Dignity Through Design: Better Serving a Diverse Population

By Andria Bender, RN The Americans with Disabilities Act will turn 30 next year, and the landmark legislation greatly improved accommodations for persons with disabilities. The regulations set a clear expectation that everyone deserves to be present, active, and engaged in our society. ADA guidelines serve as a reminder for architects, engineers, and interior designers …

AIA National, Where we stand: Climate change

Within the last few years, AIA National worked to continue to “advance our nation’s quality of life and protect the public’s health, safety and welfare,” by creating priorities based on AIA’s legislative goals for the 115th Congress. These priorities were driven from the feedback of thousands of AIA members, and a call to action was …

We Are All Builders

By Rebel Hurd, Church on the Street There are challenges when working with those living on the margins of society. There are challenges serving those who live on the margins of society. There are challenges walking alongside those struggling with homelessness and poverty on the margins of society. What might it look like, if, instead of looking through a lens of …

Preserving South Dakota- properties added to the National Register of Historic Places

Liz Almlie, South Dakota Historic Preservation Office A number of National Register of Historic Places nominations from South Dakota were recently approved by the National Park Service and represent a wide variety of architectural and building traditions.  The following information is taken from their National Register nominations. The two more formal buildings were the First …

AIA South Dakota Advocacy in Pierre

Justin G. Smith is an attorney and shareholder with the firm Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith P.C. He joined the firm in 2006 following graduation from Oklahoma City University School of Law. He completed his undergraduate studies at Christendom College. For almost ten years, Justin has maintained a government relations practice. This practice includes lobbying …

Affordable Housing & Sustainability

South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) was created by the South Dakota Legislature in 1973 with a stated mission to provide decent, safe, and affordable housing to low and moderate income South Dakotans. SDHDA is a self-supporting, non-profit entity. SDHDA utilizes housing bonds, tax credits, and other federal and state resources to fund housing programs which provide …

Architectural Licensing in South Dakota

Recently, licensing for professionals has become a very publicized topic of conversation as it pertains to workforce development in our state. Last year, during the legislative session, former Governor Dennis Daugaard introduced the Temporary Licensure Compact Bill, aimed to streamline the process for reciprocity for all licensed professionals. This bill lost the vote in the …