The Bezos Learning Center at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum will expand the mission and reach of the iconic institution on the National Mall. This panel discussion, including design team members and Smithsonian leaders, will discuss the competition that led to the selection of the design team, how the design is being realized and where it is in process now, and the impacts to the Museum and the greater monumental core.

Come for some light refreshments and fellowship at 6:00pm before the conversation starts. Time will be provided at the end of the discussion for questions.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will engage with panelists to learn how the Smithsonian conducts a design competition for iconic structures and additions.
• Attendees will learn how the project will expand the programs and mission of the iconic National Air and Space Museum, and how the program compliments the educational offerings of the institution.
• Participants will learn how the proposed design compliments the architecture of the iconic existing structure, which is currently going through a massive renovation and rejuvenation.
• Attendees will be learn about the approvals process a project on the National Mall must pursue related to the multiple federal and local agencies with jurisdiction.

Presented by:

Introduction:  Brenda Sanchez, FAIA, Sr. Design Manager, Smithsonian Institution

Panelists: 

Michael Henry, P.E., Sr. Design Manager, Smithsonian Institution

Elizabeth Crownover, Broh Khan Weil Director, Education and Visitor Experience, National Air and Space Museum

Zena Howard, FAIA, Chair, Cultural and Civic Practice, Perkins and Will

Moderator: Jon Penndorf, FAIA, Associate Principal, Perkins and Will

Organized by:

Fellows Public Programs Committee

Watch the meeting here.

Join us to hear Chapter officers report on 2023. Plus, learn about committee initiatives for the new year and how to get involved. We've had an eventful 2023 and look forward to 2024!

Would you like to learn how to make your dwelling more sustainable? Then this is the workshop for you! Bring your family so everyone can help reduce your family’s carbon footprint. 

In this workshop, we will: 

-learn about sustainable features for homes 

-look at examples of existing eco-friendly homes 

-design and build you own dream sustainable home 

*DAC exhibit will be running simultaneously in the Gallery, "Cooling the Planet One Step at a Time: 15 Ways to Reduce Your Home Carbon Footprint"

Have you ever wondered how indigenous tribes in the Arctic construct igloos out of snow? We will learn about how tribes survive in the harsh climate, and use sustainable materials to reproduce the challenges of building an igloo. We will read the story, The Three Snow Bears, to get inspired to create an igloo village!

Feeling Lucky?

AIA | DC invites you to test your luck and join us for an evening of fun at our fundraising Casino Night! Each ticket includes a $25 donation to the Washington Architectural Foundation, 300,000 "DAC Bucks" for blackjack, poker, and craps tables, hors d’oeuvres, and celebratory libations!

We are celebrating our members and affiliates with this event benefitting the Washington Architectural Foundation.

City planning is too slow, obscure, and expensive for the pace of change required in cities today. Facing climate change, severe housing shortage, mass urbanization and major geo-political shifts, cities worldwide must adapt fast and effectively, but the obsolete systems prevent equity in the design and decision making process, making it difficult and costly to visually communicate projects for successful design, review, and customer and/or public engagement.

inCitu is a New York based technology company delivering on a mission to bring future cities to life via augmented reality (AR) to empower residents, industry professionals, and city governments to collaborate on the process of urban change. We turn 3D content into location-based, mobile AR experiences which can be viewed on site or remotely, radically lowering the friction to visualizing and experiencing projects for internal and external collaboration.

This presentation will give a detailed view on inCitu's product and process and will open a conversation about how architects can incorporate the tool into their day-to-day work.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will get familiar with the current state of AR technology for location-based, real-scale, outdoors, mobile 3D visualizations.
• Participants will learn how Cities, AEC companies, individual architects, and 3D providers can leverage the inCitu platform to improve and streamline their design and approval processes.
• Participants will get familiar with the inCitu platform and how to turn a 3D model to location-based AR experience
• Participants will be able to test the tool in an AR remote view during the session

Presented by:

Dana Chermesh-Reshef

Dana is an architect, a former F15 flight simulator trainer turned urban data scientist (NYU CUSP '18). In 2020, Dana founded inCitu: a startup on the mission to democratize city planning through augmented reality (AR) to bring people together on the process of urban change.
Prior to inCitu Dana worked at the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), her research on the feasibility of Tel-Aviv’s city center rezoning was published in “Haaretz” newspaper and she is a frequent lecturer on Smart Cities’ next frontier.

