CRAN Symposium + Reception Agenda

AIA Chicago CRAN Symposium + Reception

Thursday, May 25, 2023, 8:30am - 8:00pm

The Merchandise Mart; Meet on 6, Suite 6-180

This year’s expanded, full-day program promises informative sessions focused on impactful topics relevant to custom residential architects and small firm practitioners at all stages of their career. Gather at theMART for a day of learning, networking, and connecting with industry vendors. Then, celebrate with a cocktail reception in the evening after the symposium.

Event details and timings are subject to change. Refer to this page for up-to-date information.

Agenda

Designing for Decarbonization

9:30 AM, 1.5 LU/HSW

All-electric homes are achievable, cost-effective, and a critical component in our energy future. While a majority of architects have signed on to the AIA 2030 challenge, we would need to fully electrify about 5 million existing buildings per year to meet our nations 2050 climate goals.

Whether your firm is just getting started on this journey or has been at it for a while, sharing data and resources with our peers is critical for moving our collective goals further, faster. This presentation will focus on presenting project case studies, performance data, roadblocks encountered, and best practices for firms.

Tom Bassett-Dilley, AIA, CPHC, founded TBDA in 2006 to pursue sustainability in architecture based on climate and context. Toward that end, he became a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC©) in 2010 to learn advanced energy modeling, building science, and principles of conservation. Seeking an aesthetic arising from performance, Tom has led the design of all the firm’s work, including dozens of Phius, LEED, Greenstar, and DOE certified projects in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Kentucky.

He is a founding member and past President of the Chicago Passive House Alliance chapter and served for six years on Oak Park’s Historic Preservation Commission. Since 2011 Tom has regularly presented locally and nationally on topics relating to energy efficiency, health, and building science in new and old buildings alike. TBDA is an Architecture 2030 Signatory, proudly meeting portfolio-wide reduction targets since 2018.

Kim Nigro, AIA LEED AP Homes, has been the principal of Studio Nigro since founding the practice in 2006. Having studied architecture in Italy during university, Kim had the honor of returning there in 2007 as the recipient of the Burnham Prize Fellowship in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome. Influenced by the Rome Sustainable Food program and ancient passive building techniques, Kim returned to Chicago determined that Studio Nigro lead the way for our communities to become sustainable beacons of healthy balance between the built environment and the natural world. >

A licensed architect in the states of Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri, Kim has practiced in Chicago for the past twenty-four years. Studio Nigro was an early signatory of the AIA 2030 Commitment, and the firm continues to build collaborative relationships to push sustainability goals. Kim is also an active participant in outreach with Architects Advocate for Action on Climate Change and the Citizens Climate Lobby, both advocacy groups working for legislation to halt the climate crisis.

Universal Design in Residential Architecture

11:15 AM, 1.0 LU/HSW

Architects and designers must be equipped to leverage building codes and standards to best design homes for their clients to age in place gracefully without the need to drastically recreate their environment to suit a future need.

Using the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the International Building Code (IBC) and International Code Council (ICC) A117.1, this presentation will focus on the inclusion of universal design within residential architecture through the civil rights legislation that helped spur the accessibility codes to the standards we use today.

Kate Dailey, AIA, is a licensed architect in the state of Illinois. Hailing from Philadelphia, she moved to Chicago in 2013 for a “change of scenery”. The scenery change is now permanent. Kate has found a home in the K12 studio at Perkins&Will, and she gains great satisfaction through helping to design thoughtful and considered spaces for students. During the course of her career, she fell in love with a wheelchair user, whom she eventually married. The relationship opened her eyes to the everyday challenges of the physical environment she had previously taken for granted. Inspired, she began to focus on accessibility and universal design within the built environment. She has worked on the accessibility of all types of projects – hotels, schools, big box stores, small banks, cruise ships, and stadiums. Kate delights in sharing her knowledge and experience and acts as an accessibility and universal design expert within Perkins&Will.

Succession Planning in a Hybrid/Remote Work World: Transitioning Ownership, Leadership, and a Good Culture

1:00 PM, 1.0 LU

Succession planning for architecture firms is a challenging endeavor and while the industry transferred easily to a remote and hybrid work model, the transfer of ownership, leadership, and culture was made much more difficult by the pandemic.

This session will help architectural firm owners and senior leaders better understand the challenges of succession planning today and how to build a plan that will guide the firm through this change. Attendees will also review the succession models and the pros and cons of each and end with a list of takeaways and action items to implement immediately at their firms.

Jon Escobar is a Vice President with Morrissey Goodale and specializes in merger and acquisition advisory consulting, business planning, and valuation. As a consultant to the AE and environmental industry, Jon has worked hand-in-hand with firms of nearly every type and size, to develop acquisition and ownership transition strategies that are visionary, focused, and achievable.

Jon earned his bachelor's degree in Economics and Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Jon also holds the Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor (“CM&AA”) designation from the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors.

Chicago at Home, Part 1: A Brief History of Chicago Residential Architecture

2:15 PM, 1.0 LU

Today, Chicago’s residential architecture encompasses a wide range of both contemporary and traditional residential work. Chicago at Home will cover the multitude of design styles and innovations from 1890 through today.

Beginning with the invention of the balloon frame in Chicago after the great fire of 1871, Chicago has played a critical role in the development of American residential architecture, from the ideas promoted by Frank Lloyd Wright and his colleagues; to architects like George Fred Keck completing groundbreaking passive solar design work in the 1930s; to the arrival of Mies van der Rohe and his students work on both urban courtyard housing and freestanding glass houses.

Stuart Cohen, FAIA, is a practicing architect, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an educator and author. He is professor of architecture emeritus at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His work was included in the 1980 Venice Biennale, and his residential work has been included in Architectural Digest’s AD100. He is the author of numerous articles and four books on Chicago’s historic residential architecture.

In 2018 Cohen received an Arthur Ross Award from the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art for contributions to architectural history and theory. Cohen & his partner Julie Hacker were the 2019 recipients of the Society of Architectural Historians award for Design, Academics and Scholarship and he is the recipient of the 2021 AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award.

Chicago at Home, Part 2: Recent Design

3:45 PM, 1.0 LU

Taking cues from Pecha Kucha-style presentations, this fast-paced presentation by ten emerging local architects will highlight recent work of contemporary residential practitioners. Presenters will showcase the work of their firms and address the question of how their work relates to the rich history of Chicago Residential Architecture.

Mindy Viamontes, AIA; Managing Partner at M Viamontes Architecture + Interiors

Seth Romig, AIA; Principal at Seth Romig Architect

Elyse M. Agnello, AIA; Principal at DAAM | Designers Architects Artists Makers

Ed Deegan, AIA NCARB; Principal at Ed Deegan Architects and Interiors

Danielle Beaulieu, AIA, LEED AP BD+C; Principal at -lieu

Eric Rothfeder, AIA; Principal ERA at Eric Rothfeder Architect

Heidi Lightner, AIA; Principal at Heidi Lightner Architects

Annabell Ren, NOMA; Principal at New Office

Ellen Whitehead, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP HOMES; Principal/Owner at Dew Design Company

Alison Von Glinow, AIA; Co-Founder at Kwong Von Glinow