AIA Pennsylvania is proud to share the debut issue of our annual Year in Review, Architectural Excellence Showcase, and Firm Directory publication. As its name suggests, the publication recaps 2020’s achievements, programs, and initiatives, celebrates the Architectural Excellence Design, COTE, and Special Awards recipients, and recognizes last year’s Architectural Excellence Design Awards finalists. The publication also features a directory of 362 architecture firms* based in Pennsylvania.
2020 AIA Pennsylvania President Marc Mondor sums it up in a few words, “2020 was no ordinary year.” The events of last year forced the architecture profession, construction industry, AIA Pennsylvania, and the world to confront challenges and obstacles that no one could have anticipated. AIA Pennsylvania’s Executive Director Stephen Swarney recaps how AIA Pennsylvania adapted to support the membership:
“Our goal at AIA Pennsylvania was simple: provide our members with value and information and support in any way needed. We hosted many and varied webinars and meetings, we lobbied for the built environment and the importance of the profession, we engaged with the larger AIA community around the world to learn best practices and give members opportunities for personal and professional growth, we strengthened relationships, we developed new ways to operate and we spent many hours just listening. In many ways, membership in an association is like a good insurance policy, it is invaluable when you need it. While we certainly experienced some hiccups, we continued to learn and adapt so we could provide you with optimal value.”
We would be remiss if we didn’t express gratitude to the nearly 3,000 members – licensed architects, emerging professionals, and AEC industry professionals – across the state that remained dedicated to the health, safety, and welfare of clients and communities amidst the daily challenges of navigating life and work in 2020. In browsing this publication, we hope that you will take pride in the strides taken by your member peers and staff to move AIA Pennsylvania and the profession forward last year. We invite all to draw inspiration from the 140 examples of great architecture featured in the publication.
As we turn the corner in the 2nd quarter of 2021 and spring has sprung, a renewed sense of optimism and opportunity is in the air as recovery seems imminent. Then again, optimism never left us. Sir Norman Foster said it best: “If you weren’t an optimist, it would be impossible to be an architect.”
Flip through the publication >
A print version of the publication was mailed to every firm with a member presence throughout the state as well as all 253 state legislators. If your firm does not receive a print version of the publication by the end of April and wishes to receive one, please reach out to Michelle McKenna at mmckenna@aiapa.org. If you are not a member and interested in the print version of the publication, AIA Pennsylvania has a limited amount of copies for sale. Please reach out to Michelle McKenna at mmckenna@aiapa.org for details.
*Firms included in the directory responded to a survey circulated to members in the fall of 2020.