Photo caption and credit:

Constance Gauthier Photography 

Join the CRAN committee for a private tour of a newly completed residence in the Palisades, set on a wooded bluff above the Potomac River valley. The house spans four levels and nearly 9,000 square feet. It's a close collaboration between GTM Architects, the interior design firm Studio Sophîste, and Richardson & Associates Landscape Architecture, and each firm will lead part of the tour.

The team will talk through how they designed for a steep site and framed the river views, and how they built a high-performance envelope. They'll also show how the house supports multigenerational living and wellbeing. Sanders Company, the event sponsor, will talk about how the windows and doors were selected, detailed and installed, including the large openings that frame the views.

Note: This event is sponsored by the Sanders Company. 

Learning objective 1

Gain an understanding on how window and door systems are integrated into a high-performance building envelope.

Learning objective 2

Evaluate the safety requirements for large-format openings like bifold window walls and French doors.

Learning objective 3

Describe landscape strategies for building on a steep site.

Learning objective 4

Identify design strategies that support occupants' health and wellbeing across generations.

Presented by: 

Mark Kaufman - GTM

Martha Vicas - Studio Sophiste

Mark Finlayson - Richardson & Associates

To pause new construction, even briefly, spurs a radical thinking framework for alternatives to the current approach to space production and its growth imperative. This is the idea that Charlotte Malterre-Barthes explores in A Moratorium on New Construction (Sternberg Press, 2025). The book envisions a value shift for our existing stock. This COTE Book Talk starts with Malterre-Barthes unpacking these ideas and leads into a discussion between her and Arathi Gowda, FAIA, who reviews the book for COTE. Together, they will consider the compelling idea of a pause on new construction.

Such a pause, even briefly, as the publisher website notes: “creates a radical thinking framework for alternatives to the current regime of space production and its suspect growth imperative. Engaging with unsettling questions, A Moratorium on New Construction envisions a massive value shift for our existing stock. From housing redistribution to reinviting value generation, from anti-extractive measures to profound structural changes, from curricula reforms to purging the exploitative culture of the office, an entire rewiring of design processes and construction lays ahead. Somewhere between a thought experiment and a call for action, A Moratorium on New Construction is a leap of faith to envision a less extractive future, made of what we have: "Not demolishing, not building new, but building less, building with what exists, inhabiting it differently, and caring for it.”

Note: This event is sponsored by Quinn Evans Architects

Learning Objective 1 

Identify the environmental, human, and ecological impacts of extractive material processes and conventional construction practices, including their effects on climate, land, water, and communities.

Learning Objective 2

Examine strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of new construction by prioritizing the preservation, reuse, adaptation, and more intensive inhabitation of existing buildings and housing stock.

Learning Objective 3

Evaluate how material choices, construction practices, demolition, and building reuse can influence human health, environmental quality, and the long-term welfare of communities and ecosystems.

Learning Objective 4

Apply resource-conscious design strategies that support housing needs while reducing reliance on new material extraction and construction, including adaptive reuse, redistribution of existing housing resources, and design approaches centered on maintaining and caring for existing buildings.

Presented By: 

Photo Credit: Juliette Paulet

Charlotte Malterre-Barthes - Author 

Charlotte Malterre-Barthes is an architect, urban designer, and Assistant Professor at EPFL, leading the RIOT laboratory. Her research examines contemporary urbanization, material extraction, climate and social emergency. While Assistant professor at Harvard, she initiated "A Moratorium on New Construction," challenging development protocols (2025, Sternberg/MIT Press). She holds a PhD (ETH Zurich) on space and political economy of commodities, and co-founded the Parity Group (Meret Oppenheim Prize 2023) and the Parity Front, activist networks advocating for equality in architecture.

Arathi Gowda, FAIA - Reviewer

Arathi Gowda is Perkins&Will’s Northeast Regional Regenerative Design Director and founder of Yes Praxes, created in 2021 to accelerate a just climate transition. She has taught sustainable urbanism at several universities and is an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University’s Institute for Sustainability and Energy. Arathi champions collective climate action and serves on AIA’s Committee on the Environment Advocacy Group and Government Advocacy Committee. She also co-chairs the climate pledge US Architects Declare.

