YAF chair’s message

YAF chair’s message: Never stop thinking big:

A look back on the Practice Innovation Lab as YAF develops a new 5-year strategic initiative

As I wrap up my year as chair of the Young Architects Forum and enter my last year on the committee, I cannot help but think back to how I got my start. In 2018, I stepped onto YAF’s Advisory Committee in the role of community director. But before that, and most relevant to this Connection’s theme, I attended the AIA’s Practice Innovation Lab (PIL) in October 2017. For those of you still unfamiliar with the PIL, plenty has been written about the experience, the outcomes, and the process both on the AIA website and within the pages of previous Connection issues, and I encourage you to read those articles by fellow contributors.

Something that hasn’t been made obvious in much of this coverage is that the Practice Innovation Lab also marked the beginning of a five-year strategic initiative for the Young Architects Forum. If you do the math, you’ll realize that those five years will come to an end later in 2022. As I write this, the YAF leadership is moving full steam ahead with a steering committee to conceptualize and plan a multi-part summit that will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Young Architects Forum through a future-focused event that reevaluates the needs of young architects and pushes boundaries to propel the profession forward. While the Practice Innovation Lab was largely meant to spark inward innovation relevant to the profession of architecture, this new “Summit 30” looks outward toward the convergence of climate change, technology, and society in the next 100 years.

What will the world look like in the year 2130? How can the profession of architecture evolve to meet the demands of our future communities and climate? What technology has been invented to support these efforts and provide for both planetary and human health? What do architects need to start doing today to proactively address these changes instead of passively reacting once there is no other choice? These are all questions that the steering committee is asking, and we look forward to providing opportunities for you to help us explore the answers throughout 2022.

In the meantime, I have been reflecting on the legacy of the Practice Innovation Lab and asking myself what lessons we should bring with us into the future. Two takeaways come to mind: one, that the YAF has a unique ability to initiate and bring about real change within our profession, and two, that true innovation is the result of hard work, perseverance, foresight, and sure, a little bit of luck.

As young architects, we occupy a unique space in the AEC industry. We have completed a master’s or professional bachelor’s degree in architecture, we have passed the AREs

after gaining experience across all facets of the architectural process, and yet we still have many decades of our careers ahead of us. The Practice Innovation Lab set the stage for a continued search for innovation within practice. One day soon, we will all reach a point when we are no longer considered young architects. When that day comes, we must maintain our eagerness to evolve the standard business model of architecture, to advocate for change, and to be a guiding light for our profession.

This time last year, we were sorting through the chaos surrounding multiple crises: a global pandemic, civil unrest, the effects of a warming planet, a demand for equity and justice, and the uncertainty surrounding the future of work. There was a hope that all of this would lead to innovative business models and new ways of working remotely (or in a hybrid fashion), but a year later, there is a clamoring and a yearning for a “return to normal.” Until we realize that how we are living now is our new normal, we will continue to find different ways of doing the same things under the guise of “innovation.”

I implore you to look outside of the profession and into Web3, NFTs, cryptocurrency, and the metaverse with the same rigor and optimistic wonder that we approached our studio projects in school. While many, including myself at times, may dismiss any or all of the above as a fad, the truth is that there are a lot of people trying to solve real-world problems with this new technology. We risk being marginalized quickly if we turn away from their efforts and ignore progress. If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that there are a lot of issues on which we disagree, but to tackle the most pressing problems our planet faces, we must first make space to listen to “the other.”

Later this year, the YAF’s Summit 30 will encourage us to look outside the insular nature of architectural practice and toward the larger issues facing society. I think this is an important and necessary shift, given the overwhelming challenges the world faces today. And yet, as we look toward the future and a new five-year strategic initiative, I know we plan to bring the lessons of the Practice Innovation Lab with us. And as I approach the end of my tenure on the Young Architects Forum, I know that I will bring this thirst for innovation and change with me into my next endeavor, whether that be within my firm or new opportunities within the AIA. Please join us this year as we wrap up our focus on practice innovation and look toward the horizon. Because if we are going to make it to the year 2130, we can’t stop thinking big.

Abigail R. Brown, AIA

Based in Washington, D.C., Brown is a co-founder of JAMB Collective, a resource-sharing network for small and medium-sized architecture firms that was born at the 2017 Practice Innovation Lab. She serves as 2022 YAF past chair.