AIA Utah is a member-driven organization. As such, we must engage with our members to better understand the needs, challenges, and opportunities for AIA Utah to support both architects and our profession. When I ran for president-elect of AIA Utah, I set a goal to amplify our members’ voices, which begins with listening. AIA Utah hosted a firm Leadership Summit for the first time in March. We invited firm leaders to attend a day-long discussion to identify and prioritize needs for AIA Utah within our state and profession. We were delighted to have representatives from 16 large and small firms attend the event. Using feedback from our registrants, the priority topics for the event were focused on how AIA Utah can enhance the value of architects (and architecture) to our clients and our communities and how AIA Utah can better support architectural candidates and young architects within the profession. Discussion Part 1 The first series of questions focused on our perception of the value of hiring an architect and the services architects provide. A series of round-table discussions occurred around the following questions: 1. What is your perception of the value of architects? 2. What is the value your clients see in your services? 3. What would you like your clients to know about the architectural process? 4. What do you think our clients wish we knew to support a more effective design process? 5. How can AIA Utah support you by advocating for architects in Utah? From these robust and varied discussions, we learned that AIA Utah can support our architectural community by providing a toolkit for owners to help describe the design process, provide a dictionary of common architectural terms, and answer FAQs. We also heard that AIA Utah could better represent our members by supporting more outreach to owners and owner representatives on behalf of the profession. Discussions with institutional owners, contractors, and developers to share the value of architects and good architecture in our communities are key steps. Now, we must determine the best way to approach these discussions, engage with our owners and begin this connection. The next series of discussions focused on how we can support both architects and owners in supporting effective design while meeting project schedules and budgets and creating a more compelling value proposition for the role of architects and the impact of effective architecture. AIA Utah Firm Leadership Summit – Salt Lake City Salt Lake City BY WHITNEY WARD, AIA 20 REFLEXION
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