Urban Design / Government Affairs Team

 It has been an outstanding, ambitious, and deeply rewarding year to be your Chair.  I am honored to be associated with such a diverse, experienced, and passionate group of professionals.  Let’s recap where we are relative to our goals: 

#1 “Identify and Fill Visible Leadership Roles Architects can occupy to enrich the community and profession.”  Cochair Bart Whatley, AIA hosted a Candidate Forum for City Council Candidates.  To further promote the leadership role of architects, Bart brought in partners CNU, DAA, and DANA. /

 #2 “Foster environments for idea sharing and development.”  Cochair Paul Detke, AIA, planned, initiated, and executed a process to revise the Commercial Design Standards.  Working with ASLA Austin Chapter, CNU Nodes & Corridors, RECA, Civil engineers, and others through happy hours and a Forum, recommendations were drafted, approved by AIA Austin board, and presented to City prior to the start of a public input process.  Big thanks to Commercial Liason Michael Hsu, AIA, Girard Kinney, AIA, Kit Johnson, AIA, and all the other members and partners that pitched in for this effort. /

#3 “Elevate Profile and Quality of Design.”  Cochair Gonzalo Camacho launched an inquiry into the role of beauty and public art in a healthy transit system that, with commissioner Jana McCann, AIA, landed us upon a generous grant from DAA for the Old Bakery Ideathon.  Thanks to AIA leaders Robert Mueller, Bart Whatley, Betty Trent, Larry Halford, Jeff Needles, Jim Adams, Paul Detke, Emily Layton, Larry Whitlock, Girard Kinney, Brian Miller, Brant Moore, and staff for putting in the extra mile.  Thanks to DAA, Austin Foundation for Architecture, AIPP, Public Workshop, Parks Foundation, PARD, and the State of Texas for creating fertile soil.  We also celebrate our growing online community http://www.oldbakeryideathon.org/  We look forward to continuing this 6-month festival of ideas as we head toward a design competition in the spring. /

#4 “Develop and promote public programs to raise public awareness of the value of architecture”.  Join us again 9AM tomorrow, Saturday, for the Old Bakery Volunteer work day courtesy of the Parks Foundation.