Stantec Smart Daylighting in Classrooms architectmagazine.

com
Evoke Studio Earth on the Precipice The Journal of The American
KDI Our Forgotten Supertalls Institute of Architects
Championing Deaf Designers

The Case for

Tiny Victories
A community of small houses
in Texas gives hope to people
who formerly experienced
homelessness
Typology
Connecting Sky & Earth,
Light & Shadow
Immersive, sculptural elements bridge the
vertical and horizontal realms, playing with
light and shadow to draw the eyes skyward
then back to the earth. Discover the
Typology Collection, an innovative seating
and lighting system and holistic urban
design experience created in collaboration
with Designworks, a BMW Group company.
Find us at landscapeforms.com or
contact us toll free at 800.430.6205.
 The
POWER
of
ONE
Add simplicity, performance and
sustainability to your low-slope
roofing projects with OneDek® from
All Weather Insulated Panels. Fewer
layers equals a simplified design plus
a faster, more convenient installation.
For quality, performance and value,
leverage the Power of OneDek®.

Learn more at PowerOfOneDek.com

or call 1-888-970-2947
OneDek® Field-Applied
Membrane TPO or PVC OneDek® RD1

The Power of
¨

INSULATED ROOF DECK

4 ARCHITECT, The Journal of The American Institute of Architects, April 2021

Contents
Volume 110, number 03. April 2021.
On the cover: Community First! resident Jesse Brown in his home designed by Jobe Corral Architects in Austin, Texas; photo by Leonid Furmansky.
Below: A microhouse designed by McKinney York for Community First! Village with a communal kitchen in background; photo by Leonid Furmansky.

Tech + Practice AIA Architect

12 Architectural Lighting: Strategic Daylighting in Schools 41 Education and Tolerance
20 Opinion: Increasing Opportunities for Deaf Designers 43 The Power of Research
24 On the Boards: North Carolina Central University 44 The Problem With Exceptional Buildings
24 / 7 Collaborative Research and Learning Center, 48 The Architecture of Rosenwald Schools
by Evoke Studio Architecture 50 Design Is the Expectation, Not the Exception
26 CarbonPositive: The Make-or-Break Year for the Planet
29 Next Progressives: Kounkuey Design Initiative

Parting Shot
72 Forgotten Towers

A home needs _____________

to make me feel ____________

54 Tiny Victories
61 Chioco Design
62 Thoughtbarn
63 Michael Hsu Office
of Architecture
64 McKinney York
65 Jobe Corral Architects

Volume 110, number 3. April 2021. architect® (ISSN 1935-7001; USPS 009-880) is published 8 times per year (January/February, March, April, May/June, July/August, September, October, November/December) by Hanley Wood, 1152 15th
Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20005. Copyright 2021 by Hanley Wood. Opinions expressed are those of the authors or persons quoted and not necessarily those of The American Institute of Architects. Reproduction in whole or in part
prohibited without written authorization. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to architect, P.O. Box 3494, Northbrook,
IL 60065. Canada Post Registration #40612608/G.S.T. number R-120931738. Canadian return address: IMEX, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. For subscription inquiries, address changes, and single-copy sales ($10 in the U.S., $15 in
Canada, $20 for other countries, payable in advance in U.S. dollars) write to architect, P.O. Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065 or call 847.291.5221 or toll-free 888.269.8410. REPRINTS: Call or email Wright’s Media: 877.652.5295 or hanleywood@
wrightsmedia.com. DISCLOSURE: architect® will occasionally write about companies in which its parent organization, Hanley Wood, has an investment interest. When it does, the magazine will fully disclose that relationship. PRIVACY OF
MAILING LIST: Sometimes we share our subscriber mailing list with reputable companies we think you’ll find interesting. However, if you do not wish to be included, please call us at 888.269.8410.
 Evolve Cubicles
Compact Grade Laminate

Built-in
European-style,
sightline-free
privacy

Unique spring-
loaded pedestal
actuates soft-
close door

EVOLVED PRIVACY.
FROM PANEL TO
PEDESTAL.
Restroom design is evolving rapidly. Since privacy is
here to stay, Bobrick engineered it into every facet of
new Evolve Cubicles. With its unique, patented pedestal,
72"-deep, single piece divider panels and a robust
aluminum frame, you can rely on Evolve to meet your
requirements for design, privacy and budget.

Specify Smarter

Get technical data and more at bobrick.com/evolve

 Get Back To Nature, In A
Thoroughly Modern Way.
 When contemporary design meets the great
outdoors, something unexpected happens –
obstacles vanish, sight lines increase, vistas are
laid open and the outside comes in to bathe
everything in natural light. So we continuously
perfect everything from our moving walls of
glass to our direct glaze and casement windows,
to offer you simpler lines and fewer obstructions,
with windows that never compromise.

SierraPacificWindows.com I 800-824-7744 A Division of

Watch our brand video

Find your Architectural Consultant by using the locator on our website.
Find ideas and inspiration by joining our Instagram community.
___________________________________________________

Architect: CTA Architects

Builder: Martel Construction
Photo: ©Karl Neumann Photography | Martel Construction
 AEOS
8

The Journal of The American

Institute of Architects

Editorial Advertising List Rentals

Editor Account Coordinator The Information Refinery
Wanda Lau Katina Billado Brian Clotworthy
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
@wandawlau Vice President, Strategic 800.529.9020

Managing Editor Accounts Hanley Wood Media

Laurie Elden Kay Ross-Baker Chief Operating Officer
[email protected] [email protected] Andrew Reid
Senior Editor Senior Strategic Account Senior Director, SEO
Eric Wills Director and Analytics
[email protected] Carol Weinman Jennifer Malkasian
[email protected]
Assistant Editor Executive Vice President,
Madeleine D’Angelo Strategic Account Directors Chief Content Officer
[email protected] Mike Gilbert Jennifer Pearce
[email protected]
Contributing Editors Brandy Weiss Vice President,
Aaron Betsky [email protected] Digital Strategy and
Blaine Brownell, FAIA Patrick Zazzara Operations
Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [email protected] Bridget Forbes
John Morris Dixon, FAIA Executive Vice President
Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA Strategic Account Managers
Rita Hicks Paul Tourbaf
Eva Hagberg
Karrie Jacobs [email protected] Vice President,
Edward Keegan, AIA Mattie Hanley Audience Operations
Cathy Lang Ho [email protected] Mari Skelnik
Ian Volner Kerri Dress
Design Director
Mimi Zeiger [email protected]
Tina Tabibi
Jaeda Mohr-Palmer
Art Director [email protected] Hanley Wood
Robb Ogle
Business Development Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
Manager Jeff Meyers
Sarah Mueller Group Vice President,
[email protected] Talent Strategy
Canada Kurt Nelson
D. John Magner Chief Financial Officer
[email protected] Melissa Billiter

T H E A EO S A DVA N TAG E
416.598.0101, ext. 220
Senior Managing Principal,
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan Advisory Group
Judy Wang Tim Sullivan

SOAR
[email protected]
Chief Operating Officer
86.13810325171
Andrew Reid
Marketing Executive Vice President,
Vice President of Marketing

HIGHER,
National Sales
Lillian Spio Amy Dudley
PEFC certification applies to text only
Group Director, Audience
Marketing & Circulation
Chris Lustan

FINISH Copyright 2021 by Hanley Wood.

1152 15th Street NW, Suite 750,
Production
Senior Director, Print
Production
Cathy Underwood

FASTER
Washington, DC 20005.
202.452.0800. Senior Director, Print
Reproduction in whole or in Production
part prohibited without written Margaret Coulter
authorization. All rights reserved. Production Manager
Printed in the USA. Stephanie Fischer
Elevate your project
expectations and efficiency
with Nucor Aeos—the optimized 2021 Board of Directors
Peter J. Exley, FAIA, President
A913 that’s backed by a team Daniel S. Hart, FAIA, PE, First Vice President
William R. Turner Jr., AIA, Secretary
of collaborative experts from Evelyn M. Lee, AIA, Treasurer
Ryan J. Gann. Assoc. AIA, At-large Director
Nucor Construction Solutions. The AIA Architect section of this magazine is
Timothy C. Hawk, FAIA, At-large Director
produced by the Institute as a benefit to its members
Nathaniel Hudson, AIA, At-large Director
in partnership with ARCHITECT’s editorial and
Discover more at production teams. Please direct any questions
Mark L. Levine, FAIA, At-large Director
Britt Lindberg, AIA, LEED AP, At-large Director
or comments to Frank Scanlan, MD, Strategic
Nucor.com/Aeos Communications & Content for AIA.
Jessica A. Sheridan, AIA, At-large Director
Eric White, Hon. AIA, CACE Director
Shannon F. Gathings, Assoc. AIA, Associate Director
Senior Director External Affairs
Erin Conti, Assoc. AIA, AIAs, Student Director
Clinton S. Manning
The Honorable Shirley C. Franklin, Director
Senior Manager External Relations Justin Chapman, Director
Katherine Flynn Robert A. Ivy, FAIA, EVP/Chief Executive Officer
 CONSTRUCTION SOLU TI ONS

MINDS
OF STEEL Jason Smith, Architect
SmithGroup

Amazing things happen when architects and engineers explore

materials together. All the more reason to call on Nucor Construction
Solutions to bring you innovative options from the start.
Discover more at Nucor.com/vision
 FLOOR PORTFOLIO CONFETTI ™ DOVE GREY CONFETTI PF31 WALL PORTFOLIO VIVID ™ OCEAN BLUE PF27

MAKE A STATEMENT.
As the world-class leader in Tile, Natural Stone & Countertops,
Daltile offers the largest assortment of high-style
solutions to elevate any space or design.

©2021 Daltile
 Helping Our Environment

ONE
ONE
ROOF
AT A
TIME.
The Industry’s First
Smog-Reducing Shingle

Honoring Earth Day Every Day

Learn more at malarkeyroofing.com
12

Architectural Lighting:
Strategic Daylighting in Schools

text by murrye bernard, aia

The appropriate use of daylight in glazing, but Stantec’s research group

educational environments has myriad found that even with sunshades and
benefits: healthier students and fewer light shelves, user satisfaction with
sick days, as well as improved moods, the daylight was very low—even lower
learning aptitudes, and attention spans. than for the traditional classroom
In the study “Daylight and School layout with two windows at each
Performance in European corner of the room. “The major source
Schoolchildren,” published in of dissatisfaction was glare and the
December 2020, researchers found inability of the students to see notes
that “classroom characteristics on the marker board or projections
associated with daylighting do on the screen in their classrooms,”
significantly impact the performance Langer says.
Daylight that is not properly managed
of the schoolchildren and may account After studying a variety of window
can cause glare on boards and
for more than 20% of the variation sizes and configurations in typical
screens in classrooms.
between performance test scores” in classroom settings in Houston, she and
math and logic. The window-to-floor her team discovered that window size
area ratio in classrooms seemed to have is not directly proportional to the
Window-to-Wall Ratio Study by Stantec
the most significant effect, with larger amount of useful light available in a
window areas being more desirable. space. In fact, the amount of useful
However, the study emphasized the daylight illuminance (UDI)—a metric
importance of controlling the amount that references when illuminance is
of incoming daylight, through window 52% supplied by daylight alone—is actually
shades for example. Stantec has lower in the case of larger windows.
reached similar conclusions through its “Designing big windows doesn’t
studies. Since 2012, the global firm’s necessarily mean adding quality
Research + Benchmarking group has daylight in a space,” Shivani says.
44%
conducted post-occupancy studies in “Because glare is not considered useful,
Texas schools designed by itself as well the amount of useful daylight available
as by other firms. The feedback it has from a space with a 28% window-to-wall
received includes, perhaps surprisingly, ratio may be higher than one with 52%.”
dissatisfaction with daylight. 33% Successful lighting strategies for
Shivani Langer, aia, a principal, educational environments artfully
senior project architect, and balance daylighting with electric
regional sustainability leader based sources and control technologies. david fuentes prieto
in Stantec’s Austin, Texas, office, From an architectural standpoint,
29%
expounded on these findings in her sunshades and light shelves help to
2019 article “Education design: How mitigate glare. Ample lighting controls,
much daylight is right for today’s including features such as daylight
tech-enabled schools?” Two of the sensors, color tuning, and dimming,
10 schools surveyed had wall-to-wall 28% allow for flexibility.

