President’s Message | Paul Menard, AIA
This October the Chapter will be welcoming AIA Central Valley members and all citizens who want to “Experience Architecture” for our 10th year of this public-outreach event. Since its launch, this program has been dedicated to facilitating greater transparency with the public in how architects create our built environment, how architecture impacts their daily lives, and to highlight our region’s unique architectural identity. This year’s focus will be on affordable housing.
I sought inspiration for this President’s message from the Thursday, August 5, Sacramento Bee front page article headlined “Steinberg lists 20 sites to be used for homeless in city”. I found information there, as well as during the August 4th Press Conference with Mayor Steinberg on ULI/AIA Housing Concepts, when Mayor Steinberg spoke about what he wants the City to create on the 20 sites, 15 of which are publicly owned. In the middle of the Mayor’s remarks, John Hodgson (ULI) introduced the collaborative effort involving ULI, AIA, and First Step Communities (Steve Waters, Executive Director) and Bob Chase, AIA (AIA Central Valley and ULI) presented three scenarios, listed below, for affordable housing concepts designed by three AIACV member firms. As Bob was presenting, Mayor Steinberg jumped up and exclaimed “That’s what we want!” Bob didn’t miss a beat and said “That’s what we want too.”
- Campsite Supportive Housing by Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture
- Tiny Home Scenario by Mogavero.
- Hybrid 150-Bed Supportive Housing by DLR Group
All three concepts include the following physical components and social characteristics: gathering and social spaces, the capability to group residents by social cohort, autonomy and respect for individual residents, storage spaces for the possessions of the residents, and mental health and other social services necessary to enable success for these strategies that aim to guide those experiencing unsheltered homelessness to permanent housing. The Chapter will be hosting a “Let’s Talk” session for the membership on Wednesday, September 8th to provide a deeper understanding of their ground-breaking work and Mayor Steinberg’s passion for housing equity, as he exhorts us to “lead with big hearts, help thousands of people, and at the same time have a cleaner and safer cities.”
The City Council voted on the 20-site proposal on Tuesday, August 10—all 20 sites in one vote. I borrowed the title for this message from Mayor Steinberg, who said towards the end of his emotionally charged answer to one of the questions from the audience – “Let’s get after it! Let’s make it better!”
To this end, I chose affordable housing as the primary focus for our Chapter this year, including Experience Architecture. Due to the growing awareness of racial inequities embedded in past zoning ordinances, practices of the lending industry, and the clear current lack of affordable and work force housing our Chapter’s Housing Task Force crafted a Housing Position Statement, approved in December of 2020, that outlines the Chapter’s position on housing and suggests strategies for architects to lead and assist in solving the housing crisis.
Plan to join the Experience Architecture events focused on housing:
- APA Webinar Series: Equity in Housing, Zoning, and the Missing Middle – AIACV’s panel will discuss the City of Sacramento’s proposed change to reform the standard single-family zone through the City’s 2040 General Plan Update process that would allow for a greater variety of housing types to be integrated into existing detached single-unit neighborhoods.
- Tour d’ Architecture Bike Ride – This popular event will stop at affordable housing locations including CADA and Sonrisa Affordable Housing and the Capitol Park Hotel Renovation.
- The Time Has Come: How Can We Make the Fair Oaks Blvd. Corridor Plan a Reality? Ten years ago, the County of Sacramento adopted the Fair Oaks Boulevard Corridor Plan and the Main Street District Special Planning Area (SPA) Ordinance. The panel discussion will include a representative of District 3 (Rich Desmond), Bruce Race, FAIA – the original author of the Corridor Plan and the SPA Ordinance, among others. The Great Recession intervened and the built environment along Fair Oaks Boulevard in Carmichael still does not reflect the intentions of the Boulevard Plan, nor the flexibility allowed in the SPA ordinance. The subject site for this discussion comprises two acres on the east side of Fair Oaks Boulevard across the street from the terminus of North Avenue and is located at the approximate geographic center of the Main Street District. The public right-of-way boulevard improvements shown in the original Boulevard Plan represent a significant investment in public infrastructure by the County and are almost complete. The panel will outline the history behind the Boulevard Plan and explore ways to bring an exemplary affordable housing project into reality on this site.
- AIA CA Design Series: How We House / Central Valley – This program is one in a series of four that looks at housing in our state. For the Central Valley session, AIACV members David Mogavero, AIA and Maria Ogrydziak, AIA will share their innovative homeless and affordable housing projects and discuss the range of affordable housing types, how funding programs affect design, and how objectives such as housing in locations that reduce car ownership and community creation impact residents.
For more details on these events and registration links, please visit the AIACV Experience Architecture website page.
Together, we can “get after [housing], and make it better!” All members are welcome to join the Chapter’s Civic Engagement Team or Housing Task force. Please reach out to me: [email protected] or Kim Anderson at the Chapter: [email protected] to get connected.