheap, they’re emotionless and placeless most of the time, and the fatigue associated with them has been felt by all of us. With all these negatives, the virtual world also presents us with positives, the possibility of a national organization that knows no boundaries — one that’s more accessible and better represented in areas of geography than any we’ve had in the past. Now, as we begin to design the future of the AIA, hybridized working and service have come to the forefront. Let’s keep the positive attributes of the virtual world but also understand and accept its limitations. Let’s recognize that our BEST work is done together, in person, and be explicit regarding the value and importance of future in-person gatherings and meetings. Because our 2020 and 2021 boards have led our organization through these times with financial prudence, we’re emerging from this pandemic in a strong financial position and capable of accomplishing not only restructuring of meetings and travel but so much else as well. We’re blazing the trail and in the beginning stages of designing our national headquarters, the renewal of 1735 New York Avenue. The current building, designed by TAC in 1973, has served our profession exceedingly well for almost 50 years now but shows its age in relevance, function, and performance. This is a moment for us to look at ourselves in a mirror as an organization whose proclamations of taking a stand against climate change were authored in a building with a hobbling, non-renewable fueled mechanical system and not a bit of insulation anywhere in its walls or roof! In early 2021, the board interviewed and selected the architect and general contractor for this project. The selected architect, EHDD, and the builder, Turner Construction, have worked with the board and a smaller “Building Renewal Task Force” on initial concept development and cost for this project. Through this dialogue, we’re proposing that the new AIA headquarters be a tangible version of our values, a center for architectural advocacy and a membership common ground. It will be an exemplar of environmental stewardship, cultural equity, and inclusion that transcends its address in Washington, D.C. deep into every corner of our organization. EHDD is on target to have final schematic level work to the board by the end of January 2022. In 2022, we will be welcoming our new EVP/CEO, Lakisha Woods, CAE and extending a deeply deserved thank you and farewell to Robert Ivy, FAIA. His leadership of the AIA has marked some of the most prosperous times of MOVING FORWARD BY NATHANIEL HUDSON, AIA, NCARB, 2021-23 AT-LARGE DIRECTOR, AIA NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
17 our organization. While his steady hand, profound knowledge, and unmistakably witty smile will be missed, we’re looking ahead to welcoming Ms. Woods, and with our 2022 board as well as a senior leadership team, we’re now tasked with designing the organization for the future! To enable this forward-thinking work, two items of monumental nature occurred in 2021. First, the delegate members voted this past June to establish the state-based model for the Strategic Council and other institute bodies. Second, through work with members responsible for two redacted resolutions, 2021 AIA President, Peter Exley appointed the Members’ Voice Task Force to help better understand and improve the working and communication dynamics between the Board of Directors and national committees, including the Strategic Council, as well as our local/state components. With the vote moving our organization from regions to states, we anticipate increased efficiencies with member dues money, enhanced advocacy efforts, and a more consistent member experience across the components. It will create a more direct, streamlined connection between the state components and national, allowing for more unified efforts and stronger communications. As an architect and volunteer leader very knowledgeable with the distant and remote nature of many of our western chapters, this change allows for a more equal national representation across the broad geography of the AIA. All states now have a more equitable path for representation in national conversations, thereby increasing diversity of leadership and diversity of thought. Our state and local components already exist as powerful hubs of influence and engagement. National can benefit from a more direct connection to states/local chapters. State components maintain staff, communicate strongly with members, wield influence on political, licensing, and other practice-related issues, collaborate with local components and sections within their state, promote design through design awards, and maintain active engagement with architecture schools. Local components are vibrant hubs of member engagement, both in-person and digitally. Most produce hours upon hours of continuing education, wield influence in their communities on design, support local initiatives that improve their communities, offer mentoring programs, engage with local civic leaders, and promote design through design awards. Bringing these initiatives closer to the National will bond the organization more tightly and provide agility to tackle future challenges. Speaking as a former senior director and passionate advocate of the Western Mountain Region, we’re now at the end of 62 years of a truly beautiful era in dedicated service to our members. Those members in Nevada are no exception to the long line of leaders who’ve contributed to the longevity and success of the WMR. For that, thank you to all who have selflessly given countless hours away from practices, families, and loved ones in the constant search for something greater. Those who’ve inspired others to rise in their footsteps; every current and former leader, every local chapter whose combined efforts built the greatness of the WMR. Now though, we’re tasked to seed the soil for what’s next, what’s better, what could be POSSIBLE. Through a newly proposed memorandum of understanding process, let’s design new opportunities for flexibility, collaboration, and prosperity and encourage components to come together based on shared interests, issues, or concerns and not just because of geographic proximity. And now, we can include any state, any component, for any duration of time; think of the possibilities. This change could allow us to be our best, to do better than we have in the past. However, achieving this will require a commitment to one another, an active strategy to reach across state lines in recognition that we’re more TOGETHER than we are in separate state-defined silos. Think of the collective leadership energy presented to us in the territory of the former WMR alone: six Strategic Councilors rather than two, and six representatives each — up from just one — to the National Associates Committee, Young Architects Forum, and Small Firm Exchange. Together this change is propelling 24 new leaders into the national conversation from the current states of the WMR versus its former five; almost 400% greater representation! So, with that, let’s capitalize on this opportunity and see what could manifest from this collective energy; let’s share in these roles and design this together with our state counterparts of the former region to find the threshold of what could be possible. All of this while we make sure we remind each other that every project we do, every decision and every shift is a platform to make the world a better place. b Our state and local components already exist as powerful hubs of influence and engagement. National can benefit from a more direct connection to states/ local chapters.
