Photography done by Savannah Lowery
Please email anna@karmamanagementinc.com for high-resolution images.
2022 Sponsor & Member Appreciation Tradeshow
Uncategorized
2nd Annual Emerging Professionals Fright Night
Elegant Earth
September 2022 Chapter Meeting
16th St Baptist Church Museum & Parsonage
February 2022 Chapter Meeting
Healthcare Symposium: A Dignified Approach to Design
June 2022 Aviation Architecture
Powell Avenue Steam Plant Site Visit
August 2021
June Newsletter
Coffee or Walk on the Rotary Trail?
Hi AIA Family,
Do you have any idea how excited I am that we are back to face-to-face meetings?!?!?! I am doing my happy dance! Most of you know I love people and get my energy from being with people. And my favorite people are creatives, you give off the best energy. I have missed all of you. It is my goal to see each of you by the end of the year or at the very least have some type of one-on-one communication with you. I learned from COVID to appreciate spending time with you. I would love to catch up and hear how you are doing, where you are in life, what you learned from COVID, any new ideas for AIA, and just SEE you in person. Shoot me an email, call, or text and let’s get coffee or take a walk on the Rotary Trail.
I hope I see you at the June 22nd in PERSON, FACE to FACE chapter meeting at Evolutia. Yummy lunch catered by Tre Luna.
See you soon! Have a fun weekend and live grateful.
Peace & AIA Love,
Rhea Williams, Executive Director AIA Birmingham, Alabama Center for Architecture (ACFA)
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Our Chapter Sponsors are the best of the best. Their continued support is crucial in everything we do; grateful is an understatement! We encourage our members to consider Sponsors first if they are in need of products or services.
See right sidebar for a full list of 2021 Chapter Sponsors.
2021 SPONSORS: See below for upcoming sponsorship opportunities at the 2021 AIA Birmingham Design Awards! July 15 at Regions Field.
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VW Gallerie at VW Supply Company
(Silver Chapter Sponsor)
Thanks to V&W Supply Company for their support of AIA Birmingham!
Sponsors– As a reminder, Platinum, Gold, and Silver Sponsors get one free ad in one AIA Birmingham newsletter, a $250 value! Please email katie@karmamanagementinc.com to take advantage of this opportunity.
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6/17: Design Awards Opening Reception
AIA Birmingham Design Awards Submissions are going on exhibit at The Pizitz Food Hall from 6/15-26.
Online voting begins Monday, 6/14!
Don’t miss the Opening Reception on 6/17 and from 4:30-6:30 PM. We cannot wait to see all your faces and catch up over Happy Hour drinks! Happy Hour drink specials at The Louis Bar end at 6 PM.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, 7/15! AIA Birmingham Design Awards are happening in-person this year at Regions Field. Join us for a night of baseball and celebration of design!
Tickets & Tables- Purchase online or by check mailed to AIA Birmingham at 109 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. S., Birmingham, AL 35205. If you mail in a check, please let us know who your attendees will be.
Interested in sponsoring Design Awards?
Download a sponsor form below and email katie@karmamanagementinc.com with any questions.
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AIA Birmingham Events
Thanks to everyone who has continued participating in AIA Birmingham events virtually! We record many of our Zoom events, so feel free to check out the recordings of our March Chapter Meeting with Navigate Affordable Housing Partners and our April Meeting with First Light Shelter if you are interested.
We still have virtual events planned, but in-person events have returned!!! Keep reading to see what’s coming up.
Questions about an AIA Birmingham event or continuing education?
Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com!
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Click here to register for this FREE informational session!
Thanks to 1st Resource Credit Union for their support of AIA Birmingham and SEAoAL’s Emerging Professionals!
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Can’t wait to see you at the June Chapter Meeting!
The first in-person Chapter Meeting since February 2020.
(Lunch & 1.5 HSWs included)
Click here to register online!
- 11:30 AM-12:30 PM: Thermally Modified Wood Presentation by Thermory USA (1 HSW)
- 12:40-1:10 PM: Reclaimed Wood Presentation & Site Tour from Evolutia (.5 HSW)
Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com with any questions or dietary restrictions before 6/14.
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Another Great Site Visit on 6/30
Register online here!
Creature’s Mercantile on Morris project will include 47 residential condos available for purchase ranging from micro to two-bedroom. Units will feature historic charm with modern finishes. Residents will have access to a terrace that overlooks the bustling pedestrian plaza. The project has 14,000 SF of retail space available for lease. Some retail options include frontage on Morris Avenue and 1st Avenue North that opens into an interior pedestrian plaza. Through the creation of the pedestrian plaza, patrons and residents will be able to experience the development as a destination for their entire day. Join us on 6/30 to learn more!
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Emerging Professionals
- AIA Birmingham offers HSW opportunities and site visits throughout the year; these can also count as AXP Experience Hours!
- Free AIA Membership for new grads
- We have the Brightwood Architecture ARE 5.0 Study Guides available to check-out. Members provide a fully refundable $50 cash deposit. Click here to learn more.
4/28 Event Recap– ARE Prep: Understanding a Geotech Report
We had so much fun seeing our EPs for the first time in more than a year! Thanks to everyone who came out to MBA Engineers Geotech Lab in April. Huge shoutout to Drew Thornbury and the team at MBA Engineers, Inc. for being such gracious hosts.
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5/26 Event Recap — AG Gaston Site Visit w/ SEAoAL
We cannot thank Fred Keith and Rogers Hunt, III from AG Gaston Construction for sharing their time and expertise with us! It was a treat to see the AG Gaston Motel, a place where civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed and planned.
Learn more about the AG Gaston Motel project:
- City of Birmingham
- Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
- National Park Service
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
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Job Search Assistance for AIA Birmingham Members
- AIA Birmingham Careers Page
- New opportunities are listed regularly here!
- AIA Birmingham Member Firms can post openings free of charge. Email listings to katie@karmamanagementinc.com.
- Resume Review & Sharing
- AIA Birmingham can review your resume and share it with local firms looking to fill a position.
For additional job listings, check out the AIA National Career Center and AIA Alabama Job Board!
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Contract Documents
AIA Birmingham Members get a 10% discount when they order documents through AIA Birmingham. Click here for more information!
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Helpful Links from AIA National
- Free AIA Membership for new grads
- Free AIAU Courses for members on risk management, business strategies, and virtual practice
- AIA Knowledge Communities help members connect and are a source for information
- AIA Award Programs
- AIA Legislative Action Center advocates for architects
- AIA Trust – Exclusive financial planning and insurance tools
- COVID-19 Resources
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Register for all ACFA events & pay for Membership online here!
- 7/20/2021: Auburn University Urban Studio Project (HSW Pending)
- 8/10/2021: Zimmerman & David Baker Architects in Ensley (HSW Pending)
- Fall 2021: Affordable Housing Symposium with David Baker Architects (HSW Pending)
- October 2021: ACFA Golf Tournament (Benefitting Scholarship Program)
- October 2021: National Building Museum’s Evicted exhibit traveling to Birmingham
- Add the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond to your reading list!
Want to help the ACFA continue offering scholarships, educational outreach, and more?
Become a Member! Do you want to impact the lives of Alabamians through architecture? Give to the ACFA and help support their educational outreach initiatives such as dreamARCHITECTURE, N2 Architecture, and the ACFA Scholarship Program.
Pay for Membership online here OR mail a check to the ACFA at 109 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. S., Birmingham, AL 35233. Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com with any questions about ACFA Membership!
AIA Birmingham is proud to have many Member Firms and Sponsors who belong to the ACFA:
- Adams Gerndt Design Group
- Alabama Concrete Industries Association
- B-Group Architecture
- Bill Whittaker, Registered Architect
- Brasfield & Gorrie
- Blackmon Rogers Architects
- CCR Architecture & Interiors
- Ghafari Associates
- KPS Group
- Line Scale Form
- Revolutionary Architecture
- Risk Strategies
- Studio 2H Design
- Studio C Architecture & Interiors
- Taylor Plosser Davis, Architect
- Thompson Architecture
- Williams Blackstock Architects
Participate in fundraising HSW events! The ACFA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Each time you attend an ACFA fundraiser, proceeds from your purchase go directly to carrying out their mission of advancing the enjoyment of architecture and design through engagement, education, and collaboration.
Are you an Amazon Shopper? If so, consider starting your shopping at https://smile.amazon.com, and choose the ACFA as your nonprofit. Amazon will donate a portion of your sale to the ACFA!
March Newsletter
Our Chapter Sponsors are the best of the best. Their continued support is crucial in everything we do; grateful is an understatement! We encourage our members to consider Sponsors first if they are in need of products or services.
See right sidebar for a full list of 2021 Chapter Sponsors.
2020 SPONSORS: We want you in the AIA Birmingham Family in 2021! Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com to renew today! Click here to view the 2021 Sponsor Brochure.
AIA Birmingham Events
It’s only March, and we have already had some great HSW events: Solonia Mack with Jefferson County Housing Authority in January, and Zero Energy School Design from Kenny Stanfield, AIA, LEED AP. Keep reading to see what’s next!
Questions about an AIA Birmingham event or continuing education?
Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com!
We moved to all virtual events in the wake of COVID-19, and we will continue online in the foreseeable future. We will reach out when anything changes. Thanks for understanding!
3/11: March Chapter Meeting (HSW)
Click here to register online!
Matthew Churnock, Director of Planning and Development at Navigate Affordable Housing Partners will provide a background on Navigate’s Performance-Based Contract Administration in the preservation of Affordable Housing as well as holistic Community Development through community stabilization, workforce housing, equitable education opportunity and catalytic development.
Renew your AIA Birmingham Membership before 3/31
AIA Members who do not renew prior to 3/31 will be lapsed.
Click here for more information about renewal!
Renew your Cal EMA Online
Please follow these instructions for the online recertification training. Once you complete the exam, the system will automatically notify Cal OES, who will produce a new SAP ID card and send it to you at the address listed in the Cal OES database. After working through the instructions below, nothing more is needed on your part.
Access the on-line Refresher Course by means of the following steps:
- Go to https://csti-ca.csod.com/default.aspx?c=caloes-recovery-sap
- Click on the yellow Register box and create a new account. You will need your SAP ID Number.
- Register with an e-mail where we can send a callout message to you, bearing in mind a callout may not happen while you are at work. We do not recommend a work e-mail in the event you change jobs or retire.
- Register with a mailing address where we can mail you your card.
- When submitting the form, you will see a message telling you the registration is pending approval. Cal OES will receive an e-mail that you registered and approve you within 24 hours.
- Once your account is approved, you need to request the SAP Online Evaluator Refresher Training.
- (Look for the yellow SAP Training button and then click on the yellow box titled Online Evaluator Training).
- Click on the Request button. It may take up to 24 hours for the request to be approved.
- Click on Open Curriculum. The modules are separated into 6 different sections.
- Every slide and link in each module must be viewed before the module is considered complete.
- Each module must be completed before moving on to the next. Knowledge checks inside the modules are not scored and are only used for reference.
- Once all modules are complete you may then take the final exam. If you fail the exam, you must review the modules and retake the exam. You may retake the exam up to three times before you need to wait a week before retaking the exam.
On-Demand HSWs from Lighting Solutions Alabama (Platinum Sponsor)
Click here to view the full selection.
Thanks to Lighting Solutions of Alabama for their support of AIA Birmingham!
Job Search Assistance for AIA Birmingham Members
- AIA Birmingham Careers Page
- New opportunities are listed regularly here!
- AIA Birmingham Member Firms can post openings free of charge. Email listings to katie@karmamanagementinc.com.
- Resume Review & Sharing
- AIA Birmingham can review your resume and share it with local firms looking to fill a position.
For additional job listings, check out the AIA National Career Center and AIA Alabama Job Board!
Contract Documents
AIA Birmingham Members get a 10% discount when they order documents through AIA Birmingham. Click here for more information!
Emerging Professionals
- AIA Birmingham offers HSW opportunities and site visits throughout the year; these can also count as AXP Experience Hours!
- Free AIA Membership for new grads
- We have the Brightwood Architecture ARE 5.0 Study Guides available to check-out. Members provide a fully refundable $50 cash deposit. Click here to learn more.
Group 1 & 2 Luncheon Pre-COVID 
2019 Mixer at CCR Architecture & Interiors 
2019 Mixer & Tour of Studio Goodlight 
2019 WIA Mixer at the ACFA 
WIA Meeting at PracticeWorks 
2019 WIA Mixer at the ACFA 
2019 Mixer at CCR Architecture & Interiors 
2019 WIA Mixer at the ACFA 
2019 WIA Mixer at the ACFA 
Group 1 & 2 Luncheon Pre-COVID 
2019 WIA Mixer at the ACFA
Women in Architecture
- Our Women in Architecture Mentor Groups can forge connections between women in the profession. In normal times, our groups meet regularly for fun and fellowship. We look forward to getting back to this later in 2021.
- For the time being, we recommend taking advantage of this new virtual world by participating in some online discussions. You can connect with other professionals from across the USA by checking out these WIA and EDI events from AIA National!
Helpful Links from AIA National
- Free AIA Membership for new grads
- Free AIAU Courses for members on risk management, business strategies, and virtual practice
- AIA Knowledge Communities help members connect and are a source for information
- AIA Award Programs
- AIA Legislative Action Center advocates for architects
- AIA Trust – Exclusive financial planning and insurance tools
- COVID-19 Resources
Alabama Center for Architecture (ACFA)
Register for all ACFA events & pay for Membership online here!
- April 2021: The BLOCK Project + Facing Homelessness (HSW)
- May 2021: ACFA Clay Shoot Fundraiser — More info soon!
- Fall 2021: Affordable Housing Symposium with David Baker Architects (HSW)
- October 2021: ACFA Golf Tournament (Benefitting Scholarship Program)
- October 2021: National Building Museum’s Evicted exhibit traveling to Birmingham
- Add the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond to your reading list!
Want to help the ACFA continue offering scholarships, educational outreach, and more?
Become a Member! Do you want to impact the lives of Alabamians through architecture? Give to the ACFA and help support their educational outreach initiatives such as dreamARCHITECTURE, N2 Architecture, and the ACFA Scholarship Program.
Pay for Membership online here OR mail a check to the ACFA at 109 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. S., Birmingham, AL 35233. Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com with any questions about ACFA Membership!
AIA Birmingham is proud to have many Member Firms and Sponsors who belong to the ACFA:
- Adams Gerndt Design Group
- Alabama Concrete Industries Association
- B-Group Architecture
- Bill Whittaker, Registered Architect
- Brasfield & Gorrie
- Blackmon Rogers Architects
- Ghafari Associates
- KPS Group
- Line Scale Form
- Risk Strategies
- Studio 2H Design
- Studio C Architecture & Interiors
- Taylor Plosser Davis, Architect
- Thompson Architecture
- Williams Blackstock Architects
Participate in fundraising HSW events! The ACFA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Each time you attend an ACFA fundraiser, proceeds from your purchase go directly to carrying out their mission of advancing the enjoyment of architecture and design through engagement, education, and collaboration.
Are you an Amazon Shopper? If so, consider starting your shopping at https://smile.amazon.com, and choose the ACFA as your nonprofit. Amazon will donate a portion of your sale to the ACFA!