Here’s a recap of Friday’s sessions at the 2026 AIA SD Annual Convention:
Following our AIA South Dakota Annual meeting and our Student Engagement Session, we kicked off Friday’s educational sessions with our panel, “Design for All: The power of lived experience,” featuring Vicki Stewart, Richard P. Crawford Jr., Liz Brown, AIA and Cherie Gerry, moderated by Allison Dvorak, AIA. This session focused on expanding beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and explored the experience of the built environment from the perspective of community leaders who happen to have a disability. Thank you to Shermach Sales for sponsoring the session.
Our second Friday session, “Efficient by Intelligence: Moving from Reactive to Proactive,” from Brian Fox, Director of Digital Sales for Trane Commercial HVAC Americas, addressed preserving design intent and occupant wellness with AI-driven building systems. Thank you to Trane Commercial for sponsoring the session.
Dr. Deanna Dwenger, PsyD, HSPP, Chief Behavioral Health Advisor at Elevatus Architecture, offered today’s luncheon keynote, “Designing for Regulation: Built Environments as Passive Clinical Interventions.” The session examined correctional environments as an instructive case study in how people experience stress, safety, autonomy and connection within the built environment. Thank you to Van Buskirk Companies
for sponsoring our Friday keynote.
We hit the road for the remainder of the 2026 AIA SD Annual Convention, returning to the Avera Women & Children’s Center on the main Avera campus for a tour of the nearly complete facility and checking out Avera Pavilion 2 (GI) at Avera on Louise. Thank you to Olsson for sponsoring the Pavilion 2 tour!
