Join LA.IDEA at Henricksen DC for a tour and valuable discussion on nerodiverse populations. 

Get ready for a frightfully fun time this Halloween! Join us for a hands-on workshop where kids (and parents!) will design and build their very own haunted houses. From spooky turrets to creepy corridors, we’ll explore the architecture and creativity that bring haunted houses to life.

Event Details:

• What: Haunted House Building Workshop
• Who: Great for kids of all ages, parents are welcome to join in!
• When: October 26th, 10am-12pm
• Where: District Architecture Center
• What to Bring: Your imagination and your favorite Halloween costume
• Provided: All building materials and spooky inspiration

Highlights:

• Learn fun architectural design basics
• Build a haunted house to take home
• Costumes encouraged for added fun
• A family-friendly activity just in time for Halloween

PreciseLED, an architectural lighting manufacturer based in Valley Stream, NY, is proud to present our AIA presentation: "Smarter Lighting: The Role of AI in Safer, Healthier Buildings". In this presentation you will learn all about how AI (Artificial Intelligence) is impacting lighting presently, and how it will impact lighting in the future. We will discuss how AI can be used today as part of the lighting design process, and how lighting fixture with integrated AI will bring lighting into its next era.

Attendees will receive 1 HSW/LU credit for AIA (to ensure credit please ensure we have your AIA number). The presentation is one hour long.

Presented by:

Phil Giovannelli

Phil Giovannelli is the Northeast Regional Sales Manager for PreciseLED. Well versed in all things lighting, Phil is known to capture the interest of captivated audiences.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze how AI-controlled lighting systems affect circadian rhythms and emotional well-being in building occupants. → HSW: Health; Topic Area: Programming and Analysis
• Evaluate the role of AI-enhanced lighting in improving visibility, responsiveness, and public safety in exterior and communal spaces. → HSW: Safety; Topic Area: Project Planning and Design
• Identify potential barriers and ethical implications of deploying AI-driven lighting systems in underserved or marginalized communities. → HSW: Welfare; Topic Area: Practice Management (Ethics)
• Assess post-occupancy outcomes of AI-integrated lighting systems to guide future design improvements. → HSW: Welfare; Topic Area: Construction and Evaluation

HSW Justification: 

This course qualifies for HSW credit as it focuses on how AI-integrated lighting systems impact the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants and the public. Topics address social well-being (Health), physical safety in public environments (Safety).

This is the closing reception for the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program. This event is invitation only. 

Design Like A Girl Mentor Program Application Deadline is September 15, 2025.

The Design Like a Girl Mentor Program was founded in 2016 in Washington DC to introduce local middle school girls to architecture and related professions. Girls ages 11-14 are paired with female mentors from the architecture, construction, and engineering fields to learn first-hand about these exciting careers from professional women. By engaging more girls across the city it is the goal of the program to open doors that might eventually lead to greater gender equality in the architectural, and other STEM professions.

DLAG consists of four full-day workshops during the academic year. Each workshop has a theme and includes a field trip, a design project with drawing and model building and concludes with a presentation by each girl of her design. Two of the four workshop dates coincide with DCPS’s no school days on Fridays:

• Friday. October 10, 2025
• Saturday, November 8, 2025
• Friday, February 13, 2026
• Saturday, April 25, 2026

Spaces are limited to 12 participants. 

This session explores repositioning and adaptive reuse of existing buildings to meet modern functional and market demands. We will cover structural assessment strategies, including field measurements and both destructive and non-destructive testing methods, essential for aging buildings. Attendees will understand how existing load capacities—especially in office-to-residential conversions—can provide design efficiencies. Code references such as IEBC Sections 503.3 and 503.4 will be discussed to explain the drivers behind necessary upgrades to gravity and lateral systems. We also examine enclosure design challenges, energy code compliance, and balancing durability with budget. Emphasis is placed on practical strategies and early-stage coordination to reduce cost and ensure long-term performance.

Presented by:

Hakan Onel, PE, SE | Sr. Principal | SK&A Structural Engineers

Hakan Onel, PE, SE, is a Sr. Principal at SK&A.  In addition to contributions to overall firm management and business development, he provides leadership and oversight of Design Group project teams’ delivery of proactive, client-focused services, including structural design and analysis, feasibility studies, third-party peer reviews for large-scale projects, the preparation of Contract Documents, and Construction Administration services. Hakan’s breadth of experience includes high-rise residential and office buildings, corporate headquarters buildings, mission-critical facilities, large-scale atrium, and canopy projects, as well as a number of complex mixed-use, multi-phased development projects in the region, such as the award-winning Wharf Phase I and II, located in Southwest Washington, DC.

Justin Long, PE, RBEC, BECxP | Principal | SK&A Structural Engineers

As Principal of SK&A’s Structural Repair + Restoration Division, Justin P. Long, PE, RBEC, BECxP, leads the strategic direction, technical delivery, and business development efforts for the firm’s growing building enclosure consulting and structural restoration services. Since joining SK&A in 2012, Justin has played a key role in expanding the division’s capabilities, cultivating long-term client relationships, and shaping internal operations to support responsive, high-performance project delivery.  Justin has extensive experience in structural repair and restoration across a diverse range of project types. His portfolio includes large-scale structural and façade repair programs, post-tensioned structural concrete repairs, historic structural rehabilitations, and comprehensive plaza waterproofing and structural renovation projects.

