The Value of Participation

Everyone’s journey through their career in architecture is unique. We all have varied opportunities, challenges, setbacks, and goals, which considerably influence who we are as designers or architects at any given point in time. In this article, I would like to share an opportunity I took advantage of early in my career to participate in the AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF), which resulted in lasting friendships, opportunities, and support. YAF influenced my journey that led to working at Lake|Flato, a top-ranked architecture firm, as a director and leading an internal research program called Investigations, as well as being appointed to the national AIA COTE Leadership, among many other exciting things!

I was involved in YAF in Minnesota in the early 90’s when the AIA program was just starting. I lived in two regions and had the opportunity to participate in multiple AIA chapters’ YAF programs: AIA Northern Minnesota (Duluth) and AIA St. Paul / AIA Minneapolis (Twin Cities). While I was not involved in a leadership capacity, I often participated in various events that, as the AIA YAF website aptly states, are meant to help foster professional development. I want to share two very memorable YAF events, which always included meeting new people and learning about the work of other firms.

Multi-YAF-chapter camping trip and project tour

The three AIA YAF chapters listed previously convened in Ely, Minnesota, to camp overnight and tour Jim Brandenburg’s Ravenwood.

About 20-ish YAF’ers got an amazing and intimate tour by Brandenburg himself, a famous nature photographer (featured on multiple National Geographic magazine covers). We walked on the green roof, scaled the precarious open steps to the upper level, and walked the beautiful property. We learned how a feature integrated into the architecture helped with work-life balance… his studio, a separate structure (center right in photo), has a ridge beam that extends out with a large roof overhang. A steel cable extends down from this beam, where a large stone has been attached a few feet above the ground. Mr. Brandenburg said that each morning, he gives the rock a push, and 6-8 hours later, when it stops moving, he stops working for the day. He added that “the push” is more gently on days he does not want to work as much��

Ravenwood was designed by an award-winning architect, David Salmela, from my hometown, Duluth, MN, whom I have admired for years. He has won many national AIA awards, including a COTE Top Ten award for a project at the University of Minnesota, Bagley Outdoor Classroom. A favorite Salmela projectproject Salmela of mine is the Gooseberry Falls Visitor Center on the North Shore of Lake Superior.