Following the success of last year's program, AIA|DC and SEA-MW are once again bringing together architects, engineers, educators, and technology leaders to explore how AI is reshaping the design and construction professions.

Panelists will cover topics from AI-assisted design workflows and architectural education to digital twins and intelligent infrastructure, sharing practical insights into how organizations are moving beyond experimentation to real implementation. Through real-world examples and cross-disciplinary discussion, attendees will come away with a clearer understanding of the opportunities, limitations, and responsibilities that AI brings to the AEC community.

As AI grows more capable of generating images, concepts, analyses, and recommendations, the design professions face a fundamental question: when technology can produce countless possibilities, what is the role of human judgment? Join us as design professionals and educators consider how creativity, expertise, and professional responsibility are being redefined in an era of AI-assisted practice.

*Please Note: The event will take place in the Entry Level Living Room Space and will move to the rooftop for Happy Hour afterwards.

Learning Objective 1

Evaluate how AI-assisted tools and digital-twin technologies can support design, analysis, monitoring, and decision-making that affect the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants and communities.

Learning Objective 2 

Identify limitations and risks associated with AI-generated design and engineering outputs, including issues of accuracy, bias, data quality, and reliability that may affect project performance and public safety.

Learning Objective 3

Assess the role of professional judgment, quality assurance, and human oversight in validating AI-assisted recommendations and maintaining accountability for design decisions.

Learning Objective 4

Examine how emerging AI applications in architecture, engineering, and intelligent infrastructure may improve resilience, sustainability, lifecycle performance, and risk management across the built environment.

Panelists

Julian Arrington, AIA - Associate and Lead Designer, SmithGroup

Michael Ezban, RA, ASLA - Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech Washington - Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC)

Dr. Nadine Alameh - Founder, LunateAI

Steven Kane, P.E. – Senior Associate and CORE Studio Representative, Thornton Tomasetti

ECS Presents: Demystifying the Thermal Envelope with the IECC - The minimum standards for energy use of our new and renovated buildings is tightly defined in our building codes and often misunderstood and misapplied. This presentation will demystify the requirements for designing and constructing the thermal control of the exterior building enclosure, specifically in identifying and selecting one of many compliance paths, defining continuous insulation and understanding the impact of thermal bridging. Our goal is to provide a firm understanding of how to select the best envelope code design approach for a project and understand the nuances of continuous insulation.

Learning Objective 1

Understand the purpose and definition of the building enclosure.

Learning Objective 2

Identify the multiple energy code compliance paths within the IEC.

Learning Objective 3

Gain a better understanding of the potential opportunities and impacts of selecting each compliance path.

Learning Objective 4

Discuss the definition of continuous insulation and the impact of thermal bridging on building enclosure design.

Presenter Name 

Andrew Fix, P.E. 

Presenter Bio

Andrew Fix is a Principal with Mid-Atlantic Facilities in the Building Envelope Group. Andrew brings more than 15 years of façade and building envelope services relating to roofing systems and exterior wall system design and consulting experience, specializing in government, commercial, industrial, and residential construction. He has successfully provided reports, prepared quality assurance documentation for building enclosure projects, witnessing, and conducting investigative analysis of façade and existing building envelope assemblies, and field testing services. Andrew provides drawing review services as a façade specialist and building envelope designs, with particular focus on waterproofing and air barrier constructability. He provides building envelope repair design, bid assistance, and construction observation of repairs. He is versed in a wide range of building envelope performance testing related to air and moisture penetration resistance. Andrew is one of the ECS leads on whole building air leakage testing in conformance with NAVFAC and USACE standards.

Panel on LatinX Leadership, Policy, Culture & The Built Environment

Join DCNOMA for Designing Across Cultures: Latino/x Leadership, Policy, Culture & the Built EnvJoin DCNOMA for Designing Across Cultures: Latino/x Leadership, Policy, Culture & the Built Environment, an engaging panel discussion exploring the experiences, leadership, advocacy, and cultural perspectives shaping architecture and the built environment. Moderated by Kristin Diaz, journalist, news anchor, speaker, and media professional of Mexican and Cuban heritage, the conversation brings together perspectives spanning architecture, public policy, leadership, and media.

