Welcome to Blueprint South Dakota, a blog created by architects in South Dakota to provide a forum for public conversations with citizens, city planners, developers, property owners, designers, public office holders and others. Through these conversations, we want to participate with the public and community leaders in the creation of vibrant, prosperous, beautiful and effective places to live, work and play in South Dakota. Please join us in conversing about design and planning issues in our state.
Grassroots 2021 Recap: Bring it Home, Part 2/2
Cover image by AIA National Day 2: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging – Stacey Abrams This session was one I was looking forward to the most during this convention. It was an honor to listen to this wonderful woman, a personal hero of mine, inspire and encourage leaders in this industry to fight for social …
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Grassroots 2021 Recap: Bring it Home, Part 1/2
Cover image by AIA National Architect, Advocate, Activist. Three words AIA members are called to be. Last week, I had the honor of attending the annual Grassroots convention hosted virtually by AIA National’s 2021 President Elect, Dan Hart, FAIA. With the theme of “Bring it Home,” this four day leadership event focused on skillsets we …
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South Dakota OSE Green Building Report – CY2020
Below is a portion of the required yearly Green Building Report provided by the Office of the State Engineer to the South Dakota Legislature. Within this report, we see the status of state building projects and their compliance to Senate Bill 188 in 2008. Note: items in a portion of the report below may be …
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AIA South Dakota Advocacy in Pierre 2021
Content Submitted by Justin Smith, Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith P.C. The 2021 South Dakota legislative session convened Tuesday, January 12, 2021. This year marks the fourth year I have been retained as the contract lobbyist for AIA South Dakota. As of this writing, there have been a total of 477 bills, 11 commemorations, and …
Hard Times
The rural design community and CIRD look ahead by looking back. Cover Photo: Sahar Coston-HardyBlack-owned Graham’s Ribs in Springfield, Missouri, open from 1932 to 1996, was an establishment listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book Originally published in Rural Voices – Cultivating Citizen-led Design Volume 24, No. 2, Fall 2020 by the Housing Assistance Council. By Stephen …
Mental Health and Architecture Incubator
AIA National Strategic Council Update by Amy Rosen, Assoc. AIA and Stephen Parker, AIA, NCARB Originally published in Connections: Citizen Architect, Issue 18, 2020. As the “think tank” for the Institute, the AIA Strategic Council breaks into several workgroups with specific study areas each year. Through this incubator concept, the Council explores embryonic ideas that …
The State of Clinician Health: A Call for Respite
(Sponsored content by Pigott, provided by Gail Caldwell + Herman Miller) “You can teach caregivers mindfulness and mediation techniques, but if you throw them back into the war zone, it’s not going to work.” – Dr. Mark Greenawald, Carilion Clinic Vice Chair, Academic Affairs, Virginia Tech School of Medicine The onset of COVID-19 created insurmountable …
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Remembering Ward Whitwam
South Dakota lost an architectural giant last week with the passing of Ward Whitwam. As a transplant to South Dakota, I had always heard his name said in reverent tones, a leader in design for the state for as long as many could remember. In honor of his passing and a celebration of his life …
Poetry, Architecture and Climate Change
Last week, Amanda Gorman was one of many who made history. As the first national Youth Poet Laureate, Gorman, 22, was also the youngest poet to deliver the presidential inaugural poem, which she finished after the Capitol riot weeks before. See link for video and full text: Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb: Kottke.org I …
AIA lauds U.S. recommitting to Paris Agreement
Shortly after President Biden’s inauguration last week, one of his first acts was to sign an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement. Former President Donald Trump had withdrawn the United States from the treaty in 2017, making the U.S. the first to formally leave the treaty in 2020 despite being the second leading country …
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