2024 President’s Summer Message
August 1, 2024
Dear Fellow AIA members, Architects and partner organizations,
It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through 2024. We here at AIA Buffalo/WNY have
been very busy, with lots of updates to share! Our board and committee members have been
enthusiastically planning events, communicating with organizations, and working with local
politicians and organizations to continually improve our profession.
The AIA National Conference has just wrapped up and it was another success. Many of the initiatives our organization approved have come to fruition, and we are now welcoming a new group of AIA delegates who we are excited to have on the national board. They include:
Illya Azaroff, FAIA as 2025 President-elect/2026 President;
Joshua Flowers, FAIA as 2025-2026 Secretary;
Matthew Toddy, AIA as 2025 -2027 At-Large Director.r
Illya Azaroff, FAIA, is the founding principal of +LAB Architect and a distinguished architect, geographer, and professor at the New York City of Technology (CUNY). Azaroff has led at every level of AIA, from founding committees to serving as the 2021 AIA New York State President.
Joshua Flowers, FAIA, is a registered architect and licensed attorney. Flowers’ leadership within AIA includes 2024 Vice Moderator of the AIA Strategic Council where he leads AIA’s efforts to study issues affecting the future of the profession. Flowers was president of AIA Tennessee in 2019 and AIA Memphis in 2012.
Matthew Toddy, AIA, is a Principal at Elevation Studio and an active member of AIA Columbus and AIA Ohio. Toddy served as the 2022 President of AIA Columbus and was the 2023 AIA Young Architects Forum Chair. Recently, Toddy was recognized with the 2023 Mentor Award from AIA Ohio and served on the 2024 AIA National Conference Advisory Group.
Also part of this year’s Annual Meeting was the opportunity for delegates to vote on bylaws and policy changes. To view the full set of motions and resolutions and their results, you can visit the following link.
Another major change you may have already noticed is the sale of AIA Contract Documents to a third-party company, which has altered how you access these documents through their software. You may have observed this change online when attempting to purchase the documents. This decision was approved by the National Board of Directors a few years ago.
On the state level, 2024 AIA NYS Strategic Council Candidate Gus Lima has been busy keeping us updated on all state initiatives, and the Executive Board members meet with the Executive Director monthly. AIA NYS welcomed President Willy Zambrano, FAIA, owner of Zambrano Architecture, taking the mantle from Past President Paul McDonnell, AIA.
Furthermore, earlier this year, we had the opportunity to discuss transportation at the Reconnecting Communities Event held in Albany. Later, they hosted a virtual Small Firms’ Exchange with New Jersey & Pennsylvania. Looking ahead to September, we look forward to attending the annual Tri-State Symposium which will be held in Hersey, PA.
Now for our local organizations…
Strategic Planning Task Force
Just as we welcomed July, our strategic planning task force began another year of planning the direction of our local chapter. We have outlined three main items for the remainder of the year:
Succession Planning
AIA Buffalo/WNY Direction and Future Growth
Board Member Handbook
Moving forward, we plan to meet monthly to further define these goals and will provide updates to our members once again at our Annual Meeting.
NEW UB AIAS Student Conference Fund
In March, for the first time ever, the board voted to approve funds for members of the University at Buffalo AIAS and the UB School of Architecture & Planning to attend professional conferences. The fund was initiated by the board of the AIAS along with Kelly Hayes-McAlonie, (Director of Campus Planning at UB), and Elaine Chow (Clinical Assistant Professor at UB) and brought to the board by 2023/2024 AIAS President Summanth Thummala. We hope to sustain this fund annually to support students in their professional growth through their conference attendance.
Collaboration with Buffalo Architecture Foundation (BAF)
AIA Buffalo/WNY and our sister organization, Buffalo Architecture Foundation, are partnering to create a second Buffalo-themed coloring book. The book will be a fun way to educate the community about all the architectural gems Western New York has to offer. The plan includes working with our local architectural firms and inviting them to submit or sponsor a page in the book!
BAF is a proud sponsor of the Pro Bono Publico Award, which recognizes pro bono services provided to not-for-profit clients. This award is presented at the annual AIA Buffalo/WNY Service Awards and Architecture Award events held in the Spring. Submissions are currently being accepted.
Additionally, we have partnered with BAF to support their participation in Juneteenth held annually in Martin Luther King Park. During this event, the foundation raises awareness among young children about architecture and building construction through engaging and creative activities.
AIA Buffalo/WNY Committees
Our committees continue to remain busy and their recent activities are as follows:
Committee on the Environment (COTE): President Elect, Roxanne Button, AIA, has continued her role as chair of this committee with dedication and leadership to assist with the AIA’s commitment to sustainability. This committee focuses on good design through Resilience, Equity, Health, and Zero-Carbon design strategies.
A notable accomplishment has been an award of an AIA component grant program to provide our members with free CEU courses through the AIA 2030 Online Series, Live Action for Climate Change.
Anyone interested in joining this committee and helping with our initiatives can contact Roxanne at roxanne@dsynergies.com.
Communications: Our membership dues not only supports the profession, it also allows us to maintain a hub for news and information that impacts us, its members, as architects and the profession itself, both locally and nationally. Through frequent updates to our social media pages and our weekly email newsletter, our members receive consistent event announcements, notification of continuing education programming opportunities, and other collaboration opportunities.
In a constantly changing digital world, organizations need to keep evolving to bring easy-to-access content to its members. We are excited to announce a brand-new website to debut before the end of the year. This new format will improve how information about our local chapter can be accessed while also providing image focused content making it enjoyable to navigate.
Those interested in helping with communications efforts can contact Robert Szudzik at rszudzik@gmail.com.