Organized by:

inCitu

Nick Carosi will provide a technical presentation covering the precast design, detailing, and manufacturing process. The discussion will cover the technical opportunities and limitations in designing precast façades. The presentation will be followed by a tour of the plan and yard, covering how precast is manufactured, shipped, and erected on commercial projects.

Learning Objectives:

• How raw materials such as cement, aggregates, pigments and admixtures are used to make concrete and produce different colors and textures.
• How molds are built to create varying sizes and shapes of precast.
• How plant quality control procedures and national standards are operationalized to ensure the highest quality product.
• How various finishing techniques can refine and enhance the appearance and texture of concrete.

Presented by:

Nick Carosi IV

Nick Carosi is the president and owner of Arban & Carosi, Inc. located in Woodbridge, Virginia. A&C is a leading and prominent producer of architectural precast concrete (a prefabricated façade element which clads large buildings–mainly office, residential and healthcare buildings). For the past 100-years A&C has produced the finest architectural precast concrete in the Washington Metro area (including the International Monetary Fund HQ, Department of Transportation HQ, and MGM National Hotel – just to name a few) and their work can be seen across mid-Atlantic region and eastern parts of the country.

He graduated from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA) with a double engineering major in Civil and Industrial Engineering. Currently, he is President and an active board member of the Architectural Precast Association (APA), and a member of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), National Precast Concrete Association(NPCA), American Builders & Contractor Association (ABC), Washington Building Congress (WBC), & American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Organized by: 

AIA|DC Building Enclosure Council

District Architecture Center offers a unique 5-day camp experience for 3rd graders to 8th graders from the DC metropolitan area. Professional architects guide children to the wonders of architecture, develop creative and analytical skills, and grow an appreciation for the field. Over the 5-day period, children will be introduced to fundamentals of architecture, the design process, aspects of engineering, and go on walking tours and field trips. By the end of the week, final projects will be exhibited for families. 

1. Introduction to Architecture- walking tour of Penn Quarter neighborhood
2. Engineering Fundamentals-visit a construction site - TBD
3. Design Elements - visit Shakespeare Theatre Company
4. Landscape Architecture - walking tour Police Memorial, MLK Library Rooftop, Portrait Gallery
5. Final Day of Completing Projects and Presentations

Scholarships Available

Questions? Please contact Heidi Sohng.

Join the AIA|DC Emerging Architects Committee as we raise a glass to all we have achieved as a committee in 2023, including recognizing our members who have obtained licensure or achieved a professional accomplishment this year.

Have you obtained licensure or achieved a professional accomplishment (received a promotion, award or other recognition) in 2023 - or know of an emerging professional in our industry that deserves recognition? Please e-mail ian@drummondprojects.com by Friday, December 8, so that we may recognize all the accomplishments of our emerging professionals at this event!

The practices of parenthood and design are anything but "easy" to navigate and reconcile for any within the professional world. How does one navigate the intersection of being LGBTQIA+ and stepping into (or being fully immersed in) parenthood? How can businesses support all employees, including LGBTQIA+ employees, in policies and practice that embrace the beautifully diverse range of what parenthood and the AEC profession are? In this encouraging panel discussion, you'll hear from LGBTQIA+ designers and leaders in the AEC industry who are navigating their careers, advocating for business policy changes, while balancing parenthood. Get ready to hear their stories and experiences in how parenthood and professional life have influenced each other, how each has been involved in advocating for more inclusive business practices, and how you can be an advocate for change. Have questions? Unsure where you can begin? Looking for a network of support and community to continue this conversation in? Join on December 14th to hear more! The session is a panel discussion with live Q&A.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to measure recently enacted legislation and policy changes for and against the potential monetary and design impacts to AEC practices
• Participants will be able to describe what parental and family formation policies firms implement to expand equitable access
• Participants will be able to identify ways to advocate for employees into addition to and beyond updating firm policies
• Participants will be able to illustrate how firm advocacy for queer employees and inclusive parenthood can positively impact the health, safety, and welfare of all employees

