Dear Members:

As we enter October, I want to emphasize how exciting and busy this month will be for our organization. It’s a time full of opportunity, growth, and engagement for our members, with several key events on the calendar.

First, we have Doors Open Baltimore, an annual favorite where the public gets to experience the architectural beauty of our city through exclusive tours and discussions. This event offers a great chance for members to showcase their work and connect with the community, to see a building that you wanted to see, or learn something new about our city. This year, Doors Open guided tours take place three weekends in October, and more than 40 open house sites will be available on October 26th. Additionally, we have the Design Awards on October 18th, celebrating the outstanding work being done by our peers and recognizing the innovation, creativity, and thought leadership within our chapter. Finally, we close out the month with the NOMA Conference, which brings together leading voices in architecture to explore critical issues in our field. With five seminar tracks covering Design, Technical, Community and Justice, Business Development, and Baltimore centric programs are not only important to our profession but are also valuable opportunities for our members to learn, network, and get inspired. I strongly encourage you to participate and make the most of these events.

Only a few days ago, I had the privilege of attending the Big Sibs conference for AIA Baltimore. This conference brought together leaders from AIA’s similarly sized components across the country (above 1000 members) and it was an invaluable experience. We spent time sharing insights on what has worked and what hasn’t in various chapters, discussing challenges we all face, and exchanging ideas on how to improve our offerings for our members like you. One of the key takeaways from the conference was the understanding that, despite our different geographic locations, we are all striving toward the same goal: to provide our members with the best possible experience and the greatest value for their membership.

Among the ideas shared were successful programs that other components have implemented, which we are now considering for our own chapter. These include:

• Educational sessions on AI and its rapidly growing influence on architecture,
• A Speed Mentoring event, designed to connect experienced professionals with younger architects in a fast-paced, interactive way,
• A Discussion on housing in the Baltimore region, focusing on the unique local challenges we face,
• Design Competitions that focus on projects critical to our community.

These discussions reminded us that collaboration across chapters is key to improving the architectural profession and the experience of our members. We’re excited to explore these ideas further and possibly bring them to our chapter.

If any of these programs resonate with you, or if you’re interested in helping us plan or implement them, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Lauren Bostic Hill, our Executive Director. Your input and participation are invaluable, and we’re eager to work together to create meaningful opportunities for everyone.

Thank you for your continued involvement, and we hope to see you at the upcoming events this month!

Ryan Jordan Pfarr, AIA
2024 President, AIA Baltimore