Designing for the Climate Crisis:
A Conversation for a Better Future
Sponsored by Autodesk
Amy Donohue, AIA
Principal, Bora
Melissa Higgs, Architect AIBC, FRAIC
Principal, HCMA
Sarah Lindenfeld, AIA
Managing Partner, Payette
Brandon Specketer, AIA
Partner, COOKFOX
Paul Schwer, PE
President, PAE
8:30 AM
Welcome
Mark Cameron
Community Agreements and Land Acknowledgement
Tiffany Bergeron
Review of the Topic and Introductions
Mark Cameron
8:40 AM
Autodesk Sponsorship Thank You
Saskia Dennis
8:45 AM
Designing for the Climate Crisis – a Conversation for a Better Future
Opening words and introduction of the panelists
Mary Ann Lazarus
Presentations by each panelist on their work:
Activism
Kelly Alvarez Doran
Microclimates and What Owners Are Grappling With
Ed Soltero
Research Initiatives
Thomas Auer
Practitioner’s POV & How To Create Opportunities for Our Firms
Jack Rusk
Advocacy & What the AIA is Doing
Lori Ferris
Q&A with the Panel
Facilitated by Mary Ann Lazarus
10:10 AM
Break
10:20 AM
Facilitated Conversation with the Panel & Audience questions
Mary Ann Lazarus & Saskia Dennis
10:40 AM
Breakout Groups: Where do we go from here?
(small group discussion)
11:15 AM
Small Group Report Share
Saskia Dennis
11:27 AM
Final Thoughts and Spring Symposium
Mark Cameron
11:30 AM
Adjourn
Facilitator:
Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, LEED Fellow
Principal Consultant, Cameron MacAllister Group
Kelly Alvarez Doran, OAA, MRAIC
Co-Founder, Ha/f Climate Design
Thomas Auer
Managing Director and Partner, Transsolar
Lori Ferris, AIA, PE, LEED AP BD+C
Principal Consultant, Cameron MacAllister Group
Ed Soltero, Ph.D., FAIA, LEED AP BDC
Assistant Vice-Chancellor, FPM and University Architect, Washington University in St. Louis
Jack Rusk, LEED AP BD+C
Director of Climate Strategy, EHDD
Sponsored by Fox Rothschild and Autodesk
Amy Donohue, AIA
Principal, Bora
Melissa Higgs, Architect AIBC, FRAIC
Principal, HCMA
Sarah Lindenfeld, AIA
Managing Partner, Payette
Brandon Specketer, AIA
Partner, COOKFOX
Paul Schwer, PE
President, PAE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023
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4:30 - 6:30 p.m. PDT
Welcome Reception at PAE
PAE will host the Welcome Reception and give members a tour of their Living Building. The tour will be led by PAE, ZGF, and Walsh Construction representatives.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023
8 a.m.
Breakfast
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8:30 a.m.
Welcome

Land and Labor Acknowledgement
Saskia Dennis-van Dijl
Review Schedule and Opening Statements
Mark Cameron, Cameron MacAllister Group
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8:45 a.m.
Mithun, recipient of AIA National Architecture Firm Award 2022
Jason Steiner and Erin Jacobs of Mithun will present their practice: how they have sustained quality over 50 years; how they have re-interpreted what design excellence is; how they have achieved a healthy culture where people can thrive.
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9:45 a.m.
Break
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10 a.m.
PANEL 1:
What does design excellence mean today?
Facilitated by: Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, Cameron MacAllister Group
Chandra Robinson, Principal, Lever Architecture
Paul Fast, Founder, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers
Ginger Gosnell-Myers, Fellow, Decolonization and Urban Indigenous Policy + Planning; Simon Fraser University, Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Z Smith, Ph.D., Principal, Eskew Dumez Ripple
Questions and Open Forum Discussion
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12 p.m.
Lunch
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1:15 p.m.
PANEL 2:
How is design excellence achieved?
Can a collaborative culture and process achieve design excellence?
Facilitated by: Amy Donohue, Principal, Bora Architecture & Interiors
Jennifer Devlin-Herbert, FAIA, President, EHDD Architects
Gregg Novicoff, Principal, LMS Architects
Derrick McDonald, Associate, Hacker Architects
Brad Nile, Project Executive, Andersen Construction
Open Forum Discussion
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2:45 p.m.