Monika Crandall, PE, LEED AP | Associate | SK&A Structural Engineers

Monika Crandall, an Associate with SK&A, is responsible for project management, structural design and analysis, the preparation of project drawings and specifications, shop drawing approvals, and field inspection of projects for conformance with design drawings.  She is proficient in the analysis and design of building structures as well as figuring out the most appropriate and cost-effective solutions for challenging structural problems.  Her project portfolio includes many of SK&A’s large high-rise office and residential buildings, hospitals and laboratory facilities, parking garages, and several of SK&A’s award-winning projects including 20 Mass, The Langston, and The Annex on 12th.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the principles and benefits of repositioning and adaptive reuse, including market drivers and opportunities in office-to-residential conversions.
• Discuss methods of evaluating structure and building envelope systems of existing buildings using field measurements, destructive and non-destructive testing methods, and interpret requirements from IEBEC.
• Recognize when and how to reinforce or adapt structural elements such as gravity, lateral, and foundation systems based on code compliance and performance needs.
• Apply best practices in building envelope design to ensure continuity, energy code compliance, and long-term durability while maintaining architectural intent.

Join fellow architects and landscape architects for a relaxing afternoon picnic - great food, fresh air, and inspiring company await!

Connect, unwind, and enjoy the outdoors with your family, dogs, and peers who shape the world one design at a time.

Join AIA|DC's Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) for networking and rapid-fire style presentations at the committee’s "Back to School" Fall Social.

This event will showcase current work related to the design of learning environments by firms in the DC metropolitan region. Presentations will highlight emerging trends through designs still on the boards, completed within the last year, or under construction.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore and understand how diverse spaces can support lifelong learning.
• Describe new trends in school designs around the nation.
• Explain and analyze existing school facilities for their inherent challenges.
• Discuss and define 21st century learning environments.

Sponsored by: 

Reducing and ultimately eliminating the emissions from building construction is urgently needed to address climate change. Because embodied carbon is a relatively new concept for most of the AEC industry, the presentation aims to increase awareness of the issue to allow participants to make a positive impact on their projects. In large part because LEED and similar rating systems have facilitated significant progress in reducing operational carbon, carbon emissions from initial building construction are expected to match those of operational emissions for projects constructed between 2020 and 2050. The presentation will provide an introduction to embodied carbon in building construction, with a focus on the building structure. The participant will learn about how embodied carbon differs from operational carbon, drivers of embodied carbon, and strategies to track and reduce it in the building structure. Through examples and case studies, various design and construction concepts will be presented to illustrate both the challenge and opportunity of using embodied carbon as a design criterion.

Presented by: 

Michael E. Cropper, P.E., LEED AP

Mr. Cropper is a Principal, structural engineer, and office director at Thornton Tomasetti’s Washington, DC, office.  He has over eighteen years of experience designing structures of all sizes for commercial, retail, residential, hospital, government and cultural projects. Recent projects include 600 Fifth, Amaris DC, Capital One Hall, and Metropolitan Park which is Amazon’s headquarters in Arlington.  He co-led TT’s Embodied Carbon Community of Practice for two years, a group of approximately 250 staff passionate about embodied carbon and grouped into seven working groups.  Mr. Cropper helps drive Thornton Tomasetti’s efforts on embodied carbon tracking and reduction and has presented on embodied carbon at conferences for the American Institute of Architects, American Concrete Institute and American Society of Civil Engineers, among others. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define embodied carbon and its importance to climate change.
• Describe the primary sources of embodied carbon and how they impact the building’s carbon footprint.
• Explain strategies to reduce embodied carbon in the building structure.
• Learn about innovative concrete products to reduce the carbon footprint.

HSW Justifictation: 

Embodied carbon is the carbon footprint of construction materials. The building sector is responsible for about half of annual global carbon emissions. Reducing operational energy has been an industry focus for 20 years, but embodied carbon has been a missing piece of the puzzle. To meet the global emission targets to address climate change, immediate and significant reductions in embodied carbon are required.

AIA|DC is pleased to partner with Italian Design Week 2025, taking place in Washington, D.C. This landmark event unites global leaders across disciplines to explore how design and innovation can drive real-world solutions to today’s most urgent challenges.

Italian Design Week was established to assist creatives, visionaries, changemakers, and “Made in Italy” brands and institutions realize their objectives.  Headquartered in Washington, D.C., IMARK nurtures connections between Italian and US organizations and businesses to allow them to capitalize on global and domestic opportunities. Along with heading up the 
professional team at IMARK, Dr. Lyon is the Local Representative of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, an Advisory Committee Member of the Conscious Fashion & Lifestyle Network for the United Nations, a Steering Committee Member of the Council for the United States and Italy, and a Board Member of TIBC (Transatlantic Business International Council)

Agenda:

Monday, October 13th
- Please ask for IDW codes to have discounted hotels, flights and limo services. VIPS will be transfer by IDW 

Tuesday, October 14th (Summit Day)
- 9 am-12 pm IDW Summit
- Aperitivo
- 6 pm VIP reception hosted by the Swiss Ambassador

Wednesday, October 15th
- 11 am - Visit to The White House: A behind-the-scenes tour highlighting architecture, history and its connection to design. Location: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
- 2 pm - Institutional visit to Capitol Hill: Explore the U.S. legislative heart with a private tour and discussions on international collaboration in design. (By invitation only, sponsors and VIP). 
Location: Capitol Visitor Center, 1st Street SE.
- 5 pm transfer to Annapolis
-  6:30 pm VIP reception hosted by the Italian Navy - experiencing the Italian heritage & award nomination.

Thursday, October 16th (Awards Gala)
- All day B2B meetings
-  6:30 pm Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony: A creative black-tie event celebrating Italian excellence in design, held in the historic Willard Ballroom. Michelin Chef dinner provided by Paco Morales.
Location: Intercontinental The Willard, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

IDW is a charity initiative organized by IMARK impact, an NGO that supports education. A percentage of the proceeds will finance a scholarship for young student in need.