> To read more stories about lighting design and technology and to access the architectural lighting archive, visit bit.ly/ArchLighting.
 Scan QR Code
to watch the
ZOOM YouTube Video

ZOOM
ADJUSTABLE SPOTLIGHT 120/277V
Beam Angles From 5º to 50º Up To 25,000 CBCP
3 1/4” Diameter, 5” - 6 1/2” Length COB, 20 Watts, 1850 Lumens
The ZOOM Series is a compact spotlight designed with a locking lens grip to adjust the beam spread
from 5 degrees to 50 degrees. Powered by COB LED technology, the ZOOM Series has exceptional
narrow field beam performance up to 25,000 CBCP from just 20 watts.

Lighting Services Inc The premier specialty lighting manufacturer.

Lighting Services Inc 800 999-9574 www.LightingServicesInc.com

14

Architectural Lighting: Richard J. Lee Elementary School

Strategic Daylighting Plano, Texas
in Schools Stantec
Lee Elementary School was the first elementary school to achieve net-zero in the
state. To dramatically reduce the project’s energy consumption from lighting, the
design deploys large windows and daylight harvesting through reflective ceiling tubes,
which enable natural light to reach 90% of the interior. “The placement and sizes of
windows were strategic to ensure light reaches deep into spaces,” Langer says.
Punched openings along the south façade create exterior overhangs for sun
shading. Inside, corresponding surrounds further diffuse daylight to avoid glare.
With these portals, Stantec has created colorful nooks in which students can read
and learn individually.

Designers specifying LED

sources should aim for a minimum
color rendering index of 80 and full-
spectrum lamps that promote visual
comfort, reduce glare, and exhibit low
levels of noise and flicker, which can
distract students. Using consistent
fixtures throughout the building can
ease maintenance.
Here are three projects that
demonstrate the controlled use of
daylight in educational environments.

Nils K. Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building

Hammond, Ind.
CannonDesign
Housing Purdue University Northwest’s College of Nursing and Department of

Top: CourTesy sTanTeC; BoTTom: sTeve Hall/Hall + merriCk

Biological Sciences, the Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building weaves public
spaces and laboratories that showcase teaching and learning innovations. The
building is organized around a grand staircase and three-story atrium, through
whose glazed walls classrooms and research labs are visible. Exterior windows
respond to the interior program, with larger windows allocated to classrooms
and labs, and smaller windows to offices. Window sizes are one to three times the
width of the modular aluminum composite panels cladding the exterior.
“The lighting design follows the lead of the building’s design drivers and
centers on concepts of transparency, efficiency, and providing flexibility for
future needs,” says Raisa Shigol, a Chicago-based senior lighting designer at
CannonDesign. Lighting elements and engineering systems evenly illuminate
ceiling surfaces and teaching walls while accounting for spatial geometries and
maximizing function and visual comfort.
The labs feature orthogonal arrangements of pendant LED lighting with
indirect and direct distribution and flexible control strategies. Linear, angled
fixtures convey movement in circulation areas and student hubs. Classrooms and
labs feature sunshades to mitigate glare. “Health-education facilities require a
unique balance,” Shigol says. “It’s critical to select lighting systems that support
a realistic health-care environment and related medical tasks, while also ensuring
a facility that nourishes campus and student life.”
by
Fire Resistant. 16

Design Consistent.
Fire-Rated Aluminum Window
And Door Systems
Architectural Lighting: light fixtures,” says project manager
Aluflam has a complete offering of true Strategic Daylighting Erica Gaswirth, aia, a New York–
extruded aluminum fire-rated vision in Schools based senior associate at PBDW. “In
doors, windows and glazed wall systems, classrooms, the fixtures are divided
fire-rated for up to 120 minutes. Available into multiple daylighting zones, each
in all architectural finishes, our products of which is independently controlled
are almost indistinguishable from non- by photo sensors. The lights in each
fire-rated doors and windows. You won’t zone are automatically and smoothly
dimmed to maintain required light
have to compromise aesthetics to satisfy
levels for the tasks at hand.”
safety regulations.
Solar shades, which are manually
controlled in classrooms and
electronically controlled in the
cafeteria, eliminate ultraviolet rays and
Cooke School & Institute glare when needed. Linear pendant
New York fixtures in classrooms offer direct and
PBDW Architects indirect beam distributions, which are
The Cooke School & Institute is a free- individually and manually controlled by
standing building surrounded by green wallbox dimmers. “The color rendering
space on three sides—rare for upper was fixed to 3000K to complement
Manhattan—and thus has access to an the architectural spaces as well as to
abundance of daylight. The terra cotta create a uniform color for the entire
façade of the school, which serves project,” says Yasamin Shahamiri,
K–12 students and young adults ages a senior associate at the New York–
18–21 with special needs, features a based lighting design firm One Lux
bay window motif, channel glass, and Studio, which served as PBDW’s
curtain walls. Colored slot windows lighting consultant.
enable students to identify their own Through experience and mock-ups,
classrooms from the street below. PBDW has learned to choose fixtures
Light passing through these windows that work in learning environments.
creates colored shadows that move The firm also works continuously with
across the floor over the course of the the school to troubleshoot any issues
day. At the street level, the channel that arise. “Many students with special
glass provides natural daylight for needs have sensory sensitivities as
administrative and classroom spaces well,” Gaswirth says. “When these
while maintaining privacy. children don’t have to expend extra
Classrooms are oriented to receive energy tuning out glare, buzzing, or
adequate daylight through expansive flickering from fixtures—distractions
glazing. “We wanted the natural light easily ignored by other students—they
to be primary in the learning spaces, are able to more fully focus on their
supplemented by direct/indirect LED schoolwork for longer periods of time.”

Francis Dzikowski/oTTo

Aluflam North America

562-926-9520
aluflam-usa.com
 Rhythm + Character

“The
“ The contrast between the metal bays and traditional brick walls
gives
g ive the project its rhythm and character.”

-Andreas
-A
Andr Lange, AIA, senior associate, Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel

Rennen & Beecher Flats, Cincinnati Inst.: Deuss Enterprises Architect: Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel
Dist.: Allied Building Products GC: Titan Real Estate Group Owner: 3CDC Photo: hortonphotoinc.com

Flush + Reveal
Metal Wall Panel Systems
Slate Gray

CASE STUDY @ PAC-CL AD.COM/RENNEN-BEECHER

IL: 800 PAC CLAD MD: 800 344 1400 TX: 800 441 8661 GA: 800 272 4482 MN: 877 571 2025 AZ: 833 750 1935 PAC-CLAD.COM | [email protected]
FIRE RATED BLAST WALLS REIMAGINED
Project: Public Safety Facility in the East Coast | Architect: SOM | Glazier: W&W Glass, LLC

BALLISTIC, FORCED ENTRY FIRE RESISTIVE ALUMINUM

& OTHER SECURITY FRAMING WITH
MAKE-UPS AVAILABLE UNIFORM SIGHTLINES

LOW-IRON ASTM E119/UL 263 MEETS DEPT. OF MULTIPLE

MAKE-UPS FIRE RESISTIVE GLASS & DEFENSE BLAST FRAME FINISHES
AVAILABLE FRAMING UP TO 2 HOURS REQUIREMENTS AVAILABLE

The revolutionary GPX® Blast System by SAFTI FIRST® combines the ultimate
protection against fire and blast forces with maximum design flexibility to create
elegant, beautiful spaces for secure and high-profile facilities. Proudly USA-made.

LEARN MORE

Visit www.safti.com or call us at 888.653.3333 today to see how your project can benefit
from our comprehensive line of clear, advanced fire protective and fire resistive openings,
entrances, storefronts, curtain walls and floors up to 2 hours.

USA-MADE
AFETY ND IRE
ECHNOLOGY NC.
 20

Opinion:
Increasing Opportunities
for Deaf Designers

TexT by roberT NicholS, ASSoc. AiA

“Can you read my lips?” “How do

you communicate with others at
work?” “You can do the technical
drafting under the project leadership.”
These are examples of questions and
statements that design companies
often ask or tell deaf or hard-of-hearing
professionals today. Yet Title I of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
requires companies with 15 or more
employees to provide reasonable
accommodations to qualified deaf or
hard-of-hearing job applicants without
discrimination. Are employers aware
of this requirement and how to meet
it? For example, do they know whether
ADA’s definition of “reasonable
accommodations” explicitly
Connected
to your includes American Sign Language,
smartphone interpreters, or closed captioning on
communication display devices that
deaf job applicants require during the
interview hiring process?
Few owners and principals likely
consider the topic of deaf people in
SMART VARIETY the workplace in their day-to-day lives
due to their lack of interaction with
deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
Employers may not know that the
IP video intercoms in over
provision of effective communications
50 different materials and colors
access entails enabling people with

Todd A. SmiTh PhoTogrAPhy

sensory disabilities to communicate—
and be communicated with—on an
equal footing with those who do not
have such disabilities.
According to a 2019 National
Deaf Center report, only 53% of deaf
people were employed in 2017, versus
76% of hearing people. During the
DoorBird combines exclusive hiring process, accommodation
designs with the most innovative
IP technology in the field of door
communication.
> To read more opinions, visit bit.ly/AROpinion. Interested in writing?
Submit your pitch to [email protected].

www.doorbird.com
 DESIGNED
DE SIGNED
TO AMAZE.

LOFT FLOAT LUCENT

The elegant design of Bradley’s exclusive new collection of Euro style partitions
flawlessly combines beauty and performance raising the standard in commercial
washrooms. These three new models utilize high-design features, increased privacy,
and seamless construction to provide an elevated look and welcoming spaces.
Commercial washrooms brought to life.

HANDWASHING & DRYING | ACCESSORIES | PARTITIONS | LOCKERS BRADLEYCORP.COM/EURO-STYLE-PARTITIONS

 GRIDLOC
NEW!
™
22

LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURAL SUPPORT GRID SYSTEM

Opinion: Through small and bold actions,

Increasing Opportunities WDA is creating opportunities for
for Deaf Designers the deaf community. While leading
the evolution of the Education for
All Handicapped Children Act of
1975 into the current ADA of 1990,
former President George H.W. Bush
received many letters from the parents
of children with disabilities who
expressed anger and angst at the
discrimination against their child’s
disability. From 1984 to 1986, Bush
started a new initiative for disability
rights and submitted the report as
for a disability is rarely considered an early draft of the ADA to Congress
without an explicit demand by the in February 1986. Four years later, he
candidate. Another common oversight signed the ADA into law as president.
is the prerequisite that a prospective We know we cannot wait for closed
employee possess oral communication doors to magically open on their own.
and/or presentation skills in the As the COVID-19 pandemic
support of team collaboration. subsides, WDA will move forward
However, do employers consider the with its overarching goal to increase
different modes of communication access to employment opportunities
that team members can utilize to for deaf architects across the nation.
exchange information? The organization will provide AIA
In 2016, I founded World Deaf member training on the benefits of
Architecture, a not-for-profit hiring, developing, and promoting
organization that is involved within design professionals with hearing
the subdivision activities of the loss, as well as resources for hard-of-
AIA Office of Equity, Diversity, and hearing architects to grow their own
Inclusion. Approximately 20% of practices. Moreover, WDA plans to
AIA members identify as having a provide mentoring to deaf architecture
disability, which can include hearing students in the foreseeable future.
loss. With the support of the Office of We will hold steadfast to our
GRIDLOC™ GRID, EDI and in support of other minority vision of building an organizational
WEIGHTS & and women advocacy groups, WDA structure that can sustain deaf,
ELEVATOR® TOP PLATE hopes to engage leaders among the deaf-blind, and hard-of-hearing
AIA membership and the Institute’s professionals. Learning from the civil
Knowledge Communities. rights movements for social justice
WDA aims to grow membership of and the women’s rights movements
deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals that continue today, we know that our
in related professions and collaborate resolve won’t subside until all spoken
with topically relevant KCs to provide and unspoken demands for human
resources about the needs of the rights are fully entrenched in society.
www.hanoverpavers.com ¥ 800.426.4242 deaf community, such as guidance
on reasonable accommodations
for professionals working in an
architectural studio. It is seeking to
connect with design professionals in
the arenas of health care, education, Robert Nichols, Assoc. AIA, is
social justice, and affordable housing, co-founder and executive director
among others, and to infuse new of World Deaf Architecture.
resources into existing programs and WDA News editor Karen Kim
public meetings. contributed to this piece.

