EVENT DATE HAS CHANGED FROM JUNE 14TH TO JUNE 21ST

Workshop is open to all ages, parents are welcome. 

Calling all creative minds and nature lovers! In this fun and educational family workshop, you’ll step into the role of an architect—with bees as your clients! Using simple materials and big imagination, you’ll design and build a custom bee house that blends thoughtful design with real-world function.

Together, we’ll explore how structure and shelter work in the natural world, learn about native bees and why their survival depends on spaces like the ones you’ll create, and discover how small design choices can make a big environmental impact.

What to expect:

• Learn about native bees and the role of habitat in their survival
• Explore basic design concepts like structure, materials, and purpose
• Hands-on building activity—take your bee house home!
• Ideas for creating pollinator-friendly spaces in your backyard
• Sweet reward: each participant takes home a jar of local honey

Whether you’re a budding builder or just love bees, this workshop blends creativity, learning, and sustainability into one unforgettable experience. Let’s build for a better planet—one bee at a time!

Architecture Uncensored is an annual series organized by the AIA|DC Emerging Architects Committee and AIA|DC ACEL Committee that discusses challenging topics within our profession. This event encourages interactive and lively conversations between emerging professionals and firm leaders as we dive into questions we often find challenging to discuss in our offices. This panel discussion brings together firm leaders from small, medium, and large firms representing different types of business entities to explore the practical, financial, and cultural aspects of transitioning firm ownership and leadership. Participants will gain insight into common challenges, successful transition models, and long-term strategies for sustaining firm legacy and culture.

Presented by:

Kim Sullivan, Principal and Co-Director, Gensler

Mark Ramirez, Managing Director, Hickok Cole

Omar Hakeem, Founder and Principal, TBD Studio

Learning Objectives: 

• Identify common models for firm ownership and leadership transitions, including internal succession, mergers, and employee ownership models (e.g., ESOPs), and how firm stability and ethical practice are maintained.
• Evaluate the leadership skills necessary for successful firm transitions and how to develop them in emerging leaders.
• Discuss the legal and financial frameworks that support ownership transfer, including valuation, buy-in, and exit strategies.
• Analyze how firm culture, vision, and values are maintained or adapted through leadership transitions.

Sponsored by: 

Hickok Cole

Gensler

Provides an in-depth look at below-slab moisture and vapor protection. The program will examine building material failures, concrete degradation, property loss, negative health effects, and the liability associated with below-slab moisture intrusion. Moreover, the seminar is designed to update attendees on current standards and recommendations from ASTM, ACI, and PCA, as well as flooring and concrete experts from the industry. Questions about vapor retarders vs. vapor barriers, the use of poly/Visqueen, the location of the vapor barrier, radon gas, concrete moisture testing, concrete drying, and effective installation will all be addressed.

Presented by: 

Andrew Carr

Regional Manager for Stego Industries. Covering the Mid-Atlantic and Lower Northeast. (VA,DC,MD,DE,NJ,&PA)

Learning Objectives: 

• After attending the session, attendees will know how to design an overall system to help prevent moisture related problems such as: floor covering failures, mold issues, concrete drying concerns, and much more.
• Attendees will learn about the most recent standards and industry-expert recommendations in the Vapor Barrier industry, including ASTM standards, ACI recommendations and contributions to sustainable construction
• In addition, attendees will know and be able to explain the difference between a Vapor Retarder and a Vapor Barrier and know how to specify each.
• You will know what Vapor Barriers are necessary and how to identify the ideal product to go underneath of your building.

HSW Justification: 

This course is a certified HSW course as it covers how to increase indoor air quality. Preventing things such as mold growth and radon mitigation.

Sponsored by: 

Stego Industries
 

The program clarifies what classifies as an atrium per building code requirements and what are considered vertical openings. The levels of protection for various vertical openings will be provided and reflect the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code requirements. The word "atrium" is used frequently to describe an architectural design feature. However, the IBC and NFPA 101 clearly define what an atrium is and the extensive protection requirements. When describing architectural features, a vertical opening may not classify as an atrium per the building code's definitions, and it may require different approaches to code compliance. The protection approaches differ between the IBC and NFPA 101, which are essential to balance when working in jurisdictions where both codes apply.

Presented by: 

Seth Jacobs
Mr. Jacobs is a licensed fire protection engineer with extensive experience in various fire protection systems, fire/life safety code compliance, and smoke control systems special inspections.
 

David Wilmot
Mr. Wilmot is a vice president of Jensen Hughes with over 20 years of experience specializing in code compliance and performance-based designs to requirements of the International Building Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. His experience includes evaluating code requirements for atriums, smoke control system rational analysis evaluations, and other conditions of vertical openings. Mr. Wilmot is a licensed fire protection engineer in various states.

Learning Objectives: 

• Identify what an atrium is versus a vertical open per building code requirements.
• Summary of the different code requirements for atriums and vertical openings.
• Comparing and recognizing the different requirements of IBC and NFPA 101.
• Describe the necessary coordination with other disciplines for protecting atriums and vertical openings.

HSW Justification: 

The program conveys the various approaches to atrium and vertical opening classifications of the building code, and the code required fire protection and life safety features necessary to provide a safe environment of building occupants.

