TxA Annual Design Conference

HRDD’s Eric Hughes attended the TxA 10th Annual Design Conference in Jackson Hole, WY, on March 3-6, 2022. This year’s conference, “Shelter in the Hinterlands,” included the exploration of unique design, inspiring speakers, and curated tours. The annual conference was established by Michael Malone, FAIA, and Mark Wellen, FAIA, ten years ago and is curated each year by a TxA committee of volunteers (including Eric!).

Eric’s trip kicked off with a tour of the office of CLB architects, followed by a lecture by Prospect Studio’s John Carney, FAIA. Home tours of several luxury homes in Jackson Hole by CLB Architects, Prospect Studio, and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Todd Williams, AIA and Billie Tsien, AIA presented on Saturday in the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Omar Ghandi shared his design process for his own practice based in Nova Scotia. Ray Calabro, FAIA of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson led a tour of a dynamic home in Gros Venture Butte. After a panel discussion moderated by Brantley Hightower, AIA, the group had the opportunity to tour the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center at the entry of Grand Teton National Park.

Learn more about the annual Design Conference here!

SAY IT LOUD (WIA) Texas

The Texas Society of Architect’s 82ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE & DESIGN EXPO begins today in San Antonio!

This year, Beyond the Built Environment, in collaboration with AIA San Antonio and the Women in Architecture Texas Chapters, have created an exhibit featuring work by Women Architects and Designers of Texas. Part of the internationally-recognized SAY IT LOUD series, the exhibit showcases projects and stories from architects and designers from all over the state of Texas. The concept of this exhibit is "To see our faces, hear our voices, feel our impact within the colorful tapestry of our heritage." SAY IT LOUD is the activation of a national movement of sharing, protecting and celebrating the journey of the underrepresented to inspire the next generation. Each of the featured designers and architects are now part of Beyond the Built Environment’s Great Diverse Designers Library — a resource and platform built to elevate Diverse Designers across the world.

Beyond the Built Environment was founded by Pascale Sablan, a New York-based architect and activist who works “to advance architecture for the betterment of society,” bringing visibility to issues concerning women and BIPOC designers. Beyond the Built Environment addresses “the inequitable disparities in architecture by providing a holistic platform aimed to support numerous stages of the architecture pipeline.” As part of this work, Sablan and her team curated the traveling exhibition SAY IT LOUD, which features work from underrepresented designers.

HR Design Dept co-founder and architect Heather Rowell is among the featured designers! The exhibit will be up throughout the convention before traveling to AIA chapters across Texas.

TxA Conference in Galveston

Last week, hundreds of architects gathered in Galveston for the Texas Society of Architect’s Annual Conference + Design Expo - the 80th of its kind. This year’s theme, “IMMERSION: Knowledge. Resilience. Inclusion” included discussions aimed at acknowledging and tackling the issues facing architects and our built environment today.

HRDD was honored to participate by leading two roundtable discussions we’re passionate about. On Friday, Heather - with Dianne Kett AIA - led a discussion on how bias impacts the professional development of women as part of the Women in Architecture Roundtable. During Saturday’s Emerging Leader Roundtable - Eric, Heather, and kinneymorrow’s Michael Morrow led a candid discussion on owning a small practice called “Small. Firm. Round Table.”

We’re already looking forward to next year’s conversations in Dallas!

AND - we encourage fellow architects and designers to consider attending the 2020 TxA Design Conference in February. “PASSAGE” will take place in El Paso:

Looking north, two mountain ranges loom with a chasm between them. El Paso’s literal translation is “The Pass.” Applied to people, time, literature, and geography “passage” is an open word that prompts questions. It can be used to apportion meaning, to define limits, or present a way through. El Paso/Juarez, as the world’s largest borderplex, is an excellent place to investigate how overlapping, interchanging, complex social and geographic factors can impact design.

Eric has been working with a great team on the TxA Design Conference Committee to help make the event a success!