Practice Disrupted by Practice of Architecture

What is purpose-driven practice, and how do you design it in your business?

Guest:

Illya Azaroff, Founding Director +LAB Architect PLLC  

Illya Azaroff, AIA, is founding principal of +LAB architect PLLC and Assoc. Professor at the New York City College of Technology (CUNY). He is a recognized leader in disaster mitigation, resilient planning strategies and design with more than 25 years of experience. He consults with design teams across the US and the world. Currently, he is leading the AIA New York Unifies Task for City and State on issues surrounding COVID19. 

Show Links: 

+LAB Architect PLLC https://www.pluslabnyc.com/ 

In this episode of Practice Disrupted, we begin to explore technology as a disruptor to the industry of architectural practice.

Guest:

Nels Long, Co-Founding Director of RotoLab 

Nels Long (SCI-Arc ’14) is a designer, strategist and educator with a passion for projects that seek to improve the world through a relationship between technology and the built environment. As an Associate Principal at RoTo Architects, Nels has worked on projects at numerous scales from single family homes and commercial spaces, to large civic projects and masterplans. His approach to practice is the basis for founding RoTo Architects’ innovation studio, RotoLab. Through RotoLab Nels has cofounded companies that each focus on a different relationship between architecture, technology, and neuroscience, specifically focusing on learning through virtual experiences, virtual tooling, and social and competitive spaces for virtual experiences and games.

Show Links:    

RoTo Architects -- Our curated team of professionals have worked for corporations, government agencies, and individuals on a wide array of projects. We have learned the value of working collaboratively and the benefit of listening with open minds, heightened curiosity, and a sense of great purpose. https://www.rotoark.com/

RotoLab - An innovation studio for cross sector innovation in Architecture & Real Estate.

http://rotolab.la/

Second Studio is an open source collaboration software for architects and designers looking for an immersive VR solution for creating free form models using intuitive virtual tools.

https://github.com/SecondStudio/Second-Studio

Affinity Space is a grassroots organization in support of resilient futures through the sharing of information, cross-sector collaboration, and online mentoring. It is an online space where life’s challenges are to be presented in a spirit of compassion and domain experts present solutions in support of affected communities. It is a knowledge web in support of learning new skills, making new friends, and creating a better world. https://affinity-space.com/

RIOS (formerly Rios Clementi Hale Studio) https://www.rios.com/

Read more about RIOS product design: https://www.rios.com/news/#filter=.all-posts.all-brands.products

notNeutral was born out of the idea that architecture is more than just a building; it is everything in the designed environment. As the design-child of Rios Clementi Hale Studios, notNeutral was a way for our award-winning transdisciplinary design firm to expand its horizons. https://www.notneutral.com/ 

Episode 2 - The Next Generation of Practice

How are architects thinking outside of the box of the traditional practice model? In this episode of Practice Disrupted, we explore lessons from the Practice Innovation Lab and meet a team of architect entrepreneurs who are building a business.

Guests:

Christian Jordan, Co-Founder of Jamb Collective

Abi Brown, Co-Founder Jamb Collective

Christian Jordan is an architect practicing in Philadelphia, PA. As a principal at PJA Architecture, founded by his father, Phillip, he continues to be a tireless advocate for emerging architects and the profession. Having graduated from Jefferson University with a B.Arch in 2005, he has been an adjunct at the university’s College of Architecture since 2006.  He is currently teaching a course on innovation and professional practice.  He was awarded the AIA Pennsylvania’s Emerging Professional award in 2017.  In 2018, he ended a three-year term as the AIA Young Architect Regional Director for Pennsylvania, during which time he established the Firms Fostering Emerging Professional recognition award for firms in Pennsylvania.  In 2017, he co-founded the JAMB Collective with five colleagues during the AIA’s Practice Innovation Lab.  As a managing partner, Christian continues to further JAMB's mission to help small firms stay small, act big, and do good.  

Abigail R. Brown, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is an architect at Hickok Cole in Washington, DC, where she works on urban multifamily residential projects at a variety of scales. Abi is the 2020 Vice Chair and the 2018-2019 Community Director for AIA National’s Young Architects Forum where she uses her passion for building networks and resource sharing to better connect emerging professionals groups around the country. She is a licensed architect in the state of Illinois, a 2020 winner of the AIA Young Architects Award, and a 2016 winner of the AIA|DC Emerging Architect Award.In 2017, she participated in the AIA Practice Innovation Lab where her team started JAMB Collective, a network that helps small and medium-sized architecture firms better compete with larger firms. Abi’s experience leading in her office and professional organizations helps to shape JAMB’s approach to member outreach and culture.

JAMB Collective utilizes technology and a decentralized network to connect, support, and open new doors for small to mid-size architecture firms.  From its conception at the AIA’s Practice Innovation Lab in October of 2017 to today, the JAMB Collective has grown from an idea to an ecosystem of 16 architectural firms across 8 states and D.C.  The firms range from sole proprietors to 40+ person firms and include expertise in resiliency, historic preservation/adaptive reuse, and remote practice.  In 2018, JAMB won the Charette Venture Group's Architectural Business Plan Competition for its proposal to democratize networks and resources for small firms.  JAMB is currently part of Trimble's ZeroSixty Accelerator 2019-2020 cohort.

Show Links: 

Visit https://jambcollective.com/ to apply to become a Jamb Groundbreaker

Welcome to the launch of Practice Disrupted! Meet hosts Evelyn Lee and Je’Nen Chastain who will begin to discuss the changing nature of architectural practice.

Hosts:

Evelyn Lee, Founder of Practice of Architecture & Senior Experience Designer for Slack Technologies

Je’Nen Chastain, Founder of Apostrophe Consulting

Evelyn M. Lee, AIA, MBA, MPA is a licensed architect in the state of California, with over 15 years of experience working with individuals and companies that are looking to reshape their future. She has been a featured keynote speaker, panelist, and moderator at national conferences and symposiums. Her topics focus on developing knowledge leadership, organizational change management, capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and strategic approaches to put design thinking to work in life and in practice. She also serves on the advisory council to ZeroSixty, an accelerator for the AEC Industry and is the first female Treasurer to AIA National‘s Board of Directors. When not working on the Practice of Architecture, Evelyn works as the first-ever Senior Experience Designer at Slack Technologies.

Je’Nen M. Chastain, MBA, Assoc. AIA is a business strategy consultant trained in architecture and business management with expertise in marketing, communications, and leadership development. She founded Apostrophe Consulting with the goal of helping architecture firms win more work, build a culture of leadership and trust within the design studio, and create a pipeline for emerging leaders to grow in our industry. A recipient of the 2017 AIA Associates Award, Je'Nen holds both a B.Arch. and an MBA. She previously spent nearly a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area, collaborating with award-winning architecture firms on design, marketing, and business development efforts. She has spoken across the country on leadership development, career advancement, emerging professionals, mentorship, and women in architecture.

Show Links:  

practicedisrupted.com

http://practiceofarchitecture.com/ 

https://apostrophe.consulting/  

Follow us on social media: @practiceofarch

Show teaser