by Barak Yaryan, AIA Walk into the first floor of a modern library and you might feel like you’ve entered a train station. The hum of conversation, the clatter of footsteps, the buzz of collaboration—it’s a far cry from the hushed...
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Voices
Celebrating Culture, Community, and Connection
by Natalie Shutt-Banks, AIA, NOMA and Sonja Bochart, IIDA, LEED AP, LEED AP BD&C, WELL AP, LFA Embodying the values of cultural pride, community resilience, and regenerative design, the Lake City Collective Cultural Center is taking...
Essence as Compass: Starting with the Climate Toolkit
by Sonja Bochart, IIDA, LEED AP, LEED AP BD&C, WELL AP, LFA, and Natalie Shutt-Banks, AIA, NOMA In the face of a rapidly changing climate, our responses can easily become reactive—driven by urgency rather than clarity. That’s why we...
Mind the Gap: Optimizing Neuro Patient Journeys
by Cathleen Lange, AIA, and Scott Mueller, AIA Yale New Haven Health Saint Raphael Campus Bedtower, New Haven, CT. Rendering © Shepley Bulfinch.The neurosciences represent one of the few clinical areas where both inpatient and outpatient...
Reflections and Learning: 2025 Summer Intern Teachout
by Spencer Smith As summer winds down, our 2025 class of summer design interns closed out their experience with a series of teachout presentations. These sessions offered a glimpse into the diverse experiences, projects, and personal...
Beyond the Blueprint: Murals in Architecture
by Omar Bailey, AIA, LEED AP, NOMA Art has a transformative power over people and places. Within architecture, murals are more than decorative additions. They’re powerful tools for storytelling, placemaking, and cultural identity. I sat...
Creating Order from Chaos: How Artists Transform Healing Spaces
by Andrea Hardy, AIA, and Scott Ross Steffes, IIDA Wildlife artist Charley Harper once observed, "When I look at a wildlife or nature object, I don't see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color...
Breathing New Life into Brutalist Libraries
by Bob Mohr, AIA, LEED AP Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Photo by Robert Benson.Thanks to modern conservation efforts and popularization via media like the Oscar winning film “The Brutalist,”...
Designing for Feedback: How Occupancy Evaluations Shape Better Spaces
by Andrea Hardy, AIA, EDAC, and Natalie Shutt-Banks, AIA Recently, Natalie and I delivered an informative presentation titled “Developing a Qualitative Occupancy Survey That Is Applicable Across Project Types” at the EDRA56 Conference that...
More Than a Hospital: Designing a New Future for Pediatric Care in Nevada
by Michelle Amberson, AIA, ACHA, EDAC As a healthcare architect for nearly two decades, I have specialized in designing healthcare environments that respond not only to clinical requirements but to the broader challenges facing...
All Gender Restrooms: Embracing Change in the Built Environment
by Amanda Vigneau, IIDA, NCIDQ, and Christopher Hillebrand, AIA, LEED AP As architects and designers, we face design challenges rooted in the built environment. Our collaboration with student activities professionals emphasizes the...
Pride in Montrose: A beloved community hub and beacon for inclusivity
by Natalie Thurman, AIA, and Alyssa Hitt, IIDA, NCIDQ, LFA After much anticipation, the new Freed-Montrose Library opened in December 2024 to considerable excitement. As part of the Houston Public Library system, this new facility...