Break
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3 p.m.
Benchmarking Survey
Presentation of results of the benchmarking survey:
Clark Davis, FAIA, Cameron MacAllister Group
Scott Lelieur, AIA, Director of Operations, Lake|Flato
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4:00 p.m.
Sponsor interview:
Syvia Magid, Partner, Fox Rothschild
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4:20 p.m.
PechaKucha Presentations:
WHY Architecture
KPMB Architects
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4:45 p.m.
Summary and Discussion:
Discussion and Reflection on Day 1
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5:00 p.m.
Walk to Hunt & Gather Restaurant
Cocktails and dinner
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FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023 (PDT)
8 a.m.
Breakfast
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8:30 a.m.
PANEL 3:
Developing Design Excellence Leaders
Facilitator: Mark Cameron, Cameron MacAllister Group
Shiloh Butterworth, Oregon Regional Leader/Chief People Officer, PAE Consulting Engineers
Sindu Meier, Associate Principal, William Rawn Associates
Amy Perenchio, Principal, ZGF Architects
Open forum discussion
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9:45 a.m.
Break
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10 a.m.
Sponsor Interviews
Sabina Poole, Autodesk
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10:30 a.m.
Break
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10:45 a.m.
PechaKucha Presentations:
LMN Architects
PAE
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11:15 a.m.
Facilitated Discussion:
Highlights and take-aways from the two days
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12 p.m.
Adjourn
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12:30pm
Optional Tour
:
The Portland Japanese Garden’s Cultural Crossing Expansion seeks to create a serene, pilgrimage-like journey from the city to the forest, drawing each visitor into a fully immersive experience of the traditional arts and culture of Japan. A design collaboration between Kengo Kuma and Associates, Hacker, and Walker Macy among others, the 14,675-square-foot expansion includes four modest, human-scaled new buildings designed to merge into the dramatic slopes of the Washington Park terrain in combination with the tall vertical lines of Pacific Northwest conifers. Join us for a tour led by designers from Hacker and Walker Macy Please RSVP and CMG will reserve a ticket for you ($20).
Shiloh Butterworth
Oregon Region Leader and Chief People Officer, PAE Consulting Engineers
Mark Cameron
Cameron MacAllister Group
Clark Davis, FAIA
Cameron MacAllister Group
Saskia Dennis-van Dijl
Cameron MacAllister Group
Jennifer Devlin-Herbert, FAIA
President, EHDD Architects
Amy K. Donohue, AIA, NOMA, LFA
Principal, Bora Architecture & Interiors
Paul Fast
Founder, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers
Ginger Gosnell-Myers
Fellow, Decolonization and Urban Indigenous Policy + Planning; Simon Fraser University, Wosk Centre for Diaglogue
Erin Jacobs
Mithun
Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA
Cameron MacAllister Group
Scott Lelieur, AIA
Director of Operations, Lake Flato
Sindu Maliakal Meier, AIA
Associate Principal, William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.
Derrick McDonald
Associate, Hacker Architects
Sindu Meier
Associate Principal, William Rawn Associates
Brad Nile
Project Executive, Andersen Construction
Gregg Novicoff
Principal, LMS Architects
Amy Perenchio
Principal, ZGF Architects
Chandra Robinson
Principal, LEVER Architecture
Z Smith, PhD, FAIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP
EskewDumezRipple
Jason Steiner
Mithun
SPONSORS:
Syvia Magid
Partner, Fox Rothschild
Sabina Poole
Autodesk
PECHAKUCHA PRESENTATIONS:
WHY Architecture
KPMB Architects
LMN Architects
PAE
Click on the link below to review notes and presentations from the 2023 Design Colloquium in Portland, Oregon.
This page is password-protected.