RETROFIT
WOOD DECKS
 One-piece, uniform-grain stainless Deep-drawn corners provide a superior
steel body eliminates seams, sharp finish and a modern accommodation
edges and weld lines for any restroom

Handles don’t require tight grasping, Enhanced integral frame

pinching or twisting of the wrist or force provides exceptional
greater than 5 pounds to open bed stability

KOALA KARE’S NEW KB310/KB311 BABY CHANGING STATION

A whole new platform for change.

Introducing Koala Kare’s new horizontal KB310 and vertical KB311 baby changing stations,
featuring craftsmanship only Koala can provide. One-piece, deep-drawn, uniform-grain
stainless steel components eliminate seams, sharp edges and weld lines, and thoughtful
patron amenities like an external stainless steel bag hook and Microban® antimicrobial
product protection ensure that Koala Koala’s newest platform provides hygienic,
contemporary accommodation for any restroom.

We’ve reinvented the baby changing station—again. koalabear.com/change A Division of Bobrick

24

On the Boards:
NCCU 24/7 Collaborative Research and Learning Center
Durham, N.C.
Evoke Studio Architecture

text by MAdeleine d’Angelo

Located in the center of Durham, N.C.,

North Carolina Central University, a
historically Black institution, has grown
dramatically since its founding in 1910,
and today is home to more than 8,000
graduate and undergraduate students.
Hoping to provide that student body
with a flexible study space that would
knit the campus into its residential
surroundings, NCCU chancellor
Johnson Akinleye charged the local
firm Evoke Studio Architecture
with designing a 24/7 Collaborative
Learning and Research Center. The
commission builds on an existing
relationship between the university
and the firm, which renovated NCCU’s TK caption / Label - list paragraph style
Broadcast Studio, a high-tech digital
communication hub, in 2019.
The new center will be located
at the well-trafficked intersection of
Fayetteville and E. Lawson streets at
the northwest corner of the campus,
making the building a university
anchor and a bridge between the
school and the local community. “It’s usable space, and becomes an inviting, But it’s not domineering. It’s not going
strategically located in a place where porchlike entry to the building. The to blind the residential neighbors.”

courtesy evoke studio Architecture

the students who are off campus can roof’s soaring form nods to both With construction scheduled for
get to it quickly and safely,” says Evoke the site’s residential history and the the beginning of 2022, Evoke plans to
co-founding principal Teri Canada, AiA. school’s mascot. “[The university is] finalize the design by the end of 2021,
Approximately 5,000 square feet, proud of the idea of the eagle and what staying closely aligned to NCCU’s
the design offers a mix of study areas, it means,” says Evoke co-founding aims of bettering “not only the student
multipurpose rooms, retail space, and principal Edwin Harris, AiA. “So we body, but also the environment, the
an open, collaborative lounge that [wanted to] create something that’s community, and the professions
flows into a spacious outdoor plaza uplifting, that evokes a light, airy feeling.” that each student chooses,” Harris
along Fayetteville Street. Shaded When night falls, the building will says. “These buildings are basically
under the center’s upward sloping roof, emit a gentle glow, thanks to Evoke’s mechanisms to help them in college
the outdoor space blurs the divide decision to wrap it in perforated metal and really empower whatever
between indoor and outdoor work cladding. “At nighttime, it’s got to [profession] that is. That’s what this
areas, nearly doubling the project’s glow,” Harris says. “It’s got a presence. building is.”

> To see more renderings and project credits for the the 24/7 Collabrative Learning and Research Center, visit bit.ly/NCCUOtB.
MASTERPIECE?
NO, MARKERBOARD!
Introducing our exclusive Elite Reveal markerboard. You won’t believe
your eyes. And ASI offers the most comprehensive selection of high-end
Visual Display Products on the market. Visit asi-visualdisplayproducts.com
to explore the new standard for basis of design in markerboards.
26

CarbonPositive:
The Make-or-Break Year for the Planet

text by edward Mazria, faia

In the Feb. 26 release of the interim respectively. Much, much more is similarly ambitious, as these four
United Nations Framework Convention needed to reach the critical goals. entities are responsible for 58% of
on Climate Change report, Secretary- Fortunately, the U.S. is now poised global CO₂ emissions.
General António Guterres boldly to lead in this endeavor, as COP26 The U.S. can lead other nations with
declared 2021 the “make or break will be the first U.N. climate change confidence and the knowledge that a
year” for the planet. The report found conference the country will attend 65% reduction is achievable. Why? U.S.
the 2030 Nationally Determined since rejoining the Paris Agreement. carbon emissions today are already
Contributions (NDCs) emissions- All eyes will be on its updated down 23% from 2005 levels. The
reduction pledges of 75 countries to be NDC pledge. This figure should be building sector, the country’s largest
wholly inadequate. Global greenhouse announced before April 22, when energy consumer, continues to reduce
gas emissions would only be cut by President Biden will host world leaders its emissions and is now 30% below
about 1%, far short of the 65% cut in for a summit “aimed at raising climate 2005 levels, ahead of the U.S. Paris
carbon emissions from January 2020 ambition.” The country must persuade Agreement’s NDC of a 26% to 28%
levels needed by 2030 to have a 67% other nations to follow suit by setting reduction by 2025. The Biden pledge
probability of limiting global warming a minimum 2030 NDC of a 65% of a clean electricity grid by 2035
to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels emissions reduction from 2005 levels, should further cut emissions from
and to meet the goals of the 2015 in line with the 1.5°C carbon budget. the building sector, surpassing the
Paris Agreement. Additionally, the U.S. must work targeted 65% reduction, and also drive
The science and global carbon with the EU, China, and India to be emissions down in other sectors.
budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C
are clear. The remaining budget at the
beginning of 2020 was 340 gigatons
of carbon dioxide, which means that

Source: Global carbon Project and carbon brief

if the world achieves a 65% reduction Global CO₂ Emissions From Fossil Fuels
of CO₂ emissions by 2030 and zero
emissions by 2040, we can expect 40 .
warming to be kept at about 1.5°C. 35 .
The time to act is now. The most
co₂ eMiSSionS (GiGatonS)

significant climate event since the 2015 30 . . China

Paris Agreement—when all parties
25 . . 58%
agreed to pursue efforts to limit the . india
global temperature increase to 1.5°C— 20 . . U.S.
will take place this November. At the . EU
2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference 15 .
(COP26), countries must submit their 10 .
updated 2030 NDCs. To date, only the . RESt of . 42%
European Union, the United Kingdom, 5. thE WoRld
and Denmark have committed to
0.
significant 2030 emissions reductions . . . . . . .
from 1990 levels: 55%, 68%, and 70%, 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

> To read the full text by Edward Mazria, the 2021 AIA Gold Medal recipient and founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, visit bit.ly/ARcp0321.
 Program

Exclusive Rewards
For Members Only
Including professional designers, builders, and architects.
Make a statement for every client with iconic Thermador appliances while accessing trade-only promotions.

Cash Rewards Special Pricing for Exclusive

for Designers Architects + Builders Perks

Sign up today at THERMADOR.COM/STARPARTNER

©2021 BSH HOME APPLIANCES CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Advertisement

The Journal of The American

Institute of Architects

Emerging professionals
are fueling today’s design
conversation with high-energy
ideation that challenges
stated norms.

Hanley Wood congratulates and thanks ASI Group for

its ongoing commitment to design innovation driven by
architecture’s next generation.
 29

Next Progressives:
Kounkuey Design Initiative

eDiteD by eriC wills

Location: Year founded: advance equity, improve quality of life, health challenges stemming from
Los Angeles; Eastern 2006 and bolster resilience. environmental pollution. We have
Coachella Valley, heard from residents about their needs
Calif.; Nairobi, Kenya; Firm size: First commission: and visions for their communities,
Stockholm, Sweden 50 It started as an independent research and we have responded with projects
project at the Harvard Graduate that include a network of productive
School of Design. Six classmates public spaces, transportation
wondered if our design training infrastructure, affordable housing
would be useful in addressing some projects, and an environmental
of the biggest challenges of our time, justice campaign.
including urbanization, poverty, and
environmental degradation. After Another important project:
two weeks of research in the dense, In 2019, the World Bank commissioned
informal settlement of Kibera, Nairobi, us to research and author the
it was clear that research without Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban
action was part of the problem. So we Planning and Design. We present
Firm leadership: created a commission for ourselves: quantifiable evidence of the ways
Chelina Odbert, co-founder and executive director; a new park, or productive public in which gender disparities leave
Joe Mulligan, associate director space, as we called it, that would everyone worse off, and we provide
provide much needed open space actionable guidelines to make the
Education: for recreation and gathering, but public realm work better for women
Odbert: Master of Urban Planning would also address urgent needs and gender minorities. The handbook
from the Harvard Graduate School such as water and sanitation services, is already being used by municipal
of Design; Mulligan: Ph.D. from the income-generating opportunities, and and national governments around
KTH Royal Institute of Technology; enhanced watershed management. the world to create new standards for
M.Phil. in Engineering for Sustainable how public realms are planned and
Development from the University of Defining project and why: designed for a more inclusive future.
Cambridge We have been working in California’s
Courtesy KounKuey Design initiative

Eastern Coachella Valley since Most urgent political question

Firm mission: 2011, and this long-term initiative— facing architects today:
For far too long, the design disciplines comprising more than a dozen How to develop cities and
have reinforced the inequities that discrete projects—has been a neighborhoods without leaving others
originate from systemic racism and defining engagement for our firm. behind. For all the real and urgent
other imbalances of power, creating Though this region is most recognized challenges architects face—climate
disparities in the built environment for the music festival that bears its change, climate risk, infrastructure,
that impact health, wealth, opportunity, name, the Eastern Coachella Valley energy—the question of gentrification
and life expectancy. KDI uses design, tells an entirely different story: looms large. Each of these challenges
planning, and advocacy to undo those communities of predominantly needs to consider gentrification
disparities. Partnering with historically Latinx agricultural workers with high because we can’t solve these big
disinvested communities, we work to rates of poverty and acute public problems for only some people.

> To read more about KDI, visit bit.ly/KounkueyDesignInitiativeNP.

30

Next Progressives:
Kounkuey Design Initiative 2

1 2

1 1

Courtesy KounKuey Design initiative

3
 31

4 5

1. In the Kibera settlement of Nairobi, KDI is working with residents, the local
government, and university partners to devise flooding adaptations that not only
introduce drainage systems and rainwater harvesting but also create places
of social gathering. 2. Nuestro Lugar, a KDI-designed park in the North Shore
community of the eastern Coachella Valley, incorporates community programs,
small businesses, and environmental features. 3. For the Somos Oasis, also
in the Eastern Coachella Valley, KDI is partnering with local residents and the
Desert Recreation District to design another productive public space that will
include a marketplace, community center, garden, and nature playground.
4. Children play with “wobbles” designed by KDI as part of the Play Streets
program, which allows neighborhoods to turn their block into a pop-up
recreation area. 5. A diagram from the Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban
Planning and Design helps illustrate strategies for government agencies to
make public spaces more inclusive and acessible. 6. KDI worked with the
students and parents of the Anwa Junior Academy, an informal school in Kibera
founded by a group of mothers, to design a new building for the institution that
reflected the local architecture with its mud walls and matabi sheeting.
CONTROL DAYLIGHT
WITH EYE-CATCHING MIXED GLAZED WALL SYSTEMS

Combine light controlling translucent SKYLIGHTS / CANOPIES / WALL SYSTEMS

panels with fixed glass or operable windows MAJORSKYLIGHTS.COM
for a beautiful and functional daylighting solution. 888-759-2678
Image ©Ed Wonsek
 ADVERTISEMENT

Are Ceramics Going the Way of the Phone Booth?