Panelists Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, a Puerto Rican architect and national leader in architecture and advocacy; Oswaldo Ortega, AIA, a Dominican architect and NOMA Northeast Vice President; and Alia Fierro, MRP, Senior Policy Advisor at the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, will explore how culture, identity, leadership, and policy influence the spaces and communities we shape.

The evening will include meaningful dialogue, Q&A, networking, and cultural celebration, highlighting the contributions and impact of Hispanic/Latino professionals across the architecture, policy, and built environment fields.

Panelists: Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA + Oswaldo Ortega, AIA + Alia Fierro, MRP
Moderator: Kristin Diaz

Panel Discussion | Q&A | Networking & Cultural Celebration

AIA|DC members can use promo code AIAMEMB26 to receive $10 off the $25 ticket. 

Photo Caption & Credit
Photo: William Zbaren and Krueck Sexton Partners

While traditional building codes focus strictly on life safety and collapse prevention, today's architects face a growing mandate: functional recovery–the building remains fully or close to fully functional during and after a hazard event. A building that survives a disaster but must be demolished a short time later due to structural racking or water damage is a failed investment. This course shifts the design paradigm from basic code compliance to comprehensive building and community preservation.

Through an exploration of natural hazard--wind, water, fire, and seismic events--participants will learn how material selection directly influences building durability and recovery. By analyzing real-world case studies, architects will understand how structural steel’s unique physical properties protect building infrastructure. Architects will gain actionable strategies for planning and designing resilient buildings using structural steel.

Learning Objective 1

Differentiate between traditional life-safety code compliance and emerging functional recovery goals, identifying how structural steel framing preserves building infrastructure, protects owner capital, and speeds post-disaster re-occupancy.

Learning Objective 2

Assess how structural steel responds under multiple types of natural hazards using case studies to inform resilient structural system selection.

Learning Objective 3

Evaluate design choices through the lenses of infrastructure, economic, social, health, and environmental resilience, recognizing how steel's characteristics support these frameworks.

Learning Objective 4

Understand how the sustainable characteristics of structural steel enhance a building’s environmental resilience and in turn the long-term resilience of the building.

Presenter Name

Larry Flynn

Presenter Bio

Larry brings 20 years of experience at the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) to his current role as Architectural Liaison and Resource Specialist. In this position, he equips architects with curated resources that save time, mitigate risk, and inspire innovative building designs. An award-winning industry journalist and a passionate advocate for resilient design, Larry also serves on multiple regional and national resilience committees.

Photo caption and credit:
The Labor of Architecture (book cover photo). credit: Monthly Review Press

Doors Open at 6 PM | Book Talk will begin promptly at 6:30 PM

A book signing by the author will occur after the talk. Books will be available for purchase.

What does it mean to think of architects not simply as creative professionals, but as workers?

Join AIA|DC’s Advocacy Committee for a conversation with architect and labor organizer C.G. Beck, author of The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Building of a New Class Consciousness. Beck challenges the profession’s longstanding image of the architect as an individual creative “genius” and examines the realities of architectural labor—including precarity, inequity, workplace conditions, and the growing movement toward collective action and unionization.

The conversation will explore what architects have in common with workers in other industries, how labor organizing can reshape architectural practice, and what a more collective and solidarity-based profession might look like.

The discussion will be moderated by Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Director of Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC), and will include an opportunity for audience questions.

The event is open to AIA|DC members and the general public. C.G. Beck will be available for a book signing, and copies of The Labor of Architecture will be available for purchase at Solid State Books.

Presenter Name(s):

C.G. Beck (Author), Susan Piedmont-Palladino (Moderator)

Presenter Bio(s):
C.G. Beck is an architect, labor organizer, and teacher based in Brooklyn, New York. He served on the organizing and bargaining committees for the first private-sector architecture union in the United States and continues to organize workers through campaigns with the Architects Workers Union (AWU) and related labor initiatives. Beck also teaches at The New School, where he combines his professional experience with critical engagement on labor, design, and collective action. His work dismantles conventional narratives about architectural practice to foreground architecture as labor embedded in broader social and economic systems.