18 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org Call us to find out how you can earn a continuing education credit while learning about the opportunities that custom digital printed wallcoverings can provide to accentuate your next project! Reprographics Center “It’s Our Job To MakeYou Look Good!” www.nvblue.com 775-827-4441 The American Institute of Architects is committed to improving the environmental stewardship of the design, construction, and preservation of buildings and spaces. The AIA publication on Disruption, Evolution and Change: AIA’s Vision for the Future of Design and Construction, details an aspirational path forward for our profession’s commitment to meeting 2030 climate objectives. The four focus areas of the report — energy, health/safety, welfare and transparency — speak to methods to help us achieve our objective of leading the change we seek. They also help to frame our discussions and partnerships to advance environmentally responsible design and construction. The scope of this work provides a perspective and aspirational approach that we believe provides real-world steps that address climate change today, which we know will determine how future generations will live, work, learn, and play. We also know that smart, energy-efficient design alone will not help us to meet the carbon-reduction goals needed to forestall or to prevent the worst effects of climate change. This document asks all industry stakeholders to work together to urge policymakers, at all levels of government, to implement policies that encourage architects, builders, our clients, and others to make reducing the carbon footprint of our society a top priority. b ADVOCACY For a full review of AIA’s white paper, Where Architects Stand, click here: https://content.aia.org/sites/ default/files/2019-06/ADV19_ Disruption_Evolution_Change.pdf
• Go back to basics • Increase member engagement • Quarterly luncheons use time for Board sharing and CEU’s • Build Relationships with Allied and Allied Professional — Attendance, Communication needs of Architects to Allieds, Committee Engagement, Technical Resource to Member Architects • Freely give out our Strategic Plan at events • Pandemic/Economic Support to Members • Lecture Series — Black Rock, Brain Food Series TMCC, what are Members outreach for topics? • Small Firm Exchange • Networking — Parties, Sports, Meetings, EDAWN, NCET, YoDEng • Board and Event outreach — email, Mailchimp • Yearly Publication • Professional Resources — ARE Library, Document Bank • Annual Golf Tournament • CANstruction • Awards — encourage applicants, revise the jury process and potential jurors • Dues Structures • Communicate what Architects Do, and the Value of AIA Membership • Government — Establish Relationships with Regional Planners, Citizen Architect, Outreach/ Educate to Community Stakeholders, Foster Relationships, Invite Council Members to events • Housing — Member Watchdogs to Cities/Counties, A ordable Housing Specialists in the membership (is a specialties directory allowed by National by-laws) • Sustainability — USGBC, Allied Professionals, Climate Action • Client Education — Identify Audience (Government) • Social Justice and Equity — Create a Committee, Tear Down Barriers if any. Page on Website? • Historic Preservation • WMR Dissolution Impacts • Youth Scholarships — Hellmann, Erskine, Licata cultivate applicants • Career Fairs —Washoe County, Carson City, Incline, K-12 • TMCC Support — Open House Speakers Bureau, How can TMCC draw speakers and assistance from outside Reno? • TMCC BArch Program Advocacy • Kreg’s position will be open at TMCC • Job Shadowing, Mentoring/Intern Program, Portfolio Review, Studio Critiques, Part Time Instruction at TMCC, High School Outreach, Architects in the Classroom, Black Rock Design, AIAS/AIA Joint Involvement/Student Design Build Project, Urban Redesign Team • Alumni Assoc. engagement • Government Engagement Support • Architecture Week (April) Communica�ng the value of great architecture to posi�vely impact our community. NORTHERN 2021-2023 STRATEGIC PLAN NEVADA Educate: Advance knowledge and exper�se that bring the transforma�ive power of architecture to the built environment. Engage: Elevate public awareness of the value of architects and architecture to our community. • Education Committee — Educating our future and keeping us up to date • Membership Committee — Finding out what matters to you • Sustainability — Keeping out environment clean and building a better future • Advocacy — Being your voice in the community • Publication — Spreading the word on what we do • Events — Keeping us on par for social events Commi�ees: The teams that implement the strategic plan. Advocate: Advocate for the Profession by championing the architect’s role in designing a be�er community.