Next-gen fire-rated glass reinvents the category and unleashes fresh design opportunities.

that virtually eliminates ceramic’s aesthetic and “Architects have been constrained by ceramic
performance shortcomings at a much more glazing limitations for so long,” Nass says. “We tend
economical price point. to spec products we know. It’s been 30-some years
The evolutionary leap is profound: Architects now since a new protective product entered the market.
command design options few would have imagined It also happens to be domestically-sourced and
even two years ago. So much so, SAFTI FIRST believes aesthetically superior.”
ceramic glazing to be obsolete. “USA-made, fire- Consider the University of Houston Quadrangle
protective glass is 100% code-compliant and meets project, where SuperClear 45-HS-LI was used
all fire, hose stream, and safety requirements without instead of ceramics primarily because of superior
films, laminates, or amber tints,” Nass explains. optical clarity. “It’s not often that a VE option is an
Remember the phone booth? upgrade. In this case, it absolutely was,” Nass says.
Times Have Changed
In its heyday there were more than two million of The transition came with launch of patent-pending A Toast to Then & Now
them coast to coast. Today they number fewer than SuperClear 45-HS-LI (hose stream, low-iron) a Ceramics served the industry well for three decades,
100,000, the same as in 1902. revolutionary fire protective glazing product that is presenting architects worldwide with a fire-rated
Welcome to the march of progress. economical, optically clear, and meets all the fire, glazing alternative.
Communication, entertainment, household hose stream, and safety requirements of 45-minute The good news is that the successor technology
technology, and a slew of other categories, including doors, sidelites, transoms, and openings. boasts all the features architects have long sought in
building products, have all been transformed by Given the benefits, Nass says some architects a fire-protective product: superior optical clarity with
relentless innovation. ask, “What’s the catch?” or “What am I sacrificing?” low-iron glazing, high impact safety ratings, low cost,
Take fire-rated glass, for example. For nearly the Nass says the answer is nothing. and domestic manufacturing.
last three decades, ceramic glazing reigned as the
go-to fire-protective solution. Invented in the 1950s
by Corning for consumer kitchenware (cooktops and
casserole dishes), ceramics took on a new life in the
late 1980s as a fire-protective alternative to wired glass.
Ceramic glazing has some limitations, however.
Notable among them: an amber tint, brittleness
and fragility (it fails to meet the Consumer Product
Safety Commission’s safety glazing standards unless
it’s filmed or laminated), high thermal conductivity,
overseas sourcing, and a high cost. Still, for many
years, ceramics played a key role in architectural
glazing applications.

Now Obsolete?
Tim Nass has carefully followed the developments
in glazing. As the vice president of sales at SAFTI
FIRST, a leading fire-rated glass manufacturer, Nass
has discovered that more and more architects refer
to ceramic glazing in the past tense. Architects
can now use a new generation of glazing products One of the University of Houston Quad’s seven townhouses. Courtesy EYP Architecture & Engineering. Photo: Austin Commercial/Cloyce J. Wall.

Learn how next-gen fire protective and fire-resistive glazing can enhance the design opportunities on your next project at Safti.com.

Produced by Hanley Wood Strategic Marketing Services Group

hanleywood.com
CONTI NU I NG E D UC AT I ON

Presented By:

Exterior Color Trends

CONTINUING AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS 2021–2024

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify market radar cities, associated growth
trends, and new color palettes trending within each.
2. Explore current leading exterior color trends
that will continue to be important over the next
few years.
3. Compare and contrast current leading exterior
color trends with the emerging exterior color
trends that will become increasingly popular in
the next 3–5 years.
4. Examine the cultural and consumer trends that
have influenced both current and rising exterior
color trends.
5. Identify how the 2:1 ratio of colors used in exterior
color palettes is influenced by cultural and
consumer trends.

CONTINUING EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION and understanding color trends and the This course is approved for AIA
Architectural styles are changing across emerging exterior hues. & IDCEC Learning Unit Credit
the U.S. housing market. Nowhere is this Architects and designers who can identify Use the learning objectives to focus your study as
more evident than in large secondary cities and apply these color trends will stay on you read this article. For details on the learning units
where noticeable design shifts are afoot, the cutting edge of style and consumer or credit information, and to earn credit and obtain a
brought on by consumer and cultural trends. preferences while remaining true to classic certificate of completion, visit http://go.hw.net/AR4211
Migration and a desire for visual relief from a looks and color palettes to create timeless, yet to view the entire CEU and complete the quiz. If you
hectic world are helping to drive the trends modern, retreats and oases for their clients. are new to Hanley Wood University, CEU courses are
in exterior residential color palettes. It is free of charge once you create a new learner account;
interesting to see the fruition of predictions MARKET RADAR returning users log in as usual.
made years ago in today’s evolving styles and Of all the numerous U.S. regions, there are
color hues. always ones that linger in the mind. While
While certain hues already popular may places can be labeled “hot spots” based on 1. A fast-growing housing market, and
remain important for the next 3–5 years, how migration of tech giants or Millennials, often 2. A distinct and discernible shift in the
they are used in palettes may shift from the the new energy in a region tends to follow existing versus emerging architectural
way they are used now—a detail that’s rather forward design. And sometimes just a little styles in the region.
important for long-term planning. forward design sets a foundation for a lot Content is segmented by the following types:
Of course, as all trends evolve, they may of great new market shifts—like the future • Secondary cities,
cast off certain details and take on other ones. of color. • Tertiary cities, and
They may even intertwine with other rising The cities discussed in this section are • Vacation towns.
trends, creating blended design aesthetics on the architectural radar. While they are not While the precise definitions of these terms vary
whose influences are pulled from different always on that radar for the same reasons, depending on the source, for the purpose of this
places. And this is the impetus for introducing what they do have in common are: course we have provided our own definitions.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CONTI NU I NG E D UC AT I ON

GLOSSARY
Gabled Modern: New construction style drawing
influence from minimalist, Depression-era homes of
the 1930s; relative to barn homes of the 1940s
Millennials: The generational demographic born
between 1981 and 1996, also known as “Gen Y”; the
largest cohort of homebuyers in the U.S.
Minimalism: A design aesthetic that favors
simplicity, clean lines, and absence of excess
materials or accents
Monochromatic: Color schemes utilizing single-color
hues or palettes, or starkly contrasting colors to
create visual appeal
Muted: Refers to more neutral color palettes that
are more subtle and less vivid.
Neu Naturalism: Macro-trend that marries
contemporary architectural design with colors,
materials, finishes, and details associated with
nature and/or natural elements; can be seen as the
Secondary Cities But recently, it’s become a top destination literal intertwining of built and natural worlds
In this course, secondary cities are defined as for people leaving cities like San Francisco Secondary Cities: Under 3 million people and are far
those under 3 million people and are far less and Los Angeles. With the city center less known outside of their regional or national area
known outside of their regional or national becoming saturated, outlying areas with Sensorial Ease: A design aesthetic that focuses
area. For example, one might expect a person strong tech connections are continuing to on less visual stimulation through austerity and
living in rural Austria to be able to label New see economic and housing gains. Amazon minimalism; distinguishable by designs in a single
York, Miami, or Los Angeles on a blank map. has shifted its focus away from Seattle to hue or material
But Denver? Likely not. its Bellevue offices, and Google continues Tertiary Cities: Those with fewer than 1 million
But while secondary U.S. cities may be less to expand its footprint in Kirkland. As of people, usually located close to secondary cities
well known to the world, they are beginning September 2020, the median home price in Vacation Towns: Smaller markets than secondary or
to play larger roles in economic ecosystems. Kirkland increased by 41.8 percent since 2019, tertiary cities, which focus on a lifestyle or grouped
In 2016, when the World Health Organization while Bellevue saw a 25.5 percent rise. set of sporting or relaxation activities
(WHO) predicted that more than two-thirds Commuters are also sprawling toward
of the global population would be living in Snohomish County in the north. The
cities by 2030, the focus and forecasting Lynnwood light rail expansion, scheduled to new residents from Los Angeles. A major
attention immediately shifted to secondary and open in 2024, will establish faster connections draw to the city has been its high standard
tertiary urban markets. This is because these to downtown and introduce an opportunity of living at a lower cost—which, in addition to
are the precise regions where rapid growth for new residents, businesses, and developers. retirees, also now attracts a population that
of residential and commercial infrastructure Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, and is 22 percent Millennial-aged. Dubbed the
could be achieved with the fewest pain points surrounding areas will be ones to watch as “Silicon Desert,” nearly 3,000 new tech jobs
(comparative to primary cities or rural markets). this project unfolds. have been added to the state since the start
The secondary markets highlighted The Pacific Northwest boasts an aesthetic of 2019.
here combine rising growth and a shifting heavily influenced by its climate and Architectural trends are now seeing new
architectural design emphasis—a winning environment. Dark hues, wooden elements, shifts. The renowned architect Frank Lloyd
combination for trends to take root. natural light, and diverse elevations typify its Wright, who designed several structures
unique architectural style. This region was in the Phoenix area, continues to inspire
Seattle, WA one of the early adopters of both the Gabled a wealth of mid-century modern houses.
The Sea-Tac metropolitan area is a secondary Modern style and black for exteriors. Following his “organic architecture” doctrine,
market on the cusp of becoming a primary modernist homes are built around the desert
one. While only three-fourths of a million Phoenix, AZ landscape but are moved forward with
people reside within the city of Seattle, the Over the last decade, Phoenix has seen a contemporary palettes and design elements.
greater metro area boasts almost 4 million large increase in its volume of residents. In Ranch homes that line the streets are being
inhabitants and more than half of Washington 2018, Phoenix topped the list of migration reconstructed into upscale gabled designs,
state’s total population. destinations, gaining its largest portion of while the Southwestern style continues with

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CONTI NU I NG E D UC AT I ON

an upgraded twist that encompasses modern architectural styles are reimagined through influenced by Scandinavian and Belgian cities
elements and a more neutral palette. For the contemporary interpretation. that take cues from the farmland environment
Arizona market, where clay and terracotta that surround them.
tones held favor long after other regions had Atlanta, GA
moved on, the shift toward more neutrals is as Atlanta is positioned to be an ideal location Tertiary Cities
indicative of the new residents as it is a sign for those with post-COVID desires of Tertiary cities are where the design market is
of the times. relocating somewhere with a hybrid of both really getting interesting.
Buckeye, the westernmost suburb of urban and suburban energy. Urban sprawl has The rising attention to design in these
Phoenix, is an area to watch with its fast- increased Atlanta’s metro area to over 8,000 markets is a clear confirmation of what’s
rising population. With over 640 square square miles. While Millennials are fueling a been tracked for several years now: that
miles of land, only 5 percent of it has been downtown renewal, most of the population residents of primary and secondary regions
developed so far, offering a multitude of growth has come from the suburbs. are increasingly drawn to the allure of smaller
opportunities for residential and commercial Atlanta’s job market already boasts a markets.
expansion. Verrado, a burgeoning residential premier list of Fortune 500 companies from Tertiary cities, as defined for this course,
development, offers a small-town community Home Depot to Delta to Coca Cola and is home are those with fewer than 1 million people.
feel as well as 4 million square feet of to the fourth largest tech hub in the U.S. Google The specific cities featured in this section
prospective commercial property. is also specifically investing $2.5 million toward are typically within a short commute of a
tech startups owned by African Americans. primary market or burgeoning secondary
Dallas, TX Employment prospects aren’t only affiliated one and have some amount of natural beauty
Over the last decade, the Dallas-Fort Worth with the city center—the rapidly urbanizing or recreational allure that make the region
(DFW) area grew more than any other northern city of Dunwoody has allured more attractive to the wave of consumers
metropolitan region in the country. Growth in companies like Zillow and State Farm. Nearby, increasingly looking for a low-key way of life.
the city center has pushed some residents to Cherokee County is experiencing the highest
look out toward the northern suburbs. Frisco growth of any county in the metro area. Bend, OR
specifically saw a 71 percent growth rate since A true historic Southern city, the traditional Bend is currently the type of tertiary city
2010, while nearby McKinney increased by colonial aesthetic remains prominent but that has all the makings of becoming one
41.9 percent. A few interesting points about has recently been stripped down to a more of the coolest places in the U.S. Portland
Frisco include a median household income minimal look. New builds often embrace a may have the largest population growth in
that is double the national average and a high boxier frame, single or dual neutral hues for Oregon; however, Bend is seeing a significant
median home price at $425,000. Homeowners the whole exterior, and contemporary gables shift in design as buyers begin to favor
aren’t the only ones attracted to this suburban that boast minimal to no eave overhang. A smaller markets where the cost of living is
city; many businesses call it their home as progressive residential community was newly lower but lifestyle isn’t sacrificed. With easy
well. The Dallas Cowboys, Professional Golfers’ constructed in the southern outskirts of the direct flights to the West for those who work
Association, and T-Mobile have all established city in the town of Serenbe, with homes elsewhere, Deschutes County has the highest
their headquarters in Frisco.
Dallas’ architectural style is as diverse
as the city’s residents. Traditionally, Dallas
has looked to European architecture for
inspiration, with Mediterranean, French
country, and colonial styles seen prevalent
throughout the city. Today many of these
more classic styles take on a fresh facelift,
most commonly by way of a white façade and
reduced ornamentation.
While the “grand proportions” common
of a Dallas home remain, the overall aesthetic
and “jewelry” of the exterior have begun to
tone down. This speaks volumes in a market
where curb appeal was once synonymous
with a “go big or go home” sensibility. The
larger cultural shift toward toned-down
elegance over ostentatious styling has set
a new tune for the Dallas market, where