Susan Piedmont-Palladino is an architect, professor of architecture, and the Director of Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC), the urban extension of the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design. A graduate of Virginia Tech and the College of William and Mary, she has lectured on urbanism, sustainability, and communications, to public, professional, and academic audiences in the US, Europe and Latin America. Since 2003 she has been a consulting curator at the National Building Museum and the author of several books, including companion books for exhibitions and initiatives she curated, such as Tools of the Imagination: drawing tools and technologies from the 19th century to the present, Green Community, Intelligent Cities, and Timber City. She served as co-curator for Justice is Beauty: The Work of MASS Design Group. Her book, How Drawings Work: A User-Friendly Theory, published by Routledge in 2019, takes a fresh and unconventional look at the languages of graphic communications. Her current research focuses on how American public spaces are shaped and re-shaped by our shifting values of openness and security.

Learning objective 1
Identify historical and contemporary factors that shape labor conditions in architectural practice, including professional credentialing, workplace structures, compensation, precarity, and the traditional “creative professional” model.

Learning objective 2
Examine how issues of class, power, equity, and collective bargaining intersect with the daily work and professional identity of architects and designers.

Learning objective 3
Discuss the potential role of collective action, worker organizing, and unionization in improving workplace conditions and reshaping the architectural profession.

Learning objective 4
Evaluate how architects can apply principles of solidarity and advocacy to their own practices, workplaces, and broader engagement with the built environment.

Photo caption and credit: Photo Courtesy of HITT

Please join us for a guided tour of HITT Contracting’s new headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia. Designed in partnership with Gensler, the six-story, approximately 270,000-square-foot building serves as both a corporate workplace and a living laboratory for construction innovation, sustainability, and high-performance design.

Representatives of the project’s design, construction, and building enclosure teams will introduce attendees to the headquarters and discuss the development of its innovative prefabricated fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite wall enclosure. The tour will examine the design and performance of the HyperWall™ system, including its factory-integrated jumbo glazing, lightweight construction, thermal and acoustic properties, connection detailing, and installation sequencing. Attendees will also learn how prefabrication and close coordination among the design, fabrication, glazing, and construction teams helped improve quality, accelerate enclosure installation, reduce on-site labor, and lower embodied carbon compared with conventional precast concrete systems.

The tour will provide a firsthand look at one of the first applications of this FRP composite enclosure technology in the United States and demonstrate how emerging materials and off-site fabrication can advance the performance, safety, and sustainability of the building envelope.

Learning objective 1
To understand the composition and performance characteristics of a prefabricated FRP composite wall panel system, including its structural, thermal, moisture, acoustic, and fire-resistance requirements.

Learning objective 2
To evaluate the design and detailing of FRP wall panels, factory-installed glazing, panel joints, attachment systems, transitions, and interfaces with adjacent enclosure assemblies to maintain continuous air, water, and thermal control layers.

Learning objective 3
To examine how off-site fabrication, BIM coordination, quality-control procedures, transportation planning, and installation sequencing can improve enclosure quality, jobsite safety, schedule efficiency, and constructability.

Learning objective 4
To compare FRP composite panels with conventional precast concrete enclosure systems with respect to weight, structural loading, installation requirements, embodied carbon, durability, and long-term building performance.

Presenter Name(s):

Dean Mouritzen, Project Executive

Dean Mouritzen has more than 18 years of experience in the construction industry, delivering a wide range of projects at HITT Contracting, including ground-up commercial core and shell base building work across the corporate office, multifamily, and mixed-use sectors. In his role, Mouritzen provides day-to-day oversight of new construction projects, supporting his team through project challenges and ensuring client success by managing relationships, monitoring satisfaction and team effectiveness, and overseeing resource allocation. He is responsible for project financial, quality, safety and schedule goals, as well as preconstruction and budgeting services, subcontractor procurement, change management and project closeout. Mouritzen holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech and currently serves as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for more than 12 years, following seven years of service in the Maryland Air National Guard. He is affiliated with Associated Builders and Contractors and the Washington Building Congress.