20 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org IMPROVING RACIAL EQUITY THROUGH GREENER DESIGN How a better built environment enhances health, economies, and access to essential services for all. Climate change affects us all, but doesn’t impact us all equally. This article is part of a new series, Building Equity, that explores how architects are working with communities and civic leaders to develop creative, innovative design solutions that fight climate change, systemic racism, and inequities in the built environment. It’s time to show the world what design can do. For decades, Black Americans have disproportionately lived in unhealthy conditions, due in large measure to unjust policies, inequitable planning, disinvestment, and underinvestment in the built environment. Starting in the 1930s, banks and mortgage lenders marked certain neighborhoods — often Black and Latino — on maps as being uncreditworthy. Known as redlining, this process led to financial firms and real estate agents refusing loans, mortgages, and other investments to residents and prospective homebuyers in these areas. As a result, Black communities often remained financially stagnant, pushed into industrial zones with poor access to public transportation and inadequate grocery stores, schools, and public buildings. Once backed by the federal government, redlining was initially struck down by the Supreme Court in 1948 in the case Shelley v. Kraemer, which ruled that courts could not enforce racially restrictive practices. But redlining would not be fully outlawed by the federal courts until the 1968 Fair Housing Act banned racial discrimination in housing, followed by the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), which required lending institutions to report public loan data, and the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (RCA), which required the Federal Reserve to encourage financial institutions to make loans to neighborhoods of all income levels. Yet despite these laws, the damage by redlining was done — and persists today. According to a 2018 report by the National Center for Environmental Assessment at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Black people in the United States are 1.54 times more likely to live near facilities that pollute, causing them to breathe dirtier air than whites and to develop health problems like heart and lung disease. According to a 2017 report by the Baltimore City Health Department, a nearly 20-year gap in life expectancy exists between Black and white neighborhoods in the Maryland capital, and cities like Philadelphia and Chicago have shown similar numbers. This discrepancy in life expectancy is tied to poverty perpetuated by disinvestment in the built environment. According to a 2020 report by the Brookings Institution, the median net worth of a white family in the United States is $171,000. By comparison, the median net worth of a Black family is $17,150 — nearly 10 times less. To address these chronic inequities, architects are designing buildings and communities that are resilient, sustainable, and reduce carbon dioxide in historically neglected Black neighborhoods, enhancing the lives and health of residents while helping to fight climate change. Below, three architects share how they are working with communities to improve the environmental and social sustainability of communities by protecting neighborhoods from gentrification, installing parks and public art exhibits in urban centers, and creating state-of-the-art libraries in financially challenged neighborhoods — inspiring future generations to improve racial equity in the United States. REPRESENTING COMMUNITIES In Seattle, the Midtown neighborhood is one of the most historic Black communities in the United States. Home to the first Blackowned bank west of the Mississippi River, the neighborhood once housed 71% of the city’s Black population. A vital economic and cultural center, it was the only area of the city unaffected by redlining. Yet, in recent years, the growth of corporate offices in
21 downtown Seattle have spurred investment in the area, raising the cost of living and displacing longtime residents. According to the US Census Bureau, the Black population of the Central District — of which Midtown is the heart — dropped from over 70% in the early 1970s to 18% in 2014. So when a new mixed-use development was proposed at 23rd and Union, the historic center of the community, residents banded together to block it. Developers had already built two developments in the area with little resistance. But Midtown, with its deep history and significance for the community, was different. To design a development in collaboration with the community, the developers brought in architect Rico Quirindongo, AIA, a principal at DLR Group. “The developer had been buying up property in a traditionally African-American neighborhood without much resistance,” Quirindongo says. “Then they picked this site, and the community was not happy about it at all, blocking their ability to get permits. I was brought in to join the development team and bridge the gap.” Reaching out to local residents through surveys, open houses, and meetings, Quirindongo made the community an active partner in the design. The community wanted the space — which would occupy a former strip mall — to create a healthier, greener environment that would reflect their culture and values. So Quirindongo worked with the developers to design an open-air, privately managed public square, inspired by markets in Africa, in the center of the mixed-use development. Featuring art installations, trees, portraits of residents, and