Online AIA Learning Units

the architecture of…museums, exhibit design, stories, start-ups, atypical architects and producing culture

Architecture, Art And Color. Demystifying Color For The Built Environment

Betty Merken is a visual artist, an architectural colorist, and an educator. She has researched color extensively and teaches seminars nationally to architects and design professionals giving participants the tools necessary for understanding color for the built environment. Her enhanced skills as a professional artist and a teaching professional (UCLA, University of Oregon, University of Washington) are reflected in the work of numerous architects and other professionals working in the fields of art and design. As such Betty is a strong advocate for architecture as a cultural, cross disciplinary practice and for expanding upon the historically innate and nuanced rapport between artists and architects.

Integrated Design as a Path to Place

Integrated design will focus on higher performing buildings for health, resilience, resource conservation, and energy conservation. The Louisiana Children's Museum case study looks at using the site as a periodic storm receptor to reduce flooding and increase safety in a localized storm basin. The Blakely Elementary School on Bainbridge Island, Washington case study examines the use of full timber graded tree sections for structural columns and reducing embodied carbon. The National Nordic Museum in Seattle, Washington case study includes technical classification of exhibit spaces to reduce energy loads and improve visitor experience. The Xunaa Cultural Center and Museum in Hoonah, Alaska speaks to integrated design results in projects better suited to climate, resilient stressors and the needs of each location. 

Purpose + Place

Using design directed research from the presenters’ 2020 Civita Institute Partners in Design Climate Action Fellowship, this seminar will explore new models of architectural design that incorporate principles from historic Italian Hill Towns and transform buildings and developments in the U.S. into cutting-edge architecture. Early modern examples in the U.S. and 17th and 18th century examples from Italian Hill Towns illustrate design principles that have been woven into current work by the presenters. The ubiquitous use of the air conditioner in the 1960s contributed to sprawl and a general decline of design excellence in architecture. Through examples of early modern architecture in the U.S. and historic Italian Hill Towns, we will illustrate how passive principles can inform design excellence, meet climate goals, enrich lives and create a sense of place.

Parrington Hall: Preserve, Restore, Reuse

The case study will feature the renovation of the historic Parrington Hall on the campus of the University of Washington. The historic character of Parrington was preserved. Its utility as a state-of-the-art academic facility was restored. And reuse extends the functional life of the materials, avoiding carbon emissions associated with the production of new materials. Key design tools will be examined, including existing facility assessment, programming, Life Cycle Assessment, and seismic design. Seminar participants will gain an understanding of how to apply these tools in their own sustainable design practices.

Cultural Sustainability – Understand, Honor, Evolve

This presentation on cultural sustainability will focus on how Studio 397 approached two separate projects that had cultural sustainability at the core of their purpose. The first recently completed project is the re-development of “Flatbush Caton Market” located in Brooklyn, NY. The second project will focus on “531 Westview Ave” a residential renovation in State College, Pennsylvania that is currently under construction and scheduled to be completed in June of this year (2022).