As the designs and plans for our Passive House retrofit came along, so did our knowledge of how materials and their construction would impact the operational and embodied energy of the house. We quickly found ourselves immersed in powerful new programs, which we had never heard of before, but which would leverage the large section …
Passive House 3.0 Series | Introduction and Part 1
Introduction The first passive house, or PH01, was a venture taken by South Dakota State University department of Architecture students and faculty in Brookings, SD. Two passive houses have been designed to meet the Passive House Institute of the United States (PHIUS) standards since then. PH02 is a single-family residence that utilizes a detached garage …
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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 …