by Curtis Frank, AIA, 2022 EP Director
Over the last couple of years the Chapter’s normal day-to-day activities were forced to change almost overnight. The once common events we all attended moved to Zoom or other online mediums for communication and interactions. With this new year comes an opportunity to bring the architectural community back together away from the virtual platform. As we come upon the midway point of the year, we continue the hard work of creating events to bring fellow associates and architects together for professional engagement opportunities.
To kick start the year, we had a very successful “So You Want to be an Architect” panel discussion. Our panelist consisted of Kristopher Barkley, AIA, Jason Ellis, AIA Matthew Sites, AIA, Liam Hanlon, AIA and Alicia Moniz, AIA. The panelists provided attendees with a unique experience for students and emerging professionals to ask questions about the profession, discuss trials of becoming licensed, and have access to leaders in our community. Our hope continues to be that the event inspires at least one person to pursue licensure in the years to come.
Our on-going 2022 “Social Crawl Series” is a fun and casual opportunity to come together and mix and mingle every other month at a new watering hole in Sacramento. These socials are the perfect space to catch up with old friends and colleagues, as well as sage members for on-the-spot mentoring. We hope everybody that has not made it out to one of the social crawls can find an occasion to attend one in the future. The more the merrier!
For EP members pursuing licensure, we plan to host three AXP tours this year. This great program helps expose emerging professionals to on-site construction experience at projects in our local area. Small groups of no more than 12 members are able to explore projects in their raw and unfinished state. The first AXP tour of this year was held at Richard’s Boulevard Office Complex (RBOC) by Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture and ZGF. When the new development is complete, it will transform a historical industrial area into a prosperous neighborhood. These tours would not be possible without the hard work of our AXP team leaders. If you missed the first AXP tour the EPs will have additional tours offered throughout the year. Keep an eye on AIACV announcements for additional information.
In the months to come, watch for a number of events still in the works such as the “Celebration of the Profession” and “House of cards.” During the “Celebration of the Profession” we are thrilled to honor and acknowledge the newly licensed architects in our region, while experiencing Sacramento’s skyline from the rooftop of the Frederic located at 609 Capitol Mall. In late summer we will hold a “House of Cards event,” in partnership with our allied group. The event will be an evening of competition that will test your teamwork and problem-solving skills while constructing designs made from playing cards. This will be a great opportunity to create a team of co-workers and friends or come to make new friends among your peers for a fun, creative activity.
The AIACV Emerging Professionals are working diligently to bring back events that encourage networking and engagement while responding to the needs of our design community. Our success comes from YOUR engagement and voice. We look forward to seeing you in person at our future events and virtually at our monthly EP meetings held on the first Wednesday of each month at 12noon. Please contact the Chapter at: [email protected] to be added to our BaseCamp group so you can receive links to join.