Join us for coffee and discussion with DC Council Chair, Phil Mendelson.

Chairman Mendelson was an at-large councilmember from 1999 to 2012. He has been Council Chair since 2012.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine Recent and Proposed Legislation Affecting Architecture in DC.
• Identify & Discuss Key Issues for Architects and How DC Council can Support the Profession.
• Understand the Legislative Impact on Architecture and Development.
• Explore Architects’ Role in Local Policy and Advocacy.

Presented by:

Phil Mendelson, DC Council Chair

Phil Mendelson was first elected to the Council in 1998 as an At-Large Councilmember. He served in that role until 2012 when, following the resignation of the previous Council Chairman, Phil was selected by his colleagues to take over that role. In 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2022 District voters elected and re-elected Phil as Chairman of the Council. During his tenure on the Council, Phil has authored hundreds of laws including: establishing an elected attorney general and an independent Department of Forensic Science (the city’s crime lab); authoring Budget Autonomy, the District’s gun control laws (post-Heller), marriage equality, Universal Paid Leave, and the District’s tree canopy protection law; recrafting Mayor Gray’s plan to build the DC United Soccer Stadium; coordinating an increase in the minimum wage with Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties; Co-introducing the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act to emphasize mental health approaches to public safety; Breaking up the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs into two agencies to better focus on illegal construction and housing and code enforcement; and Approving the Racial Equity Achieve Change (REACH) Act to require racial equity impact
assessments for most legislation. Phil believes that government should be an honest, efficient deliverer of services, that helps those least able to help themselves to develop the skills to become self-sufficient and end poverty. He also believes that government can accomplish this without increasing the tax burdens shouldered by our residents. Throughout his years of public service, Phil has maintained that the nation’s capital, should be a model of service delivery in public education, public safety, and public health. Phil came to the District from Cleveland, Ohio in 1970 and he graduated from American University with a Political Science degree. Phil has a daughter, Adelaide, who graduated from DC Public Schools. He lives in Southeast DC.

Sponsored by: 

Beyer Blinder Belle 

For those interested in applying to the 2025 class of the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program (CKLDP), there will be an "Applications 101" information session hosted via Zoom. This interactive Q&A event will be hosted by members of the CKLDP Advisory Committee and provides potential program scholars with an opportunity to ask questions and receive helpful hints about what to include – or not – in their program applications. Interested candidates are encouraged to attend this event, but attendance is NOT mandatory in order to apply to CKLDP. We look forward to having you join us!

Please see the 2025 Application here.

Organized by CKLDP Advisory Committee

Budgeting 101 provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the means, methods, and best practices involved in quantity take-offs and unit pricing strategies. This course emphasizes the importance of understanding these processes to enhance communication and collaboration between designers and estimators. By gaining deeper insight into budgeting methods, designers can provide more detailed and accurate information, which results in a more reliable and complete budget for their clients. In addition, students are equipped with the tools and knowledge to understand and effectively communicate in the "language" of estimators, enabling them to deliver more precise cost analysis based on various building and finish requirements across different project scopes.

Learning Objectives:

• Provide students with a basic level of understanding of the preliminary pricing process.
• Provide students with ranges of square foot unit costs for various types of interior constructions.
• Overview of interior construction budgeting means and methods. Quantifying construction elements and applying unit prices to develop an overall construction budget.
• Provide students with various unit costs for various elements of construction, for example: paint grade door cost vs. stain grade door cost vs. glass door cost.

Sponsored by: 

HBW Construction

Join the AIA Urban Design Committee for a tour of the newly completed McMillan Community Center -- the first milestone in the ambitious redevelopment of the historic McMillan Sand Filtration Site, a 25-acre water treatment facility dating back to 1905. After being decommissioned in the 1980s, the site’s long-awaited transformation is finally underway, blending its industrial past with a fresh vision for modern urban living. As part of this revitalization, the community center and park breathe new life into the area, designed through the collaborative efforts of Perkins Eastman DC and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. This marks the beginning of a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood that honors McMillan’s legacy.

Learning Objectives:

• Designing with sensitivity to the historical context of a site and neighborhood while applying principles of historical preservation.
• Utilizing carefully considered design and architecture as a means to convey and reflect on past history.
• Strategies for handling community feedback and resolving disputes with residents during Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) meetings.
• Exploring the history of McMillan, its importance to Washington, DC, and the impact its transformation holds for current district residents.

Presented by:

Christian Calleri
 

Above all else, Christian is dedicated to creating beauty with an emphasis on placemaking and memorable architecture. He is comfortable designing at many scales, as his twenty-year career has taken him from designing houses to university buildings, masterplans to neighborhoods. This diversity of size and scope has made Christian a valuable participant on any project team, as his view is broad. Christian has come to specialize in Large Scale Mixed Use. This practice area best allows him to produce high-quality projects that deliver on the promise of placemaking and creating environments that support human connectivity and protect the natural world.

Sponsored by: 

Perkins Eastman

As part of a series of Additional Dwelling Units in the neighborhood, tour participants will tour two ADUs that highlight the potential of old and often forgotten garages that populate the city alleys. As part of the tour, guests will be able to see an ADU from a converted garage that was implemented in the neighborhood, as well as an ADU conversion from a 1940s workshop into a studio.

Tour attendees should expect a small walk between ADUs, with ADA accessible public sidewalks). Bicycles (and dogs!) are welcome as well.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to discover the potential of abandoned garages that populate Washington DC alleys.
• Participants will learn construction challenges that arise from converting structures originally built in the early 20th century.
• Participants will become aware of the zoning and building codes that govern existing historical accessory structures.
• Learn strategic design decisions required to implement housing typology from compact existing garages.

Presented by:

Ileana Schinder, AIA LEED Architect

After nine years, the AIA|DC Equity Committee by WIELD is continuing the annual WIELD (We Inspire Emerging Leaders in Design) event on November 4th. We are honored to celebrate the diverse stories of our speakers and their journeys to success through a night of virtual storytelling and conversation.

This year’s storytelling event engages industry leaders with diverse personalities to share their stories of perspective and experience through the lens of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The stories will highlight how each individual has developed their own unique perspective with which they navigate their career and also how they have managed teams of differing personalities. The underlying objective is to establish meaningful and deep conversations among all emerging professionals and firm leaders with completely different perspectives in order to create a deeper understanding of others for increased empathy and better tools in order to collaborate.

Meet and be inspired by this year’s cohort as they share their experiences and offer insight into common workplace situations, as well as some personal ones. The event is in person and it is the hope that our community of different personality types can engage and learn from each other! All are welcome at this event and we highly encourage everyone from students to CEOs to attend.

#WIELDyourStory

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the personal and career background that has influenced personality.
• Describe how different personalities both perceive and respond to situations based on their process of understanding and providing information.
• Explain the different tools that can be used by individuals and teams in order to empathize and collaborate with different perspectives.
• Envision the future of the architecture profession and how increased empathy amongst teams can fortify increased intelligence in solutions.

Presented by: 

Alyson Steel, FAIA, LEED AP

Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP, is CEO of Quinn Evans, a nationally recognized firm that revitalizes places through stewardship and community-oriented planning and design. Steele is known for work renewing national and regional cultural institutions and landmarks. Her work leverages technical discovery and performance, information management, and cultural resilience to sustain and transform. Under her leadership, Quinn Evans’ practice and project work have advanced using a “team of teams” approach informed by inclusive design concepts. In recognition of the firm’s impact on our profession and the communities it serves, the AIA honored Quinn Evans with the 2024 Architecture Firm Award.

Nadine Ngouabe Dlodlo 

Before establishing Women's Home Preservation in 2019, Nadine honed her expertise in international banking, global infrastructure financing, and public-private partnerships. Her commitment to equity in real estate led her to launch Women's Home Preservation, a mission-driven real estate investment firm focused on the intersection of real estate
development, community revitalization, equitable decarbonization, and women's housing rights. Women’s Home Preservation revitalizes underserved communities by redeveloping underutilized properties in alignment with community visions. This approach emphasizes women's housing rights and fosters spatial justice through cultural representation.

One of Women's Home Preservation's current projects involves the revitalization of a section of West Baltimore St, a historically vibrant commercial corridor that fell into neglect following decades of disinvestment and redlining. This prime location, with its proximity to anchor institutions such as the University of Maryland Medical Center, is ideal for transformation.

In 2024, Nadine was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Maryland Clean Energy Center, the green bank of the State of Maryland, whose mission is to advance clean energy adoption in the state. She also serves on the Community Advisory Team of the Red Line, Maryland’s multibillion-dollar project aimed at improving public transit in underserved neighborhoods of Baltimore. Nadine was a founding advisory board member of the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard Business School.

In recognition of her transformative work in Maryland's communities, Nadine received the esteemed Secretary’s Citation from the Maryland Secretary of Planning. She was named a Maryland Woman of Influence by CREW and a Rising Star finalist by the Harvard Business School Women's Association.

Nadine earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She is fluent in both French and English, and she takes pride in being the mother of Isonah, an award-winning youth writer.

Monika Kumor, AIA, LEED BD+C
Senior Project Designer | Principal, HOK

Monika Kumor is an accomplished designer at HOK, contributing to design leadership and serving on the firm’s design board. Her projects have been recognized by notable organizations, including AIA, USGBC, IIDA, and NAIOP. With nearly two decades of experience, Monika brings extensive expertise to a diverse range of building types, including mixed-use developments, commercial offices, multi-family residential projects, healthcare facilities, and civic buildings. Her work spans both domestic and international markets, demonstrating her proficiency in managing complex programs and delivering unique, site-sensitive solutions.

Monika is passionate about revitalizing the existing urban fabric and is committed to sustainable and community-oriented design. Her approach ensures that projects are environmentally responsible and considerate of the communities they serve. Known for her open-minded and collaborative approach, Monika aligns each project with the pursuit of design excellence while enhancing the surrounding urban context. Her dedication to innovative design and high standards makes her a respected leader in architectural practice.

Sponsored by: 

Haworth DC 

Price Modern Baltimore 

The Washington Architectural Foundation Youth Programs provides young people in the DC Metropolitan area with opportunities to explore the world of architecture, typically not discussed in the K-12 education system or surrounding youth-focused nonprofits in our local area.

Join Gina Volpicelli, Chair of WAF, and Heidi Sohng, Youth Programs Manager at WAF, for a complete volunteer overview of WAF's youth programs. Attendees will be able to describe what each program entails and how they improve the quality of life for its participants.
Attendees will be able to practice engagement skills to talk to students, just as they would to clients. Attendees will be able to identify how volunteering in community outreach efforts can improve their firms' PR.

This course will explore various youth programs, including Architecture in the Schools, Design Like a Girl Mentor Program, DACkids Summer Camp, DAC workshops, Design in Action, and classes at ArtReach/GW. Most programs will offer LU credits.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe what each program entails for volunteers and how it benefits students.
• Practice presentation skills to engage students, just as you would your clients.
• Identify how volunteering in community outreach efforts can improve your firms' PR.
• Summarize how to start and form a volunteer team.
   

Presented by: 

Heidi Sohng

Heidi Sohng has an M.A. in Education and a Certificate in Project Management. She worked in the field of education for 20+ years before joining the Washington Architectural Foundation as its Youth Program Manager. She found herself learning all about the fascinating field of architecture and fell in love with it. Now she enjoys collaborating with teachers, students, architects, engineers, designers and construction professionals. She works to build architecture youth-based programming to serve the needs of the DC metropolitan community. Heidi believes in the power of youth to build a better tomorrow!

Gina Volpicelli

Gina Volpicelli is a Senior Associate at Shalom Baranes Associates and is the Chair of the Washington Architectural Foundation (WAF). She is passionate about broadening the reach and understanding of the built environment through what has been her most rewarding professional experience to date, working with elementary and middle school students through the WAF’s Architecture in the Schools (AIS) program. By volunteering in the AIS, she has exercised the students’ analytical and creative skills through the architectural design process and has applied what is learned in the classroom to the built environment. The themes of the programs that she has developed have varied from sustainable design building methods in a program called The Sky’s the Limit: Building a Sustainable City in Outer Space to the students exploring worldwide building types, in a program called Around the World. Since 2011, she has been a volunteer and has co-developed WAF single and multi-session workshop activities for programs including the Tools of the Trade, Archi-Builder, and Summer Camp. These programs inspire an interest in the  built environment, but perhaps more importantly, they leave students feeling empowered to have an effect on their communities.

Sponsored by: 

The Washington Architectural Foundation
 

Quinn Evans' design for the comprehensive revitalization of the National Air and Space Museum enhances accessibility, sustainability, and the visitor experience, while improving protection of the nation's most treasure artifacts of aerospace history.

The renovation integrates a new building envelope and infrastructure which maintain the historic character of this iconic museum. With reduced energy demand, the museum can now maintain stable environmental conditions for its priceless artifacts and interactive exhibits with state of the art technology. The new entrance from the National Mall provides an inviting and accessible environment for visitors, while expressing the mission of the museum: to commemorate, educate, and inspire.

Learning Objectives: 

• Understand the design challenges, such as historic preservation issues, faced when an iconic building on the National Mall is renovated. 
• Understand some of the particular challenges museum buildings present for sustainability, as well as the specific challenges encountered in designing the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum.
• Understand the design strategies used to maximize daylighting. 
• Understand the design strategies employed to bring a 1970s iconic building up to 2020s performance standards. 

Presented by: 

Colin Mackillop, AIA, LEED AP, CDT

Sharif Attia, AIA

Site Map

The Frontier of High Performance Homebuilding event is a unique opportunity to experience in-person the cutting edge of sustainable home building technology and learn directly from the project team about this exceptional home's features and development process.

Hosted at the "Queen of Zero" home which has been featured in The Journal of Light Construction, this Queen Anne Victorian new construction project is designed and constructed to the DOE's Zero Energy Ready Home certification program. The home features today's most advanced technology and best practices including:

• A 12.3kW Tesla Solar Roof with two Tesla Powerwall backup batteries and a Span smart electric panel, designed to offset 80% of the home’s electricity needs annually;
• An exterior shell of factory-made Structural Insulation Panels (SIPs) that provide beyond-code insulation, air sealing and durability, while also reducing construction waste.
• High performance Mitsubishi Electric HVAC heat pumps paired with AprilAire humidity and fresh air ventilation equipment for superior indoor air quality, comfort and efficiency.
• and much more!

This event offers a unique opportunity to see the cutting edge features of a high-performance home in a real case study with the project team onsite to answer questions and discuss their technologies. The program agenda includes 'show and tell' tours, deep dive presentations and a networking happy hour with a raffle. 

Presented by: 

Symbi Homes

The Net-Zero Energy Coalition

Zonda

DAKS Builders

Hear the stories and scandals that took place behind the doors of Dupont Circle’s opulent mansions and grand embassies.

In this two-hour architectural history tour, we’ll stroll along DC’s Embassy Row to see the city’s most impressive properties, spanning the architectural gamut from Neoclassical to Beaux-Arts to Queen Anne. Starting at the eponymous Dupont Circle Fountain on Massachusetts Avenue, we’ll discuss how this once-rural part of Washington took shape in the late 1800s. Walking along Embassy Row, we’ll see the imposing Blaine Mansion, the impressive Embassy of Indonesia (once home to the Hope Diamond), and the aptly named Anderson Mansion. Then we’ll wind onto S Street NW, stopping at the Woodrow Wilson House and the Spanish Steps, before making our way past the “Hobbit House” to the Phillips Collection, the first modern art museum in the United States. Along the way, our expert guides will share stories about the politicians, society ladies, diplomats, and captains of industry that shaped this grand boulevard—featuring characters like the scandalous Alice Roosevelt Longworth (the oldest child of Teddy Roosevelt) avant-garde artist Alice Pike Barney, and former DC governor Alexander “Boss” Shepherd.

Dupont Circle and Embassy Row Tour Sights and Stops:
 

• Dupont Circle
• Embassy of Indonesia (Walsh-McLean House)
• The Cosmos Club
• Society of the Cincinnati (Anderson Mansion)
• Woodrow Wilson House
• Spanish Steps
• Edward Lind Morse Studio
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt House
• The Phillips Collection
• and more!