AIA CRAN Symposium in Cincinnati Is Open for Registration

Offsite
5 HSW

This year’s Home Tour features an assembly of noteworthy Cincinnati houses that showcase a broad spectrum of architectural styles and innovative solutions to programmatic requirements and logistical challenges. Houses range from a modest, modern single-family dwelling with passive and active solar technology, to the landmark estate of a legendary Cincinnati developer, to a harmonious design on a unique rural site. AIA CRAN would like to thank the Cincinnati CRAN chapter for their efforts and assistance.

Education session 1
1.5 HSW
Dan Rockhill

This presentation will begin with a brief introduction to the work of Rockhill and Associates to serve as a segue to the presentation of Studio 804, a not-for profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose participants are graduate students of the University of Kansas’ School of Architecture and Design. Rockhill will offer comments on the changes he has seen in architectural education over the course of his teaching career as well the changes in young people over the same time frame.In addition to addressing mounting concerns of sustainability and innovative design in the era of the Anthropocene; the time since the industrial revolution when human activities began to impact global climate and ecosystems, the presentation includes a separate but parallel crisis in architecture: the paucity of material engagement in architectural education.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will learn how the use of construction materials for improved and efficient building performance, as well as recycled materials, are used to reduce the amount of new material required and as an educational opportunity for the buildings’ occupants.
• Attendees will comprehend how the projects relate to their surroundings, both physical and cultural, what sustainable design applications have been incorporated, promote indoor/outdoor connections (ex., natural daylighting and open ventilation), and how the project was designed to promote long-term use and/or adaptive reuse potential.
• Attendees will be able to interpret how the strategies and technologies that Rockhill has incorporated in his projects might work for the average client, enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint and maintain a pleasant living environment.
• Attendees will learn how Studio 804 projects act as a platform for showcasing, interacting with, and educating students and the community alike about sustainable design technologies and new innovations in design research. This example can be translated elsewhere to better communities through education and the development of beautifully designed and affordable, sustainable, and energy-efficient buildings.

Education session 2
1.5 LU
Marica McKeel, AIA and Rena Klein, FAIA

How do firms succeed in maintaining excellence and profitability as they grow? We will explore this question with case studies of two very different firms: Studio MM, founded alone by Marica in 2010, now a five-person firm; and Atelier D, currently 20 people, up from nine in 2014. From these two examples, key qualities of successful firm growth will be discussed including having a plan, engaging your employees, and learning to be a leader. The highly interactive presentation will include dialogue and exercises to help you understand growth planning and how to identify a successful hire. It will also include dialogue between Marica and Rena regarding small firm growth with ample time for questions and knowledge sharing with colleagues from around the nation.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover the importance of firm culture and how to implement systems for success
• Understand how to identify the right person to hire and establish key roles and responsibilities
• Learn to use financial metrics that are reliable financial forecasters and hiring indicators, even in unpredictable environments
• Explore best practices in growth planning and leadership through case studies of successful, fast growing firms

Education session 3
1 HSW
Mark LaLiberte

The housing industry is on the brink of some of the largest changes seen in over 100 years. By integrating design, improved construction methods and performance targets in the early phases of a project, we can better manage these obstacles. It is essential to understand why these changes are occurring in order to remain relevant. How well is your firm positioned to understand the integration of high performance targets, Indoor Air Quality, HVAC, flashing, water management and increased customer expectations? Mark will share his 30+ years of industry experience to share where he thinks it’s headed.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the impacts of labor and skill shortages when designing for high performance
• Learn how modular design can allow for faster and more accurate constructiom and determine which construction methods are most cost effective when looking at net zero design
• Understand the opportunities energy efficient design creates to lower HVAC system costs while improving comfort
• Recognize how tighter building envelopes can enhance indoor air quality, lower operational cost and raise customer satisfaction

Education session 4
Paul Meuller, Martha Schickel, AIA, Steve Leeper, Terry Boling and Sanyog Rathod

A project that introduced privately owned, single family townhouses back into OTR Created owner occupancy and many new owners, and co-created a walkable living street in the 1400 block of pleasant Street.

Learning Objectives

• What were the three main qualities Jane Jacobs described as making a city safe and able to handle strangers?
• What elements make for a good home in a city context and are different from a rural or suburban residence?…
• ….what’s the same?
• Why is quality of residential life the most important element in sustaining a vibrant thriving city?

Education session 5
1 HSW
Sebastian Schmaling, AIA

Contemporary life is drowning in a flood of generic, easily digestible imagery, and our increasingly profligate design culture has become largely dismissive of the quiet, the subtle, and the profound as archaic values incompatible with today’s short attention spans. It is against this backdrop of unshackled opticentricity that the award-winning work of Johnsen Schmaling Architects stands out for its conceptual rigor, serene simplicity, and formal restraint. Using recently completed residential and commercial buildings as case studies, Sebastian Schmaling, AIA, LEED AP will discuss his firm’s elaborate design process, in which the reading of context and cultural memory translates into an abstract architectural narrative that informs the entire evolution of a project, from initial conceptual ideas to the development of intricate construction details.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore, through case studies, how the conceptual reading of context and program can serve as a source for generative design strategies.
• Discuss the use of a variety of media, including physical study models, diagrammatic drawings, and conceptual renderings, throughout the design process to successfully communicate unconventional ideas to a client.
• Discover how the careful selection and use of materials and inventive detailing profoundly impacts a building’s relationship with its surroundings.
• Understand the importance of architectural rigor and simplicity in a world of shrinking resources.

Education session 6
Michael Imber

Michael will explore the importance of drawing as an empirical tool in understanding architecture as a response to culture and environment, and as a way to derive deeper meaning in buildings and their place in the landscape and in our communities, as well as in the context of history. He will explore how landscape painting can inform design and how hand-drawings can inform a building’s materiality, craft and character as a response to place.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding the correlation between buildings and their cultural and environmental context.
• Understanding context through empirical methodologies.
• Analyzing site conditions through observation and drawing.

Education session 7
1 HSW
Steve Bostwick

A Fix-it/Make it Work but do not change anything Project. Explore the world of Forensic Architecture and “Historic remediation” of an 8-year old David Niland Architectural masterpiece. This presentation is a companion to the Hawkins House tour with the gory details regarding the reconstruction of the residence, what went wrong, who done-it and what details were used to ensure its durability to permit your opportunity to tour it during this symposium.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to “historically” remediate a Modern work of Architecture well before its 25^th birthday and how the remediation could have been prevented in the first place.
• Learn the fundamentals of waterproofing/flashing, the history, why we flash, flashing requirements of the ICC model codes.
• Learn what happens if we do not detail our flashings.
• Learn “Skyhooks” do exist!

Education session 8
1 LU
Jeff Echols, Assoc. AIA

If your firm uses social networking and digital marketing properly, there’s work out there for the taking. In this session, we’ll explore actionable ways you, as a custom residential architect, can use tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram to find and engage with community members, influencers and even clients. We’ll look at case studies from your peers and competitors and you’ll discover what it takes to effectively use social media to find more clients.

Learning Objectives: 

• After attending this session, participants will be able to explain the keys to lead generation through social media
• After attending this session, participants will be able to analyze and compare how peers and competitors use social media as part of their marketing efforts
• After attending this session, participants will be able to apply new knowledge about effective social media use to their existing marketing strategies.
• After attending this session, participants will be able to plan, prepare and budget for new social media campaigns designed specifically to generate new project leads.

Education session 9
1 LU
Kevin Harris, FAIA

What’s the secret to becoming a best-selling author? Why should an architect consider publishing a book? The aim of this session is to share a case study that demonstrates a viable path for architects to become best-selling authors, share their knowledge and expertise, using the hybrid publishing option.

Learning Objectives:

• Clearly identify the key reasons why (or why not) to author a book.
• Learn how to leverage your knowledge and expertise as an architect to distinguish yourself, become an authority in the marketplace and define your value proposition.
• Employ proven techniques for extracting your own knowledge and experience to create appropriate content clients need and want.
• Illustrate the book authoring, publishing and promoting process and distinguishing between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing

Education session 10
1 HSW
Bryan Mills

The role of technology in the home is ever-increasing.  Architects and homeowners alike may feel overwhelmed by the number of “smart” products and systems available.  Equally daunting is the process by which these technologies are selected and integrated into the design of the home, both functionally and aesthetically.  The current technology integration process often leaves architects and homeowners frustrated trying to compare the designs and budgets of different bids, and the impacts these will have on other systems.  During this session, a blueprint will be provided to utilize technology professionals not just as subcontractors and salespeople but to advisors and design partners.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the current and future role of technology in the home
• Understand the shortcomings of the current technology selection and integrations process, and how this can lead to poor user experiences
• Be presented a better methodology for designing (and budgeting) technology into homes – including budgeting for technology design
• Identify coordination points with other home systems, and key technology design documents to more efficiently communicate between the design team and contractors

Education session 11
1 LU
John Senhauser, FAIA

Re is the prefix most often used to describe the repeat or repetition of an action or circumstance—rebuild, rebirth, reinvent, renew, rediscover etc. This presentation seeks to survey the root forces and actions associated with Cincinnati’s evolution as a city and why and how they bear repeating in the contemporary cultural context. What is architecture’s response to this revitalization? How does one answer the challenge to rethink?

Learning Objectives:

• The role of pre-history and geography in the evolution of the City of Cincinnati
• How did immigration, segregation and tradition influence development
• New uses and new markets for the city and its residential architecture
• Participants will view a local survey of residential and small commercial projects in response to the new cultural context