retail space for locally owned businesses, the Midtown Public Square is a mixed-income residential development of 428 units, 30% of which will be zoned affordable, that aims to honor the neighborhood while ensuring it has a foothold for the future. By working with civic leaders, politicians, and groups like the Africatown Community Land Trust, Quirindongo was able to help the development make best use of local policy. In addition to the landuse policy that requires developer engagement of communities through the design review process, the Seattle City Council incorporated a new policy, called community preference, which allows nonprofit developers to offer a portion of their affordable units to people with ties to the neighborhood being developed, especially those at high risk of displacement. “Architects have created checklists for environmental sustainability, but we’re only now beginning to discuss social sustainability,” Quirindongo says. “Environmental and social sustainability and gentrification are all entwined. This is particularly true in communities of color, which have been forced to accept the brunt of negative health impacts from the built environment, like bad air quality, bad soil, and contamination. One solution is to facilitate a collaborative design process, in which you have developers, designers, and communities working on common solutions with common benefits.” 3 WAYS GREEN DESIGN ENHANCES SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY 1. Healthy, stable, and affordable housing near public transportation hubs: Diverse housing for different income levels near major transportation hubs ensures easy and affordable access to travel for work or other essential services, like healthcare and food — while also reducing pollution from cars. 2. Parks and mixed-use green spaces in neighborhoods: Parks and green spaces in neighborhoods improve air quality and mental health while also providing a sense of community and spurring visits to adjoining businesses, enhancing the health, safety, and economic prosperity of neighborhoods. 3. Green and resilient features in buildings: Sustainable features in buildings improve the health of the environment and its occupants, but the benefits can extend beyond the walls. Features like a tree canopy to reduce the heat island or a rain garden to manage stormwater can provide ambient temperature for those in the area. CONTINUING CULTURE The site map of Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3-mile stretch of parks and art installations celebrating Black Los Angeles. The art and culture experience runs along Crenshaw Boulevard from 48 to 60th Streets. In Los Angeles, the Crenshaw neighborhood is the historic heart of the Black community. After federal fair-lending enforcement began in 1977 with the Community Reinvestment Act, the neighborhood opened to large numbers of Black citizens and Japanese-Americans, creating a multicultural hub in the city. Yet in recent years, as economic development along the Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line led to increasing growth that threatens to displace longtime residents in neighborhoods like Leimert Park, residents of Crenshaw became concerned about their future. So, they banded together to create a new vision for their neighborhood: the 1.3-mile Destination Crenshaw park with permanent and rotating art installations along Crenshaw Boulevard from 48 to 60th streets. The I AM Park, located at Slauson Avenue, will celebrate resourcefulness as the positive outcome of struggle.
22 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .21 | 2021 | aiann.org “Destination Crenshaw is an outdoor art and cultural experience that was built in response to the extension of the light rail here atgrade,” says Gabrielle Bullock, FAIA, a principal and the director of global diversity at Perkins & Will in Los Angeles. “The city built this section of track at-grade in the Black community, whereas it went below-grade in most every other major commercial area in LA. The community’s response was to make lemonade out of lemons by creating a local destination out of it.” Bullock knows plenty about overcoming obstacles. Born in Harlem, New York, she was inspired to become an architect after seeing family and friends living in public housing projects with cinderblock walls and small, barred windows. Knowing the importance of pride of place, Bullock assembled a representative team of architects at her firm — some of whom lived in Crenshaw — to engage with the community and understand their vision. To ensure the project benefited locals, Bullock and her team studied developments like the High Line in New York, the BeltLine in Atlanta, and similar projects in Harlem to understand the potential for displacement caused by community improvement. “Locals told me that property prices have skyrocketed along both the High Line and the BeltLine, which are walkable and support restaurants and other businesses but have displaced residents,” Bullock says. “Harlem, however, has made improvements while also retaining the character and legacy of the community. That’s what we wanted for Crenshaw.” At 54th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard, two pocket parks will anchor the southern corners of the intersection and serve as the future home of the Council District 8 headquarters. To compensate for a train that runs above ground, which is likely to make the boulevard less pedestrian-friendly, Bullock and her team designed a series of outdoor parks and art installations featuring work by Black artists, creating a green and inspiring refuge amid the concrete. In addition, the project was designed to bolster the community living there, with spaces for local businesses. “The biggest goal is to build the current economy,” Bullock says. “The oldest soul food restaurant in Los Angeles is on this boulevard. The oldest Black-owned gym is on it, too. We want to enhance access and opportunities for these businesses while providing outdoor places for play, building both environmental and cultural sustainability.” This portion of Destination Crenshaw creates a new public space just south of the historic Leimert Park. Sankofa Park will be located on 46th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard, serving as the threshold for the northern end of the experience. Sankofa Park will showcase commissioned art, exhibit content, and programming at multiple scales. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE In Houston, the Third Ward is arguably the city’s oldest Black neighborhood. Centered by Emancipation Park — a 10-acre site bought by former enslaved people in 1872 to annually celebrate the end of slavery in Texas — the neighborhood has been a vibrant community since the 1930s. Yet while the neighborhood’s proximity to downtown has spurred investment in recent years, Continued from page 21
23 with median home values increasing 176% from 2000 to 2013, half of the respondents in a 2019 Rice University survey stated that they earn less than $10,000 a year — due, in part, by redlining and disinvestment in the community by the city for decades. “People are just now talking about food deserts, which are often Black neighborhoods that don’t even have a grocery store,” says Antoine Bryant, Assoc. AIA, project manager and business development at the Houston office of Moody Nolan. “But this is a term that we’ve been talking about for 30 years. Environmental racism — how you only have chemical plants and smelting and those kinds of things in communities of color — has been happening for decades. Additionally, Robert Moses and many other urban planners throughout the ’30s and ’40s built highways through communities of color, subdividing them and leading to many sustainability concerns that we’re only now starting to address.” To inspire and instill confidence in the next generation of Third Ward residents, Jonathan Moody, CEO of Moody Nolan, designed a cutting-edge library at Texas Southern University, one of the largest historically black public universities in the United States, and Bryant worked with him to reach out to the community. Bryant was born in public housing in Brooklyn, and the unhealthy environment inspired him to become an architect. When he was 10 years old, a family friend who was a Black architect exposed him to architecture as a career opportunity — spurring a lifelong commitment to mentoring others. “Growing up, I remember not having a college or library nearby,” Bryant says. “I was so excited to help the young kids in this neighborhood — where I also live — and facilitate the creation of a new library they can see and access on a daily basis.” Working with the design team at Moody Nolan – the country’s largest Black-owned architecture firm – Wardell Ross, AIA, senior associate and director of Houston operations, and Bryant engaged with the university staff, faculty, and students, as well as the local community, holding workshops and learning what residents wanted for their future. The university’s existing library was built in the 1950s and was essentially a windowless bunker with books. For the new library, both the students and broader neighborhood wanted a space where they could read, access digital tools, and feel a sense of community. Incorporating that feedback, Moody Nolan designed a new 137,000-square-foot Library Learning Center with public computers, a gallery of African art, community meeting spaces of various sizes, and leading sustainable and resilient features accessible to the entire Third Ward. Including green features like electrochromic glazing on the windows to reduce energy use, high-albedo white and cool-roofing membranes to reflect heat, and proximity to mass transit, the library is an accessible beacon for both sustainable practices and education, meant to inspire the local community to be healthy and successful. “Students and residents can enjoy a community space with natural light,” Ross says. “It’s sustainable, a healthier space, and, more important, it brings a state-of-the-art facility to a community that historically didn’t have access to that. It makes them feel like they’re in the game, which is a big thing.” Bryant agrees. “As architects, we need to be active in the communities where we work,” he says. “We go to local schools and explain what architects do, and 90% of the students don’t know what one is, let alone seen one who is Black. So projects like this library give us an opportunity to help. b The Blueprint for Better campaign is a call to action. AIA is asking architects, design professionals, civic leaders, and the public in every community to join our efforts. Help us transform the day-to-day practice of architecture to achieve a zero-carbon, resilient, healthy, just, and equitable built environment. “Environmental and social sustainability and gentrification are all entwined. This is particularly true in communities of color, which have been forced to accept the brunt of negative health impacts from the built environment, like bad air quality, bad soil, and contamination. One solution is to facilitate a collaborative design process, in which you have developers, designers, and communities working on common solutions with common benefits.”
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