Sponsored by:

Jensen Hughes

Please join us for a meaningful evening of cocktails and bold conversations, explore the themes of:

Stewardship, Preservation & the Evolution of Modern Living

Stewardship is at the core of each project on the Georgetown House Tour, and our panelists will explore how this responsibility of stewardship and protection of these historic spaces passes from generation to generation.

Panelists include:

• Melvin Hooks, Showroom Manager, B&B Italia
• Wayne Adams: Principal, BarnesVanze Architects
• Erica Burns: Principal, Erica Burns Interiors
• Joe Richardson: Founding Principal, Richardson & Associates

This session is a must-attend for architects committed to advancing sustainable design through the strategic use of hybrid steel and mass-timber systems. These systems combine the structural efficiency, durability, and fire resistance of steel with the environmental benefits and aesthetic warmth of timber. Attendees will explore how to address complex challenges such as fire safety, acoustic performance, and code compliance while maximizing material efficiency and reducing environmental impact. The webinar will also introduce forward-looking strategies for seamless material integration, flexible design approaches, and reduced lifecycle emissions. Participants will leave with actionable insights to design healthier, safer, and more adaptable built environments.

Presented by:

Larry Flynn

Larry Flynn brings over 30 years of experience in the design and construction industry, including 17 years as a journalist and editor covering commercial buildings and national infrastructure. For the past 20 years, he has held national roles at the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), focusing on outreach to architects and engineers through education, resources, and business development. As Architectural Liaison and Resource Specialist at AISC’s Architecture Center, Larry now curates tools and experiences that spark creativity and support architects in designing innovative, resilient buildings using structural steel. 

Sponsored by: 

American Institute of Steel Construction
 

Learning Objectives: 

• Define key components and benefits of hybrid steel and timber systems.
• Identify fire safety unique to these systems.
• Identify acoustic considerations unique to these systems.
• Analyze case studies to apply hybrid solutions in real-world projects.

HSW Justification: 

This course supports HSW by addressing fire safety, acoustics, and sustainability in hybrid systems, helping architects design safer, healthier, and more resilient buildings through practical strategies and real-world insights.
 

The Historic Resources Committee is hosting a mixer at SmithGroup to celebrate the relaunch of the committee to re-engage with preservation professionals in DC.

Sponsored by: 

Please join the COTEdc committee for our April committee meeting.  This month’s committee meeting will be hosted by ZGF and will share event updates for our May event which is coupled with DC Climate Week, as well upcoming building tours during the summer.  In addition, Arathi Gowda, Principal with ZGF and recent AIA Fellow (!!), will be our April “Friend of the Committee”.  Arathi will share her experience serving on the COTE National committee.  

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Patrick and Miranda at the following emails so we can plan the head count: patrick.keeney@wsp.com and m.ford@perkinseastman-dc.com

When: Thursday, April 17^th 5:30-6:30pm.  Please be sure to arrive promptly by 5:30pm to allow the meeting to progress on time. 

Where: ZGF Architects – 600 14^th St NW #800, Washington, DC 20005

Join Architects and Sustainability Specialists from Perkins Eastman for a tour of DC Public Schools' Bard High School Early College! Opened in 2022, the school is DC's first adaptive reuse, net-zero energy ready modernization. Located at the current site of the former Malcolm X Elementary School, the full modernization of the Bard High School Early College was completed in two phases, which included renovating a portion of the existing facility, as well as constructing a new addition. The goal for this modernization was to provide a cutting-edge facility that promotes the intellectual challenges of a college education and facilitates academic excellence.

Inspired by the idea of creating a diverse “learning landscape,” the design of the new Bard High School is comprised of an array of innovative indoor and outdoor places that afford a wide range of educational activities and that connect literally and metaphorically to Bard’s mission and vision. To achieve this, our team developed organizational and design principles drawn from extensive interaction and conversations with faculty and administrators. These principles created a vision for a campus that will inspire Bard students to succeed in the 21st Century.

Registration for this event is external and is being hosted by DC Climate week. ​By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of DC Climate Week.

Are you wondering how changes at the federal level will affect the environmental endeavors of the design and construction industry? The built environment is responsible for as much as 40% of annual global carbon emissions and has direct impacts on our natural environments, community wellness, and human health. Over the past few decades, both public and private efforts have aimed to reduce this impact. AIA|DC’s Committee on the Environment invites you to attend this panel discussion bringing together experts with experience in private architecture and engineering firms, academia, legislative advocacy, and local DC and federal government programs. Conversation will focus on how we can continue making positive change, including adapting strategies and messaging apart from political affiliations, collaborating on shared efforts, and discussing how others beyond the federal level can carry on the mission for climate action.

We are excited to present this event in coordination with DC Climate Week!

Presented by: 

Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Architect and Director of the WAAC

Linda Toth, Arup and on DC GBAC

Ben Evans, USGBC Federal Legislative Director

Brendan Owens, Former Chief Sustainability Officer at DoD

Michele Mihelic, AIA National, Sr. Director, Codes & Standards, Advocacy & Policy

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why architects are important to the mission for a sustainable and equitable future, and how we can drive climate action impacts/change.
• Discuss how to adapt our communication so that design impacts and value are recognized by all stakeholders.
• Examine how sustainability, resiliency, and climate change mitigation impact security and economic measures, such as emergency utility and shelter disruption, workforce instability, insurance risks, tax impacts, and short vs long term costs.
• Discuss ways the building industry can work together, including on state and local policy measures, grass roots advocacy, codes & standards, and taking advantage of the global reach of private American industry.