Thank you to the 400+ attendees, which included architects, Associate members, students, Allied members, and sponsors, for gathering for the AIA Arizona State Conference Friday, October 18 at Clayton House in Scottsdale. It was a wonderful day filled with optimism, new insights, and a diverse range of perspectives.
The 2024 conference was chaired by Rachel Green Rasmussen, AIA, principal at Architekton who is the 2024 president-elect of AIA Arizona. With the theme of Facets, the conference inspired and empowered attendees with engaging presentations and conversations on myriad facets of our profession, from sustainable design to equity to community engagement to our future in a desert environment.
For the second consecutive year, the conference speaker lineup included the most recent recipient of the AIA national’s highest honor for an architect, the Gold Medal:
- David Lake, FAIA, of renowned firm Lake Flato in Texas, the 2024 AIA Gold Medal recipients known for innovations in sustainability.
- Billie Tsien, AIA, the New York-based architect of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. The firm has designed the Obama Presidential Center now under construction in Chicago.
- Susannah Drake, FAIA, FASLA, of Sasaki, who is currently leading a comprehensive master plan for Taliesin West.
- Bill Horgan, AIA, of Grimshaw, who collaborated with Architekton to lead the design of the ASU Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health.
- Natasha Sandmeier, who teaches at UCLA with a focus on visual media and storytelling. She is the Executive Director of the A+D Museum in Los Angeles.
- Michael Anderson, AIA, NOMA, principal of the firm Anderson Barker, a purpose-driven design firm in Los Angeles focused on transforming challenging communities.
CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Title Arcadia
Platinum Ardebili Engineering / Kitchell / McCarthy / YKK AP
Conference Patron ADM Group / Archsol / Arizona Architecture Foundation / Concord General Contracting / DLR Group / DWL Architects + Planners Inc / Gensler / Jones Studio / Kimley-Horn / LEICHT Scottsdale / Lender’s Quality Assurance (LQA) / Merge Architectural Group / Optima / PK Associates / Repp + McLain Design & Construction / Salt River Project / Smithgroup / Stantec / Stuckey Insurance / Studio Ma / SWABACK / The Green Room Landscape Architecture / Varitec / Weddle Gilmore / Willmeng / WORKSBUREAU
Allied Partner Airpark Signs / Arizona Masonry Council / Clark Hill Law / Coreslab Structures / DPR Construction / Illumination Systems / Meyer Borgman Johnson / Sundt Construction / TRUEFORM Landscape Architecture Studio
Coffee Cart Ayers Saint Gross / Caliente Construction / Chasse Building Group / Greenlight Communities / Shepley Bulfinch / U.S. CAD, an ARKANCE Company
Video Support Arizona Residential Architects / ATG USA / PHX Architecture
Luncheon 180 Degrees Design + Build / 1GPA / BWS Architects / Caruso Turley Scott / Dig Studio / DP Electric / Holly Street Studio / Kovach / Olsson / Orcutt | Winslow / Schneider Structural Engineers / Stego Industries / Swaim Associates
Student Champion Richärd Kennedy Architects / RLGA Technical Services LLC / suoLL Architects
Student Advocate DeBartolo Architects / Gammage & Burnham / HDR / IB Roof Systems / Line and Space LLC, Architects / Michael Taylor Architects / Sazan Group / Shepley Bulfinch / Thomas Printworks
Tucson Bus University of Arizona CAPLA