AIA Florida Southwest Featured Architect

Coffee Talk
with ​Andrea Clark Brown, AIA
May 2021

  
What do you consider the role of an architect to be in society at large?
Visionary. That is what I expect them to be. They must think ahead and again, and subsequently should have every tool possible so they can keep moving forward.  It is important to explain the layers of the architectural thought processes around why decisions come to be. We must not shy away from unravelling, understanding and/or questioning complexities. There are reasons why some solutions work, and others never will.  

What makes great architecture?
I’d have to say that greatness becomes possible when an architect thinks and designs a building in terms of ‘how it feels’ rather than ‘how it looks’. What does it smell like, what is the acoustic experience like, what does the time of day mean to the occupants of your building, what is happening at various times of day?  I’ve often said to my residential clients: “I have lived in every inch of your home, every-square-inch.”  When designing, one needs to know where the inside corners are, but also where the outside corners are too.  If we open the proverbial box in different ways during the initial process of exploration we can open to new ideas and make visceral something delightful and unexpected.
AIA Grassroots Resources for Architects
Interested in climate design but not sure where to start?
​The Rise of Regenerative Design
How architects are using regenerative design to improve communities and save the environment.
At first glance, the concept of regenerative design seems simple.  When architects ensure that their projects benefit the community and surrounding environment, everybody wins. But putting this into practice can be difficult.
Women's Construction Guild of
Southwest Florida
​Front Page May 2021  
2021 AIA Florida Southwest Scholarship Information 
The AIA Florida Southwest chapter will provide financial assistance to students enrolled in either a
Bachelor of Architecture program or Master of Architecture program. Scholarships will be awarded to
students attending or about to attend a NAAB-accredited professional degree in Architecture or a
college student already enrolled in a similar program.

​The Board of Directors expects to award the
​following scholarship amounts and levels for 2021:
• One $2,500 award
• One or more $1,500 awards
• One or more $1,000 awards
• One or more $500 awards​
​It’s Time to Start Planning for Renewable Energy
The American Institute of Architects Florida Southwest Component​ is a Principal Partner of ​Growing Climate Solutions, Southwest Florida
Growing Climate Solutions SWF, understands that climate resilience is best achieved by building partnerships with organizations and stakeholders across our region to share knowledge in an effort to facilitate sustainable solutions for the community.
The Immokalee Foundation
Become and Engineering & Construction Management mentor.
Founded in 1991, The Immokalee Foundation and its supporters are empowering children and young adults to change the course of their lives. Our students come from situations where English may not be their first language, where just getting through high school is considered a high achievement, and where a college degree and career are mere dreams.

We’re in the business of helping make those dreams come true.

With the support of mentors, donors and volunteers, The Immokalee Foundation provides students the resources and the confidence to follow pathways to success. We do this by providing educational and career-building opportunities that open the students’ eyes to their personal potential . . . along with the understanding that what they once considered impossible just might be possible after all.

AIA ​FLORIDA SOUTHWEST PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE

EVENT SPONSOR
SESCO LIGHTING

GOLD 
EMERALD ENGINEERING, LLC
TLC ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS

SILVER 
SELECT STRUCTURAL
MATERN ENGINEERING
BOB RUDE STRUCTURES, INC.
ENVIROSTRUCT LLC
BSSW ARCHITECTS
MANHATTAN CONSTRUCTION
SPARTAN SURFACES
HONOR
MERIDIAN CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
GULFPOINT CONSTRUCTION
GATES CONSTRUCTION
VANTAGE CONSTRUCTION
CHRIS-TEL CONSTRUCTION








Please contact a board member for more information