Creating a Healthy Firm for Your People
Ray Calabro, FAIA
Principal, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Amy Donohue, AIA
Principal, Bora
Kevin McClurkan, AIA
Management Partner, ennead
Christiana Moss, AIA
Principal, Studio Ma
Paul Schwer
President, PAE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022
8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. PDT
Creating A Healthy Firm For Your People
PANEL DISCUSSION:
Diana Nicklaus
President, SAAM Architects
Angela Watson
CEO, Shepley Bulfinch
Darryl Condon
Managing Principal, HCMA
Presentation of research on mental health and wellness
Saskia Dennis-van Dijl, Cameron MacAllister Group
Annelise Pitts, AIA
Design Strategist, Lens Strategy
Diana Nicklaus
President, SAAM Architects
Angela Watson
CEO, Shepley Bulfinch
Darryl Condon
Managing Principal, HCMA
Saskia Dennis-van Dijl,
Cameron MacAllister Group
Annelise Pitts, AIA
Design Strategist, Lens Strategy
Click on the link below to review notes and presentations from the 2022 Virtual Design Colloquium.
This page is password-protected.
Ray Calabro, FAIA
Principal, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Amy Donohue, AIA
Principal, Bora
Kevin McClurkan, AIA
Management Partner, ennead
Christiana Moss, AIA
Principal, Studio Ma
Paul Schwer
President, PAE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022
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5– 7 p.m. PDT
Welcome Reception at Holmes
Join us for cocktails and light bites as we kick off the Design Colloquium.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022
8 a.m.
Breakfast
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8:30 a.m.
Welcome

Land and Labor Acknowledgement
Saskia Dennis-van Dijl
Review Schedule and Opening Statements
Mark Cameron, Cameron MacAllister Group
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8:45 a.m.
Keynote Speaker
Sharon Prince, Founder/CEO, Grace Farms
Design for Freedom by Grace Farms reimagines architecture by raising awareness and inspiring responses to disrupt forced labor in the building materials supply chain. Grace Farms Foundation’s interdisciplinary humanitarian mission is to pursue peace through five initiatives – nature, arts, justice, community, and faith – and at Grace Farms, a SANAA designed site for convening people across sectors.
Panelists:
COOKFOX Architects
Susie Teal, AIA, LEED AP, Partner
FX Collaborative
Ann Rolland, FAIA, LEED AP, Partner
Ennead
Amy Mielke, AIA, Director of Ennead Lab, Associate Principal
Open Forum Discussion
How can the design professions support and further the efforts that Grace Farms Foundation has started?
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10:30 a.m.
Break
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10:50 a.m.
Understanding the practice of MASS Design Group
MASS Design Group is the 2022 recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm Award. Since their founding, they have been a distinctly different architectural firm. This presentation will explore how the practice has evolved.
Katie Swenson, Senior Principal, MASS Design Group
Questions and Open Forum Discussion
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12 p.m.
Lunch
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1 p.m.
Design for a Carbon Free Resilient Future
The Design Colloquium has focused on design for sustainability and resiliency, for several years. In 2022, we are exploring how our efforts are progressing, by going deep with a single project as a case study: the story behind the PAE new Headquarters, the first developer-led Living Building.
Facilitator:
Paul Schwer, PE, LEED AP, President, PAE Consulting Engineers
Panelists:
Justin Brooks, AIA LEED AP BD+C, Principal, ZGF – the architectural design
Jill Sherman, Principal, Edlen & Company – the financial model
Katie Zabrocki, Senior Associate, PAE Consulting Engineers – the engineering innovations
Open Forum Discussion
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2:45 p.m.
Break
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3:15 p.m.
For Profit Social Enterprises
Social Purpose and Benefit Corporations
Laura Howard and Syvia Magid, Partners, Fox Rothschild
Presentation from our Sponsors followed by questions and discussion
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3:30 p.m.
PechaKucha Presentations
Transsolar KlimaEngineering
Tomasso Bitossi, Associate Director
Miller Hull
Ruth Baleiko, FAIA, Partner
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4 p.m.
Summary and Discussion
Summary and reflections on Day 1. Free time to get re-acquainted, meet new colleagues, and walk and talk outside
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5 p.m.
Walk to Sessions Restaurant
Cocktails and dinner
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FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 (PDT)
8 a.m.
Breakfast
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8:30 a.m.
Benchmarking Survey
Presentation of results of benchmarking survey
Clark Davis, FAIA, Cameron MacAllister Group
Scott Lelieur, AIA, Director of Operations Lake|Flato
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8:50 a.m.
