EQxD 2015 Recap + 2016 Call for Volunteers

by Rosa Sheng, AIA

Happy Holidays! We are grateful for all the support, interest, and dialogue with all of you equity champions this past year. We wish you all the peace, joy, hope and the best that the season brings.

2015 has been an amazing year for Equity by Design and also for the Equity in Architecture movement; EQxD hit the road with our team members sharing the findings from the survey in cities across the U.S. as well as abroad in Lisbon, Portugal! The EQxD Hackathon made its debut at AIA National Convention in Atlanta in May. EQxD also inaugurated blog series opening discussion up in previously taboo topics such as motherhood, bias and privilege in the profession. EQxD "U" prototyped Workshops based on the popular break-out sessions from the symposium; Job Satisfaction, Work/Life Flex, Negotiation, and Architecture And.  "Why Equity in Architecture Matters" was a featured talk at TEDxPhiladelphia and KQED's well known FORUM radio program. AIA Resolution 15-1: Equity in Architecture was passed by the member delegates in Atlanta, which will result in the strategic work of the Equity in Architecture Commission in 2016. The Equity Alliance took one more step towards reality with the successful Teespring fundraiser. Finally events like the AIA Women's Leadership Summit in Seattle, as well as other conferences such as Powerful in Los Angeles. And similar events are taking place across the nation to support WikiD: Women in Wikipedia campaign launched by Parlour, Architexx and backed by Women in Design, Beverly Willis Foundation, and aligned organizations nationally and abroad.

Call for EQxD Volunteers in 2016

While it would be great to take a rest and celebrate all the amazing "bites" taken from our proverbial whale this year, there is still much to do in 2016 and we are looking for more champions for our future projects. Thus far, we have the following initiatives in progress:

• AIASF EQxD Sponsored "Equity in Architecture Survey" - February/March 2016
• AIASF EQxD Sponsored "Equity by Design Symposium" - Fall of 2016
• AIA National Convention in Philadelphia - May 18-21, 2016
• Equity by Design Blogs - All year long in 2016
• #EQxDChats on Twitter - Bi-monthly in 2016 

Upcoming EQxD "Equity in Architecture Survey" Topic Workshops

If you would like to participate as a volunteer for the survey we will need help with the getting feedback on the topics that will be covered this year. If interested, please fill out the contact form above and indicate in the last box which date/topic you would like to join. We will send a calendar invite w/ the dial in information prior to the call in date so that you can participate.

• 12/22: Licensure & Professional Development
• 12/29: Education, Hiring, and General Retention
• 1/5: Working Caregivers & Work-Life Flexibility 
• 1/12: Glass Ceiling Factors - Implicit Bias, In-Group Favoritism, etc.
• 1/19: Architecture And - Exploring Alternative Career Tracks 

Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 - Request for Proposals

by Annelise Pitts, Associate AIA

The AIA SF Committee - Equity by Design requests the submission of proposals to provide research and analysis services for the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey. Deliverables to include the administration and analysis of an approximately 80 question survey on the professional experiences, backgrounds, and aspirations of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 men and women practicing architecture across the United States. Parallel survey tracks are to be provided for the following:

• Individuals who are currently working in an architectural practice
• Individuals who have worked in an architectural practice in the past, but are currently employed in another profession
• Individuals who who have worked in an architectural practice in the past, and are currently not employed in any profession

As the largest and most comprehensive study launched nationally to date on this topic, this research project has the potential to impact architectural practice nationwide.

Qualifications:

• background in survey research and analysis,
• excellent statistical analysis skills, (with a degree or major being beneficial)
• an interest in issues impacting the careers and advancement of professional women,
• familiarity with architectural practice,
• experience collaborating with teams to produce narratives which depict the findings to a broader audience

In addition, the successful research team or individual will demonstrate the ability to work in collaboration with the AIASF Equity by Design Research Committee to present survey findings in a final report  that can be understood by the broader AEC community.

Project Description

Building upon the successful 2014 Equity in Architecture Survey, the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey aims to create a comprehensive national dataset detailing female and male graduates of architecture school’s current positions and career experiences.

This phase of the Equity in Architecture Research Project will provide data on the ways in which men’s and women’s careers in architecture differ, and offer insight into ways in which individual practitioners, employers, and the industry as a whole can make changes on a policy and culture level that  promote satisfying careers in architecture for women and men alike, improve employee retention, and ultimately, improve companies’ bottom lines.

The survey will be designed to include approximately 80 questions, with multiple tracks based on the criteria above. It should take 15-20 minutes to complete, and will be administered within a one month period via Survey Monkey. The survey results will be processed by the academic research team per the schedule outlined in this document within the general timeframe between March 2016 – July 2016, with preliminary results available in June 2016.

Key research goals/objectives  for the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey include:

• Compare the current positions and career experiences of  female and male architecture school graduates nationwide, including both current architectural professionals and those who no longer practice architecture.
• Identify career pinch points associated with these experiences, highlighting ways in which women experience these career pinch points differently from their male counterparts.
• Highlight individual attitudes and behaviors, as well as employer-provided benefits and practices, that contribute to success in navigating these pinch points. Conversely, identify behaviors and practices that correlate with negative outcomes.
• Follow up with respondents of the 2014 Equity in Architecture Survey to track career progression between 2014-2016. Compare men’s and women’s career progress over this two-year period.