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CONTI NU I NG E D UC AT I ON

net migration out of all Oregon counties— QUIZ

predominantly from California but also from
Portland and Seattle. 1. ________ is an example of a secondary city.
The housing market in 2020 continued A. New York City B. Denver
to set new records for median prices, with a C. Los Angeles D. Miami
demand that continues to outpace the supply.
Prices rose 18 percent over the summer 2. Certain tertiary cities have recently become more alluring __________.
of 2020 to a median price of $547,000— A. To residents in primary cities B. For their access to outdoor lifestyles
the highest it’s ever been. With demand C. For their growing tech economies D. All of the above
increasing and a limited inventory of homes,
new construction is expected to fill the gap. 3. The residential architecture trends in these two resort towns have been recently leaning more modern
Set among the trees, homes in Bend and progressive:
incorporate a style that matches their A. Palm Springs and Tahoe B. Aspen and Key West
surroundings by blending modern with C. Sun Valley and Whistler D. Aspen and Tahoe
rustic designs. Craftsman and chalet designs
abound in this town, with wide roof overhangs 4. On a trend timeline, “healthy” palettes and hues are linked to this design direction:
and organic materials. Homes drenched in A. 2:1 ratio B. Privacy and minimalism
saturated dark colors like soot black, ash gray, C. Neu Naturalism D. Sensorial Ease
or charcoal brown disappear into the natural
landscapes—often with a monochromatic roof 5. The color black has been trending through exterior residential architecture since the early 2000s
and exterior palette, somewhat reminiscent because ___________.
of the Sea Ranch community in California. A. Blue was finished
Elevated details are unexpected in this B. Design forecasters made it happen
under-the-radar town and create an elegant C. Larger cultural trends influenced what colors resonated with designers and consumers
overarching theme to the architecture here. D. None of the above

6. The cultural and consumer influences that have shifted the trend in color palettes can be explained
by the “three M’s,” which are:

Ä
This article continues on A. Minimalist, modish, muted B. Minimalism, monochromatic, muted
http://go.hw.net/AR4211. C. Minimalism, monomorphic, muted D. Materialistic, monochromatic, muted
Go online to read the rest of the CEU course,
complete the corresponding quiz for credit, 7. The 2:1 ratio refers to _________.
and receive your certificate of completion. A. Doors and windows
B. The ideal spatial balance between master bedroom and bathroom
C. The application of a two-color palette for exteriors
D. Black and white palettes only
SPONSOR INFORMATION
8. Contributing factors to the rise of Neu Naturalism include all of the following, EXCEPT:
A. Consumer interest in indoor/outdoor living B. Rising concern for climate change
C. Increased usage of smart home technology D. Mistrust of America’s food industry

9. A head-to-toe application of a single material in a single color is characteristic of the ____________ trend.
Boral Roofing is the nation’s largest manufacturer of A. Sensorial Ease B. Neu Naturalism
sustainable, durable, and affordable clay, concrete, C. 2:1 D. Healthy colors
stonecoated steel, and composite slate roof tile
products. Boral’s brands include Boral Roofing, US 10. Key colors beginning to make their way into the U.S. housing market for exterior palettes include
Tile by Boral, Boral Steel, and Inspire by Boral roofing __________.
products. For more info, call 800-699-8453 or visit A. Oat Milk Whites B. Soft Cedars
BoralRoof.com. C. Abundant Seas D. All of the above

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

®

®
by
 April 2021 AIANow 43 AIAFeature 44 AIAThen 48 AIAPerspective 50

Architect
CREDIT: ZERB MELLISH

Education and Tolerance has to be a lot of support, there has to be

a vision, there have to be people to want
to see [the project] come to fruition. You
Designing a building with a mission. have to be patient, but I think it’s just so
gratifying because I know what it means
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights buildings that are for everyone to to the community. I feel like the building
Museum, originally established in 1984, re- experience. represents more now, with how polarized
opened in September 2019 in a brand-new The [museum] project came to our politics are. In 2013, I just don’t think
55,000-square-foot facility, a building five firm in 2013. I was heavily involved the world was as charged. It’s interesting
times larger than its previous location. The at the beginning, especially with the looking back at the younger me, and at
museum shines a spotlight not only on the [design] competition, which was open what the building means now.
atrocities of the Holocaust, but on human rights to a certain number of firms. I helped I love the museum’s mission of not
struggles in the United States and genocides with our approach to the design of the only telling the story of the Holocaust
around the world. Dallas firm Omniplan museum, and then when we actually won but extending the idea of human rights
designed the museum’s new facility, which also the project, I worked with a designer to to all people: civil rights in the United
served as the subject of the grand prize winner visualize the exhibits. That helped develop States, and human rights globally and
of AIA’s 2020 Film Challenge. We talked to the formation of the shape of the building; internationally. My family is from Dallas,
Emily Teng Yan, aia, a project architect on the it was programmatically driven. During and my grandfather came to Dallas after
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, fundraising, I helped with Sketch-Up World War II. My parents talked about
about what the project meant to her. models that helped explain the story of how schools were segregated, and since
the building. The museum had a mission they were Chinese-American, they weren’t
As told to Katherine Flynn to find a local firm from the region, [but] considered “colored,” so they didn’t go to
some firms had partnered with other firms the Black school, but they went to “white”
I didn’t know what I was getting into when in New York and other areas. When we schools and weren’t quite accepted there. I
I first started architecture. I was good at competed, it was just us, not partnering think this building is telling the history in
math, science, and art, so it seemed like with a starchitect firm. my own backyard. It’s meaningful for my
the perfect marriage between [all three]. I worked on the competition when I family because of my family’s history in
I really loved the idea of architecture was first at Omniplan, in 2013, and the Dallas. As a minority woman, I appreciate
influencing not only the everyday, but museum was completed in 2019. It shows that the museum’s mission is one of
the sacred. I definitely gravitate toward that building is a long process, and there education and tolerance. AIA
41
WE’RE
IN
THIS
TOGETHER.
Join AIA and let’s show what
design can do, together.
aia.org/join
CREDIT: RACHEL KAPISAK JONES A I A N O W

The Power of Research

By Michele Russo

Seventy-two percent of architecture employees) have an in-house database/ employees applied for them (26% received
firms engaged in some aspect of practice- library for research, compared with them). All small firms (3%) that applied
relevant research in 2019, up from 66% only a fifth of small firms (fewer than for R&D tax credits received them in 2019.
in 2017. Firms of all sizes (44%) use 10 employees); and 33% of large firms Large firms were also able to dedicate
literature reviews and save and revisit past use evidence-based design practices, annual budget for research projects or
projects as case studies for analysis and compared to 17% of midsized firms and investigations—17% of firms with 50 or
research (43%). 6% of small firms. more employees report they currently
Large firms with more resources are R&D tax credits were also most often have research budgets, compared to 2%
able to invest in research more heavily pursued and received by large firms in of firms with fewer employees. AIA
than small firms. For example, 43% 2019: A quarter of firms with 10 to 49
of large firms (50 or more employees) employees applied for them (20% received Source: AIA Business of Architecture Firm
and 48% of midsized firms (10 to 49 them), and 29% of firms with 50 or more Survey Report, 2020
43
A I A F E A T U R E

The Problem With

Exceptional Buildings
To truly cut carbon, architects must design better systems, not singular structures.

By Patrick Sisson

Scott Shell, faia, architect and principal on-site as they use in a year. But his vision has exploded, with costs shrinking and
at San Francisco-based EHDD, designed still hasn’t come to pass. production increasing at a rate previously
his first zero-energy building in 2000. The number of zero-energy buildings thought to be impossible. The cost of solar
He thought he was seeing the future that rely on on-site solar is still relatively power fell 82% in the last decade alone,
constructed before his eyes. In a decade, he small, compared with the need to cut and predictions call for an additional
thought, every building will be made just emissions. The New Buildings Institute 17% drop in the next five years. That
like this. In the years since, he’s become an lists just a few hundred such structures disconnect—accelerating green energy
expert in high-performance, zero-energy in its database. Ever since Shell built production, and just incremental growth
buildings, which generate as much energy his first such building, renewable power in zero-energy buildings—represents
44
 CREDIT: ROB ZIRKLE
Above: The new headquarters for biotech firm Exelixis in Alameda, Calif., will buy power from a city-owned utility that can provide 100% renewable energy.

a significant challenge to larger goals systems we set up helped buildings reach renewable power for a small premium.
of eliminating carbon from the built their carbon reduction goals? Don’t ask They currently operate in seven states,
environment. one building to use zero net energy, an mostly in California; in 2017, roughly 750 of
“I put solar on my house because it engineering challenge that only grows more them served 5 million customers.
makes economic sense and it’s a smart difficult for larger structures; make sure as These organizations, which first took
thing to do,” Shell says. “But for many of many buildings as possible can plug into shape in the late 1990s, have been riding
my projects, it doesn’t work. There just isn’t clean, 100% renewable power. the wave of improved renewable energy
enough roof space or site area available to “Going from zero energy to zero carbon efficiency, along with other options for
generate [all necessary energy] on-site.” shifts the conversation,” says Shell. “Doing local, renewable power, such as community
Evolving standards and practices around these exceptional buildings was fun and I solar projects. They provide confidence
green building design and development loved it. But we need every building to do that designers and developers are running
have all led in one direction, spurring the this starting tomorrow.” their buildings on clean power and offer
architecture and construction industries While the nation is far from having what Charles Eley, faia, an Architecture
to commit to reducing and eliminating a fully renewable grid, a growing group 2030 senior fellow, calls “additionality,”
carbon emissions. The Zero Code, developed of local energy organizations offer investment that supports the construction
and promoted by the group Architecture grassroots green power that can make Zero of new renewable generation facilities.
2030, advocates for buildings that have Code compliance more accessible and These organizations often offer more
no carbon footprint. It’s the most extreme affordable. That’s part of the benefit of than just cheap power. Aimee Bailey,
example, the end point of such a movement. so-called Community Choice Aggregation, director of decarbonization and grid
But in the pursuit of more-sustainable organizations that function as community- innovation programs for Silicon Valley
buildings, we’ve often asked buildings based utilities that allow customers Clean Energy (SVCE), a California CCA,
to do all the work themselves, to be both to control their energy generation and says her organization works closely with
superior designs as well as masterpieces of reduce costs. Many CCAs contract with building owners and architects to help
sustainable engineering. What if, instead local renewable power producers and promote energy efficiency initiatives.
of asking for all our buildings to be unique, send energy via the existing grid to their “The 13 cities and communities
we pushed for a world where the energy clients, letting customers hook up to 100% we serve formed us to address climate
45
 CREDIT: ROB ZIRKLE
Above: The rooftop of the future Exelixis building will feature solar panels, allowing it to generate on-site energy as well as be plugged into a renewable grid.

change, broadly,” she says. “We have a four-story headquarters in Alameda, Expanding CCAs beyond the coastal,
$6 million portfolio focused on building Calif. To design the new HQ to net zero progressive areas where they tend to
and transportation electrification. The standards—the massive office building be clustered and establishing the legal
community energy model enables us to would have to generate as much power as structures that allow them to operate in
make changes very rapidly.” it uses—would have been cost prohibitive. more cities and states would make it easier
CCA, together with another growing Typically, Rumsey says, once a building to increase the number of zero-carbon
trend, the increasing electrification hits four stories, it becomes exceptionally buildings. To help encourage more-
of buildings, is creating the necessary difficult to generate all its power on-site. sustainable new construction, Shell and
infrastructure to scale sustainable building. Instead, the currently under-construction, others have also been lobbying for more
One of the reasons AIA decided to all-electric workspace will buy electricity electrification ordinances in cities, which
support the Zero Code, Eley says, was from Alameda Municipal Power, a city- prohibit the use of fossil fuels in new
to push local governments to support owned utility that can provide 100% buildings. Currently more than 40 California
these kinds of agreements and renewable renewable energy. cities have such rules, and municipalities
energy options and help more make While the project has succeeded in other states, including Massachusetts,
the investments SVCE has made in its because it could plug into a renewable Colorado, and Washington, are considering
community. municipal power supply, its design similar policies.
“So much of global growth in the next underscores a few important things that What about the rest of the nation,
decade is going to be in urban areas—tall can be missed in debates around standards which may not have the same progressive
buildings located downtown or the fringes and practices, says Rumsey. Just because building and energy codes, or commitments
of downtown—and there simply isn’t the building is zero carbon doesn’t mean to sustainable utilities? Rumsey says it’s
enough roof space or parking lot space for it’s OK to gloss over energy efficiency, or important to ignore stereotypes and frame
those buildings to get to zero with on-site skip on-site generation (there will be solar this concept through the lens of renewable
generation,” says Eley. “With the Zero panels on the Exelixis rooftop). Think of power and its popularity across the nation.
Code, we’re trying to open up options for buildings like Teslas, he says: They should Rapid growth of wind turbines in Texas and
them to succeed.” already be extremely aerodynamic and Iowa, and solar power in Arizona, points to
CCAs and similar options often make it energy efficient before being electrified. It’s the possibility of setting up similar systems.
easier, and more cost effective, to achieve cheaper and more sustainable to eliminate “Even if you aren’t blessed with the
significant carbon reduction and meet energy usage with efficiency measures same amount of wind and solar resources
sustainability goals. California, for example, than simply swap to renewables. as other areas, CCAs mean more local
has gone so far as to mandate all new state It’s also important to lessen the control, and make it easier to promote
buildings, as well as major renovations, strain on the wider energy system. As renewable options,” says SVCE’s Bailey. “It’s
meet the zero net energy standard starting the grid evolves toward more renewable incremental. In some states, offering 40%
in 2025, a requirement that has led the use in the coming decades, it’ll face clean power is a big win.”
state’s Department of General Services to increased demand as more big users The movement toward electrified
set up a variety of power scenarios, from of power, especially building heating buildings and renewable power generation is
on-site power to solar shares and CCAs. and transportation, become electrified. as much about cutting costs and instituting
Peter Rumsey, an engineer, energy Buildings that use less electricity, and local control and resilience as it is about
consultant, and Stanford University generate some when possible, relieve notions of sustainability and stewardship.
lecturer, is helping the growing Bay the strain during such a significant “This democratizes sustainability,”
Area biotech firm Exelixis design a new infrastructure evolution. says Shell. AIA
46
Embodied Carbon 101
A new series on capturing embodied carbon
by the leading CE provider for architects.
Save 30% when you purchase the entire series!

Visit our website to start learning.

aiau.aia.org
A I A T H E N

The Architecture of Rosenwald Schools

Photodocumentary reveals design in service to education.

Story and Photographs by Andrew Feiler

Above: The Emory School in Hale County, Ala., was constructed around 1915 and remained in use as a school for Black children until 1962 and is likely the oldest surviving Rosenwald school.

Hale County, Ala., has a storied place in 15 southern and border states. One final largest retailer, and he became one of
American arts and letters. The legendary school was added in 1937. Hundreds of the earliest and greatest philanthropists
book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, with thousands of students walked through the in American history. His cause was what
prose by James Agee and photographs doorways of Rosenwald schools. would later become known as civil rights.
by Walker Evans, documented the lives The Emory School rises on small Booker T. Washington was one of the most
of three impoverished sharecropping brick piers, which enable moisture and prominent Black voices in the late 19th and
families in Hale County in 1936. William temperature control as air circulates below early 20th centuries. Born into slavery, he
Christenberry, born in Hale County the year the building. Inside, cloakrooms served became an educator and was the founding
Agee and Evans lived there, spent a career to keep muddy outer garments separate principal of Tuskegee Institute. He led the
photographing how time was transforming from learning spaces. Large double- college for more than 30 years.
the southern landscape. Architects Samuel hung windows let in lots of light, since Rosenwald and Washington met in
Mockbee and D. K. Ruth established Rural most Rosenwald schools initially lacked 1911. At that time, Black public schools in
Studio in Hale County in 1993. Believing electricity. The windows also provided the South were usually in terrible facilities
“everyone, both rich and poor, deserves ventilation during warmer months. In colder with outdated materials and a tiny fraction
the benefit of good design,” the Auburn months, potbelly stoves heated the rooms. of the funding provided for educating
University program has built hundreds of These vented through brick chimneys. white children. Many communities did
projects using design to create simple and In addition to a larger main classroom, a not even have public schools for Black
efficient beauty at very low cost. smaller room at the rear was for industrial students. Rosenwald and Washington
Predating each of these is Hale education, such as agriculture and trade attacked this education challenge with
County’s Emory School. Constructed skills for boys, as well as home economics originality and sophistication and created
around 1915 and in use as a schoolhouse and domestic skills for girls. These spaces the program that became known as
for Black children until 1962, the modest, were separated by a movable partition— Rosenwald schools.
white clapboard structure is likely the usually a series of doors—that could be I first heard of Rosenwald schools from
oldest surviving Rosenwald school. One retracted so the full space could be used Jeanne Cyriaque, a preservationist who
of the most dramatic—and effective— as a community center outside classroom had dedicated her career to saving these
philanthropic initiatives the country hours. Each of these design features was historic structures. The story shocked me.
has ever seen, the Rosenwald schools laid out by a team of Tuskegee architects How could I have never heard of Rosenwald
program was created by Tuskegee Institute led by Robert Robinson Taylor, the first schools? I am a fifth-generation Jewish
principal Booker T. Washington and Sears, accredited Black architect. Georgian, and I have spent my life working
Roebuck & Co. president Julius Rosenwald. Julius Rosenwald led Sears, Roebuck on progressive civic causes. Some of the
From 1912 to 1932, this collaboration built & Co. from 1908 until his death in 1932. pillars of this story—Jewish, southern,
4,977 schools for Black children across He helped turn Sears into the world’s progressive—are the pillars of my life.
48
 I quickly found a few books on the Rosenwald Fund in 1919 to review Smith, who had been a student of Fletcher
Rosenwald schools but no comprehensive the school building program. Dresslar felt Dresslar. Smith and Dresslar developed an
photographic account. I set out to create strongly that civic institutions should have expansive new set of plans for Rosenwald
exactly that. Of the original 4,978 an architectural idiom distinct from that of schools. Building on the principles laid out
Rosenwald schools, about 500 survive. churches to honor the separation of church by Tuskegee architects, yet integrating
Over three and a half years, I drove 25,000 and state. When he came across a cupola new thinking on schoolhouse design, the
miles and photographed 105 schools in on a schoolhouse, Dresslar railed that such Rosenwald Fund started issuing a series
all 15 program states. This work includes niceties needed to be firmly prohibited on of designs in four-page pamphlets. Full
interiors and exteriors, schools restored future schoolhouses, as “these are remnants sets of plans were available upon request
and yet-to-be restored, and portraits of of church architecture!” at no charge. These proved to be in great
people with compelling connections to In 1920, administration of the demand and were used across the region,
these schools. Narratives accompany Rosenwald schools program moved from frequently without Rosenwald funding, for
each photograph, telling the stories of Tuskegee to the new Rosenwald Fund office the construction of both Black and white
Rosenwald schools’ connections to the Trail in Nashville under the direction of Samuel schools. These designs marked a shift in
of Tears, the Great Migration, the Tuskegee
Airmen, Brown vs. Board of Education,
embezzlement, murder, and more. The
book recording this work was recently
published as A Better Life for Their Children:
Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and
the 4,978 Schools that Changed America
(University of Georgia Press). The
accompanying exhibition will premiere this
spring at the National Center for Civil and
Human Rights in Atlanta.
The Rosenwald schools program
changed America. Between World
War I and World War II, the persistent
Black-white education gap that had
plagued the South narrowed significantly.
Economists at the Federal Reserve would
later conclude that Rosenwald schools
were the most significant factor in that
achievement.
Further, Rosenwald schools would be a
meaningful force in helping give rise to the
civil rights movement as many students
went on to be the leaders and foot soldiers
of the movement. Medgar Evers, Maya
Angelou, and U.S. Representative John
Lewis were among those who attended
Rosenwald schools. As Lewis, who passed
away in July 2020, wrote in a foreword to
the book, “I was curious. I was hungry to
learn. I was absolutely committed to giving
my all in the classroom. My parents would
describe education in almost mythical
terms, that it offered the keys to the
kingdom of America, the keys to a better
life and to opportunity.”
One of the core design principles of
Rosenwald schools was that they were to
be modest. Such humility was in part to
control costs and in part to avoid provoking
a backlash, specifically arson, from the
local white citizenry. But despite being
offered architectural plans and design
guidelines, Black communities often
adjusted designs in an expression of agency.
The Pleasant Plains School displays
this dynamic. The community wanted a
cupola, and they built a cupola. But cupolas
were anathema to Fletcher Dresslar, a
professor of architecture at George Peabody Top: A Rosenwald Fund-issued pamphlet detailing designs for schoolhouses that could be implemented across the country.
College in Nashville, who was hired by Below: The interior of a restored classroom at the Pine Grove School in Richland County, S.C.
49
the program from building better schools to rewarding part of my experience was the school. The first teacher was Sophia
building model schools. meeting people who attended these Williams’ mother; Sophia was one of the
In working through how to tell this schools, taught in these schools, and are first students. Elroy attended a different
story visually, I initially focused on focused on saving these schools. I strove Rosenwald school in Bastrop County. Elroy
schoolhouse exteriors. Over two decades, to capture this remarkable part of the and Sophia both went on to college, returned
the program advanced from one-teacher, story through portraits. One of the stories to Bastrop County as teachers, and have
two-teacher, and three-teacher wooden I found most inspiring is that of Elroy and been leading the effort to preserve the
structures to brick buildings of one, Sophia Williams. The portrait that opens Hopewell School as a community center:
two, and three stories. As I visited more the book shows them inside the Hopewell students becoming teachers becoming the
schools, I ventured inside and marveled at School, then undergoing renovation, in keepers of the flame of history.
how they were being used today. While a Bastrop County, Texas. They are holding Julius Rosenwald and Booker T.
handful remain active schools, most were an enormous photograph in a beautifully Washington reached across divides of race,
outgrown as educational facilities decades ornate, gilt frame. More than a century old, religion, and region, and they changed
ago. Today, these former schoolhouses are it portrays Sophia’s grandparents—Sophia America. To me, the heart of this story
community centers, church halls, daycare and Martin McDonald—youthful and speaks to each of us: Individual actions
centers, apartments, and private homes. elegantly dressed. matter; you can make the world a more
Many, though, remain unrestored, and at Sophia Williams’ grandparents were just place. Of all the lessons taught to us by
several sites I came across piles of rubble so both born into slavery. Upon emancipation, Congressman John Lewis, to me his most
recent they were surrounded by emergency Martin McDonald started raising farm powerful call was this: “Be hopeful. Be
fencing or yellow caution tape. I hope my animals, bought some land, and eventually optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle
photographs will bring new urgency to the accumulated 1,200 acres. When the of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the
cause of preservation. Rosenwald schools program came to Bastrop struggle of a lifetime.” May we all continue
But by far the most emotionally County in 1919, the family donated land for to make #GoodTrouble. AIA

A I A P E R S P E C T I V E

Design Is the Expectation, can all set. Theirs are small practices,
just like a majority of AIA member firms.
Theirs are resilient firms, too, just like

