November 2022 Newsletter

Upcoming Events

There are only three AIA Birmingham events left in 2022! We look forward to seeing you at the FREE Sponsor & Member Appreciation Tradeshow, Holiday Party, & Procrastination Education Seminar (for those who just realized they need 6 more HSWs).

Thursday, November 10th, Sponsor & Member Appreciation Tradeshow
FREE!
It is time for AIA Birmingham to THANK YOU for your year round support. Join us for our annual Sponsor & Member Appreciation Tradeshow. Free lunch, free networking, & Free door prizes. This is a great opportunity to see new products & catch up with your friends. Street parking.

We will be accepting donations for the Faith Chapel Care Center. To view the full donation list please click here.

Thursday, December 1st, AIA Birmingham Holiday Party
FREE! (AIA Birmingham Members & Sponsors Only)

Tuesday, December 13th, Procrastination Education
Up to 4 HSW’s Available!

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We thank all of our partners for providing us with great opportunities this year! Partners, it is time to start renewing sponsorships, and we look forward to another great year with you in 2023.

We are currently offering $100 off 2023 Platinum, Gold, & Silver sponsorships until January 9, 2023.

We encourage our members to consider sponsors first if they are in need of products or services.

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2022 Events

Click the links to see pictures from each event!

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Affordable Housing Update & Housing Trust Fund

We are still working and meeting with the city of Birmingham for code/zoning changes to allow more density in neighborhoods and more flexibility within the city. It is a S L O W process, in case you have forgotten. Several architects worked with the City of Birmingham transition team to survey affordable housing barriers.

Click here for the survey results.

Since the first of the year, we have learned we need to advocate at the state level for incentives for affordable housing. In the current market, affordable housing is not feasible with material cost and other obstacles. The state has a State Housing Trust Fund (HTF), it is NOT funded. AIA Birmingham and the Alabama Center for Architecture of a grassroots coalition to advocate for $25 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to kickstart the fund. These funds must be spent by 2026 (federal dollars). That gives us time to find a permanent funding solution.

Click here for more info.

Once the HTF is funded, it has the potential to create 6500+ jobs, and create or rehabilitate 7100 homes. This will make a positive impact on so many of our neighbors who need help.

Email rhea@karmamanagementinc.com if you are interested in getting involved.

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Member Spotlight

Congratulations to Robert Thompson, AIA, & Carlos Hernandez, AIA for receiving the AIA Alabama Accolade Award & the AIA Alabama Young Architect Award at the AIA Alabama State Conference on Architecture.

The AIA Alabama Accolade Award is intended to be one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a member. It is intended to be a peer recognition of service to the profession and the State of highest order.

The AIA Alabama Young Architect Award is the highest award bestowed upon a younger member whose leadership, service, and contributions have directly benefitted the profession and AIA Alabama. The recipients service has benefitted their local AIA component, their community, professional organizations, and/or the design construction industries.

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The Compassion Project Update

Leading up to, and during, the World Games this past summer, Volunteer Architects and designers worked with service providers in the Continuum of Care of people experiencing homelessness to plan and construct a pilot project for a comprehensive, one-stop care center.

Originally conceived as a response to the likely displacement of unsheltered communities located within the security perimeter of World Games venues, the Compassion Project grew into a comprehensive suite of on-site services including three daily meals, medical check-ups, vaccinations, legal aid, and counseling for permanent housing, and daily recreational activities. The design team organized site design for the care center around a set of purpose-built elements that modeled a prototypical village while also providing functional and useful amenities that created opportunities for rest in the head of the summer. Specific improvements included the construction of two air-conditioned sleeping pods, shade structures with bench seating, and a centrally-located seating element around which service providers and host organizations operated tents, entertainment, and activities.

The project engaged directly with people experiencing homelessness about the potential usefulness of the model to them based on their own experiences; fostered collaboration between organizations that had never worked together; and it advocated for the importance of innovation and action to institutional and municipal stakeholders.

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