Summary of AIA 2008 National Convention session
TH-22
For a panel presentation at the AIA 2008 National Convention, we
wanted to unite a diverse group of leaders who are changing our
built environment locally and regionally with design and the
environment in Nebraska. The session discussed how these diverse
leaders including young architects, established professionals and
retired architects, are working to educate and advocate for a range
of issues involved in the context of the Heartland. The panel
presented a series of case studies examining multi-generational
leadership roles held by architects working in design and
sustainability in order to bring about positive civic and community
change for all people across this region.
First, Tim Hemsath, a recently registered architect and AIA
member, highlighted the value and importance of youth leadership in
the academic setting. He discussed the successful efforts of
the newly-organized Emerging Green Builders at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, a student organization of the Flatwater chapter
of the U.S. Green Building Council. The founding students
were successful in advocating for LEED certification for buildings
funded with student tuition. Since this bold effort, the
student organization has grown to over 100 members on two separate
campuses. Their success has been built on a culture of
leadership in the College of Architecture that inspires, empowers
and trusts students to make a positive impact on our world.
Next, AIA member Nicolette Amundson discussed her leadership
role in founding two organizations, the Flatwater chapter of the
U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Omaha Coalition (GOC).
Her leadership has been successful in promoting a healthy,
sustainable community through partnerships, policy, and smart
solutions in Omaha. Her latest work with the GOC intends to
accomplish its mission through leadership and coalition building
with public and private sector entities and residents as a whole -
fostering collaboration with key stakeholders in the
community to accelerate the adoption of green practices, policies,
and programs.
Following this, Cecil Steward was asked to contribute his
"retired" perspective on leadership by highlighting his leadership
efforts since serving as President of AIA in 1991-92. His
presentation was focused on "The Five Domains" (environment,
economics, socio-cultural, technology and policy), a principle that
has guided his work as CEO & President of the Josyln Castle
Institute for Sustainable Communities.
"If we are to have a reasonable chance of managing the growth of
the urban habitat, and at the same time achieve a balance of
economic development with the conservation of the earth's natural
systems, we must expand our definition of the principles of
sustainability, and, we must see the problem in a systems context.
Since the beginning of the concepts and the language (i.e., the
Bruntland Commission of the United Nations, 1987) sustainable
development has consistently been represented as having three
domains - the environment, economics, and the
socio-cultural context - and, that they must be
treated interdependently for a sustainable balance to
occur.
There are numerous examples of human invention and/or
intervention that can be noted to have either facilitated or
retarded community progress toward sustainability. Two extreme, and
debatable, examples are the automobile (technology) and the
consequences of its use, resulting in threats to the natural
systems, and the principle of humans "owning" land (policy) and the
consequential effect of economic speculation on the earth's natural
systems. Whether or not we individually value these
conditions is not important. Technology is a fact of modern life,
one that is influential and will continue to accelerate through
human ingenuity. So, too, will the rules and regulations for
relations among us, and our access to the bounties of the
earth. Both technology and policy are domains that are
pervasive, affective, and the cause and effect relationships to the
other three domains [environment, economics, socio-cultural] are
inseparable from them."
Finally, Connie Spellman discussed her role as Director of Omaha
by Design in undertaking one the largest metropolitan zoning
revisions for a city of Omaha's size, a population of approx.
500,000. Omaha by Design, an initiative of the Omaha Community
Foundation, is dedicated to changing the face of Omaha through the
use of urban design principles and citizen engagement. Founded in
2001 as Lively Omaha, the organization facilitates partnerships
between the public and private sectors to execute projects that
improve the quality of the natural and built environments
throughout the metropolitan area. The Omaha by Design projects and
activities center on three components: Green Omaha, which seeks to
preserve and enhance the city's natural setting and public park
system; Civic Omaha, which seeks to define and improve the
city's civic places and public image; and Neighborhood
Omaha, which seeks to preserve and enhance the city's
residential neighborhoods. These three components comprise
the Urban Design Element of Omaha's Master Plan, which
establishes the city's long-range policies, goals and standards as
a general guide for its physical development.
The leaders, presenters and authors who contributed to this
article and to the panel session include: Nicolette Amundson, AIA,
Bahr Vermeer Haecker; Timothy L Hemsath, AIA, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture; Connie Spellman, Omaha by
Design; and W. Cecil Steward, FAIA, Joslyn Institute for
Sustainable Communities.