PechaKucha Presentations
MJMA - Ted Watson, Managing Partner
Holmes - Megan Stringer, Associate Principal
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9:20 a.m.
Lessons Learned from working during the pandemic
Panelists to share what they learned that they will take into the future: e.g.How their work processes have changed; Whether they have altered their recruitment efforts; How their culture has been affected
Panelists:
Studio MA
Tim Keil, RA, Principal
Lake|Flato
Tenna Florian, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Partner
Payette
Sarah Lindenfeld, AIA, Managing Principal
hcma architecture + design
Darryl Condon, Managing Principal
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10 a.m.
Break Out Groups
Each group discusses what they learned from working during the pandemic, that they will take into the future.
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10:50 a.m.
Break
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11 a.m.
Reports from the break-out groups
Facilitator: Mark Cameron
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11:40 a.m.
Update on the GDA/DC Book Club
Amy Donohue, AIA, NOMA, LFA, BORA
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11:45 a.m.
Facilitated Discussion
Highlights and take-aways from the two days
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Noon
Adjourn
PANEL 1
Keynote Speaker:
Sharon Prince
CEO and Founder, Grace Farms Foundation
Susie Teal, AIA, LEED AP
Partner, COOKFOX
Ann Rolland, FAIA, LEED AP
Partner, FXCollaborative
Amy Mielke, AIA
Director of ENNEAD LAB; Associate Principal, ENNEAD ARCHITECTS
PANEL 2: UNDERSTANDING THE PRACTICE OF MASS DESIGN GROUP
Katie Swenson
Senior Principal, MASS Design Group
Harvard University GSD, Loeb Fellow
University of Virginia, M. Arch
U.C. Berkeley, B.A.
PANEL 3: DESIGN FOR A CARBON FREE RESILIENT FUTURE
Paul Schwer, President, PE, LEEP AP
Justin Brooks, AIA, LEED AP
B. Arch, Syracuse University
Jill Sherman
Co-founder of Edlen & Co.
Katie Zabrocki, Senior Associate, PE
PECHAKUCHA PRESENTATIONS
Tommaso Bitossi
Associate Director, Transsolar KilmaEngineering
Ruth Baleiko, FAIA, Partner
Miller Hull
Ted Watson
Partner, MJMA Architecture & Design Toronto
Megan Stringer
Associate Principal, Holmes
PANEL 4: LESSONS LEARNED FROM WORKING DURING THE PANDEMIC
Tim Kell, RA, Principal
Studio Ma
Tenna Florian, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Lake|Flato Architects
Sarah N. Lindenfield, AIA, Managing Principal
Payette
Darryl Condon, Managing Principal
hcma architecture + design
Click on the link below to review notes and presentations from the 2022 Design Colloquium in San Francisco, California.
2022 SPRING RESOURCES
This page is password-protected.
October 2021
Community in Action:
Exploring Young Black Professionals Workforce Housing Initiative
March 2021
The New Design Excellence:
Embracing Sustainability + Equity in Design First Work
March 2020
Climatic Crisis and Practice Evolution
April 2019
Responding to a Change in Climate
April 2018
Disruption: Game Changes in Design
April 2017
Stretching the Boundaries of Design
April 2016
New Developments in Design Thinking, Recruitment,
Retention and Communication
April 2015
Leadership, Growth and Innovation:
How Design-First Firms are Framing Their Future
November 2014
Growth Strategies, Global Practice, Re-invention:
New Directions for Large Design Firms
October 2013
The Changing Relevance of Design-First Firms
June 2012
Exploring the Future of Mid-size Design Firms
November 2011
Exploring the Future for the Design Professions
May 2010
Design-First Firm Practice in a Time of Great Change
November 2009
Large Firms Respond to a Challenging Economy
October 2008
Large Firm Practice in a Time of Great Change
April 2008
Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Design
September 2006
Exploring the Special Concerns of Large, Multi-office Firms:
Growth, Recruitment and Retention, Design Quality
2005
Forum on Issues Shared by Large Multi-office Design Firms
2024
DESIGN
COLLOQUIUM
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