Presented by:

Anastasia Markiw, AIA, ACHA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate

With a primary focus on healthcare architecture, Anastasia strives to design spaces that provide inspiration to work, live, learn, and heal through her role of Project Manager and Architect at DesignGroup. Currently, Anastasia is the 2023-2024 AIA National Young Architect Forum Advocacy Director leading a work group responsible for advocacy content and webinars on topics such as equitable firm practices and the culture of architecture by highlighting underrepresented cultures and voices. Expecting their first child, Anastasia and her wife have been gathering data on various firms’ parental leave policies and advocating for more inclusive language to be offered for non-birthing parents to be eligible in paid parental leave. 

Parva Markiw, AIA, LEED Green Associate is a native Iranian and a Project Architect at DesignGroup located in Pittsburgh, PA. She has a diverse background in higher education, small to mid-size commercial, and healthcare markets. Parva attended undergraduate and graduate school at Kent State University and received her Master’s degree in 2014. She is currently serving her second year of a two-year term as a chair of AIA Pennsylvania’s Emerging Professional Committee. At the local level, she is a member of the AIA Pittsburgh's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Women+ in Design Committees. Parva's focus through her involvement in various committees is to help emerging professionals at different stages of their careers and amplify voices of minority and underrepresented groups.

Rosalie Howell is an architectural designer at Dewberry. Her pre-architecture background is in history and cultural anthropology, which lends a unique outlook on human interactions with and within the built environment. In her design process, she strives to be multi-optical, body-inclusive, evidence-based, eco-integrative, and community-oriented. She is especially interested in spatial & social justice, trauma-informed design, and practical, down-to-earth solutions to complex issues. She believes in the power of collaboration & building teams with diverse backgrounds & contexts in order to reach design solutions that are well-rounded and effectively accommodate the needs of all stakeholders. Rosalie is also co-founder and currently chair of Prism, Dewberry’s ERG dedicated to serving the LGBTQIA+ employee community & bringing professional programing to Dewberry employees that highlights LGBTQIA+ excellence and elevates LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the AEC industry. Rosalie and her wife have been navigating various stages of family planning since 2019.

Meghan Hottel-Cox is a real estate attorney with the US Postal Service. Until November of this year, Meghan was a real estate associate with Goulston & Storrs focused on zoning and permitting law and serving on the firm’s Inclusion Advisory Committee. In those roles, she advocated for more equitable parental leave and family planning benefits. In addition to practicing law, Meghan has served as an adjunct professor at GW Law since 2016, currently teaching Land Use Law. Meghan is also the co-founder of Q City, a commercial real estate affinity group for LGBTQ+ professionals in the D.C. metro area. Meghan was named a “D.C. Rising Star” by the National Law Journal in 2019 and received CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) DC’s Emerging Leader award in 2019. Meghan is also a contributing author to the Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Property Opinions legal book and frequently writes and speaks on issues of equity and inclusion in the legal and real estate communities. Meghan and her wife have one child and live in Takoma Park, Maryland. 

Dennis Daisey is an architect and principal in the Washington, DC, office of Smithgroup, where he specializes in the interior design of workplace, higher education, science and technology and government projects. He’s known for his commitment to leading teams through mentorship and his passion for creating functional, sustainable and emotionally engaging interior environments, earning recognition from local IIDA and AIA chapters.

When he’s not working, Dennis can be found spending time with his family, making his way through a long home improvement to-do list, or exploring Rock Creek Park. He earned his bachelor of architecture from Syracuse University, and he is a licensed architect in the District of Columbia and LEED-accredited professional.

Organized by:

AIA|DC Equity Committee by WIELD

Pride by Design

QCity

Sponsored by: