Morgan Chawaga will present actionable strategies on how to combat stress and burnout in the architecture industry. A licensed architect, and career coach with experience as an owner’s representative in the corporate arena, Morgan will give an interactive presentation detailing common sources of stress and burnout in practice, then coach attendees on effective responses to encourage and ensure success in both their personal and professional lives. This event is open to all AIA|DC and DAC members.
 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the key symptoms of stress and burnout in architectural practice.
• Discuss common sources of stress and burnout among event attendees.
• Identify key strategies to manage stress in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Apply these strategies to maximize productivity and achieve career success.
   

Presented by: 

Morgan Chawaga
Meet Morgan. A licensed architect, ivy league graduate, certified meditation teacher, and mother of two fierce little girls; Lily and Violet.

Morgan is a former people pleaser with a type-A personality who climbed the corporate ladder as quickly as possible. As an owners representative at one of the top medical campuses in America, Morgan had the unique opportunity of hiring and working first hand with several female architects. What she noticed would change the trajectory of her career path: The females who knew how to manage their stress were thriving.

When Morgan started managing her stress, learning how to set boundaries and create balance, both her professional and personal career began to flourish. She was able to negotiate a higher salary, longer maternity leave, and step into a director role, all while raising a family and have hobbies.

Fast forward to today, Morgan has helping women in the architecture industry design and build successful lives and careers without burnout out. And this is how The Healthy Architect, LLC was born.

Benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank, Canstruction DC returns November 24 – December 2, 2024 to the National Building Museum.

Organized by the Washington Architectural Foundation, this nationwide, creative design-build competition will bring together local architecture and design firms in Washington, DC to raise awareness around food insecurity.

Crafted entirely of unopened, canned food, teams are challenged to create unique sculptures centering this year’s theme, “Construction Tools & Equipment”. 

A panel of judges will select standout entries in several categories. Members of the public will also have an opportunity to vote on their favorite design.

At the end of the competition, structures will be dismantled, and all canned food will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Stay tuned for details on how to vote for your favorite!

Click here to donate to the Washington Architectural Foundation

Click here to check out last year's winners

CANstruction Drop-in Activities with The National Building Museum:

The National Building Museum will host drop in activities over the course of this program in the Great Hall on the following dates and times: 

• Monday, November 25th, 10am-2pm EST
• Friday, November 29th, 10am-2pm EST
• Saturday, November 30th, 10am-4pm EST
• Sunday, December 1st, 10am-4pm EST

These activities are designed for all ages and will explore, "How many different ways you can re-use a can?" During thee drop-in programs, participants will use recycled cans to create. These creations will include building CANstructures and decorating their own pencil cups to take home. 

These activities are free, however tickets to visit the Museum Exhibits can be purchased in the National Building Museum, Visitor's Center. 

For questions regarding these programs, please contact
Clare Smith
Youth Programs Coordinator, NBM

In 2025, the 2030 Challenge goal for fossil fuel reductions will increase from 80% to 90%. What does this mean for you and your firm? And what happens after 2030? Please join COTE chapters from AIA|DC, AIA Northern Virginia, and AIA Potomac Valley for this Tri-COTE event focusing on improvement and opportunities related to the 2030 Challenge and the AIA 2030 Commitment. We will begin with an introduction from AIA National Climate Action staff sharing efforts related to the ongoing goal increase, followed by a panel discussion aimed at addressing opportunities and challenges, both for large and small firm practices. Thank you to our sponsor, Pella, for supporting our group and offering snacks and beverages for this event!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the increases to the 2030 Challenge goals coming in 2025, and what firms can do to support their projects in achieve the increased goals.
• Learn from industry experts on best practice methods for the AIA 2030 Commitment, including implementation and reporting within your own office. A key requirement of the AIA 2030 Commitment is to produce a Firmwide Sustainability Plan which has both strategies for sustainability for a firm’s projects, as well as direct sustainability improvements for how the firm functions. This impact from the firms has direct correlation with the HSW of the public by reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption.
• Understand firm and cultural opportunities and challenges as it relates to large firm vs small firms when it comes to pursuing the 2030 Challenge. This content is all content within the intended to improve and educate how both large and small firms function in order to achieve the 2030 Challenge.  And thus by improving how a firm achieves the 2030 Challenge, the firms are impacting the HSW of the public by reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption. 
• Discuss design and technical strategies as they relate to achieving the 2030 Challenge.

Introduction:

Melanie De Cola 

2030 Program Director – AIA National

Panelists:

Julia Siple, AIA, LEED AP BD+C               

Principal, Director of Sustainability – Quinn Evans

Juan Guarin, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, CPHC

Sustainability Specialist – Perkins Eastman

Meghan McAvoy, LEED AP, Well AP, Fitwel Amb.

Director of Sustainable Programs – GHT Limited

Gregory Plavcan, Assoc AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Amb

Sustainability Director – Gensler

Panel Moderator:

Miranda Ford, AIA, LEED AP BD+C        

Senior Associate – Perkins Eastman

Sponsored by: 

Pella Mid-Atlantic

Concrete is a rather ubiquitous, tested, proven, and versatile building material. It has been used for literally thousands of years to create long-lasting man-made structures of all types, including buildings. Architects in the past few centuries have found it to be an appealing choice to express dynamic and vibrant designs in ways that other materials could not. The ability to structurally reinforce concrete and form it into custom, free-flowing shapes can give it an organize quality that is different from most other materials. This can produce more design freedom and the ability to incorporate unique and custom features into a building as part of the basic construction process.

It is not surprising then that new technologies, techniques, and design approaches have been developed that allow architects to think and design with concrete in ways that are even more creative, structurally efficient, sustainable, and cost efficient. It is also common to couple the technical knowledge of concrete with the ability to design in three dimensions using building information modeling or similar design software to create award-winning and stunning facilities. Some architects even attest that their careers have not only been made possible but flourished through this combination.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore the historical and contemporary evolution of concrete and its use as a key building material.
• Investigate the design issues related to using concrete as a durable, long-lasting primary building material.
• Assess design strategies related to creating buildings that can be innovative in shape and form and meet structural and fire codes.
• Identify the role that design software and building information modeling can play in achieving exceptional concrete building designs.

Presented by: 

Sarah Barrett Walker
Sarah Barrett Walker brings more than a decade of experience as an architect and graphic designer, as well as professional expertise in the field of parametric modeling, to her role as a Senior Architect Product Specialist at Vectorworks, Inc. In addition to serving as an architectural expert and BIM specialist for the company, Sarah helps create best practices for Marionette, the integrated algorithmic modeling tool in Vectorworks software. She also leads webinars and workshops on a variety of industry topics and develops materials to help customers improve their workflows and design processes. Sarah has an M.Arch. from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in architectural studies from Brown University.

Sponsored by: 

Vectorworks
 

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