Not the Exception yours if you’re reading this in the few

minutes between calls and CAD layers,
and actively drumming up business for
We need a broader constellation of solutions for gender equity in the profession. the quarter ahead.
Thriving in a competitive business
By Peter Exley, faia, 2021 AIA President climate is hard on a good day, never mind
during a recession or the period of limbo
Our abilities as architects are equal to of our clients share how they are moved by we seem to find ourselves in now. We
our skills. Our capabilities are equal to the impact of design on their project. all must chart a way forward in spite of
our opportunities to ply those skills. I What does that mean? Perhaps uncertainty and the still-deadly pandemic.
promise you, this isn’t double-talk. If you they were moved to realize what design But, as long as we remember that design is
put them together, your abilities and your signifies—the accommodation of needs the expectation, not the exception, there
capabilities create a space for architecture through an affordable investment. But will always be work—and rewards—for
to intersect with business. A space where I think it’s more about what design architects committed to finding capabilities
creativity meets profitability. It’s the place ultimately means—a real understanding for their ample abilities. AIA
where I can thrive as a small business between client and architect. They thought
owner, along with my wife and partner, they were doing something exceptional by The A’21 Conference on Architecture’s first day
Sharon. But, it also must be the place where hiring a firm called Architecture is Fun, but is about firm resilience. Learn more and register
I can be the kind of architect I want to be. in the end they were realizing their right to at conferenceonarchitecture.com.
When I hear the term “firm resilience,” inspiring and healthy spaces.
then, I think beyond meeting my expenses Marlon Blackwell, faia, and Ed Mazria,
and realizing a profit. I consider the engine faia, the two most recent AIA Gold
of design that drives me to do my best Medalists, have staked their careers on this
thinking and drives our clients to engage right to good design that’s inspiring and
CREDIT: RUTH YARO

us, time and again. In this sense, design is healthy, too. What they’ve done
not a byproduct of my business. It is not individually has always been prescient,
an exception to some standard product even if it’s not always been popular, and it
I make. Design is an expectation that I has all been done in small, resourceful
create and my clients share. This isn’t a shops like my own. I am not immodestly
convenient rhetorical argument, either. It’s placing myself in their company, but I am
my observation after several decades in candidly saying that design is a right
practice. It has been the through-line for we—you, me, Marlon, and Ed—can all
my firm, recession or not: Every single one deliver, and design is the expectation we
50
 FULL HOME SMART LIGHTING SOLUTION
WiFi

SET THE SCENE NO HUB NEEDED CONTROL FULL COLOR TUNABLE WHITE
FROM ANYWHERE 27 K - 50 K WWW.LITELINE.COM/ONCLOUD

LOOK FOR THE UES MARK

When it comes to building product acceptability, we ask the tough questions.
Our Uniform Evaluation Reports provide the assurance you need to specify
with confidence.

We deliver:
• Trusted third party recognition of compliance to building codes and national standards
• Model code issuing agency
• Extensive building product quality expertise and comprehensive internal and external
review by known industry experts
• Ongoing surveillance of manufacturing operations to verify continued product quality
• ANSI Accreditation as an ISO/IEC 17065 Product Certification Body,
IBC Sections 104.11 and 1703 compliant
• Concise product certification information and support for your
interactions with building departments and building owners

For Assurance of Your Specified Building Products, visit https://bit.ly/2s0BQwU

IAPMO’s Uniform Evaluation Service…Your Building Product Quality Assurance Company

Assurance
CALL THE INSURANCE COMPANYª
©IAPMO2021 1-877-4-IESRPT | [email protected] | WWW.UNIFORM-ES.ORG
Wake Up With No Boundaries.
 Creativity hates limits. So we work with
you to shed as many of them as possible. Think
timber curtain walls with expanses of glass as
wide as a great room, compliments of our
Architectural Wall System. It's one of the many
ways we help you invite the outside in. It's also
why we never stop innovating with an eye on
leading design, so you can wake up to windows
that never compromise.

SierraPacificWindows.com I 800-824-7744 A Division of

Watch our brand video

Find your Architectural Consultant by using the locator on our website.
Find ideas and inspiration by joining our Instagram community.
___________________________________________________

Architect: LEVER Architecture

Builder: Schommer & Sons
Photo: Jeremy Bittermann, Joel B Sanders Agency
54

Small
Houses,
Big
Impact
 55

Two microhome
developments in Texas
combat homelessness
with community

TexT by Madeleine d’angelo

PhoTos by leonid FurMansky

Community First! Village has many of the hallmarks of

your average suburban development. Located 8 miles
east of downtown Austin, Texas, the 27-acre master-
planned neighborhood has its share of cul-de-sacs and
residential circles that branch out from a central avenue,
Goodness Way. But there’s nothing conventional about
the community, which provides affordable housing for
over 200 former chronically homeless individuals, many
of whom have disabilities, and includes an eclectic mix
of model RV units, microhouses, communal kitchens,
and even an art house. “Community First! is the type
of place that you can describe all day, but it feels
different when you’re there,” says Sarah Satterlee, aia,
the Community First! director of architecture and site
development, who also happens to be a resident.
The village was the brainchild of real estate
developer Alan Graham, whose local nonprofit
Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a network of food trucks and
20,000 volunteers, delivers food, clothing, and other
necessities to those in need. In his work with Austin’s
homeless community, Graham came to believe that
the “single greatest cause of homelessness is a profound,
catastrophic loss of family.”
Community First! was his answer. In 2014, Graham
partnered with the AIA Austin DesignVoice Committee
to send out an RFP to design an affordable microhouse.
They called the competition Tiny Victories. Fifty-four
firms from around the world submitted designs, and a
Thoughtbarn’s Community jury selected four winning entries from the local teams
First! microhouse offers led by Cody Gatlin; Stephanie Motal, aia; Michael
a natural-stained back Smith, aia, and Mick Kennedy, aia; and Becky Jeanes,
porch that opens onto the Tray Toungate, Laura Shipley, and Brianna Nixon. Each
surrounding landscape. house was between 144 and 200 square feet and cost just
56

$12,000 to $20,000 to build. During the construction Which is why Community First! and AIA DesignVoice
process, Community First! welcomed additional facilitated a different kind of design competition for
microhome designs, materials, and construction help, Tiny Victories 2.0. Instead of an RFP, they released
and the neighborhood was born: 135 microhouses—30 an RFQ, asking local firms to partner with a builder,
of which are Tiny Victories designs—and 100 model complete a questionnaire, submit a portfolio of five
RV units, as well as communal bathrooms and laundry relevant projects, and commit to pro-bono work if
facilities, gathering spaces, and other resident resources. selected. The winning firms each worked with one
“We were not intentional about providing a diversity of current Community First! resident who was interested in
architectural choices for our neighbors,” says Satterlee. designing a new home for themselves. “We were looking
“It just happened that way.” for neighbors who felt passionate about moving from
The project was so successful that Graham decided their existing home, which is a big deal for somebody
to embark on a second phase, building another, 24-acre who has not had a home for a long time, to ask them to
community next to the first one. In March, construction uproot again,” Satterlee says.
was completed on a second set of five microhouses, The design process began with a two-day kickoff
designed by five new winning firms: Chioco Design, retreat in January 2019, with each design team arriving
Jobe Corral Architects, McKinney York, Michael Hsu at Community First! for an immersive overnight
Office of Architecture, and Thoughtbarn. By the end of experience. “We did not start designing during this 24
2022, when the second phase is completed—bringing hours,” Blessing says. Instead, the event emphasized
the cost of the privately funded project to $40 million— collaboration between the design teams and laid the
the two developments will offer a total of 545 units foundation for their relationships with the five residents
that will house 560 residents. The timing is fortuitous. through carefully guided conversations, activities, and
During the pandemic, the need for affordable housing tours of the community and individual residences.
has only grown more acute: Travis County, which The teams also reviewed a post-occupational study
includes Austin, reported that its homeless population conducted by Satterlee, DesignVoice, and a group
increased last year by 11%, with Black and older of students from the University of Texas at Austin.
residents disproportionately represented. “Our research question was, How well does the built
“Our goal is to get [chronically homeless individuals] environment of Community First! Village meet the
up off the streets and permanently settled,” says Graham, needs of its residents?” Blessing says. Resident desires
who, like Satterlee, lives in the village. Community included a greater variety and quantity of space and
First! residents average 58 years old and pay a monthly storage, kitchenette spaces inside the microhouses,
rent between $230 and $440, depending on the unit. multiple sources of interior light, and acoustical privacy.
Residents who want to work can tend to the on-site Some of the original microhouse designs—such as a
organic gardens or create artworks that are sold through dogtrot layout, units with a spacious screened porch,
the Community First! online marketplace, among other and options with extensive storage—were more popular
options. Graham says this model of affordable housing than others. “The houses that allow people to create
is rooted in the “inherent community” inspired by RV a gradient of privacy and a level of control over their
parks, which he frequented with his family on summer space have been really successful,” Blessing says.
vacations. He says, “Mobile Loaves & Fishes has the Many of the design teams used image boards to get
saying that housing alone will never solve homelessness, an idea of their client’s aesthetic appreciation and went
but community will … Housing is necessary, but it’s through rounds of drawings, altering plans to each seed
insufficient.” neighbor’s specifications and distilling design priorities.
“It was the first time I ever did something like that,” says
A Different Kind of Design Competition Jesse Brown, a two-year Community First! resident who
How to create that sense of community? That was the worked with Jobe Corral. “The architects were friendly.
challenge faced by the winning architects, who in the They listened to what I wanted.”
second phase of the development made a concerted effort “I did measurements and had them all laid out,” adds
to respond to the input of residents. “To me, there was a Richard Devore, a three-and-a-half-year Community First!
huge gap in phase one of not having the voices and the resident who worked with MHOA. “I knew what I wanted
experience of the people who had lived in the homes concept wise, as far as I’ve got 200 square feet to use.”
involved in a design process,” says Shelby Blessing, aia, Some of the teams even integrated virtual reality into
a senior associate at the local office of Page, who served the process. “Seeing that VR world, it just gives you a feel
as DesignVoice co-chair. “We’re experts in design and for, okay, this is what we’re talking about,” Devore says.
how to put a building together, but we’re not experts in At the same time, the winning firms had a second
the lived experience of the [residents] or their needs.” client: Community First! Village. Although each design
 57

Richard Devore worked with Michael Hsu Office of Architecture to design a secure space with durable shelving and drawers tailored to his possessions.
58

2 3

4 5
 59

Community
6 First! Village
Siteplan

phase two

phase one

1. Units with porches or roof decks, 7. Residents can generate income

such as the Rooftop Hospitality with their art, selling it through the
House by Cody Gatlin, proved Community First! online marketplace.
popular in the first phase. 8. Chioco painted its microhouse door a
9 2. The Topfer Health Resource Center cheery blue, creating individuality in a
provides residents with mental and colorful cul-de-sac.
primary health care services. 9. Communal kitchens foster
3. Local firms Sixthriver Architects community and provide residents
and Hatch+Ulland Owen Architects with spaces to prepare meals.
wrapped the Hope Chapel in metal ■ Tiny Victories 2.0 homes
sheets to create a tentlike form. ■ Communal restrooms and laundry
4. Residents maintain the central □ Outdoor kitchens
Community First! chicken coops. ■ Phase one microhomes
5. The Genesis Gardens Organic ■ RV homesites
Farm provides fresh produce ■ Program buildings
and employment.
6. The Community Art House provides
the village with an accessible n

creative hub. 0 100 200

60

team was assigned to build a custom project tailored to design process, and the two other participating residents
one resident, that microhouse design will be replicated will not make the move due to family and health
on three other locations in the second village. “We complications. But the designs they helped create will
encouraged designers in the process to lean into the still benefit new residents in the community. “We have
things that were unique about their seed neighbors, but a physical representation of something that Dave got to
still think about how to make sure that home would dream up,” Satterlee says. “Now it gets to welcome in
work for other people,” Blessing says. another neighbor.”
Given the limited space and budget (up to $25,000, Graham hopes the new development will give
a $5,000 increase from phase one), the firms opted for residents a “place of permanence” and a sense
simple but flexible forms: accessible spaces, adjustable of community that offers a stark contrast to the
storage, porches that could be built on the front or “hermetically sealed, single-family sarcophaguses that we
back of the house, depending on whether the resident call the American Dream.” The project, in other words,
preferred privacy or a more-social setup. “There’s not a is an attempt to redefine the concept of the home itself,
lot of complex geometry,” says MHOA partner Micah especially for those who have been deprived of this
Land of the firm’s design. “It’s a very primal form, whichbasic necessity.
makes it adaptable.” Nkiru Mokwe Gelles, an MHOA project designer, says
the long process of Tiny Victories 2.0 was a “humbling
A New Set of Keys experience,” but it’s given her new insight into the way
Brown moved into his custom house last September; architecture can help drive social change. “Even for our
Devore got his keys in December. But one seed neighbor, office, [it] made us more empathetic to different projects
Dave (last name withheld), passed away during the that we decide to take on in the greater community.”

The Tiny Victories 2.0 winners used diagrams and inspiration boards to get a sense of their client’s design priorities and aesthetic sensibilities.
 61

When Chioco Design began the Tiny Victories 2.0 process, the team “perhaps arrogantly assumed that all residents would
prioritize the same things we value as designers: copious natural light, connection to the outdoors, open plan,” explains
founding principal, Jamie Chioco, assoc. aia. Instead, their home’s resident, a woman who had been chronically homeless
for decades, was looking for something functional. “It challenged us as architects to look past our Modernist tendencies,
which are rife with privilege, toward a more practical sense of comfort and safety,” Chioco says. By offsetting the living area
and sleeping area from the main kitchenette, the firm created a sense of multiple rooms, hoping to lend the 200-square-foot
project a spacious feel. The firm exposed the project’s interior framing wall in an effort to save square footage, and then built
ample shelving into the wall as another nod to function. Light spills into the house through operable windows, which also
0 5 10 ensure proper cross ventilation, and a private screen porch extends off the back of the house.
62

Thoughtbarn’s client, Dave, was living in an RV residence in CommunityFirst! alongside a busy road, so “his privacy felt
compromised and the noise was a real problem to him,” says Thoughtbarn co-director Lucy Begg, aia. The firm designed
an enclosed, 186-square-foot private space that also met his strong desire to connect to nature, adding a private, natural-
stained porch on the back that complements the dark-stained cedar exterior. In this way, the house has “a private and public
face,” with a closed exterior on the front and a back that “opens out to the landscape and reflects [Dave] as a person,” says
architect Anna McConnall. The porch can be reconfigured for either side of the house depending on its orientation to the
street. “It can take on different identities and relationships to the larger community as it gets built in different locations,”
Begg says. The design team also paid close attention to the house’s window orientation—placing smaller windows on
walls facing neighbors and wider ones on landscape-facing walls—and ensured that “we had enough insulation for sound
reasons, as well as temperature, and [to ensure] a thickness and permanent feel,” says architect Alexandra Krippner.
 63

It wasn’t until Richard Devore first moved into Community First! that he recognized the stress he carried when he was
homeless. No matter where he rested, “it was never your place,” he says. “You’re always somewhere you don’t belong.”
MOHA’s 200-square-foot design aimed to provide Richard with a sense of security. “We asked ourselves, should this be
a sort of challenging piece of architecture? Or would it be more appropriate to address our users’ familiarity with what an
iconic house looks like?” recalls founding principal Michael Hsu, faia. “We felt like that was appropriate as opposed to
coming in and asking Richard to live in an architectural blob that we might find interesting.” The design team opted for
traditional forms but slightly tweaked: They topped an uncentered, hip roof with a flat-topped, glass cupola, which became
the fulcrum of the project, filtering daylight into Richard’s home and functioning as a lantern at night. “It becomes an
element that communicates with the rest of the village,” project designer Nkiru Mokwe Gelles says. “It’s a powerful way of
0 5 10 conveying community and fellowship in the design itself.”
64

“When you have a space that’s going to be small, how can you keep it simple, but also build in some complexity about it?
[How do you] allow it to be reconfigurable in as many ways as possible, allow it to be able to adapt over time, allow it to be
able to function efficiently?” That’s how Heather McKinney, faia, the co-founding principal of McKinney York, defined the
challenge of designing the firm’s 206-square-foot house. One multifunctional element: A sliding barn door that when closed
provides privacy for the bedroom and also exposes a tidy unit of built-in shelving on the wall. The project’s Galvalume-metal
butterfly roof, meanwhile, collects rainwater and funnels it into a cistern. “If the neighbors have little gardens, they can use
[the] rainwater,” says McKinney. “[It’s] an opportunity to share with the neighbors something that [the resident] collected.”
 65

To maximize square footage, Jobe Corral Architects minimized doors and walls and used varying ceiling heights and shapes
to differentiate sections of its 199-square-foot house, says project manager Kevin Keating. A high ceiling lends living space an
airy quality, while a low, gabled ceiling creates a sense of privacy for the bedroom. The ceiling also reflects daylight that spills
in through compact windows, brightening the solid, secure space. “The walls are kept light colored and the ceilings are high so
we can maximize that [brightness] without giving a lot of exposure to the outside,” says co-founding principal Camille Jobe, aia.
Jobe Corral took into account the social sensibilities of its client, Jesse Brown, by ensuring that his living space had room to
0 5 10 position his recliner near the house’s entrance—a design priority for Brown. “I like looking out there and saying, ‘Hi,’” he says.
66

Jesse Brown’s Jobe Corral–designed

microhouse features a screened front
porch, giving him an outdoor option for
entertaining guests.

> To see more images of Community First! Village and

Tiny Victories 2.0 project credits, visit bit.ly/ARTV221.
 π SHIPPING SUPPL SPECIALISTS

Protect your precious cargo! From peanuts

to padding, Uline has over 900 cushioning
items to fill your void. Order by 6 PM for
same day shipping. Best service and
selection – experience the difference.

COMPLETE CATALOG
1-800-295-5510 uline.com

15th ANNUAL
Are you revolutionizing the process or prActice

R+D AWARDS
of Architecture?
Every year, ARCHITECT honors the research, technologies,
and products that are advancing the AECO industry at
every scale—from design strategies and building systems
to fabrication methods, materials, and software.

CATEGORIES
Prototype . Production . Application

HOW TO ENTER DEADLINES

submit your work At eArly bird May 5, 2021
> rdawards.com regulAr May 14, 2021

FEES
first entry Academic: $95 . Early: $175 . Regular: $225
AdditionAl Academic: $95 . Early: $95 . Regular: $145

ELIGIBILITY
The awards are open to architects, designers in all
disciplines, engineers, manufacturers, and researchers.
Full-time academics (faculty and students) receive a
discounted registration rate.

2020 R+D AwARD wInnER wAlkIng AssEmbly by mATTER DEsIgn + CEmEX

Classifieds/Resource Special Advertising Section

KOALA KARE’S NEW KB310/KB311 BABY CHANGING STATION

A whole new platform for change.

We’ve reinvented the baby changing

station — again. koalabear.com/change
A Division of Bobrick

SAFE
DISTANCING
FOR DEVICES

Versatile
hook
holds
up to
300 lbs

Specify Smarter
Trust Klutch for a smarter
spec. Find videos and a case
study at bobrick.com/klutch

Content Licensing
for Every Marketing Strategy
Marketing solutions fit for:
Outdoor | Direct Mail | Print
Advertising | Tradeshow/ POP
Displays | Social Media | Radio & TV

Leverage branded content from

Architect to create a more powerful and
sophisticated statement about your
product, service, or company in your next
marketing campaign. Contact Wright’s
Media to find out more about how we can
customize your acknowledgements and
recognitions to enhance your marketing
strategies.

Custom Bins Call Wright’s Media at 877.652.5295, visit our

website at wrightsmedia.com/sites/hanleywood
DeepStreamDesign.com or email us at [email protected]
Special Advertising Section Classifieds/Resource

To be a part of the next

NEW
ARCHITECT
MAGAZINE PAC PRECISION SERIES
Box Rib 2
special advertising section,
Wall panel systems in 12 variations
Contact: for ultimate design flexibility

Paul Tourbaf
202.729.3629
[email protected]
PAC-CLAD.COM | [email protected]

You Deserve More.

The premiere website for practicing architects—featuring news, project galleries,
continuing education, blogs, videos and more is architectmagazine.com.

> More projects > More products > More critiques

> More tech > More news > More business

Get more today at architectmagazine.com

Be part of the largest source of education for the design and
building industry—become an AIA Continuing Education Provider.

Over 95,000 architects and designers are looking for building product
manufacturers’ expertise and new ideas. Our education experts are
available to assist with your continuing education strategy. Let’s work
smarter together through education, collaboration and stronger, more
meaningful relationships. Visit together.aia.org/ces

AIA + BUILDING PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS

 Ad Index 71

Advertiser Page Website Phone

All Weather Insulated Panels 3 powerofonedek.com 888.970.2947

Aluflam North America LLC 16 www.aluflam-usa.com 562.926.9520

American Institute of Architects 42 aia.org/join

American Institute of Architects 47 aiau.aia.org

American Institute of Architects 70 together.aia.org/ces

ARCAT, Inc. Cover 3 www.arcat.com

ASI Group 28 asigroup.com

ASI Visual Display Products 25 asi-visualdisplayproducts.com

Bobrick Washroom 5 bobrick.com/evolve

Boral Roofing 34-37 go.hw.net/ar4211

Boral Roofing 38-39 boralroof.com 800.669.8453

Bradley Corporation 21 bradleycorp.com/euro-style-partitions

BSH Home Appliances Corp. 27 thermador.com/starpartner

Daltile 10 daltile.com

DeepStream Designs, Inc. 32 deepstreamdesign.com 305.857.0466

Doorbird 20 doorbird.com

Doug Mockett & Co. Inc. 67 mockett.com 800.523.1269

Endicott Clay Products 40 endicott.com

Hanover Architectural Products 22 hanoverpavers.com 800.426.4242

IAPMO 51 uniform-es.org 877-4-iesrpt

JLC Tech 15 jlc-tech.com 781.826.8162

Koala Kare Products 23 koalabear.com/change

Landscape Forms 2 landscapeforms.com 800.430.6205

Lighting Services Inc. 13 lightingservicesinc.com 800.999.9574

Liteline Corporation 51 liteline.com/oncloud

Major Industries 32 majorskylights.com 888.759.2678

Malarkey Roofing 11 malarkeyroofing.com

Nucor Corporation 8 nucor.com/aeos

Nucor Corporation 9 nucor.com/vision

Petersen Aluminum 18 pac-clad.com 800-pac-clad

Safti First 19, 33 safti.com 888.653.3333

Seiho International 17 seiho.com 800.248.0030

Sierra Pacific Windows 6-7, 52-53 sierrapacificwindows.com 800.824.7744

Uline 67 uline.com 800.295.5510

Vitro Architectural Glass Cover 2-1 vitroglazings.com/acuity

Whirlpool Corporation Cover 4 whirlpoolpro.com/110years

* issue mailed in regional editions. Publisher not liable for errors or omissions.
72 ARCHITECT, The Journal of The American Institute of Architects, April 2021

Forgotten Towers
Here stands the Gillender Building

Courtesy AssoCiAtion for PreservAtion teChnology internAtionAl

in New York City, completed in
1897 on a prominent corner on Wall
Street. Rising 20 stories, this early
skyscraper was built on a site just
26 feet wide and lasted but a New
York minute, demolished in 1910 to
make way for the Banker’s Trust
Building. Early supertalls like the
Gillender are the subject of a new
book, The Structure of Skyscrapers
in America 1871-1900: Their History
and Preservation (Association for
Preservation Technology International),
by Manhattan-based engineer Donald
Friedman. Friedman documents 443
early examples of the form, delving
into the obscure and forgotten building
technologies of the 19th century.
Karrie Jacobs interviews Friedman
about his comprehensive quest at
architectmagazine.com, where he
ponders the lessons these early towers
might hold for us today.

> For the full interview, go to bit.ly/ForgottenSupertalls.

 At your fingertips.

Information is always at your fingertips with ARCAT.com.

We provide architects, engineers, spec writers and
contractors with the most comprehensive libraries
of building product content. You will find this and
more online at ARCAT.com FREE, and no
registration required!!!

• BIM Objects
• CAD Details
• Specifications
• SpecWizards
• Catalogs
• Videos
• Green Reports
• ARCAT Directory
• Building Products arcat.com