Vice President

1. The AIA and the United States Conference of Mayors are working together to encourage city leaders to take a strong stance in favor of promoting integrated and high-performance building design with a goal of reaching a 50 percent fossil fuel reduction by 2010 and carbon neutral buildings by 2030. What are your plans to support this initiative and to implement the AIA's positions on the environment? More specifically, what role do you see the Associate AIA members playing now and in the future in furthering these objectives?

The future of our planet depends on implementation of The 2030 Challenge. The role that Associates and all design professionals can play is the same. We must convince our clients of the importance of meeting fossil fuel reduction targets of the 2030 Challenge. Information sources on the subject are many. The AIA Sustainability Web site is a good place to start.

Support for programs that raise environmental awareness in architectural education are a must. For more information, visit COTE’s Ecological Literacy in Architecture Education Web site.

Legislation that encourages sustainability is an important tool. As a member of the Board Advocacy Committee, I have supported and lobbied for legislation, like the “Zero Emissions Building Act of 2007.” which requires fossil fuel reductions in all federal buildings. Lobbying for legislation like this is an important role we must play.

Since leaving RTKL as its vice chair in 2000, I have been a sole practitioner providing management consulting to design firms. I have encouraged my clients to commit their companies to The 2030 Challenge and to Integrated Practice. The best advice I have to offer Associates is what I tell my clients. Stand up for what you know is right for the future of the world.

2. Where do you see opportunities for architecture students, emerging professionals, and recently licensed professionals to make the greatest contribution to our profession?

Opportunities for young people will abound in the coming years. By 2030, we will have increased the total number of housing units by 50 percent over the Year 2000 levels. In addition, we will build 104 billion square feet of non-residential space, doubling what was in place in 2000.

With such phenomenal growth, emerging professionals have a unique opportunity to reshape our future environment. This group is passionate about affecting change and has significant skill in getting the most out of technology. It is common to find a recent graduate who is much more adept at using a computer than their supervisor. The future of Integrated Practice is in the hands of these young people. They are the ones who will make it work.

When I graduated in 1968, we didn’t use computers. Today the Internet, coupled with our young people’s thirst for knowledge, has supplied them with vast quantities of information. More importantly, the young know how to take advantage of this supply. No information overload for them. Multi-tasking is a way of life. They are passionate about supporting sustainability programs and have the knowledge to do so.

3. Some statistics have suggested the rate of attrition among architects is steadily increasing. What initiatives do you suggest/support that will encourage younger members to remain in the field and also to become registered?

Keeping young people in the profession is a real problem. Historically, passion to shape the environment has attracted individuals to architecture. However, the difficult process of getting there includes a long education process, internship, and a series of grueling exams in order to obtain a license. All this work for income levels that do not come close to other professions.

It’s no wonder that we are having problems, but the situation is changing. As I stated earlier, in the next 20 years, the marketplace will be super heated, providing more employment opportunities than we have candidates to fill them. Employers will be required to provide relevant and meaningful experiences, as well as livable income packages, in order to attract qualified individuals. The marketplace will finally recognize the varied skills of emerging professionals and provide challenging opportunities necessary to make architecture an attractive profession for them to choose.

4. As technology advances and new software is developed, at least some members of the public (including potential clients) seem to believe that it is becoming easier for any “Average Joe” to “design” a building. How do you propose we, leaders of the architecture profession, promote an architect’s value to society? Additionally, how do you see the role of the architect changing as technology advances?

A recent study commissioned by the AIA does not agree with the notion that technology is allowing the public “to believe that it is becoming easier for any ‘Average Joe’ to ‘design’ a building.” In the non-residential market, most clients expect to use an architect for building design, while in residential, those that do not use an architect most often cite cost as the reason.

Technology and Integrated Practice is providing the architect with wonderful opportunities. The design and construction industry is in the early stages of a sea change and project delivery is in the middle of it. Up until now, our industry has been hopelessly fragmented.

Technology has provided us with tools, like BIM, that can act as the catalyst for change. How this change ultimately takes place is a function of how owners, architects, and contractors integrate their efforts.

The AIA has been collaborating with contractors and owners, through discussions with the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), and the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT). In July 2006, the AIA, AGC and CURT announced the formation of a “collaborative working group to spearhead design and construction industry transformation issues for the three organizations.” The significance of this effort is the willingness of all, to address important issues that face each of the stakeholders.

Issues such as defining roles, risk/reward, new business models, and contract models are in the early stages of exploration. This is a necessary step in order to arrive at the best practices, which will move Integrated Practice forward. Architects will be an integral part of a process that results in highly coordinated, sustainable projects, that meet the user’s needs, and budget, and provide a framework for maintaining the project through its entire life cycle.

5. How is the Intern process handled in your firm/office? Would you consider it to be "Intern Friendly"? What would you propose to help make the profession more "Intern Friendly"?

In my management consulting practice, my clients view personnel issues as a very important subject. I recommend they handle the employment of interns very carefully. The intern that is hired today is extremely important to the future growth of a firm. Interns must be given a broad range of experiences. Putting them to work as “CAD Jockeys” is a misuse and abuse of their talents. Interns have many choices and unless they feel that their position is relevant, they will go somewhere where it is.

Interns also need nurturing and mentoring in order to grow. After 25 years with RTKL, I found myself with many mentees. Watching them grow was and is very rewarding. I still maintain my relationship with many of them even seven years after leaving the firm. One of my greatest pleasures as an architect has been helping young people grow in the profession.