Submission Requirements

For Full RFP, Download PDF Here.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO December 31, 2015.

Please submit the following items electronically by no later than 5pm, December 31st. Please address all submissions to Annelise Pitts, Chair of the Equity by Design Research Committee, annelise.pitts@gmail.com :

• Executive summary, including a discussion of team experience with similar projects
• CVs for all individuals who will be working on the project, including individual experience with relevant projects, their role on the project, professional accreditations, and educational and employment background
• Proposed schedule of fees, including hourly rates and a projected breakdown of hours by phase listed above in the Project Timeline and Scope of Work
• Proposed project delivery method, including schedule, methods of analysis, and a description of project deliverables included in the scope of work. Please discuss any suggested revisions to the project timeline, scope of services, or project deliverables
• 3 References for the scope of work.

Resources/Existing Data

The following resources provide additional information of the work of Equity by Design:

• Equity by Design and AIA San Francisco, “Knowledge, Discussion, Action: 2014 Equity in Architecture Survey Report and Key Outcomes,” http://issuu.com/rsheng2/docs/equityinarch2014_finalreport

AIA's Gold Medal: The Importance and Value of U.S. Architecture's Top Prize

Editor's Note:

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, The American Institute of Architects announced Denise Scott Brown, hon. FAIA and Robert Venturi, FAIA, as joint winners of the 2016 AIA Gold Medal. The AIA cited the duo for their "built projects as well as literature that set the stage for Postmodernism and nearly every other formal evolution in architecture." Scott Brown and Venturi are the first duo to receive the Gold Medal, after the AIA approved a change to its bylaws in 2013 that allowed the award to be presented to up to two individuals working together towards a significant singular body of work.

“The American Institute of Architects has named Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi the recipients of its 2016 Gold Medal, an honor that makes a statement about the role of women in design and takes a subtle shot at the field’s highest award, the Pritzker Architecture Prize.”

— Blair Kamin

The post written below is by Julia Donoho, AIA, Esq. as a response to Architecture gold medal, rebutting Pritzker, goes to Scott Brown and Venturi, an article written on December 3, 2015 by Blair Kamin, The Chicago Tribune's Architectural Critic. Julia, who was part of the nomination team for Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi's AIA Gold Medal, contends the value and importance of earning this award is the highest honor in the AIA and spearheads progressive recognition within the profession of Architecture.

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Mr. Kamin,
As the advocate on the AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council who championed the nominations of Julia Morgan, Robert Venturi, and Denise Scott Brown, I am writing to give you some additional background and clear the record on the importance, value, and process of receiving the Gold Medal in Architecture from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Importance
The AIA Gold Medal is solid gold, and, like the gold medals from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and the Union Internationale d’Architecture, it is given in recognition of “a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.”  It is a pinnacle of lifetime achievement. The Pritzker Prize is a bronze medal, given for “talent, vision and commitment,” typically received earlier in the career.  That the Pritzker has chosen to dub itself the “Nobel prize in architecture” is not an indication that it is a better award, or the top award in architecture, but more clearly reflects to us that they are using marketing slogans to inflate their importance, and the media has perpetuated that suggestion.
 

Value
Receiving the AIA Gold Medal is of far greater value to the architects who have received it because of its importance.  While receiving a prize with a purse has intrinsic value, the architects who receive the Pritzker don’t really have to do anything in terms of nomination, and selection to get the award.  And, as with Robert Venturi, the candidate has no say in the matter.  When the Pritzker’s called to say he would be their recipient and he suggested that he and Denise Scott Brown should be the recipient together, they said no.  He did not apply for a solo award and he was clear in his speech that it was a “we” endeavor.  They refused to listen.  So, for Venturi, this award mostly brought him problems and dilemmas.  It has been terribly difficult for his personal relationship and for the whole profession to watch this couple asking to be treated appropriately.  Getting Pritzker’d can be a bad thing.
 

Process
The process of receiving an AIA Gold Medal is the most rigorous in the industry and for that reason it is highly coveted.  First, there has to be a committee of peers who want the architect to have the award, who are willing to nominate and advocate.  A portfolio must be made with letters of support from other top architects and submitted to the AIA.  A Gold Medal Jury reviews submissions and makes a shortlist of three candidates for the Board to consider.   Then an advocate for each of the candidates comes before AIA Leadership and Regional Representatives to make a presentation.  Deliberations in private result in the final selection.  Because of this rigorous process, this is truly an award from the profession making it a far stronger acknowledgment of a lifetime of work of lasting impact than a single jury can provide.
 

Conclusion
In closing, the conferral of this award on Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown is not in any way a response to the Pritzker’s lack of vision.  It is really a new statement that Howard Roark is dead, that the myth of the lone genius as the only pathway to architectural impact is set aside, and an assertion that our profession is far more inclusive than ever before.  The American Institute of Architects is driving positive change through the power of design.
Standing up for themselves, and for opening our profession to a new paradigm, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown are once again American HEROES. They have opened our eyes, again. Their work is so profoundly impactful on our whole profession that it was an honor to finally get them the proper reward.   The AIA Gold Medal wall will now include these masters of modern architecture as we hold them up as two of our greatest architects, made greater still by a lifetime of working together.
 

Thank you,
Julia Donoho, AIA, Esq.
Architectural Advocate