September has been a wonderful month of celebrating design and exploring the place of an architect in placemaking so to speak. Starting off the month, I was privileged to be part of a panel discussion at LTU where the LTU-AIAS screened the documentary Archiculture.   The film is about the unique teaching methodology of studio-based design education, told from the perspective of a group of students, interspersed with dialog from leading professionals, historians and educators. Dean Glen LeRoy led our panel in a discussion with a group of students on topics such as how well our schools prepare architects for the profession and how design education can lead to diverse career paths.

 The next night, AIA Michigan joined AIA Grand Rapids at the Kendall College of Art and Design for a wonderful evening talking about Federal Courthouse transformation. Ron Bogle, president and CEO of the American Architectural Foundation and Bob Theel, chief architect of GSA Region 5 presented along with several of our Michigan members. Joyce Lee, FAIA who organized the event, presented a very similar courthouse-to-school transformation in Hong Kong.

AIA Michigan formally began exploring its new connection with the Sense of Place (SOP) council. Cathy and I met with representatives from the Michigan Municipal League (MML) and MSHDA to understand its history and purpose. We are planning another meeting to talk more in depth about the Green Health Conference and how we can partner with the SOP council. I attended my first SOP council meeting last Friday and it is fascinating and eye opening to see the diverse members of the council - planners, realtors, representatives from MSHDA, MEDC, MDOT, MDEQ, the Land Policy Institute and Michigan Environmental Council, to name a few - and how they look at placemaking and how they perceive the architect's role which is in some cases, as you might surmise, very different than how we look at our role.

I attended the AIA Detroit Celebration of Architecture at the Eastern Market, which had a record turnout, and included great attendance from the general public. For those of you that stuck around for the fashion show which was part of the Detroit Design Festival, you got to see our own Christine Lovstrom in a hairdo you shouldn't try at home!

The Design Retreat was especially great this year with plenty of stories from the presenters and we all went home inspired and with a fresh perspective on our work.

You all should have received the emails regarding proposed bylaw amendments which I hope you will review and arrive ready to discuss  the proposed changes at the Annual Meeting. 

In closing, as you may know, AIA Michigan is searching for a Public Policy Director and has received numerous resumes which the search committee is currently reviewing. Soon, we hope to have that person on board and helping Cathy, Evelyn and Christine in strengthening our public engagement. With initiatives such as this new addition to our staff and our new role on the SOP council, AIA Michigan is becoming a broader organization, reaching out, engaging the public, joining relevant coalitions, and adding value to what is happening in our communities. In this way, we demonstrate - with actions - the strengths that architects bring and the value of having us involved.

Sincerely,