Andy Loff, Chief Executive Officer

Andy Loff is a hands-on serial entrepreneur with 25 years of experience spanning structural engineering, advanced composites, construction, manufacturing, business development and technology commercialization. He has founded and helped grow multiple engineering and fabrication companies, including Composite Advantage, Axcess Infrastructure and Building Composites, translating innovative material technologies into practical, scalable solutions for the built environment.

As founder and chief executive officer of Building Composites, Andy leads the development and commercialization of HyperWall, a high-performance composite building-envelope system. His work combines structural design, product development, manufacturing strategy and construction execution, with an emphasis on bringing new technologies from concept through testing, production and field installation. Comfortable at every level of the industry—from executive functions to manufacturing floors and construction sites—he is known for an authentic, pragmatic leadership style and for building high-performance teams capable of turning complex ideas into commercial results.

Andy earned a degree in Composite Materials Engineering from Winona State University and is a licensed professional civil engineer in 14 states. His areas of expertise include structural engineering, composite materials, product development, operations management, business development, and construction operations.

Architecture+, this year’s Architecture Uncensored event, explores the opportunities, challenges, and rewards of pursuing careers that extend beyond traditional architectural practice. Through a panel discussion featuring current and former architecture professionals working across academia, real estate development, visual arts, nonprofit leadership, public policy, board service, and more, attendees will hear how architectural training can translate across industries. Panelists will share their experiences balancing multiple professional paths, navigating career transitions, and redefining their professional identities. The conversation will highlight how architectural skills and ways of thinking can serve as a foundation for meaningful, unexpected, and evolving career opportunities.

Learning objective 1
Identify ways architectural education, training, and professional experience can translate into careers and leadership roles beyond traditional architectural practice.

Learning objective 2
Explore how skills developed through architecture, including design thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration, can create value across different industries and professions.

Learning objective 3
Evaluate strategies for balancing dual careers, managing competing professional priorities, and navigating transitions between architecture and other fields.

Learning objective 4
Recognize how cross-disciplinary experiences can influence professional growth, expand career opportunities, and help individuals develop evolving professional identities throughout their careers.

Presenters:

Click here to view presenters bio

October 27–28, 2026 | MLK Library Conference Center + Around Washington, DC

Architecture is shaped by change and has the power to shape our city in return.

On October 27 and 28, AIA|DC’s annual conference, DesignDC 2026, brings together architects, designers, developers, policymakers, and the broader AEC community to explore this year’s theme: Architecture as a Tool for Change.

Across two days of inspiring education, provocative conversations, and behind-the-scenes tours, DesignDC will examine how architecture and design can respond to, and help drive positive change in Washington, DC and beyond.

Tuesday, October 27 | Learn + Connect

Join us at the MLK Library Conference Center from 10:00 a.m.– 5:30 p.m. for a full day of education focused on the challenges and opportunities reshaping architecture and the built environment.

Explore:

• AI and the future of architectural practice in an ever-changing profession
• Innovative approaches to DC’s housing crisis
• Designing for the needs of an aging population
• Community-centered design and best practices for meaningful engagement
• How architects and designers can become effective advocates for the built environment

The day features a keynote, plenary sessions, and specialized breakout programs offering perspectives across different areas of practice, all designed to spark new ideas and give you tools you can put to work.

Wednesday, October 28 | Get Out + Explore

Take the conversation into the city with four architect and cultural leader-led tours showcasing Washington’s evolving built environment. Explore civic spaces, multifamily and co-living developments, and other projects that demonstrate how design can respond to changing communities and create new possibilities for the city.

Earn CEUs. Find Inspiration. Shape What’s Next.

Earn up to 10 CEUs while connecting with colleagues, discovering innovative projects, and exploring the role architecture can play in creating a more resilient, inclusive, and forward-looking Washington.

Early Bird Registration is open from September 1-18, 2026 

Don’t wait to register. Early Bird rates are available for a limited time. Join your colleagues at DesignDC 2026 and be part of the conversation about how architecture can be a tool for meaningful change.