Diversity: The Diversity Committee celebrated its 4th anniversary working with Hutch Tech High School to introduce students from traditionally underrepresented populations to careers in architecture. The 2023-24 school year was a success, so much so that the committee received confirmation of several students applying to the UB School of Architecture as a direct result of the program!
Each year, the Diversity Committee seeks to bring informative content to our members and this past year was no different as we were able to bring guest speaker Sekou Cooke to Buffalo. His work on the theory of Hip Hop Architecture is widely known and has received much acclaim. The committee is currently looking for ideas for another Diversity Symposium to be held in the fall or in the early part of 2025. Anyone interested in helping with this endeavor or in being part of the committee, are encouraged to contact Marisa Caban-Szudzik at mcaban@foit-albert.com.
Emerging Professionals: The EP group has been focusing on building community through mentoring, connecting, and providing support for each other. This spring, EP led a series of professional development seminars for UB students focusing on resume writing, portfolio development, and interview prep. The group continues to offer ARE study materials in a free lending library and is currently planning a series of competitive Architecture Trivia Nights to be held at local firms. These will be open to all experience levels with prizes and bragging rights on the line! In the fall, EP is also planning volunteer sessions, another “Archi-Shuffle,” and more.
Those interested in helping with the Emerging Professionals committee can contact committee chair Amber Holycross at aholycross@wendelcompanies.com.
Programming: Our Programming Committee works hard to ensure that AIA members have access to a minimum of 18 continuing education units (CEU) annually. Each year, the committee continues to offer more learning units to our members and 2024 is looking to be another record year.
Recent CEU events have included:
Architects in Farms Getting Coffee - Designers Turned Developers
Framework for Design Excellence - Townsend Hall
COTE Green Building Tours
Affordable Housing: The Dos For A Successful Submission
AIA 2030 Online Series
Green Building Tours - Miller Residence
The Power of Coordination: A Multidisciplinary Panel Discussion
PUSH Sustainability Workforce Training Center Construction Tour
Those interested in helping with future programming initiatives or in being involved in other ways can contact Margaret Scaglione at margarets@youngandwright.com.
Government Affairs: At the state level, AIA NYS hosted a Reconnecting Communities Event attended by AIA Buffalo/WNY Board Member Joseph Cohen, bringing together professionals of all types to discuss city planning improvements. Joe is also preparing topics for discussion at the upcoming Albany Advocacy Day, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and proposed changes to the current AIA Political Donation Policy. AIA Buffalo/WNY remains actively engaged in New York State and national legislative discussions by volunteering to participate in monthly Local Advocacy Meetings with AIA New York State. If you are interested in getting involved in the Government Affairs Committee, please reach out to Joseph Cohen at jcohen@sc-companies.com.
Awards (Architecture & Service): We continue to receive large numbers of outstanding designs submitted for the Architecture Awards and have charged our committee with finding a way to showcase all entries locally, thereby enhancing the value for entrants. We are eagerly anticipating announcing our call for entries for this year's 2024 Architecture Awards and Service Awards.
In addition, we are excited to announce that our chapter has added a brand-new Architecture Award category: the COTE (Committee on the Environment) Award, which recognizes a project that meets the most stringent requirements for sustainable and environmental design.
If you are interested in helping out with the Awards Committee, reach out to Christa Quintana at CTrautman@cplteam.com.
Sponsorship: As our organization's impact on the area continues, our member’s financial support helps reach our goal. Steps have been taken to make the “a.s.k.” (Accepting Support & Kindness) easier for all of you, individually or collectively, to help us with our mission and help you with yours.
This year, we have upped our game with developing sponsorship levels early and listening to our allied and partner organization for what best works for them. Please watch for more communication on this as we get closer to each event, and we hope you will consider donating to a good cause. Contact Robert Szudzik at rszudzik@gmail.com if you are either interested in sponsoring or would like to help this committee.
Scholarship: The Scholarship Committee has continued to showcase the generosity of our members and allied members by providing monetary awards to our chapter’s most outstanding and engaged local students. Annually, we award a total of $4,500 to 2-3 students per year. If you are interested in helping with the Scholarship Committee or would like to donate, please reach out to Aimee Zielinski at azielinski@wendelcompanies.com.
As always, we invite you to participate in any of these committees. Feel free to contact me or a committee member to join. The chapter always appreciates the service of our local members at whatever level of involvement is right for you.
Upcoming Events
The best is yet to come...
We do hope you will join us in our future events.
Date: August 13th, 2024
Join us for a day of golf and bocce teams supporting AIA Buffalo/WNY scholarships. Led by Past President Ed Smart and his team, this tournament promises to be a success once again!
Queen City Architecture 5k Race:
Date: September 14th, 2024
Run a 5K course through downtown Buffalo, showcasing its world-renowned architecture. All proceeds benefit AIA Buffalo/WNY scholarship initiatives and local architectural events.
Date: October 24th, 2024 at Crosby Hall
Join us for our annual business meeting featuring the election of new Board Members, budget review, and an educational CEU session with a guest speaker. Drinks and food will be provided, and although we prefer to see everyone in person, a virtual attendance option is being discussed.
Date: November (exact date and location TBD)
Celebrate excellence in design at our Architecture Awards event, featuring a new category: COTE Design Award. Board member Christa Trautman, AIA, has led this event for the last 5 years.
Date: December, (exact date and location TBD)
Join us as we come together to celebrate another successful year. Details to follow, led by board member Margaret Scaglione for the past 3 years.
Please see the our events calendar on our website for event updates.
Sincerely,
Robert Szudzik, AIA, LEED AP